VBites in Brighton

(We went to Brighton in August, and I have failed to post about this place until now, oops! It definitely deserves a mention…)

The last stop on out trip to Brighton was VBites. It’s a little way out of town so we decided to drive there before we went home.

VBites is famous vegan Heather Mills‘ cafe. I didn’t know what to expect because from reviews I had read and what I’d seen on the website, the food seemed to rely heavily on redwoods products, rather than exciting fresh ingredients. But it’s a completely vegan place, so I definitely wanted to try it. And I’m really glad we did, because it was pretty good!

It is right by the sea, and also surrounded by a host of other exciting things, which I’m sure would be really fun when the sun is out (it was raining when we were there!). There was a small swimming pool, skate park, tiny golf course, and lake area with watersports such as wakeboarding – click here for info.

this photo is a bit crap. it was much nicer and brighter than this!

I had:

"Sweet chilli chicky style wrap"

The wrap was really great – the “chicky” (I wish they wouldn’t call it that, it sounds ridiculous) was really nicely flavoured. The salad was great too, which I wasn’t expecting.

J had:

"Beefy style cheese burger"

He was very happy with it.

And we shared:

Garlic bread

And:

cheezy chips

These side orders were ace – and the cheeze on the chips was super melty!

(I know it’s a lot of food. But we had a tiny breakfast to prepare for this, and then got stuck in a whole lot of Bank Holiday craptastic traffic on the way home so it’s a good job stocked up on food as it took forever to get back!)

And then! Dessert!

Swedish Glace - raspberry and vanilla

While we were there I was thinking about the location. Vbites is a few miles away from Brighton (2.7 miles from the pier according to google maps), which means that people looking for vegan food have to make a special trip there. It makes me think it’s a shame it’s so far away because maybe some vegans might miss out on going to one of the only vegan places around. But then on the other hand, it is so close to the beach (and there aren’t other cafes around) that hopefully it gets lots of non-vegans eating there, because it is so convenient and does nice food. So it is targeting people who might not necessarily choose to eat vegan food, which is great.

And I liked the bit they put on their menus about veganism:

I reckon we’ll go there again!

Address:

Hove Lagoon,

Kingsway,

BN3 4LX

Tel: 01273 933757

Opening hours:

Weekdays 10am – 6pm

Weekends 10am – late (weather permitting )

Click here to read reviews of VBites on Happycow.net

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Infinity Foods Shop

As I mentioned before, Infinity Foods in Brighton have both a cafe and a food shop – both vegetarian. I thoroughly enjoyed my food at the cafe, and the following day I went to the shop.

It’s pretty sizable and has toiletries, general groceries, fresh fruit and veg, and an in-store bakery.

Since this shop is vegetarian, it had a vast range of vegan items but still involved studying quite a few ingredients lists. I’m not going to lie – I was occasionally a little disappointed to find items were vegetarian rather than vegan (things like biscuits with egg in, or cereal containing honey), but overall it was great. I’m not about to complain about this place, it’s wonderful that it exists! I guess I have been a little spoilt by Unicorn in Manchester (which is 100% vegan).

I especially liked the chilled section – there was a huge choice of vegan yogurts, “cheese” , fresh pasta, and things like tempeh and tofu.

Here’s some of the stuff I came away with – moo free chocolate, almond milk desserts, sweet freedom sweetener (as recommended by peasoupeats), amaranth, gluten free pastas, tempeh rashers, coconut oil, and olive spread. I also got a massive vegan scone from the bakery section (it was full of raisins, really nice), some fresh pastas and a gigantic bag of kale.

I’m definitely going back to this place next time we’re in Brighton!

Phone: 01273 603563

25 North Road
Brighton
East Sussex
BN1 1YA

Opening hours:

Monday to Saturday 9.30am – 6pm
Sunday 11am – 5pm

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Food for Friends in Brighton

When we were in Brighton, the meal we were both most looking forward to was Food for Friends.

The restaurant is in a really central location, surrounded by shops and only a short walk from the pier and seafront.

Part of the restaurant

The photo above looks very grey. I guess the decor was quite grey, but lovely – it had a really cosy and friendly feel.

That cocktail is a raspberry amaretto sour - one of the best cocktails I've ever had!

The starter menu had 6 items on it, 3 of which were vegan.

I had the Thai Platter, which was  thai sweetcorn fritters drizzled with coconut satay sauce, fresh papaya, mango and chilli salad and Tom Kha soup:

 

I think we’d had a variation of this last time we went there, and I remembered being completely in love with the soup, so thought I’d have it again. And it was great. Wonderful soup (and I don’t even really like soup), delicious fresh salad and really nice fritters.

On the main menu, there were 7 options. 1 of these was vegan and 2 had a vegan option available. It seemed a shame that they rely so heavily on cheese for lots of their main courses – there was a halloumi dish which sounded lovely (apart from the cheese, obviously!), and I wonder why they didn’t offer a vegan option there? Replace the cheese with smoked tofu or something?

I wanted quite a light main course as I planned on having dessert (obviously). So I had the Spiced cashew, Smoked Tofu, Pear and Grapes salad (£10.95). The salad menu had 3 dishes, 1 of which was vegan, the other 2 had vegan options available.

Smoked tofu, crumbled spiced cashews, fresh pear and seedless grapes, herb salad dressed with a pomegranate vinaigrette

The salad was nice. Not amazing, but nice. I can’t really fault it because it was exactly what it said it would be on the menu, but after eating the best salad of my life at 1847 a few weeks ago, I guess have been spoiled!  I was impressed with the amount of fresh herbs (basil, mint, coriander) that I found in the greenery, but unfortunately the spiced cashews got a bit lost because the bits were so small, but they added a nice bit of flavour here and there.

And now on to dessert!

On the dessert menu, there were 8 items – 3 of these were vegan and 2 had vegan options.

I had the English strawberry, vanilla and Amaretti crumble tart with basil and black pepper ice cream (£5.95):

The ice cream this came with was lovely. I guess putting basil with desserts is all the rage at the minute hey? The crumble tart was nice – lovely strawberry flavour (although I didn’t taste any amaretti, which was a shame). It was served cold but I think they should offer the option of having it warm because I think it would be even better. But I really enjoyed it nonetheless!

Oh, and with my dessert I had another cocktail. This one was amaretto, kahlua and soya milk/cream served in a martini glass topped with cocoa. AWESOME. Seriously wonderful.

I realise some of my comments may seem a bit negative but I fully enjoyed my meal at Food For Friends! Overall it was great (starter, cocktails and dessert were the highlights), and I would certainly recommend it to anyone going to Brighton, regardless of their food beliefs!

17-18 Prince Albert Street

The Lanes, Brighton BN1 1HF

Tel: 01273 202310

Website

Read Happy Cow reviews here

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Infinity Foods Cafe in Brighton

Our second lunch in Brighton was at Infinity Foods Cafe:

Infinity Foods has a shop just down the road from this cafe, which is a vegetarian co-op. The cafe’s menu is full of great sounding fresh foods, with lots of vegan options. Click here to see the menu on the website.

ze menu

Since we’d had a big breakfast and knew we were going out in the evening (Food for Friends!), we shared a sandwich and a slice of cake.

Vegan sausage sandwich with mustard mayo, caramelised onions and salad

coffee and walnut cake

The food was absolutely lovely. Fresh, interesting and healthy – and the sandwich was one of the best I’ve ever had! And J doesn’t even like coffee cake but said that one could convert him (which is good news for me, that now means I can make a coffee cake at home!).

50 Gardner Street,

North Laine,

Brighton

Tel: 01273 670 743

Website – click here

Opening hours:

Monday-Friday: 10:30am-5:00pm
Saturday: 10:00am-5:00pm
Sunday: 11:00pm-4:00pm
Bank Holidays: 11am – 4:00pm

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Terre a Terre in Brighton

Our first evening in Brighton was spent in Terre a Terre.

Terre a Terre has a lovely atmosphere and a big menu to choose from. On the menu, all of the starters/light bites, 10 of the 13 top ups and sides, and 4 of the 6 main courses were either vegan or had a vegan option available. Click here to see the menu on the website.

I had the Cracking Coca (price £14.45), which was “Heirloom tomato salad à la grecque with cucumber and kalamata
marbles loaded with lemon, fresh oregano, mint and flat leaf parsely.Served with a warm springy slab of potato bread crammed with thyme oil and soft onions, piled with peppery rocket pesto. Topped with our lush labne covered in mint oil, and sticky dark kalamata tapenade”

The dessert menu had 10 items on it, 5 of which were vegan or had a vegan option available. I chose the Jammy Dodger, Jelly and Ice Cream (£8.00) , which was “fresh raspberry jammy dodger served with strawberry ice cream and basil syrup, raspberry jelly and almond milk vanilla custard.”

This dessert was SPECIAL. Definitely one of the best desserts I have ever had. The basil syrup was amazing, and the collection of different flavours and textures on the plate was great.

So for me, the highlight of the meal was my dessert, although my main course was really interesting a different (and tasty!) too. The one drawback of Terre a Terre is that the prices are a little on the high side so it can end up being a pricey meal if you have a few courses, but it’s good for the occasional treat!

71 East Street
Brighton
East Sussex
BN1 1HQ

Telephone 01273 729051

Website

Happy cow reviews – click here

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Wai Kika Moo Kau in Brighton

I just got back from a few days in Brighton! That place is pretty magic. The pier, 2p machines, awesome shops, nice pubs and bars, and of course, wonderful vegan food.

First stop: Wai Kika Moo Kau

Wai Kika Moo Kau is a vegetarian cafe/restaurant in the North Laines, and it’s in a wonderful busy street surrounded by great shops. There is a nice atmosphere inside, lovely wooden tables and interesting art on the walls (lots of which was for sale). While we were in there (probably for a bit over an hour), the music they played included incubus, red hot chilli peppers, and some wonderful hippy-flutey-lady-singing-panpipe type stuff. Nice mix!

I can’t find a website for this place so thought I would put the main menu on here (click to enlarge):

The dessert section of the menu says to ask about the vegan cake of the day. When we were there they had a carrot and orange cake, and some chocolate brownie bar type things. Both looked really nice.

Here’s the breakdown of vegan options on the menu:

Pitta pockets and wraps: 5 items, 4 vegan options

Burgers: 5 items, 4 vegan otpions

House specials and salads: 6 items, 5 vegan options

All in all, pretty good selection!

BUT while I am talking about the menu, I have one bad point. And quite honestly, I think it’s a pretty big deal. Check it out:

They charge extra for soya milk! 20p extra with hot drinks and 50p extra with milkshakes (maybe the milkshake uses vegan ice cream, but the point is the same). What the hell? If soya milk costs so much more than cow’s milk and you feel the need to serve cow’s milk, why not just increase the price of both on your menu? Or get a cheaper supplier. Don’t make vegans pay more for opting out of suffering.

I had the cajun sausage salad:

It was pretty good! Lots of avocado and sundried tomatoes, and the dressing was nice too. It came with wholemeal baguette bread (it didn't come with margarine but I asked for vegan spread and got it no problem).

I also had a mango and passionfruit smoothie – it was really good:

So all in all, I really enjoyed our meal there. The soya milk thing is super annoying though.

Address:

11a Kensington Gardens

Brighton

BN1 4AL

Read reviews on HappyCow here

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