Eating Vegan in Devon & Cornwall
Something I get asked all the time from people who are transitioning to the vegan lifestyle is how do you find vegan meals when eating out at restaurants, where should you go to find delicious vegan food and is it easy to go out for meals when you're vegan? The answer to all of these of course is that finding vegan food options at restaurants is really easy as long as research some places before you go and browse the menu before hand! I'm going to try and start a series on this blog of eating vegan in different cities (I already have one up on my favorite vegan cafes in Australia as well as London) as I thought this may be helpful for some of you if you live in these cities and want some inspiration for eating local or if you are visiting any of these places and wanted to try some new restaurants!
EATING VEGAN IN DEVON & CORNWALL
FALMOUTH
PEA SOUK
I have already mentioned this amazing establishment in my Eating Vegan at the Port Eliot Festival blog post (which you can view here) however once I returned from the festival, I made a trip with my family to the actual restaurant that is situated in Falmouth as the food was just too good not to try again! This place is beautifully charming, a quirky little cafe up a small lane just off the main high street of Falmouth, with an extensive vegan and vegetarian menu. When we visited, we all had a variation of the vegan cheese burger (as pictured above), which was absolutely delicious and even my father (who does not take well to vegan food) said that he couldn't tell it was vegan! For a full range of the food they do you can check out their website www.peasouk.co.uk, but this is definitely a place I would recommend !!
CIURI CIURI
If you are looking for the BEST vegan ice cream (or regular ice cream) around then this is the place to go! Run by 3 italian friends, this small gelato parlour nestled in Falmouth High Street has an abundance of vegan gelato flavours that are absolutely incredible tasting! I sampled the strawberry and peach flavour, and my sister got the mango flavour but other vegan flavours include chocolate, lemon and every other fruit you could imagine! The cheerful customer service combined with the delicious produce places this cafe at the top of my list of recommendations, I suggest you visit as soon as possible if you are ever in the area! If you want to find out any more information on the cafe you can check out their Facebook page here.
WILDEBEEST - (NOW SADLY CLOSED DOWN) - 100% VEGAN
The one restaurant that everyone also recommends when I talk about vegan food in Cornwall is Wildebeest - a 100% vegan restaurant in Falmouth that serves incredible food, ranging from butternut squash laska and mexican tacos to raw cheesecake and chocolate and almond brownies. I have only visited here twice and unfortunately it's now shut down but I thought I'd leave the pictures up just to show how amazing it was when it was still around. Pictured below is the Mex Mix and a sweet potato dish that was on their menu last summer, the fried polenta (honestly the most incredible vegan dish I have ever eaten), raw cheesecake, a brownie and the peanut butter chocolate fudge ice cream. I also visited their stall at the Cornish Vegan Festival and they had an array of cheesecakes on offer (also pictured below). Hopefully the business will return one day in the future as I wish you could all try it out!
PADSTOW
RICK STEIN'S CAFE
I ventured into Padstow with my family when we were staying in a caravan near there and my parents were so excited to take me to Rick Stein's cafe as they absolutely love it there, but when we got there we couldn't see ANY vegan options on the menu. However, after asking the waitress if they could accommodate us, the chef created an entire menu full of vegan options for that day that I could choose from! The menu included crispy tempura vegetables (pictured below) ; stir fry noodles with bok choi, chilli, garlic, ginger and kecap mani ; vegetable curry ; mushroom bruschetta ; Tibetan noodle soup ; olive, sundried tomato and basil salad and then lots of side orders! The service was absolutely incredible to create such an extensive vegan menu in such a short time and the food was delicious! This is somewhere I would definitely recommend if you are in the area! If you want any further information on the cafe you can check out their website here.
FOWEY
PINKY MURPHY'S CAFE
On an impulsive trip to Fowey my mum and I decided to venture into Pinky Murphy's for some lunch - a small independent vegetarian cafe that is just off the high street and has an beautiful view of the river. The cafe has an eclectic atmosphere that is paired with excellent service and great food! I had the veggie platter (minus the pesto to make it vegan) which consisted of homemade hummus, homemade veggie pate (which was INCREDIBLE), toast and salad. I also had a banana and strawberry smoothie which was delicious, I definitely recommend this cafe if you are in the area and looking for a vegan lunch option! Not to mention that Fowey is such a beautiful and picturesque place to visit! If you park in the Readymoney beach carpark and walk down the hill to the town centre there are some incredible views (pictured below)!
TRURO
TRURO
ARCHIE BROWNS - 100% VEGAN
I discovered this place whilst I was alone in Truro and it was so incredible that I had to bring my mum there for lunch the week after. Being a combination of a health food store and a vegetarian / vegan cafe, Archie Browns is the perfect place to visit for breakfast, lunch or afternoon tea, as it has the BEST vegan cakes I have ever had! On my first visit I purchased the 'Cheeky Chocolate Monkey' Smoothie - a combination of peanut butter, banana, vanilla & chocolate vegan ice cream and soya milk (though you can ask for almond, coconut or rice milk also), and a slice of vegan chocolate and banana cake (which was heavenly!). Then when I visited again with my mum we both had lunch and a dessert, where we shared the 'Archie Browns burger & salad' and the 'Refried Bean Quesadilla' - both of which were just as incredible as they sound (pictured below). For dessert I had a slice of raw vegan chocolate torte - a rich creamy chocolate filling on a raw date & nut base (it was even more delicious as it sounds!) and my mum had a vegan apple and fig crumble with vegan ice cream! If you would like to check out their menu for more information, you can click here but it is definitely somewhere I highly recommend !!
THE CORNISH VEGAN - 100% VEGAN
I have visited here a few times now and the combination of the amazing vegan food and the incredible customer service makes it somewhere you have to visit! The first time I visited was at Christmas at I had the sweetcorn chowder (amazing), with bread and their homemade butter (even more amazing), followed by a mushroom wellington and all the trimmings of a roast, and mince pies with coconut cream! They also do vegan roast dinners every Sunday so if you're in the area I would definitely recommend checking them out! They also have an extensive regular menu full of burgers, I had the 'chickin' one - pictured below, buddha bowls, sausage rolls and a range of desserts including homemade cakes! This is definitely a place I recommend if you're in the area, and be sure to check out their full website here: http://thecornishvegan.com
THE EDEN PROJECT
I absolutely adore the Eden Project (if you've never been it's basically an Eco Attraction that highlights the environmental issues worldwide, touches upon sustainable futures and also has the largest indoor rainforest in the world!) I actually have had a Christmas job at the Eden Project for 2 years in a row so I spend a lot of time there, meaning I get to try out all the vegan food (and they actually have a fair few options! The Eden shop also has an array of vegan friendly treats so be sure to check that out on your way out!
THE EDEN KITCHEN
In the Eden Kitchen (the cafeteria style eating area) there are a few vegan options such as the Minestrone Soup with freshly baked bread, the Vegetable Hot Pot with a mashed potato and baby spinach topping, Maple Roasted Winter Veg and also a Coconut Chocolate Flapjack (which was SO delicious you have to try it!) For more info on the food at Eden you can click here.
THE MEDITERRANEAN KITCHEN
The sit-down more restaurant style eating area at the Eden Project is called the Mediterranean Kitchen as it is situated in the Med Biome, from this area the vegan option is a tomato pasta and also an array of breads with olive oil and balsamic! I'm not sure if these are actual dishes on the menu but if you ask one of the servers they will be happy to let you know the vegan options. I have had these dishes a few times now and they really are so delicious!
PLYMOUTH
THE DOCK
This restaurant has become one of my favourites due to the beautiful sea views and delicious food. I love visiting the Dock for brunch with my friends or a family outing and the best thing about eating here is how you can easily adapt the options to be vegan! My favourites include the Avocado Toast (just ask for it without the poached egg and butter), the Vegan Breakfast, the Veggie Burger (I ask for it without the halloumi or pesto but double the mushroom with spinach) and the Peanut Butter Breakfast Smoothie (using soy milk). The staff are clued up on veganism making it easy to order veganised options and it really does have a lovely atmosphere to enjoy some great food with friends! To have a closer look at the menu you can check it out here.
SAMPHIRE BRASSERIE - 100% VEGAN
If you are a vegan living in the Plymouth area then I am sure you already know about this place because their food is SO incredible! Recently I visited Samphire for my birthday (when I actually did a What I Eat in a Day Video so you can see everything I ate there via my youtube channel - youtube.com/positivesoph) and my family and I had the most amazing selection of food that even my dad (who eats a very meat based diet and is fairly against veganism) enjoyed! This place is in the medium price range, but all of the food is so worth it, and the customer service is excellent!
The starters we ordered were : Sweet Chilli Prawns (these were so delicious and tasted so real that I could not believe they were vegan!), Spiced Potted Shrimp (a beautifully made vegan pate alternative) and Garlic Flatbread (this is enough for a sharing starter as it is HUGE and at only £4.50 well worth the money!)
Then for main course we ordered : V Bone Steak (a seitan steak served with vegan blue cheese, and a red wine sauce - my dad absolutely loved this and said it was a delicious meat alternative), Cajun Chicken Pizza (I ordered this without the peppers and it was so delicious but SO HUGE! I ended up taking half home because I was so full!), Asian Persuasion Pizza (topped with crispy 'duck' and on a hoisin sauce base) and the Meatball Mania (Italian style meatballs cooked in a tomato sauce and served with pesto and vegan cheese inside a burger bun! - this was so delicious!)
For dessert we shared : Lotus Cookie Dough (hot caramelized cookie dough served with squirty cream & ice cream - THIS WAS THE BEST THING I HAVE EVER TASTED, honestly you NEED to try this, it will change your life!!) and the Cheesecake (the flavour of the day was Snickers and it was SO good!!)
We also pre-ordered a bespoke vegan birthday cake as it was my birthday dinner and I chose the Oreo one! I cannot even explain to you how incredible this cake was, it was rich and creamy chocolate cake with a beautiful oreo flavoured topping! Samphire Brasserie can make you pretty much any style and flavour vegan cake you desire if you pre-order as its all made from scratch on premises!
I have also revisited many times and had, the KFC bucket, chicken burger, asian style burger, a chocolate orange cake and of course the cookie dough again and again! You can check out their full menu here.
IMPERIAL GARDEN
This is a new discovery thanks to my friend Robin, and after visiting twice in one week I highly recommend this place to EVERYONE, whether you are vegan or not! They honestly serve the most delicious vegan Chinese food I have EVER eaten, and I keep having dreams about how good the vegan chicken balls are. The first time I visited I went with a group of vegan friends so we got a LOT of dishes to share, including the chicken balls, satay chicken skewers, chicken / ham fried rice, chilli & garlic prawns and lemon chicken. The second time I went with my non-vegan family and we got the chicken fried rice, satay skewers, chicken balls and chips to share. Even my meat eating parents said that the chicken balls are so realistic you would never know they were vegan! I can't rave about this place enough and I can't wait to revisit soon, if you are ever in the area its a MUST to check out, they even do delivery!! You can find out more info about them here : http://imperialgardenplymouthdevon.co.uk
THE PLANT CAFE
The Plant Cafe is an independent vegetarian cafe situated in the city by the Cathedral. Alongside the beautiful area, it serves amazing vegetarian and vegan food, including vegan sweet treats and main meals. Last time I visited I had a sweet potato pie (pictured below) and it was delicious! It has a zero waste policy which I absolutely LOVE as not only is it great for vegans its also so eco friendly! With delicious food, a quirky aesthetic and friendly service this cafe is the perfect setting for a lunch date with friends or just a spot of afternoon tea, they even do takeaway!! Check out their Facebook page here.
Keep your soul happy! - Sophie :)
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