For creative Vegetarian & Vegan food in London that is both beautiful and delicious, head over to The Gate in Marylebone.
I can’t tell you how long I have had vegetarian & vegan restaurant The Gate on my ‘to go’ list. Finally, we made it though, and oh my word I’m happy that we did.
Pre-visit I think I’d convinced myself that the ‘fine dining-esque’ vegetarian & vegan establishment may end up letting me down on either portion size or taste. It genuinely hurts my heart when food looks SO good but the taste doesn’t match up. Luckily, that couldn’t have been further from the truth for The Gate in Marylebone.
There are branches in Marylebone, Islington, Hammersmith and coming very soon to St Johns Wood too. ( Top tip: They will be offering 50% off all food during their opening week but only to those signed up to their monthly newsletter!!). So, you have plenty of choice for a location for vegetarian & vegan food in London.
The ambience/Deco at The Gate Marylebone:
Tucked down a street filled with various eateries, The Gate is very close to Hyde Park and nearby tube stations without being right next to a busy, loud road.
Upon entering, the restaurant was actually larger than I’d expected it to be. With comfortable green booth seating along the edges, This restaurant merges what you’d expect from fine dining with warmth and an inviting bistro feel. Plus, this might make me sound really odd, but I was really happy with the distance between the tables. Even though we were seated right next to another table, it didn’t feel like we were in each other’s spaces and that is a massive deal for me.
The Food On Offer at The Gate:
At The Gate, they boast a menu full of ‘inspiring vegetarian and vegan food for everyone to enjoy time and time again’, with a focus on fresh, seasonal creations that are filling and won’t leave you wanting.
With choices from a Root vegetable Rotolo to a Vegan burger or even a Thai curry. There is something for all taste buds. Even picky meat-eaters!
That’s not to mention the more-than-delicious sounding dessert options, including Bailey’s cheesecake options, Peanut butter brownie and their popular ‘ Chocolate Snowball’. A dish with a dark chocolate shell encasing a mousse and served with a chocolate sauce that you pour over the shell to melt it.
As well as the general a la carte menu and fixed price Lunch menu there is also a Sunday roast menu. There is also a Brunch menu with delicious offerings including vegan tofu shakshuka, Vegan pancakes and even a Vegan full English breakfast ( with shroom & bean sausage, aubergine become and scrambled tofu! Yumm!).
Note* Although The Gate offers a mix of vegetarian & vegan options, you definitely won’t struggle for Vegan options as the majority of the offerings seem to be Vegan. Plus, I’m so happy to see just how creative they’ve been with the menu. No ‘token veggie’ options shoved on here.
Also, as of April, they are hosting a special, monthly ‘Secret Vegan Supper Club’. This will include a 5-course vegan tasting menu with matching wines for £49.50. More Information HERE.
What we ordered at The Gate:
I hit a bit of a snag when it came time to order. The Gate had been advertising a 20% off Lunchtime offer and I’d contacted a couple of times previously to make sure this was still valid and had been told it was an ongoing deal. Because of this, I assumed it would still be running a week and a half later. However, it wasn’t. This slightly threw off what I was planning to order because of our budget.
In the end, I ordered the vegetarian Root Vegetable Rotolo for £16. A potato dauphinoise filled with carrot, swede and parsnip. This was served along with a creamy herb reduction, green beans and topped with parsnip crisps.
Rhys ordered the Vegan tortillas £14 ‘filled with sweet potato, corn, coriander, spring onion, & chilli, served with black bean & chipotle puree, guacamole & sour cream’.
We also ordered a side of Chunky herb polenta chips with garlic aioli for £4
Then for dessert, although stuffed by that point, we ended up ordering the Vegan peanut butter brownie with ice-cream to share because it sounded soooo good! for £6.50
Food For Thought:
Yum. Yum. Yummedy yum yum yum. If, for whatever reason, you ever feel the need or desire to buy me some flowers. Don’t! Just buy me a couple of portions of The Gates’ chunky polenta chips!
With a crisp, garlicky exterior and soft polenta interior, this dish was everything that I love. The mixture of textures was amazing and the garlic made these taste similar to a garlic bread- but 5000% times better. Even Rhys was absolutely blown away. He’s not usually someone who enjoys the texture of something like polenta ( he hates porridge, couscous or anything ‘mushy’).
As for my Root Vegetable Rotolo, I honestly have nothing negative to say. When I’d seen pictures of it online prior to eating there, I worried about portion size. There’s no need. The combination of creamy potato dauphinoise, filling root vegetables and the layer or creamy sauce below made this dish utterly filling. The green beans were a lovely addition as well – not only for a green veggie element but also in contrast to the decadence of the other elements of the dish. Not to mention that it looks so beautiful.
For R’s Vegan tortillas- the plating was beautiful once again, with the little towers of tortillas surrounded with the various veggie puree’s really attracting the eyes as well as the belly. Rhys felt a bit guilty when pushing the tortillas over, sneaking a glance over his shoulder to make sure there wasn’t a chef watching disapprovingly of him ruining the masterpiece. Certainly got a chuckle out of me.
R was REALLY impressed ( and believe me, that can be quite the feat in an all veggie/vegan establishment). He agreed that the presentation was lovely, portion size amazing and that there was just enough of each element to compliment one another. He even enjoyed mixing the guacamole in with the various bite-fulls he had and he hates avocado… When I tried a couple of bites I 100% agreed.
Even though we were already rubbing our bellies ( metaphorically speaking, at least), we couldn’t help but order a dessert.
If you haven’t heard me say it before. I love dense, gooey brownies and the centre of this Vegan peanut butter one was certainly that. served along-side icecream and chocolate sauce the brownie just melted in your mouth. Somehow about two minutes after the dish arrived at the table, it was all gone. Which is quite a feat when you’re already full. If I’m being 100% honest though, the main courses were definitely our favourites.
Basically, Management at The Gate – If you’re ever in need of any recipe testing for new menu items… I’m here * waves hands frantically*. I would follow that up with a witty ‘just kidding’ except… I’m not. I’ll even bring along my partner Rhys for the meat-eaters opinion ;P
Final Thoughts:
- If you’re searching for thoughtful, creative and beautiful vegetarian & vegan food in London then The Gate is an absolute must visit. It’s not very often that I have so many amazing options that I struggle to choose.
- With the menu offering more than 50% vegan fare, there is something for everyone here! And I wouldn’t worry about whether or not you are actually vegetarian or plant-based. There really is something to please all tastebuds.
- The ‘Mains’ prices are a bit above my usual student budget. However, the fixed price lunch options are definitely budget friendly at £15 for two courses or £18 for three! Plus, Rhys and I both agree that the dishes more than deserve the price they are going for. The only downside is that we can’t afford to make this a regular of ours. But we’re certainly planning on returning when able. I need to try that mushroom wellington asap!
- This restaurant is really what my food philosophy is all about. They manage to elevate great ‘vegetarian & vegan’ food into being able to be simply considered ‘great food’. Labels unnecessary!
Rhys’s Final thoughts: Considering recent meals we’ve had for similar prices that were nowhere near as good ( won’t name names). This was delicious! portion size. tick. presentation. tick. Taste. double tick. I may not be vegetarian but I would happily return again and again.
Cost: £48.38 for one drink ( I had tap water), two mains, one side and a dessert to share.
( Likely to be around £30-35 p/person for a main, side, dessert and drink. Otherwise, around £20-25 from the Fixed price menu)
To visit The Gate in Marylebone:
Instagram || Website
22-24 Seymour Place, London, W1H 7NL
Till next time,
