I have written about The Gate restaurant many times over the years.
It is one of London’s best-known vegetarian restaurants and has long been regarded as one of the oldest vegetarian restaurants in the world. For many years, it has also offered a completely plant-based menu, making it a destination for people who want to enjoy creative food without animal products.
Imagine my sadness, then, when an email promoting the restaurant’s latest menu landed in my inbox recently.
Read more below.
The new menu clearly shows dairy products, including different cheeses added to various dishes and what looks like dairy ice cream.
After years of offering a fully plant-based menu, this feels like an incredibly disappointing step backwards. The Gate has a long history and an established reputation, so it is particularly frustrating to see a restaurant with such a legacy moving away from a menu that excluded dairy altogether.
The menu itself is also confusing. Some dishes do not appear to be clearly labelled as vegan or vegetarian, leaving diners to work out which ingredients are included or contact the restaurant for clarification. Clear labelling should be the bare minimum for any restaurant catering to people with different dietary requirements.
At a time when more people are looking for ways to eat that avoid animal exploitation, it is disheartening to see such a historic restaurant reintroduce dairy products. I would love to see The Gate reconsider this decision and return to the fully plant-based approach that made it such an important part of London’s vegetarian dining history.
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