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    The Gate

    3.8 (71 reviews)
    ModerateVegetarian
    Closed 12:00 pm - 9:30 PM

    The Gate Photos

    THE GATE ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Classy
    Moderate noise
    Good for kids
    Good for groups

    Recommended Reviews - The Gate

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    veggie mezze plate
    Caroline L.

    I'm not a vegetarian, but some of my friends are and I'm always a bit scared when they say "oh I know this great veggie restaurant". For me going out to a restaurant is too indulge yourself, so I'm not super excited at the though of eating tofu and salad. BUT - The Gate offers a really various, gourmet selection of veggie delicacies. Who knew you could do so many different dishes with only vegetables? The food was amazing, really tasty with some very interesting combination. My friend and I shared a mezze platter (stufffed mini pepper, spring rolls, fried aubergines and tortilla) and a cheese plate and we really enjoyed it. The place looks like your normal gastro-pub, really nice to meet up with some friends. The only thing I didn't really like was the quantity/price. It costs us £25 each for a tiny plate of mezze + carafe of house wine + a tiny cheese plate. A tiny bit overpriced for such small quantities. The mains looked like they had more on the plate, but we already spent quite a lot just for the starters so we passed our turn.

    3 desserts... Banoffee pie, white chocolate and bailey's cheesecake, and a orange marmalade and whiskey croissant bread pudding
    Shayan S.

    Went to The Gate last night with a couple of friends. I'm always sneakingly suspicious of vegetarian restaurants, as I almost invariably am disappointed or leave hungry (save a few exceptions, like 'Millenium' or 'Greens' in San Francisco). The Gate fortunately met neither of those expectations: we were delighted, and left very full indeed! The service here is irreproachable. We arrived on time for our 9pm booking, but our table wasn't ready; however, our server told us to go to the bar, and order any cocktail off the list on the house. Now that's what I call turning a potential customer problem into a stellar customer experience! The cocktails were ok, but then again, I'm pretty picky about my drinks... so by and large, pretty decent drink (gin, pepper, strawberries on crushed ice). We all decided to share our starters, mains and desserts, so that we could experience as much of the food on the menu as possible. For starters, we ordered the Courgette Flower, Pumpkin and Potato Cake, and the Green Banana Fritters. The courgette flower had a perfect crunch, and was nicely tucked into a dry, crispy, batter, and it came with a side of lentils that made the dish nicely balanced. Wasn't too impressed with the banana fritters, but the harissa they came with was spot on. The potato cake was the heavier starter, and the stilton came through, but not too strongly, again, showing how the kitchen here is right on top of their flavour profiles and balance. The mains demolished us! We ordered to share: The Aubergine Teriyaki, the Wild Mushroom Risotto Cake, and the Beetroot Canenelloni. The Aubergine was probably the most strongly flavoured dish, and comes chargrilled and layered with coriander pesto, roasted red peppers, shitake mushrooms and horseradish, and is coated with crispy breadcrumbs and served on stir-fried noodles with a pickled ginger and mango salsa. Pretty explosive in taste, and really good. The favourite dish for my 2 friends was the Cannelloni. I was a bit fearful, as I hate beetroot, and anything that uses that word is usually something I don't end up going near. It's essentially a home-made pasta filled with Jerusalem artichokes, hazelnuts, goat's cheese and basil pesto, served on an artichoke purée and finished with salsa verde. This dish was absolutely fantastic, and if it wasn't for the risotto cake, would have been my favourite. The star for me was the Wild Mushroom Risotto Cake. It's copiously served with with pan/fried girolles, pied de mouton, oyster and paris brown mushrooms, with a cepe reduction sauce and finished with rocket and Twineham grange shavings in truffle dressing... Whoa. Amaaaaazing!!!!! The risotto was perfecly cooked, the cake formation slightly crispy but still moist, and flavours where wild and explosive. Really, really good, and literally the dish that pushed me to give this place at least 4 stars. The 5th star comes associated with the level of service we received last night. The wait staff were attentive, kind, humourous, helpful, and went out of their way to help us. When they saw us constantly dividing our dishes amongst ourselves, they'd come with additional plates, spoons or whatever to help. When we asked if the kitchen could set up our three desserts to be shared and equally portioned, they happily obliged. Rarely have I seen this in a London restaurant. Talking about desserts: the Orange marmalade & whisky croissant bread & butter pudding is my favourite, but the White chocolate & baileys cheesecake is worth a detour. The Banoffee pie? Tastes like any old Banoffee pie, to be honest. Good, but could do with some more 'eeeee'. In any case, The Gate is truly a gateway to a truly pleasurable vegetarian culinary experience. Is it high end ? No. But is it good, with a warm atmosphere, no 'phru-phru-posh-BS' ? Absolutely. Go there, and see for yourself :) Oh, and you will leave pretty full and satisfied! PS: The house wine, although cheap (17£), has a bit of a bite; we decanted it into the empty water flask on our table... got a whole lot better ;-).

    Miso-glazed aubergine
    Avadhut P.

    Being a vegan, finding places like the Gate is quite exhilarating. I won't lie, I decided to come here for lunch with friends only because I looked at their desert menu and saw vegan eaton mess on it. Eaton-fucking-mess! That too vegan. I would've eaten through a bucket of raw kale to get to the eaton mess. But thankfully it did not come to that. For starters we had the miso-glazed aubergine, some herby polenta fries, and the bread basket. The aubergine was heavenly. Perfectly sweet and savory. I wish all aubergines were made like this. Or for that matter, all veggies. The polentat fries, predictably, were fantastice. I mean what's not to like. So, as would've been expected, I ended up ordering more of those. For the mains, we had the rotola, the laksa, and the artichoke carciofini. Everything was good, albeit a little one-dimensional. Except the laksa, which was the star of the show. Nicely seasoned with a bit of a punch and a big helping of veggies. And now, the moment, you've all been waiting for, how was the eaton mess? You know how you sometimes build up something in your head and it then never lives up to its expectations? This was NOT one of those times. The meringue was still crunchy and not too sweet. The strawberry coulis was tartfully brilliant. And whatever dairy substitue they used was a superb standin. At least, I could not tell the difference. Forget the best vegan, this was one of the best eaton mess' I've ever had. The place itself is big, spacious, and has a nice feel to it. I went here with my wife and kid along with a friend and not once did I feel like we've been relegated to some cramped corner. Also, the wait staff is wonderfully patient and helpful. Definitely coming here again, and this time, not just for the eaton mess.

    Wild Mushroom Risotto Cake, The Gate, Islington
    Sandra G.

    As one of my vegetarian friends was visiting me for the weekend, we went to The Gate, which is known for its international dishes and its inventiveness. What I wasn't prepared for though, was how beautiful the place actually is! High ceilings and well stock bar: always a winning combination! The starters were really rather good: the Mediterranean Peppers, filled with an artichoke & hazelnut paste, and served with tapenade and pesto, this dish was basically the sun on a plate. The peppers themselves were melty and artichoke paste had a very delicate, slightly sweet flavour, which worked really well against the stronger flavours of the accompaniments. The Three Onion Tart itself was absolutely flawless: thin, cheesey, flakey pastry covered with a smooth, creamy, leek-ey filling. I wasn't as much of a fan of the caramelized red onion sauce, which was slightly too sweet for my taste. For mains, the Wild Mushroom Risotto was fairly nice and well balanced, the Broccoli Flower Ravioli (which was really more of a gyoza-type thing) was a bit meh (but the accompanying wasabi & pumpkin puree was ace!). The winner dish though? *THAT* Aubergine Schnitzel! Silky-smooth grilled aubergines, layered with smoked cheddar, pesto, roasted red peppers and tomatoes. SO GOOD! All together, it wasn't bad but nowhere near as creative as I expected it to be, so I'm not sure I'll visit again. Or maybe just to try the desserts, as we didn't get a chance to do so this time! https://cakeandwhisky.wordpress.com/2015/04/05/the-gate-vegetarian-restaurant

    Vegetarian tortillas
    Veronica R.

    Light, bright, modern restaurant. The high ceiling makes it a bit noisy, but I like the airy atmosphere and the service was fairly good. Although I like vegetables I don't usually go for vegetarian restaurants. However this one has really tasty dishes that won't make you miss your proteins. Fresh ingredients and interesting combinations of flavours like in the sweet potatoes and beetroot tortillas, with guacamole, sour cream and watercress.

    Rosewater panna cotta
    Ana O.

    Food was delicious and lovely presented :) had the roasted pumpkin, dolcelatte and sage tart for starter. It was delicious. Then we had aubergine teriyaki and butternut rotolo - the butternut rotolo was divine! And then for dessert we had the rosewater panna cotta and fruit summmer trifle. All was delicious, including the red wine (can't remember which one we chose). Service was 4 stars. The waitresses came round after delivering the food checking to see how everything was, which was hice. Will definitely come back!

    Mezze
    Andrew M.

    Excellent vegetarian restaurant. I'm a meat eater, but I'm always on the look-out for places to take my vegetarian girlfriend. I've been to Mildred's before and enjoyed that too, but the presentation and care taken to prepare the food here was a step above, although this was also reflected in the price. We started with the mezze - a selection if small portions of the other starters, which was excellent. For mains, my aubergine schnitzel was good, and my partner's polenta salad was also very tasty. The wine was of good quality, if a little pricey (we had the Riesling) and it's great to see that they stock local beers from Five Points and Redchurch. Service was friendly too. We had a great time and I didn't miss the meat at all.

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    5 years ago

    Pretty good vegetarian restaurant. Quite a lot of good options.

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    7 years ago

    With several open tables and nearly 3 bar stools free, I was told that I'd have to wait an hour to be sat.

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    Niche - Gluten free, vegan olive oil and rosemary focaccia, £7.5. Get it!

    Niche

    3.9(48 reviews)
    0.0 miClerkenwell
    ££

    Initial Reaction: completely gluten-free. An amazing paradise if you are celiac (coeliac) or…read moregluten-free by choice. Anything on the menu, you can order. They also offer vegan and vegetarian options if you don't eat meat or dairy. The service was prompt between the drink and food orders with the server making sure we had what we needed during our stay. Recommended by our friend who met up with us for brunch, the Angel-based restaurant is lovely and easily walkable from the Angel Underground Station. The Angel Pate was a great starter and wicked tasty, also vegan friendly. The niche fried chicken was absolutely fabulous as was the truffle Mac and cheese. The marination and spiced coating were wicked delectable and the truffle Mac and cheese was to die for. We probably could have just ordered that and been fine. We also split the Glamorgan Potato Cake with a fried beer-battered (gluten free) onion ring was heavenly, made with plant-based cream cheese, leek, and spring onion. The sun-dried tomato and basil gnocchi was decent but the highlight was the potato cake. The Limoncello Spritz and the Aperol Spritz were very good cocktails during our time, with the latter being the mainstay. Definitely well recommended if you are gluten free, vegetarian, dairy free, and/or vegan.

    Too expensive for this level of food. Too noisy. I had a 26£ burger with bacon which barely had any…read moretatse. And the sticky toffee pudding was like sand, with no discernable taste.

    Photos
    Niche - From the front bar side into the main dining area.

    From the front bar side into the main dining area.

    Niche - Glamorgan potato cake. Google reviews were good but dish was a disappointment: the cake was flavourless, powdery,& overpriced. Skip it!

    Glamorgan potato cake. Google reviews were good but dish was a disappointment: the cake was flavourless, powdery,& overpriced. Skip it!

    Niche - Limoncello spritz.

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    Limoncello spritz.

    Veg - very greasy

    Veg

    2.5(8 reviews)
    0.2 miIslington, Angel
    £

    Man, how should I start…read more This is debatable the fact that it's a all you can eat vegetarian restaurant trying to promote no MSG, no animal product blah blah blah healthy-like shit. The oil they have on EVERY dish seems to start blocking my arteries the second I step out of the restaurant. I would always order a bowl of hot water and soak all my food into the water, to get rid of the oil, before I get the food near my mouth. They do have deliciously weird vegetarian food such as veggie duck, chicken, beef- basically, any vegetarian soy protein products you could name. I don't know how they cook their food, but even the prepared vegetables are soaked in oil. The sauces are soaked in oil, spring rolls are fried in lots of oil, simple vegetable dishes are all in oil oil oil! Its as if their cooking motto is "drench everything in oil". Oh, their soup is watery and tasteless. They also serve indian rolls, rice, and noodless- which many senseless people seem to like to load their stomach with. Fried seaweed is yummy. They do have fruits (finally something NOT in oil). Mostly green and red (ooo~ variety) apples, and pineapple, soaked in water. Unlimited refills are a plus if you could tolerate their grease level. I don't mind coming here once in a while for a guilty pleasure. And don't feel bad to ask them for some hot water and FILTER out their grease filled food before treating your arteries with another soon-to-set-on heart attack. PS. take out is not as worth it as eating in (their containers are HELLA small) PPS. cash only.

    A lot of my vegetarian friends are completely mad about Veg; I--on the other hand--abhor it. The…read moreshtick here is that vegetarians and can enjoy Thai / Chinese cuisine to it's fullest extent, but instead of feeling the pangs of guilt from eating an animal, they get odd, fleshy, life-like bean curd / soya replicas. This concept is fine, and I don't want to appear to be one of those meat eating philistines that says "you don't eat meat so you can't have the shapes" (when have you ever seen a pig shaped like a sausage?); but for me there's something very sickening about how true to life these clones are. I can't touch the stuff without thinking "what the hell have they put in here?". Even when I was a vegetarian I was put off by this concept. Aside from this the food ranges from a selection of crispy seaweeds, crispy soya-duck, sweet and sour beef, and it tastes okay: better than some, not as bad as others. The service is polite and efficient, but I've never really been a fan of all you can eat buffet's: the head chef should really take the pride and responsibility to set your menus; you always feel awkward and rushed; and greed is never a charming attribute. There is something quite sterile and clunky about the environment here, and I tend to avoid Veg at all costs. Veg is a barrel of rather questionable cheap thrills, but then if it's cheap thrills (around £10 a pop eat in, and I presume even cheaper to take out) you're after, then go for it.

    Photos
    Veg - Shrimps

    Shrimps

    Veg

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    The Gate - vegetarian - Updated May 2026

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