For National Vegetarian Week, 18-24 May, the Edition team round up our top veggie dining spots in Cambridge
With seven vegetarian main courses on its extensive menu as standard, you could happily eat at the Backstreet Bistro every night of the week and not tire of the veggie options. Tucked away in a peaceful corner off Mill Road, the Backstreet Bistro has built up a reputation as a top quality dining spot. Whether it’s brunch, lunch or an all-out four-course dinner you’re after, there’s something on the menu for veggies and carnivores. Our dinner highlights have to include the signature nut roast, complete with roast spuds in winter, and the Pad Thai, a tasty concoction from the Bistro’s own Thai chef – plus they’re all £12.95. And don’t get us started on the desserts! www.back-street.co.uk
Situated on Newmarket Road, The Wrestlers offers authentic Thai cuisine in a relaxed and friendly pub setting with a great selection of British beers and ales available on tap. We’re that the Wrestlers was in fact the first pub in Cambridge to cook Thai food, a skill which has evidently been honed over the years as they now boast one of the best Thai green curries we’ve ever tasted.
Though not strictly a vegetarian diner, the menu offers a fuss-free approach to avoiding meat with all deliciously fragrant curries and stir-fries available as a vegetable-only option. From the family-run kitchen expect deliciously fresh ingredients expertly cooked into delights like the Pad Thai which is crammed with colourful vegetables, or the Spicy Tom Kha soup with coconut, lemongrass, galangal and lime juice. For a veggie so used to picking from the one or two Vs available on most menus, the Wrestlers is a real treat – with a staggering 21 choices all under a tenner, we could happily eat here again and again! www.thewrestlerscambridge.co.uk
We couldn’t make a best veggie restaurants round-up without including subterranean King’s Parade favourite, the Rainbow Café. Catering well for vegan and gluten free needs too, they’ve won multiple awards and for years have been the go-to place for all local herbivores who love good, fresh, honest food. The extensive, world-inspired menu includes Latvian potato bake, three bean chilli, enchilada, tagines and their West Indian favourite, the ‘Pepper Pot’, plus a range of salads. Don’t leave without trying their famous Nigel Slater-approved carrot cake (the best he’s ever tasted, apparently). www.rainbowcafe.co.uk
Summery dining spot Giraffe is offering 50{b486c5a37ab2d325d17e17d701cb2567b1ecd1814e8ceb33effa2a4f1f171d46} off all vegetarian main courses during National Vegetarian Week. Start your day with ‘The Western’ – a three egg omelette with roast vegetables, manchego cheese and avocado salsa. Or how about a Veggie Brunch Plate with free range eggs, veggie sausages, Heinz baked beans, mushrooms & avocado with toasted artisan sourdough? For lunch or dinner, meat-free mains include a Falafel Burger (or the No-bun Falafel Burger with roasted red pepper, hummus and salad); Tofu and Squash Laksa; Tunisian Roasted Veggie & Feta Salad; Green Veggie & Kale Enchiladas and Goat’s Cheese, Pesto and Grilled Veggie Focaccia Sandwich. www.giraffe.net
A newer addition to our list is The Pint Shop, on Peas Hill. Though its ‘Meat! Bread! Beer!’ slogan might suggest otherwise, this hip drinking spot is very veggie friendly, with a smattering of modern, imaginative options. Start with the pear, walnut and goat’s cheese then move onto the Roast salsify and cheese tart with pine nuts and shallot salad. www.pintshop.co.uk
Next time you’re at a food fair, summer fete or any other Cambridge shindig, look out for Fired Up Pizza’s mobile pizza ovens – usually obscured by a cluster of drooling customers anticipating their first taste of their fresh, authentic pizzas. Fired Up Pizza started out when local lad Mike went to Italy and fell in love with the pizzas, then failed to find anything that came close back home. After setting up his first wood-fired oven in his garden, word of his crispy, traditionally-made pizzas spread, and he now caters for weddings and other events. They use lots of delicious sun-drenched vegetables for their toppings. www.firedupizza.co.uk
A short drive into the countryside will take you to the King William IV in Heydon, where herbivores and carnivores can happily feast side by side. Inside this cosy and characterful gastro pub, veggies are spoilt for choice. The Vegetarian Verve menu is mouth-wateringly tasty enough to tempt even the most diehard of meat eaters. Its well-rounded offerings include creative reinterpretations of pub classics as well as a couple of more adventurous dishes, with not a nut roast in sight. The mozzarella and Mediterranean vegetable Wellington with a tomato and thyme sauce (£14.95) is genius but we might be tempted by the chickpea, aubergine and spinach dhansak (£12.95). There is also a great selection of real cask ales, wines and specialty coffees to wash it all down. Well worth a jaunt out of the city for. www.king-william-iv.co.uk
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