222 Veggie Vegan Restaurant, W14 9NU
- 020 7381 2322
- 222 North End Road, W14 9NU (streetmap) (osm) (gmap) (bingmap) (streetview)
- 222vegan.com
- noon-3:30pm, 5:30pm-10:30pm Mon-Sun
Vegan restaurant near the junction of Lillie Road and North End Road in Fulham/West Kensington. They serve an all-you-can-eat buffet at lunchtimes, and a la carte in the evenings. The chef is Ben Asamani, who's previously worked at Plant and Country Life.
Inside, the decor is simple, clean, and light. Half a dozen prints of shells and flowers hang on the white walls, and a mirror covers the entire back wall, making the small room look bigger than it really is. The floor is hardwood, and there's seating for about 35 people at varnished pale wood tables.
Kake visited on a Monday lunchtime in June 2009, to try out the all-you-can-eat buffet which is the only food on offer at lunchtimes. There were about 8-10 other customers in, some in groups, a couple alone. No staff member was in evidence (despite my poking my head into the kitchen and calling "hello!"), but another customer encouraged me to just grab a plate and help myself to the buffet. When the staff did eventually emerge, they were absolutely fine with this.
The buffet, which as of May 2009 costs £7.50 for AYCE, had five cold dishes and five hot — various salads, carrot "tart", vegan aubergine parmigiana, dhal, saute potatoes, wholewheat pasta, and brown rice.
I tried the carrot tart, aubergine parmigiana, mixed bean and avocado salad, carrot salad, and saute potatoes photo. It was all good, well-flavoured and fresh-tasting, and not stodgy at all. The carrot salad was enlivened with fresh coriander, and the mung beans and blackeye beans in the mixed bean salad were cooked just al dente but certainly not undercooked. The flavours were all distinct. The carrot tart (which didn't in fact include pastry) was rich and not dry at all. The aubergine parmigiana was beautifully light but still had depth of flavour (it reminded me rather of the version I used to enjoy at Plant when it was still open).
Soft drinks (including freshly-squeezed juices) and a small range of organic wine/lager are on offer, but I stuck to tapwater, which arrived with a smile but no ice (possibly because they're hippies and think ice is wasteful?). Service was very friendly.
Kake's verdict: I would happily come back, and I'm an omnivore. If I was vegan, I'd be over the moon at finding this place.
Accessibility: No step to get in, and it's step-free throughout.
See also:
- Croydon Vegetarians review
- Love London review
- Time Out review
- fatgayvegan reviews: Dec 2010, Mar 2011, May 2011
- Veggie Heaven comments
- Veggie Places comments