Vegan Breakfast Options at Wetherspoons

Yup, I’ve ventured into a ‘Spoons! 9am, Saturday morning on the local high street and the place was already full of people nursing the 99p refillable coffees while waiting for their fry-up to arrive. The plan was not to have a birthday breakfast at such a salubrious establishment but to sample the pancakes on offer at Grumpy Panda instead. Due to me not reading the website properly, however, we arrived 2 hours ahead of opening and having done a run that had worked up an appetite I couldn’t wait any longer for grub. The fallback was a Belgian Bun from Greggs or hash browns from Burger King, so on reflection The Tillley Stone seemed the more appealing of the 3.

I can’t attest to how good the traditional breakfast is on account of not eating meat, but I know some folks swear by the reviving powers of greasy fry up. It is served until 12pm which is plenty of time to pull yourself round after a heavy night. Wetherspoons have a vegetarian option, but unfortunately the sausages they use are Quorn and not suitable for vegans. A simple switch to Linda McCartney and they could merrily offer more on their menu.

After my run I wasn’t in the mood for anything too heavy so opted for a Smashed Avocado Bagel. I know it is such a cliche to be vegan and eat this for breakfast but hey, there’s nothing wrong with indulging in a stereotype once in a while.

The bagel could have used a little more time under the grill and the liberal use of coriander was overpowering. A finer dicing of the onions and tomatoes to create a salsa of sorts might have worked better with the creamy avocado. The rawness was just a bit too much for my tastes.

Soya milk was available for the coffee, and it would have been good if Wetherspoons could offer Flora Freedom or another dairy free spread alternative too. Having dry toast smeared with jam on is not as appealing.

My friend got all the breakfast side options and a serving of toast. A reasonable amount of food, although there was a definite need for a sausage or rasher of veggie bacon on the plate.

The total for our breakfast was just under a tenner, which wasn’t too bad. £2.55 for my bagel was a bargain, and I’d have probably been paying twice the price in a city centre cafe for the same breakfast. It is a shame Wetherspoons have decided to use Quorn instead of a more inclusive brand like Linda M but hopefully they’ll take this feedback on-board.

With dishes on the menu registered with The Vegan Society like Chickpea Curry and Five-bean Chilli it is good to see a chain like Wetherspoons offering options across the country. Some people might sniff at the very idea of venturing somewhere like this for a meal but I’m of the opinion that I’ll eat anywhere as long as they accommodate my diet. Based on my experience, it ain’t that bad.

Thanks for reading,