Good veggie restaurant food?

This week is National Vegetarian Week. Don’t worry, I’m not going to bang on about it too much cause I know I’ve already done a bit of that on here. And as my lovely book club pal John says “don’t go on about being a veggie Jade - just do the funny stuff”.

But I have to give it a quick mention, and I may do so again later in the week. In fact, who am I kidding, I’ll definitely do so later in the week.

So what I want to tell you about today is a restaurant in Derby called The Wonky Table. I know the link is tenuous, but hey, so many of them are, and it’s not a supermarket!

The thing is, I love being a veggie and I love my food, but sometimes being a veggie and eating out can be a bit crap.

If I had a quid for every time I’ve rocked up to a restaurant with a bunch of friends and ended up with just one uninspiring choice on the menu, I’d be pretty rich. There is a reason it doesn’t take me long to decide what I want to eat - and that’s because usually I don’t have much choice. My pals will be umm-ing and ahh-ing as they weigh up the pros and cons of steak vs salmon, while I’m left staring at the one option of whatever the chef can be arsed to heat up for the token veggie.

And if I had a quid for every time I’ve had to politely pick at a veggie lasagne or stuffed peppers in a restaurant I’d be a millionaire. Don’t get me wrong - I LOVE homemade veggie lasagne, but it’s rarely that good when eating out. And stuffed peppers really are the booby prize. There is nothing nice about a bland old red pepper, warmed up and filled with rice or couscous. I mean, come on, being a veggie doesn’t mean I’ve had my tastebuds removed.

So that’s why The Wonky Table is so special, and deserves a special mention on this blog. I’ve just finished speaking to the owner, Holly, for this Friday’s Food You Can Trust feature, and she’s been telling me how the restaurant runs a monthly vegetarian night where they put on a five course meat-free taster menu.

And the most popular items on the menu then go on to feature on the restaurant’s a la carte menu for the rest of the month, meaning the veggie options at the Wonky Table have already been road-tested and given the thumbs up by a bunch of vegetarian diners.

The chefs do some innovative things for us veggies, including picking their own nettles for French-inspired nettle and potato soup, and going foraging with a bush craft expert. And local Derbyshire produce often gets a look-in.

So I guess the point I’m making is that it’s worth investigating meat-free options - even if you only do it occasionally, and there are people out there prepared to cater for us veggies.