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    Vanilla Black

    4.2 (55 reviews)
    PriceyVegetarian
    Closed 6:00 pm - 10:00 PM

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    Recommended Reviews - Vanilla Black

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    Rich M.

    How much?: £30 for three courses or £24 for two courses Hidden away on a tiny cobbled street behind Holborn's bustle, Vanilla Black is a cultish vegetarian oasis more in the mould of laid back Michelin starred food emporia Arbutus than the often holier than thou High Veg of somewhere like Saf. There are no opinions shoved at you, and no ethos that you have to subscribe to, they just want to serve you good ingredients, cooked well, in a calm friendly atmosphere. That those ingredients happen to all be vegetables, seems a coincidence. This approach is unlike San Francisco's Ubuntu or New York's Dirt Candy, two other great, high end, vegetarian experiences this committed carnivore places in his top dining experiences of recent years. Both of them celebrate individual, specific veg in their dishes, with Ubuntu (where all of the food is grown within 20k of the kitchen) offering Cauliflower cooked four ways and a wonderful Carrot Gnocci and Dirt Candy (an all together grittier, East Village experience) presenting Corn, Mushroom and Pumpkin as the stars of their own dishes. I digress. One chatty server took pity on me while waiting for the Vole (once again...) The friendly staff are a contrast to their severe black uniforms but fit nicely in with the clean grey-green and white walls. When she finally arrived, we settled down in the quieter front section of the restaurant - the fact that someone called Dharma was enjoying their birthday revels in the rear section was the only hint of hippie that we saw all night - the rest of the clientele were smart, though not overly dressy and given it's location, there were more than a few suits floating through the celebratory groups. An amuse of 'fresh tomato with celery salt' was as nice a shot of Virgin Mary as I've had and a good palate cleanser. If I admit to not being overly impressed with a starter of Sweet & Sour Glazed Beetroot with Wasabi Cream it was only due to a severe food envy. This was suffered from my (single, solitary!) taste of The Vole's Puy Lentil Dhal braised in red wine and served with a potato puree, curry oil and a crunchy moorish spice mix - one of the best variants on a, quite frankly often plain, dish I've tasted. A perfectly subtle and lovely Ozzie gewurztraminer (from a little boutique producer in Clare Valley called Skillogalee if you're interested...) perfectly chimed with our mains. It was now The Vole's turn to suffer food envy. Her Asparagus and Chervil Pesto Crumpet with a leek tagliatelle was perfectly executed but my Ribblesdale cheese pudding was one of the tastiest dishes I've eaten this year. It arrived with a side of tart pineapple puree that seemed initially incongruous, but set off the creamy soft set cheese pudding perfectly. A dish of two halves, it came paired with a poached ducks egg sitting resplendent on a stout and expertly prepared smoked potato cake. The two worked together well. Too well for me to let the Vole have more than a morsel. If the deconstructed carrot cake I had to finish had a flaw, it was only in it's size. The elements all came together as expected, though the carrot 'halwa' was more of a puree. We were pretty much the last to leave at 10 and while the restaurant had been full during it's 8pm sitting, I definitely thought they could, and should, have been busier. Every now and then remember that it's not all about the steak or the burger and give Vanilla Black a go. You won't miss the meat (for a night anyway).

    Carrot cake with yoghurt and ginger (this is a starter!) very yummy.
    Emma M.

    A vegetarian restaurant? Really? The last time I was forced into such a place was in New York where I ended up eating "nut cheese", which is actually even slightly less delicious than it sounds. None of that nonsense here - I was blown away by the food. I had what was basically mashed potato to start with, but it had cheese, caramelized onions and garlic micro leaves in it and was bowl lickingly lovely. My friends had the carrot cake with yoghurt and ginger, which was probably the most interesting starter I have had in a long time! We also tried the Brie ice cream, that just didn't do it for me - too sharp for its texture. We all had the soufflé for the main course, which was actually loads of different things on a plate - including a poached egg. It was delicious and I didn't miss the meat at all. Would I go back? Hmmm, it was great to try, but it is expensive and quite frankly, I fancy a big juicy steak....

    Jules H.

    I've been to Vanilla Black a few years back with a friend and nothing much has changed. The food is great and the service is first class. We went for the two course option, which costs £28 and a glass of wine each as we like different grapes. I can remember my friends dishes better than mine ... I think it's a form of food envy. I really need to work on that. She had puréed jacked potatoes and I had gears cheese. Both dishes were delicious and rather heavy for a starter. We also got a little extra and fresh bread before that, so we already stuffed our faces at that point! The main for me had cauliflower and more cheese, which was rather fine as well. I know ... Most people will now think: "Cauliflower. Really?", but they made it work.

    Brie Ice Cream and Poached Blackberries
    Ally W.

    This is an outstanding vegetarian restaurant, proof that vegetarian food can be very creative, tasty and upscale. The location of the restaurant is odd and it took a little bit of effort to find it. The restaurant itself is quite understated and I wish there were just a little bit more character. However, what the restaurant lacks in charm, it more than makes up with delicious food. For starter, I had the Brie Ice Cream and Poached Blackberries. It was simply amazing! Needless to say the ice cream form brie brought a cool surprise and a different type of creamy texture than what you are used to when eating brie. I could eat this starter everyday! For main, I had the Roast Salsify, Jerusalem Artichokes and Iced Verbena. It was not only delicious, but satisfying. And for dessert, it was Milk Chocolate and Walnut Oil Pate with Avocado Ice Cream for me. I liked it overall, but I thought I'd love the avocado ice cream, but it didn't have as strong of a flavor as I had hoped for. The plating of each dish was beautiful and I really appreciate the effort. For such a wonderful 3-course meal, it was only 39.5 pounds, which was a bargain. They also have vegan options. Even if you are not a vegetarian, this restaurant is worthy of a visit, because the food is simply good.

    Gourmet Vegetarian Heaven... through that door
    Qype User (ljric…)

    Gasp!! Gourmet Vegetarian food that even carnivores are satisfied by? Tasty veggie delights that your tongue will treasure for weeks to come? Vanilla Black is out-of-the-way in Chancery Lane, but only 3 mins walk from the tube - a blessing if you're bored with fighting through Soho and fancy a change. This destinational eaterie is a heavenly escape from the usual bland veggie options that I've become resigned to. What an incredibly decadent way to spend a gastronomic evening. At £24 for 2 courses, and £30 for 3 (lunch costs less), we felt ultra-satisfied and full to bursting after eating as much from the menu as possible (in the spirit of reviewing, of course). This is what we chose: after an amuse bouche, we started with the deconstructed puy lentil dahl with potato puree and curry oil, and the Black Olive and Saffron Potato with Almond Muesli and tomato paste. Mains were Hickory-Smoked Duck Egg and Caerphilly Pudding, and Parsley and Mushroom Duxelle Mille Feuille - as for dessert, Carrot Cake with Orange Sorbet and sugared coriander and the Chocolate Parfait with passion fruit sorbet and crystallised pineapple was an incredible ending. Trust me, you won't notice the lack of flesh on the plate. Oh yes, these people definitely know what they're doing - Vanilla Black used to be based in York until very recently; I ate there a year ago and fantastised about Donna and Andy bringing their place to London since that meal who knew my dream would come true? This place has only been open for 3 weeks or so (time of writing May 2008) - I'd get in quick before people start plastering Michelin stars all over it.

    Hang Z.

    Tried three course lunch menu and love the coconut desert most. Will definitely come again.

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    I had the lunch 3 dish tasting menu. I was stunned. Excellent meal. The dessert in particular stood out

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

    Niche

    3.9(48 reviews)
    0.9 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)
    1.1 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.

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    Veg - Shrimps

    Shrimps

    Veg

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    Vanilla Black - vegetarian - Updated May 2026

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