Picture of Gate, EC1V 4NN

Historical version 9 of Gate, EC1V 4NN (view current version)

Vegetarian restaurant in Islington, near Sadler's Wells theatre. There's another branch (the original) in Hammersmith. The menu changes seasonally and offers several completely vegan and gluten-free dishes, with others available as a vegan/gluten-free option.

The restaurant feels large and airy, with a high ceiling and large windows along the front of the restaurant. There's a semi-open kitchen (i.e. you could see the chefs from our table, but not what they were doing!) along the back wall. The tables are quite crammed in though and it can get a little noisy at times.

Kat and Bec visited on a Tuesday evening in June 2014 (we'd booked online). Our starters of courgette flower (£8.50) and halloumi kibi (£6.50) were brought fairly promptly after we'd ordered (though service did get less attentive as the restaurant got busier later on). Kat enjoyed her halloumi skewer but thought the accompanying salsa was lacking a little zing. This was rectified for her main course of teryaki aubergine (£14), which came with some very powerful horseradish and pickled ginger (indeed, she couldn't taste much else after that). Bec enjoyed her confit artichoke salad (£12.50).

Our server recommended the blueberry brioche (£5.50) for dessert, and it was excellent — great texture and flavour. The bitter chocolate tart (£5.50) was fine, but in Kat's opinion the pastry was a bit too thick at the edge (she regretted not choosing the brioche as well).

Kat's verdict: I'd happily suggest it to both vegetarians and omnivores.

Bec's verdict: Everything was bursting with flavour and beautifully plated. The artichoke salad didn't really feel as robust as a main should, but as I also had a starter and pudding, it was fine. I'd definitely go back again.

See also:

Last visited by Kat and Bec, June 2014.
OS X co-ord: 531526 OS Y co-ord: 182952 (Latitude: 51.529658 Longitude: -0.103670)
This is version 9 (as of 2015-02-24 12:08:32). View current version. List all versions.