Hi everyone, we had a message on our Facebook page from a lady doing a dissertation on Vegans, looking for Vegans to interview. Is there anyone out there that can help? If so, please contact her by replying to the thread on Hampshire Vegetarians and Vegans Facebook Page and she will get back to you.
Thank you,
Kate xx
Monday 24 October 2011
Sunday 23 October 2011
Capers - Marmion Road, Southsea
I initially avoided Capers for quite a while after they opened as they took over what used to be a Vegetarian and Vegan cafe, The Greenhouse Kitchen, which was the only completely Vegetarian/Vegan cafe in Southsea. When the new owners took it over, they changed the name to Capers and re-introducted meat to the menu.
A few months later, I decided to give it a go and was surprised at the choice of Vegetarian options on their menu. Since they opened in January, I have eaten in there countless times, and it has always been a lovely meal, cooked by clearly very talented chefs.
On my last visit, which was Tuesday 18th October 2011 and I had the Sunblushed Tomato, Rocket and Brie Quiche. Capers quiches really are fantastic, very creamy and lots of flavour, it was absolutely delicious. The Quiche came with a lovely salad with sunblushed tomatos and peppers, new potato salad, gorgeous home made coleslaw and Caper's amazing croutons (which they sell bags of on their counter). The only disappointing thing about my meal at Capers on Tuesday, was that the new potato salad was a bit too vinegary, however, it isn't normally like that, I know because I have eaten their Quiches many many times haha and have even asked for the receipe for their new potato salad before.
I also had a Latte, which came with a small shortbread biscuit, which, again, was delicious.
They have many Vegetarian options on their menu, from breakfasts, to quiches, to sharing platters.
Since my visit to Capers on Tuesday, I have started making the transition from Vegetarian to Vegan, so I am not sure what Vegan options Capers have, or whether they serve Soya milk Lattes, thats something I will have to find out on my next visit, but I know from chatting to the staff before that they are very adaptable with their menu, and have been told that they can adapt dishes, so I'm hoping that on my next visit, I will be able to have a Vegan meal and drink. I will update with how that goes
Capers Menu:
My overall experience (out of 10):
Food: ********* (9)
Drink: ******* (8)
Atmosphere: ******* (7) (can get a little loud in there at times when very busy)
Friendliness of Staff: ******* (7)
Cleanliness: ******** (8)
Capers have their own Facebook page: Capers - Facebook
A few months later, I decided to give it a go and was surprised at the choice of Vegetarian options on their menu. Since they opened in January, I have eaten in there countless times, and it has always been a lovely meal, cooked by clearly very talented chefs.
On my last visit, which was Tuesday 18th October 2011 and I had the Sunblushed Tomato, Rocket and Brie Quiche. Capers quiches really are fantastic, very creamy and lots of flavour, it was absolutely delicious. The Quiche came with a lovely salad with sunblushed tomatos and peppers, new potato salad, gorgeous home made coleslaw and Caper's amazing croutons (which they sell bags of on their counter). The only disappointing thing about my meal at Capers on Tuesday, was that the new potato salad was a bit too vinegary, however, it isn't normally like that, I know because I have eaten their Quiches many many times haha and have even asked for the receipe for their new potato salad before.
I also had a Latte, which came with a small shortbread biscuit, which, again, was delicious.
They have many Vegetarian options on their menu, from breakfasts, to quiches, to sharing platters.
Since my visit to Capers on Tuesday, I have started making the transition from Vegetarian to Vegan, so I am not sure what Vegan options Capers have, or whether they serve Soya milk Lattes, thats something I will have to find out on my next visit, but I know from chatting to the staff before that they are very adaptable with their menu, and have been told that they can adapt dishes, so I'm hoping that on my next visit, I will be able to have a Vegan meal and drink. I will update with how that goes
Capers Menu:
My overall experience (out of 10):
Food: ********* (9)
Drink: ******* (8)
Atmosphere: ******* (7) (can get a little loud in there at times when very busy)
Friendliness of Staff: ******* (7)
Cleanliness: ******** (8)
Capers have their own Facebook page: Capers - Facebook
Thursday 13 October 2011
Sainsbury's Cafe - Farlington, Portsmouth
I've eaten in Sainsbury's Cafe quite a few times so thought I would pop in and do a review before I made a start on my shopping.
They used to have a puy lentil and goats cheese salad that was lovely, but that is no longer on the menu. They had a mediterranean vegetable lasagne and macaroni cheese, but with both over 1000 calories per dish (AAGGGHHHH!!) I thought better of it.
I decided on mushroom soup and a poppy seed bread roll and a large latte.
I sat down and started drinking my latte and having a chat with my Mum. 30 minutes later (and about 20 minutes after finishing my latte), my soup turned up! They actually have a sign in there to say 'We don't serve fast food, just great tasting food as fast as we can.' Fair enough, I expect to wait a bit longer for decent food, but 30 minutes for a soup?!?! Are you having a laugh? Thats a bit ridiculous if you ask me.
The soup itself was actually quite nice, it had a hint of garlic in it and was quite peppery and creamy. I reminded me of the New Covent Garden Wild Mushroom Soup (not that I buy those soups anymore, after finding meat in them!)
It wasn't until I started to get to the bottom of the bowl that I realised that there were small bits of sliced mushrooms in the soup. They tasted quite watery and tasteless unfortunately. The roll was nice and crusty (and I love poppy seeds) However it was warm on the outside and ice cold in the centre! The roll was also served with a portion of butter straight out of the fridge.
The latte wasn't great in all honesty. Served in a cappuccino cup, it got cold very quickly and although it wasn't the weakest latte I've had, it was a bit blah :-/ quite weak and the milk tasted like it was skimmed as it had no creaminess to it.
My Mum had a childs portion of pasta with a cheesy tomato sauce with broccoli. I didn't taste it, but she said it was ok. It looked like sick on a plate to me (sorry Sainsbury's, but look at it!)
Anyway, the food filled a hole, it wasnt awful, but it didn't impress and neither did the service particularly.
I do have to say that at least Sainsburys do seem to try to offer more vegetarian options than alot of other places. I'll never forget the time I asked at the Tesco's food counter cafe in Havant if they had vegetarian sausages as an option and I was looked at like I was a Martian!
My overall experience (out of 10):
Food: **** (4)
Drink: *** (3)
Atmosphere: ***** (5)
Friendliness of Staff: ***** (5)
Cleanliness: ****** (6)
They used to have a puy lentil and goats cheese salad that was lovely, but that is no longer on the menu. They had a mediterranean vegetable lasagne and macaroni cheese, but with both over 1000 calories per dish (AAGGGHHHH!!) I thought better of it.
I decided on mushroom soup and a poppy seed bread roll and a large latte.
I sat down and started drinking my latte and having a chat with my Mum. 30 minutes later (and about 20 minutes after finishing my latte), my soup turned up! They actually have a sign in there to say 'We don't serve fast food, just great tasting food as fast as we can.' Fair enough, I expect to wait a bit longer for decent food, but 30 minutes for a soup?!?! Are you having a laugh? Thats a bit ridiculous if you ask me.
The soup itself was actually quite nice, it had a hint of garlic in it and was quite peppery and creamy. I reminded me of the New Covent Garden Wild Mushroom Soup (not that I buy those soups anymore, after finding meat in them!)
It wasn't until I started to get to the bottom of the bowl that I realised that there were small bits of sliced mushrooms in the soup. They tasted quite watery and tasteless unfortunately. The roll was nice and crusty (and I love poppy seeds) However it was warm on the outside and ice cold in the centre! The roll was also served with a portion of butter straight out of the fridge.
The latte wasn't great in all honesty. Served in a cappuccino cup, it got cold very quickly and although it wasn't the weakest latte I've had, it was a bit blah :-/ quite weak and the milk tasted like it was skimmed as it had no creaminess to it.
My Mum had a childs portion of pasta with a cheesy tomato sauce with broccoli. I didn't taste it, but she said it was ok. It looked like sick on a plate to me (sorry Sainsbury's, but look at it!)
Anyway, the food filled a hole, it wasnt awful, but it didn't impress and neither did the service particularly.
I do have to say that at least Sainsburys do seem to try to offer more vegetarian options than alot of other places. I'll never forget the time I asked at the Tesco's food counter cafe in Havant if they had vegetarian sausages as an option and I was looked at like I was a Martian!
My overall experience (out of 10):
Food: **** (4)
Drink: *** (3)
Atmosphere: ***** (5)
Friendliness of Staff: ***** (5)
Cleanliness: ****** (6)
Friday 7 October 2011
Smile Cafe - Marmion Road, Southsea
I've been meaning to try Smile for quite a while (ooo that rhymes haha) as I saw that they do Vegan food in their window.
I managed to get a parking space outside today, so decided to go in and try one of their Vegetarian Breakfasts.
Being a big girl, I decided on the Big Vegetarian Breakfast:
The sausages were Linda McCartney sausages (my favourite!) which are also Vegan. As you can see from the picture, I had 2 of those, 2 Hash Browns, a fried egg, mushrooms, beans and toast. All of which were very nice and arrived piping hot.
Looking at their menu, I was very impressed to see that they did a Vegetarian option for practically every meal they do! There is also a note to say that they may be able to make some Vegetarian options Vegan and to please ask. There were a few Vegan listings in their own right on the menu, the Vegan Breakfast and a Jacket Potato with soya spread, rather than butter. The fact that they are offering this I think is fantastic! You're ok to eat out in Southsea if your Vegetarian, you'll always manage to get something everywhere you go, but as a Vegan, it would be hard work! So I appreciate Smile making an effort and thinking of Vegans as well as Vegetarians. I wish other places tried harder.
My breakfast came to £5.50 and this included a cup of Nescafe coffee. It was a very tasty breakfast, served with great customer service and a smile.
For my taste, the only way it could be improved would be better quality bread and the choice of wholemeal rather than just white, and butter rather than spread. I would have also liked the choice of scrambled egg, rather than fried. Tiny little niggles though and nothing that would put me off going back there again. I'm looking forward to trying their Vegetarian Lasagne and Cottage Pie at a later date. They also make homemade coleslaw (which I love, I can't stand shop bought stuff) so I will be going back and having a cheese and coleslaw jacket potato at some point too :-)
My overall experience (out of 10):
Food: ******** (8)
Drink: ****** (6)
Atmosphere: ******* (7)
Friendliness of Staff: ******** (8)
Cleanliness: ******** (8)
Smile don't seem to have a website, or I would have put it on here. If anyone knows differently, please let me know and I will add it x
I managed to get a parking space outside today, so decided to go in and try one of their Vegetarian Breakfasts.
Being a big girl, I decided on the Big Vegetarian Breakfast:
The sausages were Linda McCartney sausages (my favourite!) which are also Vegan. As you can see from the picture, I had 2 of those, 2 Hash Browns, a fried egg, mushrooms, beans and toast. All of which were very nice and arrived piping hot.
Looking at their menu, I was very impressed to see that they did a Vegetarian option for practically every meal they do! There is also a note to say that they may be able to make some Vegetarian options Vegan and to please ask. There were a few Vegan listings in their own right on the menu, the Vegan Breakfast and a Jacket Potato with soya spread, rather than butter. The fact that they are offering this I think is fantastic! You're ok to eat out in Southsea if your Vegetarian, you'll always manage to get something everywhere you go, but as a Vegan, it would be hard work! So I appreciate Smile making an effort and thinking of Vegans as well as Vegetarians. I wish other places tried harder.
My breakfast came to £5.50 and this included a cup of Nescafe coffee. It was a very tasty breakfast, served with great customer service and a smile.
For my taste, the only way it could be improved would be better quality bread and the choice of wholemeal rather than just white, and butter rather than spread. I would have also liked the choice of scrambled egg, rather than fried. Tiny little niggles though and nothing that would put me off going back there again. I'm looking forward to trying their Vegetarian Lasagne and Cottage Pie at a later date. They also make homemade coleslaw (which I love, I can't stand shop bought stuff) so I will be going back and having a cheese and coleslaw jacket potato at some point too :-)
My overall experience (out of 10):
Food: ******** (8)
Drink: ****** (6)
Atmosphere: ******* (7)
Friendliness of Staff: ******** (8)
Cleanliness: ******** (8)
Smile don't seem to have a website, or I would have put it on here. If anyone knows differently, please let me know and I will add it x
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