Latest Posts

#192 Vegan cheese platter and homemade croquettes at Récollets, Antwerp

Published by

restaurant review #192 – Récollets is a new vegan restaurant in Antwerp (est. September 2017). It is in the city center, just a 5 minute walk from the Cathedral. (Note: see update below)

front terrace of Récollets, Antwerp

Interior, Récollets, Antwerp

Récollets has a very nice variety on the menu, and lots of options to choose from. It was difficult to make a decision! The wines were also said to be vegan.

part of menu, Récollets, Antwerp

We choose the cheese platter (19€, came with bread on the side) and the cheeze croquettes (12€), with additional fries on the side (2€). The vegan cheeses are from Serotonina, a Polish company. The cheeses can also be bought at Récollets, but onfortunately we still had a show to go to that evening (Paul Simon’s farewell tour). And it was a very hot day, and we didn’t have any cooler in the car neither.

cheese croquettes, Récollets, Antwerp

cheese platter, Récollets, Antwerp

with fries and bread, Récollets, Antwerp

For dessert we shared a coupe brésilienne (7,50€). It was ages since I had eaten a coupe brésilienne at a restaurant (well, propably since going vegan)! The icecream is homemade by Récollets. Definitely one of the best we have ever eaten!

Coupe Breslienne, Récollets, Antwerp

The interior is very nice. Loved the toilets and the vintage photos to indicate the ladies and gents.
The restaurant itself is accessible, but there is no accessible toilet. Toilets were clean, and nicely decorated, with paper towels to dry one’s hands.

Récollets is in a quite busy street. There is a terrace in front of the restaurant (on street level), and traffic and trams are passing very close by.
Service was friendly and swift.

Toilets at Récollets, Antwerp. Why do I include a pic of the toilet? Read about it HERE

interior, Récollets, Antwerp

interior, Récollets, Antwerp

All in all: we loved our dinner at Récollets. Definitely recommended!

Récollets, location
Minderbroedersrui 7
2000 Antwerpen
0472/12.33.42

website: http://www.récollets.be

Note: Unfortunately CLOSED Summer 2019

See our lists of restaurants where vegans are welcome in the menu section of The Bruges vegan! List restaurants in Bruges and outside  Bruges.

Récollets, Antwerp

counter, Récollets, Antwerp

That evening in Antwerp:

Groenplaats, Antwerp

#191 Mango avocado salad at burgerbar Pistache, Valkenburg (NL)

Published by

restaurant review #191 – Valkenburg is a small town in the south of the Netherlands, near the Belgian border. We were here a couple of weeks ago, and also visited several restaurants in Maastricht at the time.
The city center of Valkenburg is very touristic. Valkenburg is well known among cycling fans, as it is the place where the Amstel Gold race finishes.
De ‘Grote Straat’ (the main street) is one restaurant next to the other, with all more or less the same – very traditional – menus (‘seafood, steak, lobsters, etc …). Very disappointing 🙁 Also spotted this sign in one of the tourist shops).

Lots of restaurants, all very traditional … , Valkenburg

Beforehand, we had found references of two other places in Valkenburg with vegan options (El Castillo, and Eten bij Ziza), but both are closed for lunch.
We suddenly saw a sign at the wall of a restaurant with ‘vegan wine’ written on it, so that was a pleasant surprise. We asked the waitress if they had any vegan options on the menu, and they have one: a salad with avocado and mango (14€).
Yeah!

sign on wall with vegan wine mentioned, Pistache, Valkenburg

vegan salad mentioned on menu, Pistache, Valkenburg

side dishes, Pistache, Valkenburg

The waitress was very accomodating, and made no problem to go check in the kitchen for ingredients. The fries and wedges are baked in plant based oil.

Vegan wine (4,50€) and fresh orange juice (4,50€), Pistache, Valkenburg

avocado mango salad, with balsamico, with flatbread and fries, Pistache, Valkenburg

with wedges (4,5€) and fries (3,5€) on the side, Pistache, Valkenburg

The avocado and mango salad was nice, although the mango was still partly frozen. There was no vegan sauce with the fries (because it was mayonaise), but she did offer us guacamole (but we declined). The salad came with flatbread.

Pistache is not accessible. Toilets are upstairs and there was a step to get in the restaurant. The toilets were clean, with tv screens in the mirrors!

Toilets upstairs, TV’s in mirrors, Pistache, Valkenburg. Why do I include a pic of the toilet? Read about it HERE

interior, Pistache, Valkenburg

interior (taken from stairs going to toilet), Pistache, Valkenburg

Our lunch was not culinary wow, but nice enough. Service was very friendly and we were comfortable sitting in the shade, on the front terrace.
We were very happy to have found Pistache, otherwise we would have eaten our vegan energy bars (we always carry some with us as back up ;-). Nice discovery.

Pistache, location 
Grotestraat Centrum 15,
6301 CV  Valkenburg
The Netherlands
+31 43 851 5111

website: https://pistachevalkenburg.nl/

See our lists of restaurants where vegans are welcome in the menu section of The Bruges vegan! List restaurants in Bruges and outside  Bruges.

logo, Pistache, Valkenburg

front terrace, Pistache, Valkenburg

Some pics from Valkenburg:

view on city center from the Fortress, Valkenburg

statues, entrance gate to the historical city, Valkenburg

canal, Valkenburg

 

#190 Pizza and crema Catalana at Vegetalia Born, Barcelona

Published by

restaurant review #190  – Vegetalia is a vegetarian restaurant in the city center of Barcelona, with several locations in the city (Gotico, Raval, Born).  We went to the one in Born, in the historic city center of Barcelona. Vegetalia Born is at the corner of a square at the Basilica de Santa Maria del Mar, and sitting at the window, we had a nice view on the square.
This review is from a visit a couple of months ago, during our short trip to Barcelona (More reviews of Barcelona HERE).

Front of Vegetalia Born, Barcelona

interior, Vegetalia Born, Barcelona

Front of Vegetalia Born, Barcelona

We arrived here a bit after lunch time. Vegatalia Born is a busy place, but there were some empty tables. There was a mixed public of young and old, and I think a lot of visitors were locals (not tourists).

Vegan options are indicated on the menu. There are also fresh juices available.

menu options, Vegetalia Born, Barcelona

Fresh juices, Vegetalia Born, Barcelona

We were served some egg plant (free appetizer). We had a glass of wine (3,50€) and juice (4,20€) and some olives (2,60€).

appetizers and drinks, Vegetalia Born, Barcelona

We ordered a vegan pizza (9,50€) and the catalan creme, to share (we had already eaten so much during or trip, that we didn’t fancy a ‘full’ menu this time).
We expected the pizza to be more traditional style, with plenty tomato sauce. There were big chuncks of vegetables, but hardly any tomato. It was topped with vegan cheese, but that was not melted enough.
The vegan catalan creme (3,90€) was very nice.

Pizza and Catalan Creme, Vegetalia Born, Barcelona

Pizza, Vegetalia Born, Barcelona

Capuccino soya 2,20€, Vegetalia Born, Barcelona

The interior at Vegetalia Born felt a bit old fashioned to us. Service was very friendly and swift.

Vegetalia Born is wheelcair accessible (there is an accessible toilet on the ground level). Clean, but a bit shabby though. There was an ingenious systeem as a washing bassin (bucket) 😉 Paper towels to dry one’s hands.

accessible toilet on ground floor, Vegetalia Born, Barcelona. Why do I include a pic of the toilet? Read about it HERE

looking out on Square, Vegetalia Born, Barcelona

It was a nice place to relax, and have a snack, in the busy historic center of Barcelona. The pizza doesn’t really rank among our favcourites, but there are enough other options on the menu to try!

Vegetalia Born, location
Pl/ Fossar de les Moreres
08003 Barcelona

Tel: +34 93 017 7256

website: https://www.restaurantvegetalia.com/

See our lists of restaurants where vegans are welcome in the menu section of The Bruges vegan! List restaurants in Bruges and outside  Bruges.

Interior, Vegetalia Born, Barcelona

street of Barcelona

La Sagrada Familia, Gaudi’s masterpiece, still in progress, Barcelona 2018

 

 

 

#189 Vegan dinner at Japanese resto Tanuki, Bruges

Published by

restaurant review #189 – Tanuki is a Japanese restaurant in de Oude Gentweg (at the east side of town, the old road to the city of Ghent, leading to the Gentpoort). This review is from a visit a couple of months ago, in the Spring of 2018.

entrance Tanuki, Bruges

interior Tanuki, Bruges

There does not appear to be anything vegan on the menu at Tanuki, but when I inquired by e-mail previously, Tanuki replied that a vegan menu is possible, if you ask it two days in advance. So I telephoned beforehand to make a reservation, and requested a vegan menu.

We were served a 4-course menu (85€).
The dishes included Japanese salsify, haricots and asparagus, a fresh sour seasalad, tempura, atsu age (fried tofu) with several varieties of mushrooms, and sorbet with fruit.

nuts and cookies with drinks, Tanuki, Bruges

small appetizer, 3 seperate small dishes, Japanese salsify, haricots and asparagus, Tanuki, Bruges

first course – fresh -sour sea salad, Tanuki, Bruges

second course, tempura, Tanuki, Bruges

Third Course, atsu age (fried tofu) with several varieties of mushrooms, Tanuki, Bruges

with rice on the side, Tanuki, Bruges

dessert, sorbet with fresh fruit Tanuki, Bruges

The food was nice, and the chef came to give some explanantion about the preparations (eg about the atsu age tofu, which was from Belgian company Maya). The dessert was a bit diappointing.
Although everything was very tasty and and nicely presented, we found 85€ to be on the expensive side. We’ve enjoyed more refined gastronomic experiences for that price or even less.
Service was very friendly. Comfort was good (some chairs with armrests, some without). There is one small stept to enter the restaurant. I did not notice any accessible labelled toilet (but apparently the mens’ was rather big, so maybe that is accessible). Toilet was clean and tidy, with individual towels to dry one’s hands.

toilets at Tanuki, Bruges – Why do I include a pic of the toilet? Read about it HERE

Do keep in mind that Tanuki is a non-vegan restaurant, which is confrontational. For example, Tanuki has an open kitchen (where you can see the food being prepared). We were asked upon entering whether we wanted to take place at the counter looking at the chefs – the kitchen, no thank you! There are also koi fish in a small pond in the courtyard at the back of the restaurant, which I found very troubling and sad.

Koi fish pond at the inner court yard at the back, Tanuki, Bruges 🙁

menu at door entrance, Tanuki, Bruges

All in all: we had a nice dinner, good food, relaxed, but a bit on the expensive side.

Tanuki, location
Oude Gentweg 1
8000 Brugge
050/34.75.12

website: http://www.tanuki.be/

See our lists of restaurants where vegans are welcome in the menu section of The Bruges vegan! List restaurants in Bruges and outside  Bruges.

eating with sticks, Tanuki, Bruges

Open kitchen, Tanuki, Bruges

interior, Tanuki, Bruges

 

Burg, Bruges

Belfry and Provincial House, Bruges

About criminal animals. E.P. Evans (1906) The Criminal Prosecution and Capital Punishment of Animals

Published by

I have been adding some books that have been inspirational to me to an album on my facebook account, and I will be adding them here as well. Some are books that I have read a long time ago, some are more recent works.
I also want to note that it’s not because a book is featured here, that I agree with everything that is written in it . Or that I find all books equally good!

This is an oldy (1906). Historian E.P Evans gives a detailled account of cases throughout history where animals who had ‘murdered’ or attacked humans, or animal ‘pests’ or infestations, were prosecuted (sometimes even with an appointed lawyer), and when found guilty, executed or excommunicated.

Inside the book. Left page shows etching with title ” Execution of a Sow’. Right page: Title + editor + author. + Etching with scene from medieval life, several houses + animals roaming between them. Pig at the feet of a baby in crib.

I used this book in my doctoral research and wrote a chapter about ‘criminal animals’ in my PhD (2002, Anthopocentrism and Speciesism in Contemporary Criminology).

Many people dismiss the prosecution and execution of animals as a bizarre and outdated practice from medieval times. But it is still practiced today, although not formally recognised as such.
Other animals are expected to live by our societal norms, and when they transgress them, are often executed.
Examples can for instance be found in the killing of dogs who have wounded people, of animals used for entertainment who have escaped their confinement and supposedly pose a danger for humans, of wild animals entering ‘our’ habitat and deemed a nuisance, of animal companions without the proper ID papers and deemed illegal (and unwanted).

E.P. Evans (1906) The Criminal Prosecution and Capital Punishment of Animals (edition 1998, The Lawbook Exchange).

From Amazon:
This pioneering work collects an amazing assemblage of court cases in which animals have been named as defendants–chickens, rats, field mice, bees, gnats, and (in 34 recorded instances) pigs, among others– providing insight into such modern issues as animal rights, capital punishment, and social and criminal theory. Evans suggests an intriguing distinction between trials of specific animals or particular crimes, such as the “murder” of an infant by a pig, and trials for larger, catastrophic events, such as plagues and infestations. In the latter
case, Evans suggests a parallel to witchcraft.

Edward Payson Evans 
[1831-1917], a historian, linguist and associate of Ralph Waldo Emerson, taught at the University of Michigan before moving to Germany, where he became a specialist in Oriental languages and German literature. A prolific author, his other Animal-related books are Animal Symbolism in Art and Literature and Animal Symbolism in Ecclesiastical Architecture, both published in 1887.

CONTENTS Introduction 1. Bugs and Beasts before the Law 2. Mediæval and Modern Penology Appendix Bibliography Index

#188 Lovely Indonesian dinner at Kapulága, Maastricht (NL)

Published by

restaurant review #188 Kapulága is an Indonesian restaurant in the city center of Maastricht, on the East side of the river Maas. We were here a couple of weeks ago for dinner, on a weekday. I had made a reservation for dinner, but that seemed not to be necessary, as we were the only guests.

Front of restaurant Kapulága, Maastricht

interior, Kapulága, Maastricht

There are plenty of Indonesian restaurants in The Netherlands (given the historical link with the country), but unfortunately they are a rarity in Belgium. So whenever we are in the Netherlands, we try to go to an Indonesian restaurant.

The menu at Kapulága lists many vegetarian options, of which most are vegan. When making the order, we asked specifically about the use of milk (no, they only use coconut milk) and the use of eggs and prawns (eg no kroepoek). The waitress was very friendly and seemed very knowledgeable. She offered us a menu, or a ricetable for two, with 8 different dishes. We opted for the rice table, with white and yellow rice (with coconut milk) on the side.

We were served some emping and cassave crackers with our drinks.

Kapulága, Maastricht

We did not have to wait long for dinner to be served:

rice table, several smaller dishes, Kapulága, Maastricht

with rice on the side, Kapulága, Maastricht

our dinner, Kapulága, Maastricht

a nice selection of different dishes, Kapulága, Maastricht

The food was very nice. Loved the variety! The dishes included tofu and tempeh, some dishes with peanut sauce, and several vegetables.
The ricetable for two was 53€, so 26,5€ per person.

The atmosphere was very quiet, as we were the only guests that evening. There was nice jazzy- blues music playing, not the traditional Indonesian musac that is mostly played at Indonesian restaurants.
Toilets are downstairs (steep stairs). Did not notice an accessible toilet. Toilets were clean and tidy.

interior, Kapulága, Maastricht

toilets at Kapulága, Maastricht

restaurant name sign inside, Kapulága, Maastricht

Overall: we had very nice dinner! Would love to visit Kapulága again if we ever get to Maastricht again!

Kapulága, location
Hoogbrugstraat 23a,
6221 CN Maastricht
043 – 7502588. Or during the day: 043 – 3261009

website: https://www.kapulaga.nl/

See our lists of restaurants where vegans are welcome in the menu section of The Bruges vegan! List restaurants in Bruges and outside  Bruges.

city center Maastricht

city center Maastricht

#187 Delicious dinner at vegetarian restaurant Rasoterra, Barcelona

Published by

restaurant review #187 – Rasoterra is a vegetarian restaurant in the old city center of Barcelona (More reviews of Barcelona HERE). It often pops up as one of the best places to go dining on vegan or vegetarian lists of Barcelona – or even the world! So we really wanted to visit Rasoterra.

interior, Rasoterra, Barcelona

front of restaurant, Rasoterra, Barcelona

I made a reservation when we passed by the day before, which was absolutely necessary, as many other patrons were turned away during the evening we were there.

We could choose between a menu, or choose our dishes seperately. The waiter informed us that the dishes are more tapas style, and suggested we order several smaller dishes, which were to share. A great idea! That way, one gets to taste more dishes than just a main course. There’s more variety.

part of menu, Rasoterra, Barcelona

This is what we had for dinner (this came down to 61€ for 6 courses, shared by two persons, or 30,5€ per person, which we found very reasonable!)

  • Free hummus appetizer
  • Croquettes with spinach (8€)
  • Trinxat potatoes (8€)
  • Autumn: sweet and purple potato and tempeh (12€)
  • Roasted Maitake mushroom (11€) delicious! (did keep me awake at night though!).
  • Curry of Jerusalem artichokes with silverbeets, romanesco and chickpeas (10€)
  • Dessert: ceviche of mango and pomegranate (6€) + chocolade truffels (6€) (only two vegan desserts)

All the dishes on the photos are shared by two:

free hummus appetizers, Rasoterra, Barcelona

croquettes with spinach, Rasoterra, Barcelona

Trinxat potatoes, Rasoterra, Barcelona

sweet and purple potato and tempeh, Rasoterra, Barcelona

Roasted Maitake mushroom, Rasoterra, Barcelona

Curry of Jerusalem artichokes with silverbeets, romanesco and chickpeas, Rasoterra, Barcelona

Dessert: ceviche of mango and pomegranate (6€) + chocolade truffels (6€), Rasoterra, Barcelona

Courses followed very quickly. Despite it being called slowfood, they actually came rather fast! This is something that we noticed in nearly all the restaurants that we frequented in Barcelona.

The waiter was very friendly (although his English was rather limited, he did say the word ‘spectacular’ in such a charming way, we now think of Rasoterra every time we hear the word 😉
Note: few of the wines on the wine list were vegan though.

The atmosphere at Rasoterra was nice, although when full, it did feel a bit crowded.
Rasoterra is not wheelchair accessible. There is one huge step to get in (it is in the old city center) and I did not see an accessible toilet. Toilets were at the back, rather small (and could use a bit of paint and renovation at the door post), but clean.

toilets at Rasoterra, Barcelona. Why do I include a pic of the toilet? Read about it HERE

at toilet door, Rasoterra, Barcelona

the counter, Rasoterra, Barcelona

All in all: we had a lovely dinner. Delicious! This certainly was one of our best experiences in Barcelona. If we ever get to Barcelona again, would definitely want to visit Rasoterra again to taste other dishes!

Rasoterra, location
Carrer Palau, 5
08002 Barcelona
+34 933186926

website: http://www.rasoterra.cat

See our lists of restaurants where vegans are welcome in the menu section of The Bruges vegan! List restaurants in Bruges and outside  Bruges.

logo on door Rasoterra, Barcelona

Slow Food, Rasoterra, Barcelona

Barcelona

Barcelona

#186 Fabulous gastronomic dinner at ‘t Vijfde Seizoen, Aalter

Published by

restaurant review #186 – A couple of weeks ago, we visited ‘t Vijfde Seizoen in Aalter. This literally translates as ‘the fifth season’. It is located between Bruges and Ghent and is a gastronomic restaurant. There is always a vegetarian menu standardly available, which can be veganised upon request (I don’t know whether one has to ask in advance, but I think that’s always advised, and we did anyway when making the reservation).

front of ‘t Vijfde Seizoen, Aalter

nice terrace at the back, ‘t Vijfde Seizoen, Aalter

The restaurant is quite spacious and has a nice terras at the back. There’s also a lounge area at the back, where we had our drinks and amuse gueules (ceviche of beet, with quinoa, falafel croquette, with weeds and hummus).

small appetizers, ‘t Vijfde Seizoen, Aalter

Cow statue in the garden at the back, ‘t Vijfde Seizoen, Aalter

We relocated to the dining and room, and the waitress came with butter and bread, but immediately realised the mistake herself, and then came with olive oil. The bread was vegan (checked with chef in kitchen).

Bread and olive oil, ‘t Vijfde Seizoen, Aalter

This is what we had for dinner (65€ for menu ‘Veldexpressie’ – 5 courses).

  • courgetini, ‘sea berry’ (don’t know is this is the correct translation from ‘zeebes’), puffed buckwheat, tomato consommé
  • asparagus, statice (lamsoor), crusty sourdough, almond pepper
  • broad beans, morels, ramson
  • flan of courgette with cucumber, cauliflower and mini cucumber
  • granité from blood orange, strawberry and pecans

courgetini, ‘sea berry’ (don’t know is this is the correct translation from ‘zeebes’), puffed buckwheat, tomato consommé, ‘t Vijfde Seizoen, Aalter

asparagus, statice (lamsoor), crusty sourdough, almond pepper, ‘t Vijfde Seizoen, Aalter

broad beans, morels, ramson, ‘t Vijfde Seizoen, Aalter

flan of courgette with cucumber, cauliflower and mini cucumber, ‘t Vijfde Seizoen, Aalter

granité from blood orange, strawberry and pecans, ‘t Vijfde Seizoen, Aalter

small dessert that followed, ‘t Vijfde Seizoen, Aalter

Everything was simply delicious! Lovely combinations, nice flavours, and nice presentation. Courses followed swiftly.

The atmosphere was very enjoyable, with friendly service and good music (eg Eddie Vedder, Bonnie Rait).
However, also keep in mind that this is non-vegan restaurant and – as is always the case in non-vegan restaurants – you cannot escape being confronted with non-vegan items. I think (going from the look) the table coats and chairs were leather.

Toilets were very clean and spacious. Individual towels to dry one’s hands.
Bonus: everything was wheelchair accessible, also with an accessible toilet.

Toilets at ‘t Vijfde Seizoen, Aalter, clean and spacious. Why do I include a pic of the toilet? Read about it HERE

interior, ‘t Vijfde Seizoen, Aalter

All in all: We really enjoyed our dinner at ‘t Vijfde Seizoen. Of all the gastronomic dining experiences we have had so far, this certainly ranks as one of the best. We definitely want to visit again!

‘t Vijfde Seizoen, location
Stationsstraat 9
9880 Aalter
09/351.74.60

website: http://www.tvijfdeseizoen.com/intro/

See our lists of restaurants where vegans are welcome in the menu section of The Bruges vegan! List restaurants in Bruges and outside  Bruges.

sign on front door, ‘t Vijfde Seizoen, Aalter

Nearly one third of youngsters find vegan labelled products more appealing

Published by

A recent US study by Morning Consult on consumer trends covered these three topics: 1) online versus in store shopping habits 2) purchasing considerations and 3) product labelling.
In this last section on product labelling, respondents were asked to indicate whether respective terms made food more or less appealing to them. The terms included free range, glutenfree, fresh, natural flavours and another dozen or so terms.

A vegan labelled product

Stats with respect to the term vegan:

  • Overall, 17% said the term vegan made the product more appealing to buy.
  • 35% said the term vegan made the product neither less nor more appealing.
  • Another 35% said it made the product less appealing.
  • And 12% said they didn’t know, or had no opinion.

So that means that over half of respondents (52%) find a vegan labelled product more appealing or neither less or more appealing (combined).

‘Fresh’ was found to be the most appealing term to label a product with, while ‘vegan’ was overall the least. 81% of respondents say that a food or beverage product would be more appealing to them if it has ‘fresh’ on the label. At the other end of the scale is the term ‘vegan’, with 17% who say that that makes a product more appealing. But that percentage raises to 29% among 18 to 21 year olds (so nearly a third of youngsters find a product with the label vegan on it, more appealing to buy).

The study was conducted among a US sample of 2201 adults.  Results from the full survey have a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points.

change

Some considerations that come to mind:

  • This is a US based study. A similar study in other countries could lead to different results. Results can also vary across region, or inhabitants of city versus countryside (among other things of course).
  • Despite being at the bottom of the chart (compared to terms like ‘fresh’, ‘farm fresh’, ‘sourced from American farmers’, ‘organic’, etc that all score higher than ‘vegan’), I find the results for the term ‘vegan’ quite promising. Using the term vegan on products is quite a new practice (compared to many of the other terms having been used for decades before), so in a relative short timeframe, the term ‘vegan’ has acquired its place. Even more promising is the high score among youngsters.  So it’s a pity that media coverage of this study predominantly highlights the bottom score of the term vegan, which could feed a self-fulfilling prophecy with respect to it being perceived as a more extreem and negative term.  
  • In that respect, it would be interesting to see where this leads to in a couple of years, to compare over a period of time and set the result on a timeline.

In sum: just say the word #vegan! The more it is used, the more it can and will become a positive ‘household name’. And the label ‘vegan’ can climb up those charts.

links

‘Vegan’ least appealing marketing term, says study, Plantbased news, May 27, 2018,  https://www.plantbasednews.org/post/vegan-least-appealing-marketing-term-study-says

#185 Voluminous lunch at vegan Black Cat Cafe, London

Published by

restaurant review #185 – Black Cat is a vegan cafe in Hackney, on the East side of London. It is a workers cooperative. We visited Black Cat Cafe a couple of weeks ago (end of March 2018).

front of Black Cat Cafe, Hackney, London

Interior, Black Cat Cafe, Hackney, London

Counter, Black Cat Cafe, Hackney, London

We arrived at bit before lunch time, and the breakfast menu was still available. We were told we would have to wait a little bit for the lunch menu, which was no problem. About 10 minutes later, the chalk board was erased, and the lunch menu was written on it.

We ordered the ‘beef style burger’ burger, with chunky chips salad (£8,50) and the lentil and sausage casserole, with mashed potatoes (£8,5). And lemonades to drink (no alcohol served).

drinks at Black Cat Cafe, Hackney, London. we also got free tap water

burger, salad and chips (£8,50), Black Cat Cafe, Hackney, London

Casserole with mashed potatoes (£8,50) Black Cat Cafe, Hackney, London

The food was good and both dishes were very large portions. We were too stuffed for desserts, although there were some nice looking cakes at the counter.

Black Cat cafe seemed mostly frequented by locals (not many tourists, like us). Some working on their laptops, but there were also ‘laptop free tables’ (indicated on the tables) for those wishing to have a more relaxed feel.
What we also noticed was a “fur free” sticker at entrance. A bit ambiguous feelings about this, why single out fur, when leather and wool entail just as much animal rights violations?

Unfortunately the restaurant is not accessible: there was one large step to get in, which made it a bit difficult with the wheelchair. Also no accessible toilet (forgot to take a photo of the toilet this time) A pity, since they were closed for renovations earlier. Why not make it accessible at the same time?

Sticket saying: we prefer that you not wear fur, with two images; one of an animal, with a heart next to it, one of a fur coat, with a line through it.

Fur sticker at entrance, Black Cat Cafe, Hackney, London

stickers on inside toilet door, Black Cat Cafe, Hackney, London

All in all, we had a nice lunch, especially for that price!

Black Cat Cafe, location
76A Clarence Rd,
Hackney, London E5 8HB
London

website: https://blackcatcafe.co.uk/

See our lists of restaurants where vegans are welcome in the menu section of The Bruges vegan! List restaurants in Bruges and outside  Bruges.

Black cat wall drawing in toilet, Black Cat Cafe, Hackney, London

 

Hackney Empire and London bus

vegetables at Farmers market Ridley Road, Hackney, London