The Bakehouse

1. 5 High St, Wivenhoe, Colchester CO7 9BJ

   01206 824569

Read trip advisor reviews here 

I recently had the pleasure of visiting "The Bakehouse" in Wivenhoe, as part of an early birthday celebration.

I'd learnt via twitter that the Bakehouse offer good vegan options, so I emailed ahead to see what the current vegan options would be.

The manager replied to inform that me they currently have the following dishes that are either vegan as standard, or are an adaption of a vegetarian dish on their menu:

Set Menu Starters:

-Soup of the Day (always vegan, current options are French Onion or Spicy Butternut Squash)

-Crispy Cubes of Basil Tofu with a Roasted Red Pepper Coulis and Vegan Pesto

Set Menu Main:

Aubergine "Meatballs" with Courgette Spaghetti

Set Menu Desserts:

Summer Berry Compote

Strawberries with Sorbet or Dairy-Free Ice-Cream

Vegan Chocolate Fudge Brownie

On the A La Carte menu:

-Starter of Wild Mushrooms in Garlic & Olive Oil Dressing in a Filo Basket

-Main of Roasted Cherry Tomato & Garlic Open Lasagne

-A special of Herby Polenta Stack with Provencal Vegetables.

Impressed with the options, I booked a table and visited with 3 vegan friends.

I opted for the basil tofu to start, followed by the aubergine meatballs, and brownie for dessert. (which I was very excited to see on the menu!)

Whilst we waited for our meal we were given complimentary French bread with olive oil.

Starters

The tofu starter was very good; well presented and full of complex flavours.
(One of my friends said it was the best starter they'd ever had!)
It was nice to see tofu on the menu, as it's something that usually seems to be reserved for eastern restaurants.

Crispy Cubes of Basil Tofu with a Roasted Red Pepper Coulis and Vegan Pesto

My friend ordered the mushroom filo basket to start, and remarked on how very full of mushrooms it was!

The Main 

I wasn't sure what to expect from the aubergine meatballs and courgette spaghetti; I half expected the courgette spaghetti to be cold, as I know it is often eaten that way by raw foodists.
Instead it was served hot, in a flavourful tomato sauce, with what I think was kale, and the tasty aubergine "meatballs".
I have quite big appetite, and was a little worried that the portion size didn't look overly generous, but it turned out to be the perfect serving size (to enjoy without feeling overfull afterwards!)

Aubergine "Meatballs" with Courgette Spaghetti

My friend ordered the polenta stack, pictured here:

Special of herby polenta stack with provencal vegetables

The Dessert

This was a big selling point when choosing where to have my birthday meal.  Too many restaurants have either no vegan dessert options, or a boring fruit salad.
To have a vegan brownie and dairy free ice cream available deserves some credit!

I'd mentioned in my email that I was visiting for my birthday, so it was a nice touch when the brownie was served complete with candle (and singing waitresses!)

Brownie, with Swedish Glace ice cream, and a jug of chocolate sauce!

Overall I was very impressed with the delicious 3 course meal provided by The Bakehouse, and would not hesitate to recommend them to friends.

About the owners 

The Bakehouse is run by Vicky Jamieson and her partner Alan, (who is also one of the Chefs)

Vicky eats a largely plant based diet herself, and it's clear that Vicky's influence has rubbed off on Alan's cooking.

I emailed after my meal to enquire more about the labelling on the menu, as none of the dishes were labelled as vegetarian or vegan, and I admitted to Vicky that had I not heard of their vegan options beforehand, I probably wouldn't have given them a second thought!

Vicky explained that since taking over The Bakehouse  2 years ago she has subtly been changing the menu, and they have reduced the meat options by half! This is obviously great news, and Vicky believes that the majority of their vegetarian dishes are now bought by omnivorous clientele.

It is funny (and a bit infuriating!) that if the lovely dish of polenta stack was labelled "Vegan polenta stack" there would be some people that would decide against buying it!

However I told Vicky that some discrete labelling is always useful when looking at a menu, or even a  little footnote advising "ask about our vegan options", to show they can provide a meal.

The Bakehouse team said they appreciated my feedback regarding the menu labelling, and they will look at how best to change it for the future.

Until then anyone who has an enquiry about their vegan options can contact The Bakehouse at info@bakehousetaste.com

Lunch By Lancasters

Lunch

Telephone:	01206 584 383
Email:	enquiries@lunch-colchester.co.uk
Address:	Lancaster's Delicatessen 11 Headgate Building Sir Isaacs Walk COLCHESTER CO1 1JJ
Business Hours	Monday-Friday 8-3 Saturday 8-4 Sunday closed

"Lunch" is a sandwich takeaway on Sir Issacs walk, that also serves salads, and has a small seating area.

Their vegan options are:

-Bulgar wheat salad

-Mexican bean salad 

-Curried chick pea salads

Viet Kitchen

1st Floor | 25 Head Street. Colchester, Colchester CO1 1NH, England

01206 616 563

Facebook page

Read Trip Advisor reviews here

  I was recommended Viet Kitchen by a vegan friend who said the staff are very knowledgable about vegan food, so I paid a visit with some friends. The staff were indeed very helpful. Our server knew exactly what was vegan on the menu, and made recommendations for dishes we might like.

A lot of the meals had the option of being made with tofu or mushrooms instead of meat, and all of the noodles were non-egg based (such as vermicelli).

We ordered a papaya salad and summer rolls, which were appetisers, a noodle dish and the tofu option from the main menu.

The food was well presented and delicious, and the venue was pleasant.  I would definitely return again, especially for a special occasion. Viet Kitchen is situated on the first floor of a building on Head Street. To find it take the stairs through the doorway next to Ladbrokes.

The Minories Garden Cafe

The Minories Garden Cafe

74 High St, Colchester, Essex CO1 1UE

01206 712437

Trip Advisor Reviews

The Minories Garden Cafe is situated at the end of the High Street/ top of East Hill, and is a stone's throw away from Colchester castle.  It is joined to the Minories Art Gallery, and boasts a pleasant outdoor seating area (complete with Victorian folly!)

The Chef has helpfully been veganising a lot of the vegetarian options.
Their current vegan options are:

• Vegetable curry served with pilau rice and lime pickle, or jacket potato. (request no naan)

• Five bean chilli with jacket potato and salad OR rice and salad. (If ordering with rice request no cheese, no sour cream. If ordering with jacket potato request no coleslaw)

• Jacket potato with baked beans and salad. (request no coleslaw)

• Roast vegetable and houmus sandwich served with Fairfield crips (Note: on the menu this is a sandwich, but the loaves of bread may contain whey powder, so request a baguette or roll instead. Also request no coleslaw)

• Chefs’ Sharing Platter – fresh vegetable crudités with pitta bread and houmous

• Homemade potato wedges, served with sweet chilli dip (request no mayonaisse)

• Chefs’ Homemade Soup of the Day - always veggie and often vegan (served with a roll – ask for no butter; vegan spread unavailable at time of post).

•  Drinks: a variety of herbal teas and pressed juices. Soya milk is available for tea or coffee.

Embassy Suit all-you-can eat Oriental Buffet

2 Balkerne Hill, Colchester, Essex,CO3 3AA

Tel:  01206 572266

Read reviews here.

I recently went to the Embassy Suit all-you-can eat Oriental Buffet for a family meal (on a Sunday lunch time).

I managed to make up a plate of stir fried vegetables, spring rolls, tofu in a chili sauce, plus boiled rice. (I had to ask for the plain rice because they only had egg fried rice on display on the buffet). 

For dessert I had a bowl of tinned peaches and pineapple! (not overly exciting, but better than nothing!)

The Embasy Suit is big, noisy and crowded, but the food was cheap, (£4.95 for the lunch time buffet) and quite tasty.

Not a place to go for an intimate meal, but a good place to go to fill up without spending much money!

The White Hart Stanway (Toby Carvery)

342 London Road, Stanway, Colchester, CO3 8LT

Tel: 01206 213411http://www.tobycarvery.co.uk/thewhitehartcolchester/carvery/
Read reviews on Trip Advisor

A carvery may not seem an obvious choice for a vegan meal, but I recently learnt via Facebook that they actually have two vegan options! (and they are labelled as such on the menu).

I went there recently to try it, and although I wasn't very fond of the place itself (or the service), the food was actually quite good! (and very good value).

I have heard that they may not always have both vegan options available (or in fact any!), so it is probably worth phoning ahead.
(When I visited I phoned ahead to see if they had the Shepherds pie.  They said they did. However when I arrived they said it had been sold! (they'd only had one!) Luckily they had the Wellington available instead, which was actually really delicious!)

When you order your meal you need to request that your veg is prepared separately without butter (as opposed to taking vegetables from the main "help-your-self" area). 
 I have it on good authority that the roast potatoes and veggie gravy are vegan friendly (although it may be worth double checking in case that ever changes).


These are the two vegan options:

Vegetable Shepherd’s Pie £6.29
Roasted root vegetables and lentils
topped with bubble & squeak potato cakes.

Nut Roast Wellington £6.59
Sweet potatoes, grated carrots and parsnips
spiced with paprika and sage, then mixed
with crushed walnuts, cashew nuts and butter
beans and wrapped in puff pastry jacket.


If the thought of being in a meat filled carvery freaks you out then this probably isn't the place for you! However if you ever need to go for a (cheap!) Sunday roast with non-vegan family or friends, this place could save the day!

This was my meal:

Nut roast wellington, with cauliflower, carrot, peas, leek, roast potatoes and gravy.

Prezzo

1 Culver St East

 Colchester 

CO1 1LD
 

 I emailed Prezzo to enquire whether their pizza dough and pizza sauce are vegan.

They replied to say they are not! Both apparently contain egg and milk, which seems quite unusual!

They did however confirm that their Penne Arrabbiatia is vegan if ordered without cheese.

If you would like to email Prezzo to let them know how disappointed you are that they use egg and milk in their dough and sauce then they have a contact  form here: http://www.prezzorestaurants.co.uk/contact

In the meantime why not visit Pizza Express , Strada or Zizzi!

As ever, all information on this site is intended as a guide. Menus and ingredients may change, so always mention that you are vegan at time of ordering.

If you spot any out of date information/broken links on this site, please email me to let me know!