Review: Caffè Nero Vegan Options

On By ClareIn Chain Eating1 Comment

We’ve been down with matching viruses but when Saturday rolled around we were sick of being sick. Armed with a small amount of energy but lacking the brain power to cook we went fourth to find some of the new vegan options that Veganuary had promised. We went to Caffè Nero.

Caffè Nero has always been my favourite out of the three main coffee chains but that’s mostly because I preferred their hot chocolate as a teen. Certainly the Torquay branch isn’t a pleasant or relaxing experience. The second-hand stress of people waiting for the single toilet cubicle, trying to remember the code and then being underwhelmed by the facilities is enough to drive you mad. But what of the food?

neroballs

We had a pair of vegan meatball paninis. I’m not sure paninis are the best way to serve meatballs as it flattens them out and doesn’t really warm them all the way through. I’m also sceptical about the mayo. Does it really need mayo? Probably not. Overall though it’s a solid sandwich. The tomato sauce was a highlight, strong and flavourful. The meatballs herby and satisfying. It’s no Meatball Mania from Samphire but it’s also a third of the price.

nerocake

Because why not, we also tried the cheesecake. Salted Caramel and Chocolate Vegan Cheesecake. Its hard to nail down what we thought about it. Kate first tried all the individual layers and loved them only to be disappointed by them in combination. Something about it just doesn’t work. If you ask me it’s that the base is overwhelmingly salted and that swirl of caramel on top is aggressively sweet. It’s like they’ve nailed the hard part. They’ve made a creamy, decadent, vegan cheesecake but they failed when it came to the easy thing. They couldn’t make salted caramel and chocolate taste good together.

nerorc

Our last bite to eat was bought to go. Vegan Raspberry Croissant. And honestly I think these might be the surprise winner of Veganuary. The last vegan croissant I had was overpriced, came from Selfridges, and tasted of disappointment. Assuming disappointment tastes like a stale croissant. These were crisp, have just the right amount of raspberry jam, look adorable, and are available on Torquay high street. Surprise winner of Veganuary.

We can recommend a quick stop at Caffè Nero for a breakfast croissant or a lunchtime meatball panini. But not the cheesecake.

2019: The Coastal Vegans’ Review of The Year

On By ClareIn Review Of The YearLeave a comment

2019: It’s been a year of heartbreak, of disappointment, of stress-eating Vegan Food. Here’s the best and the worst of 2019. From our very biased perspectives.

Best Chain Eats of 2019

img_4895

Wagamama’s Vegatsu has become a bit of a tradition in our household. If Kate’s out for the day I go out to Exeter to meet her train and, as Rabbit is closed in the evenings, we pop into Wagamama’s for the Vegatsu. I would eat anything draped in a good Japanese curry sauce but the seitan cutlet is something special.

Worst Attempt, by a Large Company, of jumping the Bandwagon

pups

I love you Sainsbury’s, I do. I mean you’re the only place that stocks Daiya, so it’s more like Stockholm Syndrome than actual love, but there’s some vague affection there. Nevertheless your Christmas offerings sucked. The Shroompups were especially awful.

Absolute Worst Veganised Mac and Cheese 

img_8998

After spending a small fortune on it, the Truffle Mac and Cheese at Farmacy was quite possibly one of the worst things we’ve ever eaten, tasting overpoweringly of truffle to the exclusion of everything else.

Absolute Best Veganised Bubble Waffle 

1e6bec84-5fd3-47c0-9365-3014f2beefee

Noda’s has quickly become a legend in the Exeter vegan scene. The staff are so nice and the food… you just have to!

The Copper Spoon Award For Best Coffee Shop That Isn’t The Copper Spoon Because they won last year.

img_8992_original

We still love the Copper Spoon (Clare was there this morning) but we’d also like to give a little love to a peaceful little place where you can hide once you’ve overdosed on shopping in London: Chai by Mira.

Kate’s Favourite Snack of 2019

greggs

I cant believe we haven’t mentioned Greggs Vegan Sausages Rolls on the blog before but I think they’d already reached meme status by the time we’d tried one for the first time. Kate never grew up with Greggs like I did, but she’s taken to it like a duck to water.

2019 Christmas Vegan Supermarket Food, Part 3

On By ClareIn Christmas 2019Leave a comment

Our third and final Christmas supermarket wrap-up takes us to the freezer section of Tesco where we have some lovely snacks.

12 Chocolate & Hazelnut Mini Churros 

churros

Tesco had these last year and they had sparkle glitter on them and didn’t taste quite as good. This year it’s less glittery. They’re very, very delicious and almost everyone is going to want one of these if you put them out on a buffet.

12 Bubble And Squeak Bites

bubblebites

Little rounds of potato are always good in my book. These are delicious but I could do without the carrots in them. I’m a bubble and squeak bite purest apparently.

Sticky Chilli Cauliflower Bites 

IMG_9542

I’m not a great fan of pretending deep fried cauliflower is anything but a gross vegetable in batter but if you’re going to buy any of the supermarket’s versions of gross vegetable in batter buy this one. The sticky chilli coating is delicious.

And that it for us trying Christmas food. Until next December that is. Have a lovely couple of weeks, whatever you plan on eating.

2019 Christmas Vegan Supermarket Food, Part 2

On By ClareIn Christmas 2019Leave a comment

It’s taken a while to get to part two of the post because it turns out that there is a maximum amount of calories you can eat in one day and we pushed past it. So here we go: festive supermarket food part two.

Sainsbury’s Vegan Take A Bao Selection (£4 for 12 pieces)

takeabao

The one festive offering from Sainsbury’s that I’ve actually enjoyed eating.  The green water chestnut and chive was light and delicious. The mushroom char sui was my favourite, sweet and succulent. The orange bun is stuffed full of a striking and spicy massamam curry.

M&S Food Vegan Vegetable Snacking Selection (£5)

M&S2

On to Marks and Spencer then. Clockwise from the top is cauliflower popcorn with a lovely coating (still tastes like cauliflower in the middle however) then we have some greasy, falling apart onion rings and some perfectly fine sweet potato wedges. In the middle is a fairly mild buffalo sauce. There’s nothing bad about any of these snacks and I think it would be a real crowd pleaser but you could find better and cheaper wedges and onion rings in most freezer sections though.

M&S Food Vegan Chinese Snack Selection (£5 for 12 pieces)

m&s1

I think this might have been my favourite of all the snack selections. The sweet and sour parcels are a winner and there is enough flavour and crunch in the noodle wrapped snacks to keep everyone happy.

So three snack packs there that I wouldn’t object to being served. Which is high praise as far as Christmas food is concerned. Next up, hopefully on Friday, we’ll be sampling snacks from Tesco.