Come With Me to Covent Garden: The Wild Food Cafe 🌮🍔
Hey my vegan friends, I'm back sharing more delicious food recommendations in London. I seem to have eaten out a lot recently, and neglected my home cooking, I must rectify this soon and start creating recipes to post. But for now.. here is a great vegan restaurant I found in Covent Garden.
Covent Garden is a small area in central London, close to Leicester Square, which is a great alternative to the typical shopping districts as it is comprised of markets, independent retailers and thrift stores.
In the middle of Covent Garden, tucked away, is a small courtyard called Neal's Yard. A colourful and vibrant area, it is a hot spot for tourists wanting to experience the lesser known, unique areas of the city.
The area boasts quirky shops, restaurants and outdoor seating- perfect for a summers day in London.
The area has another claim to fame- in 1976 Michael Palin and Terry Gilliam bought offices here as studios and editing suites for the Monty Python films and their other projects.
These days, that site is occupied by the Wild Food Cafe, 'a plant-based eatery and wellbeing oasis'.
The restaurant is quite simple in decor, and has the vibe of a hippy canteen. It is made up of one big room, with an open plan kitchen so you can see the chefs preparing the organic vegan treats to order.
There are big windows along one side of the restaurant, which provide a lovely view of the below courtyard.
The menu offers an interesting and eclectic mix of dishes, as well vegan, organic beers, wines and ciders.
Between 2 of us we ordered 2 of the Wild Plates to share.
We went for:
Almond & Butternut Squash Tacos: Dehydrated BBQ courgette, carrot & cabbage sauerkraut, pink radish, avocado & cashew sour cream in a raw soft taco shell.
These were, well.. look at them! They were absolutely delicious. I was really curious to see what the cashew sour cream was like and it didn't disappoint. I definitely felt inspired after eating this as I'm sure it wouldn't be impossible to recreate- if I can figure out how to dehydrate courgette that is!
One massively disappointing part of this experience was how TINY this meal was. The way the menu is laid out really implied that this was a main course, but as you can see it would definitely not be enough to satisfy even one person. Sharing it was heartbreaking, I could've eaten 10 of these!
Look how tiny!
The Samurai Burger: Pink olives, dulse, shiitake, umeboshi, kimchi, chickpea tofu, teriyaki sauce, wasabi guacamole, grilled aubergine, in-house seeded butternut squash bread served with sweet potato cubes and sunflower seed mayo.
Well.. I've certainly never had a burger like this before! The flavours were really unusual, not surprising considering the head chef, Joel Gazdar's commitment to focusing on 'freshly foraged wild and artisanal ingredients, slow raw-food processes, and a commitment to organic, heirloom produce that has preserved its medicinal benefits, vitality and nutrients.'
The texture of this burger was really hearty, and though again, not the biggest portion, this dish was at least quite filling due to it's protein rich ingredients.
I really enjoyed my experience at Wild Food Cafe, it has a nice bohemian vibe, and I really admire their commitment to creating food which nourishes the body and soul. Not only a restaurant, they also provide courses in 'Plant Based Chef and Wellbeing Leadership' where they teach not only the skills required to become a vegan chef, but also the personal guidance to become a good leader in the role.
However much I enjoyed the experience however, I don't know if I would return to the Wild Food Cafe. The food, though delicious, is far too expensive considering the portions provided. Perhaps very wealthy vegans (or those with tiny appetites) would frequent this restaurant, but as someone who tries to live within a healthy budget, and someone who likes a lot of food, it just isn't economical.
Leaving the restaurant feeling and still feeling a bit peckish, we decided to pay that most heavenly of ice cream joints a visit- Yorica! Yes, I fear this may become a bit of an addiction but I just had to try their waffles.
I went for the option with salted caramel ice cream, caramel sauce and a scoop of that new favourite of mine- popcorn flavour.
And it was indeed heavenly!
I love waffles and was so happy to try vegan ones for the first time.
I just love this place, and love it all the more having chatted to one of the staff who told me that they only take card payments as they are 100% vegan- in the UK our £5 and £10 notes contain tallow (animal fat) so some vegan businesses refuse to accept them.
I also noticed this time that the containers and cutlery are all 100% compostable! This is what the future of ethical business looks like and it couldn't be more amazing 😀
wow, it's a very colourful place! and food looks good :)
It's so quirky and fun, love this area!😊 The food was awesome just wish it was a little less expensive
London is quite a food paradise, right? ☺️ The houses in this area look really lovely, such a great vibe!
It is getting to be that way! Especially in Central London. It's really such a pretty little area and has such a nice calm atmosphere compared to the surrounding area 😊
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Amazing article, @lolzwithlisa. I hope to read more from you. I just followed you. I am a big fan of raw food and I found most of the things I know through these 5 movies. Have you heard about them or watched them?
https://steemit.com/food/@cocktailguy/you-want-to-be-healty-follow-advice-on-how-to-shape-your-eating-habits-from-these-food-documentaries