Vegan food in Exeter
I’ve never been to Exeter. I don’t think. I would remember if I had been to Exeter in my life, right?
I’m pretty certain I have never been to Exter in Devon but if I wanted to go, I now know of two pubs that each have a vegan menu for me to work my way through.
The Farmers Union and The Twisted Oak are two pubs owned by the same people and fortunately for the vegans and vegan-curious of the region, these people have decided to add an entire selection of vegan meals to their menus.
Check it out!
I have trimmed the menu down just to show the vegan items above. The full list of food does contain a lot of meat, so I didn’t want to subject unwilling eyes to the list of animal products. You can click here if you want to see the full food menu.
I would love to hear from you if you have eaten with either of these pubs. How was the food? Were you impressed? Are you happy about the vegan food selections? I am also keen to know if any other non-vegan pubs are catering for vegans.
You can visit The Farmers Union online or check out the website of The Twisted Oak here to get location and direction details.
Extra note:
I was hesitant at first to share this information due to the fact that I work with the company that supplies the vegan meat alternatives for these meals. I decided to post this information about these two pubs due to numerous emails and messages I have received from people in the Exeter area across a two week period, asking me to spread news of these menus.
So with full disclosure I want you to know I am paid by Fry’s Family Foods but this has not influenced my decision to post this information. Fry’s Family Foods have not asked me to post this menu information on my blog.
My Dad lives near Exeter so I’ll try and go to one of these places on my next visit.
I notice in particular the Twisted Oak advertises a Sunday carvery with vegetarian options – I’d be really interested to hear what their vegetarian/vegan offerings on a Sunday are. I always find it bitterly disappointing when my dining companions are tucking into roast potatoes, Yorkshire puddings etc and I have had to settle for the irksomely ubiquitous mushroom risotto*.
If you’re in Exeter Monday and would like to have company over lunch – say the word! X
wow! what a brilliant menu! btw, nice to see you mention Exeter 😉 In addition to our fab exclusive veg* places like Herbies and The Plant, there’s a few other places that have vegan options too: Tye Pye Dong (Asian fusion), Jasmine (Thai), The Oddfellows (pub), The Old Firehouse (pub with late-night vegan pizzas), Dana Pani (Indian)…
Doesn’t seem that great that the only real vegan or vegetarian alternative is “meat style” though. There are plenty of nutritious, and interesting vegan meals that would still be suited to mass catering that don’t have to rely on mocking the appearance and taste of animals.
Each to their own, but it seems because in some cases the option for any vegan alternative is limited that any option must be automatically regarded as a positive without criticising the actual substance of it.
I’ve been known to criticise vegan options! I would say this menu is very pub style and they have deliberately gone after that angle.
I know I’m being snarky, and yes, any pub/restaurant offering vegan options (and options plural) is to be praised, but I do think it’s a shame that everything is “meat copy” when there are so many great veggie/vegan dishes that they could provide. That won’t stop me giving it a whirl, though, as it’s always good to have a place where I (vegan) can go and eat happily and my family (non) can too.
One alternative venue, local to Exeter that I would heartily recommend to you and any interested readers is The Red Lion in Broadclyst – about 20 mins outside the town centre – great vegan menu (real variety) plus also special menus for gluten free/allergies, and another that caters for vegan and not. And they are always happy, with some advance notice, to alter dishes on the main menu to comply with requirements. Top quality and reasonably priced.
The Beer Cellar just by the Cathedral does great vegan friendly bar snacks (fries, sweet potato fries, deep fried pickles) with a lot of sauce options, and also a great 4 bean sloppy joe which is awesome. Lots of good beer too.
The Old Fire House has several vegan pizza options as standard, although their pizzas are only served after 21.00. They are massive though.
TyepyeDong is an Asian noodle bar which has dozens of options, most of which I’ve tried and are very good.
The Hourglass might not have vegan specific menu but have always changed their vegetarian options when asked and their food is fantastic
Also New Horizon Cafe on Longbrook street does a pretty mean falafel but this closes at 21.00