I went to a buffet. A vegetarian buffet. A largely vegan buffet at that. In London of all places (obviously, pre-COVID).
And I recommend you do the same. Seriously. Ok, but with caveats of course.
I discovered Tibits on my way to Borough Market, it caught my eye as I walked by. I poked my head in and was ... intrigued. It was mid-day, and the place seemed to be a coffee shop, with a large menu of coffee and tea drinks, plus fresh juices and smoothies, and assorted baked goods along a counter. But ... it was also a huge buffet. A nice buffet. Hot items, cold items, desserts.
Further examination just left me more interested. A cocktail list. Hot buttered rum. What was this place? I wanted to know more, and try it out, but, I was on the way to a food mecca, so, I took note, grabbed a business card, and went on my way.
I looked it up online later though.
The answer is: a higher end buffet (known as their "Food Boat"), entirely vegetarian (80% vegan actually), serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Available to dine-in, or takeway.
It turned out to be for me too, even though I'm not vegetarian, and eat far, far, far more butter, cream, and cheese than the average person. And I loved it ... the first day. I liked it the second. I did go back, literally, two days in a row, which is saying something, right?
Tibits has (er, had, sadly, they were a victim of COVID closures) two locations in London, the Bankside location I walked by that day, and a location right near Piccadilly that I later visited (twice). And a bunch of locations in Switzerland and Germany, which *do* remain open. Even more interesting!
But downstairs was a lovely oasis, mostly vacant, comfortable bench seating. It also had a kids play area, so I'm sure it doesn't stay an oasis, but on my second visit, I had the space to myself at first, and was only joined by a few other solo diners later on.
My second visit this area was also totally empty, but the host didn't offer it to us, but I sat there anyway.
Most of the cuisine is pay-by-weight from the buffet, but they do have an assortment of baked goods near the registers to order a la carte (including a vegan sausage roll ...). I tried the mango coconut cake, and it was fairly dry and boring, although it had good mango flavor.
Chips, olives, and nuts were also available a la carte.
The drink lineup is huge, ranging from fresh juices and smoothies, to homemade soft drinks, to hot espresso and tea drinks (including more novel items like turmeric lattes and rooibos cappuccino), to beer, wine, and cocktails (alcoholic and not).
Really, something for everyone, no matter the time of day. Drinks are ordered at the register when you weigh your food (or separately, but then, yet another transaction).
"Havana club, spices, orange juice, & butter."
My second visit was a blustery cold night, and I really wanted a warming beverage. I could have easily selected from the large range of tea drinks, but, the hot cocktails caught my eye. I gleefully ordered a hot buttered rum.
And then things went downhill. I ordered when I paid for my main meal, which was mostly hot food this time around. And then I waited. And waited. The person who handled my payment told me to wait there while it was being made (rather than to take a seat and have it delivered, as I had seen done the previous day).
I waited. And waited more. My dining companion was slower than me at working the buffet, but he finally filled his plate, ordered a cappuccino, got his cappuccino, and went to sit without me.
My food was getting cold. And colder. And I was waiting. And waiting.
During this time, the person making my drink was looking around confused. He clearly had no idea how to make the drink. He asked someone else, who said they didn't know either, and pulled out a recipe card. Oooph.
So he started following the instructions. Added one ingredient, walked back across the bar to the recipe card. Walked back, added the next thing. Again and again. I wished I could cancel it. My food was stone cold by this point.
And still I waited. Eventually, after an excruciating long wait, my drink was handed over.
It. Was. Awful.
It tasted like water. I didn't taste rum. I didn't taste spices. I didn't taste butter. I did taste orange. Basically, warm orange water, with a huge cinnamon stick poking out of it.
I stirred it. I tried again. Still just mildly warm, mildly orange, water.
Not good at all. And, my food suffered greatly as a result.
The buffet starts out fairly simple, with basic salad making ingredients, lettuce and rocket, assorted dressings, cottage cheese, tofu, seasonings. Also on top here was crispy fried onions (yum) and teriyaki spiced seed mix (super tasty).
More basics came next (shredded carrot, cucumbers), before moving into some grains and composed salads (Indian spiced dal, barley salad, Za'atar hummus, Kale-Swede Salad, and Beetroot Salad. All the composed salads had descriptions, dressings and seasonings, and interesting ingredients.
A few more cold composed salads were next, both with walnuts (Persimmon or Dried Beans), and then a vegetable based tartar.
I really liked both the persimmon and dried beans salad, but not the vegetable tartar.
Rounding the corner was curried quinoa salad, pumpkin salad, wakame and glass noodle salad, asian slaw, and panzanella, along with dips and chutneys. I tried most of this.
On top was a bread assortment, with gluten-free options in a separate location.
The rest of the cold area was sorta antipasti style: marinated olives, marinated artichoke hearts, tofu and avocado salad, orecchiette salad, and edamame salad.
This merged into the final section, fruit and desserts, starting with pineapple, grapes, and figs. Keep reading to find out more about the "real" desserts.
I was thrilled to see all the sauces and dips at the end. I'm all about sauces.
This section had sweet chili sauce, lingonberry chutney, tomato ketchup, and caramelized onion chutney. I tried them all.
More sauces, only 3 were labelled though: tzatziki, sambal, cocktail sauce. I tried all these too.
Day one, the hot foods started with feta based veggie moussaka, and slightly spicy pasta with tomato sauce, neither of which I tried.
In their slots the next day, a hot persimmon dish, and a different pasta, both of which I tried.
Next on day one was veggies (savoy cabbage) and tofu curry, both of which I skipped.
The next day, the green veggie of the day was brussels sprouts, and next was mashed pumpkin, which I did try.
And then basic grains and more veggies (beets), which both showed up the next day too.
The segue between the healthy veggie warm dishes and the decedent began with falafel, which made way for their signature beer battered onion rings.
I know my sampler plate looked silly. I assume they see this sort of thing all the time though, and stopped judging people long ago?
I had all the dips and sauces. Yes, every single one. All the fried things. Several salads. Some of the salad toppings.
And? I mostly really liked it.
The breaded fried mushroom was the least successful, just a slimy wet mushroom inside the crispy shell. The onion rings were glorious, and I was glad I took a pile on my first round. They somehow were crispy, even though in a buffet.
Of course, I loved dunking the fried items into sauces and dips. The sambal was a bit spicy, the tomato ketchup and sweet-chili sauce pretty standard. The cocktail sauce "Tibits secret recipe" was probably my favorite, a creamy blend of ... something. The lingonberry chutney was sweet and fruity and unique. I liked the flavors in the caramelized onion chutney, but I didn't really have a use for it.
The only other hot item I tried this round was a bit of mashed potato, fine, but not particularly interesting.
The panzanella was a letdown, some pieces of the bread way too soggy, others way too hard, and the tomatoes not very ripe nor flavorful.
Asian slaw was a bit boring, it had carrot, daikon, cabbage, ginger, and sesame but was fairly flavorless.
The pumpkin salad was similarly kinda bland, although healthy tasting, with white balsamic vinegar, walnut oil, and roasted sesame seeds.
The wakame salad was the surprise hit, mixed with glass noodles, and really great flavors and textures. My favorite savory item, by far.
The vegetable tartar was super boring. Just red mush. It said it had pickled gherkin, carrot, parsnip, and capers, but, it was pretty bland.
I tried the kale and swede salad because I wasn't familiar with swede. Or so I thought. Turns out, it is rutabega. This one was very bitter, and the bitter walnuts didn't help. The only thing I didn't finish.
The persimmon salad was great, super ripe large chunks of persimmion with sambal and more walnuts. I was shocked by the number of dishes with walnuts or walnut oil. Beware if you have a walnut allergy.
Finally, I liked the the crispy fried onions and the teriyaki seed mix, both of which were tasty things to nibble on. I'd totally buy that seed mix as a snack.
I went back for much more of the wakame salad, tons more fried things and sauces, and persimmon salad. I also tried the dried bean salad with walnuts + coriander dressing, and really liked it. The green beans were soft and seemed roasted, but perhaps they really were just dried? There was a lot of flavor to it, and I really enjoyed it.
The first day, I was thrilled with my choices.
The second day, I got the wakame and glass noodle salad again, as I had liked it before. It was fine, but I liked it less this time. There seemed to be more glass noodles?
And I recommend you do the same. Seriously. Ok, but with caveats of course.
I discovered Tibits on my way to Borough Market, it caught my eye as I walked by. I poked my head in and was ... intrigued. It was mid-day, and the place seemed to be a coffee shop, with a large menu of coffee and tea drinks, plus fresh juices and smoothies, and assorted baked goods along a counter. But ... it was also a huge buffet. A nice buffet. Hot items, cold items, desserts.
Further examination just left me more interested. A cocktail list. Hot buttered rum. What was this place? I wanted to know more, and try it out, but, I was on the way to a food mecca, so, I took note, grabbed a business card, and went on my way.
I looked it up online later though.
The answer is: a higher end buffet (known as their "Food Boat"), entirely vegetarian (80% vegan actually), serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Available to dine-in, or takeway.
"Every day you can choose from a selection of 40 vegetarian and vegan salads, hot dishes and desserts on our food boat. Everything is freshly homemade, several times a day. We cook with the season, using the best of the season’s produce. "This is no ordinary buffet. It is ... a boat, as they say. Everything from the Boat is pay-by-weight. They also offer made to order items, baked goods, and drinks appropriate for the time of your visit. Tuesdays are entirely vegan. They use majority organic, local, seasonal produce. Most stuff is pretty healthy. Everything is clearly labelled with dish names, ingredients, and if it is Vegan/Lacto/Ovo, or if it has common allergens (gluten, nuts, soy, even onions or garlic), if it is spicy, and if it has much sugar. If you have any food restrictions, this place is likely a dream come true.
It turned out to be for me too, even though I'm not vegetarian, and eat far, far, far more butter, cream, and cheese than the average person. And I loved it ... the first day. I liked it the second. I did go back, literally, two days in a row, which is saying something, right?
Tibits has (er, had, sadly, they were a victim of COVID closures) two locations in London, the Bankside location I walked by that day, and a location right near Piccadilly that I later visited (twice). And a bunch of locations in Switzerland and Germany, which *do* remain open. Even more interesting!
The Setup
The concept is a buffet, known as the "Boat".
You fill your plate, get it weighed, pay. The price is cheaper for takeway than dine-in, cheaper for lunch than dinner (although the same menu?).
The boat is double layered, with cold dishes on bottom, and hot dishes on top. The hot dishes change out daily, the cold dishes are more fixed and seasonal.
You can return as many times as you wish, but, you must do separate transactions each time, no way to have a tab open for a table, which was a bit annoying if dining there. The wisdom I read was to take a sample round of tiny portions, then go back for what you really wanted. And to wait to have dessert, er, pudding, separate, so you could have the warm desserts warm.
I visited twice, once on the weekend for lunch, once during the week for dinner. The sign at the entrance instructed me to wait to be seated, but, once I asked someone for a seat, they told me to seat myself ... at least, my first visit. My second visit was at dinner when it was more crowded, and I was seated by the host.
The host seated us upstairs, the same floor as the bar and buffet. Nearly everyone was seated in this area.
I visited twice, once on the weekend for lunch, once during the week for dinner. The sign at the entrance instructed me to wait to be seated, but, once I asked someone for a seat, they told me to seat myself ... at least, my first visit. My second visit was at dinner when it was more crowded, and I was seated by the host.
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| Upstairs Seating. |
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| Seating. |
My second visit this area was also totally empty, but the host didn't offer it to us, but I sat there anyway.
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| Baked Goods. |
Chips, olives, and nuts were also available a la carte.
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| Drinks. |
Really, something for everyone, no matter the time of day. Drinks are ordered at the register when you weigh your food (or separately, but then, yet another transaction).
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| Hot Buttered Rum. 8.50. |
My second visit was a blustery cold night, and I really wanted a warming beverage. I could have easily selected from the large range of tea drinks, but, the hot cocktails caught my eye. I gleefully ordered a hot buttered rum.
And then things went downhill. I ordered when I paid for my main meal, which was mostly hot food this time around. And then I waited. And waited. The person who handled my payment told me to wait there while it was being made (rather than to take a seat and have it delivered, as I had seen done the previous day).
I waited. And waited more. My dining companion was slower than me at working the buffet, but he finally filled his plate, ordered a cappuccino, got his cappuccino, and went to sit without me.
My food was getting cold. And colder. And I was waiting. And waiting.
During this time, the person making my drink was looking around confused. He clearly had no idea how to make the drink. He asked someone else, who said they didn't know either, and pulled out a recipe card. Oooph.
So he started following the instructions. Added one ingredient, walked back across the bar to the recipe card. Walked back, added the next thing. Again and again. I wished I could cancel it. My food was stone cold by this point.
And still I waited. Eventually, after an excruciating long wait, my drink was handed over.
It. Was. Awful.
It tasted like water. I didn't taste rum. I didn't taste spices. I didn't taste butter. I did taste orange. Basically, warm orange water, with a huge cinnamon stick poking out of it.
I stirred it. I tried again. Still just mildly warm, mildly orange, water.
Not good at all. And, my food suffered greatly as a result.
Buffet
And now, for the buffet.
My visits were two days apart, Sunday lunch and Monday dinner, but most of the hot foods were entirely different between the two days.
Cold Items
Cold items were the bottom row of the buffet, on ice. The cold items were unchanged for the most part between the days.
The first day, I went for mostly cold items. They were certainly the stars.
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| Salad base & Dressing. |
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| More Cold Salads. |
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| More Cold Salads. |
I really liked both the persimmon and dried beans salad, but not the vegetable tartar.
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| More Cold Salads, Dips, Chutneys, Bread. |
On top was a bread assortment, with gluten-free options in a separate location.
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| Antipasti. |
This merged into the final section, fruit and desserts, starting with pineapple, grapes, and figs. Keep reading to find out more about the "real" desserts.
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| Dips! |
This section had sweet chili sauce, lingonberry chutney, tomato ketchup, and caramelized onion chutney. I tried them all.
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| Sauces. |
Hot Foods
Hot foods formed the upper level, under heat lamps to stay warm.
These changed almost entirely between my two visits. I think less than half the items were the same, although they had a similar format. I focused on this section more on my second visit, just to mix it up.
The hot foods were mostly, well, what you'd expect from a buffet. Salads do better in buffets than hot foods, but, one signature item is the onion rings, and those were glorious both times.
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| Vegetable moussaka, Onoe Alla Arrabbiata. |
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| Kale-Persimmon Bake, Saffron Spaghetti. |
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| Savoy cabbage, Thai-tofu-curry. |
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| Brussels Sprouts, Pumpkin. |
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| Brown Rice, Roast Beetroot. |
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| Spinach-kale falafel, Beer battered onion rings. |
These all came with the recommendation to try the chutneys with them. Like I needed that advice!
These were both on the menu both days, and the onion rings were the hit of the buffet both days.
More fried, battered goodies came next, breaded mushrooms and cream stuffed jalapeños the first day.
I went for the mushrooms.
Rounding the corner the second day was fried food again, this time, okra tempura and the same fried sour cream filled jalapeños.
I went for okra, and somehow never managed to grab a jalapeño. I'm not sure why.
And finally, the hot foods were rounded off by mashed potatoes, focaccia based pizza, and baked beans the first day. I tried just the mash.
The second day a quiche with puff pastry crust replaced the pizza, the brown rice and mashed potatoes were there again just in different order, and some Swedish Kottbullar ("Meatballs") were introduced. I tried the later.
These were both on the menu both days, and the onion rings were the hit of the buffet both days.
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| Breaded Mushrooms, Sour Cream Stuffed Jalapeños. |
I went for the mushrooms.
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| Okra Tempura, Sour Cream Stuffed Jalapeños. |
I went for okra, and somehow never managed to grab a jalapeño. I'm not sure why.
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| Mashed potatoes, Sicilian Focaccia, Boston Baked Beans. |
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| Carrot-ginger Quiche, Brown Basmati Rice, Swedish Kottbullar, Mashed Potatoes. |
The Food
So, I took the advice I read, and made a sampler platter to start, both times. I felt a bit silly taking a bite or two of all the best looking stuff, but, this approach made sense. I returned to get more of what I liked, and try a few new things. Then, I went for desserts.
The first day, I wanted all the desserts. Seriously. You know what a dessert person I am in general, but these also were just awesome selections. So I packed up the cold ones to go, and had the hot ones as dine in, along with a drink.
The first day, I wanted all the desserts. Seriously. You know what a dessert person I am in general, but these also were just awesome selections. So I packed up the cold ones to go, and had the hot ones as dine in, along with a drink.
So, one meal, three separate transactions, a bit annoying. I still recommend this approach though. I saw families doing annoying individual transactions too, like one parent getting a platter for themselves while the other sat with child, and then swapping, each needing to separately wait in payment line, weight, and pay. I wish they allowed per table tabs!
By the second visit, I had tried many of the items already, so, I was able to consolidate down into only two transactions: sampler round, and then final savory + desserts in one.
By the second visit, I had tried many of the items already, so, I was able to consolidate down into only two transactions: sampler round, and then final savory + desserts in one.
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| Sampler Platter, Day 1, Round 1. |
I had all the dips and sauces. Yes, every single one. All the fried things. Several salads. Some of the salad toppings.
And? I mostly really liked it.
The breaded fried mushroom was the least successful, just a slimy wet mushroom inside the crispy shell. The onion rings were glorious, and I was glad I took a pile on my first round. They somehow were crispy, even though in a buffet.
Of course, I loved dunking the fried items into sauces and dips. The sambal was a bit spicy, the tomato ketchup and sweet-chili sauce pretty standard. The cocktail sauce "Tibits secret recipe" was probably my favorite, a creamy blend of ... something. The lingonberry chutney was sweet and fruity and unique. I liked the flavors in the caramelized onion chutney, but I didn't really have a use for it.
The only other hot item I tried this round was a bit of mashed potato, fine, but not particularly interesting.
The panzanella was a letdown, some pieces of the bread way too soggy, others way too hard, and the tomatoes not very ripe nor flavorful.
Asian slaw was a bit boring, it had carrot, daikon, cabbage, ginger, and sesame but was fairly flavorless.
The pumpkin salad was similarly kinda bland, although healthy tasting, with white balsamic vinegar, walnut oil, and roasted sesame seeds.
The wakame salad was the surprise hit, mixed with glass noodles, and really great flavors and textures. My favorite savory item, by far.
The vegetable tartar was super boring. Just red mush. It said it had pickled gherkin, carrot, parsnip, and capers, but, it was pretty bland.
I tried the kale and swede salad because I wasn't familiar with swede. Or so I thought. Turns out, it is rutabega. This one was very bitter, and the bitter walnuts didn't help. The only thing I didn't finish.
The persimmon salad was great, super ripe large chunks of persimmion with sambal and more walnuts. I was shocked by the number of dishes with walnuts or walnut oil. Beware if you have a walnut allergy.
Finally, I liked the the crispy fried onions and the teriyaki seed mix, both of which were tasty things to nibble on. I'd totally buy that seed mix as a snack.
I went back for much more of the wakame salad, tons more fried things and sauces, and persimmon salad. I also tried the dried bean salad with walnuts + coriander dressing, and really liked it. The green beans were soft and seemed roasted, but perhaps they really were just dried? There was a lot of flavor to it, and I really enjoyed it.
The first day, I was thrilled with my choices.
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| Sampler Platter, Day 2, Round 1. |
I also got the persimmon salad again, and again really liked it, and went back for more. Ripe, fresh, crisp persimmon. Very tasty. Same with the teriyaki seeds and fried shallots, yummy tasty little nibbles. Everything else, besides the dips, that I tried was hot this time.
For hot items, I went right for the fascinating hot kale-persimmon bake with cap mushrooms, but, discovered I don't really care for cooked persimmon. The crisp sweet freshness is apparently part of the appeal to me.
The pasta this time was saffron spaghetti with kelp, capers, and white wine, in a creamy sauce. It looked, and sounded pretty good, but, alas, it was basically just, uh, buffet food. Kinda mushy.
For a veggie, I went for the mashed pumpkin with sweet paprika sauce and terriyaki seeds. It was ... fine? The toppings were interesting at least.
For protein, a Swedish Kottbullar, which I paired with the lingonberry chutney. I knew I would find a good use for that chutney! I have no idea what the meatball was made from, clearly soy protein or something like that, but I didn't like it. The cream sauce was fine.
And finally, the fried okra was better than the mushroom as it wasn't as slimy, but I didn't actually love it. The onion rings on the other hand though ... I again *loved* those! When I returned for seconds, they were the first thing I went for. I did like the cocktail sauce better this time too.
Overall, I was less enamored this time around. I think the salads were certainly better than the hot foods, but also, I think my expectations were likely higher this time.
The hot items were a fruit crisp and their signature sticky toffee pudding.
The gummy bears, tiramisu, berry bircher muesli, and vegan cream remained the second day, but ... real double cream was added! Where was this the day before??!!
The first day, I got ... everything. Ok, everything but the grapes and pineapple. Literally.
The pasta this time was saffron spaghetti with kelp, capers, and white wine, in a creamy sauce. It looked, and sounded pretty good, but, alas, it was basically just, uh, buffet food. Kinda mushy.
For a veggie, I went for the mashed pumpkin with sweet paprika sauce and terriyaki seeds. It was ... fine? The toppings were interesting at least.
For protein, a Swedish Kottbullar, which I paired with the lingonberry chutney. I knew I would find a good use for that chutney! I have no idea what the meatball was made from, clearly soy protein or something like that, but I didn't like it. The cream sauce was fine.
And finally, the fried okra was better than the mushroom as it wasn't as slimy, but I didn't actually love it. The onion rings on the other hand though ... I again *loved* those! When I returned for seconds, they were the first thing I went for. I did like the cocktail sauce better this time too.
Overall, I was less enamored this time around. I think the salads were certainly better than the hot foods, but also, I think my expectations were likely higher this time.
Desserts / Puddings
And finally ... desserts galore. So many desserts. Sorry, puddings. All the puddings. Hot and cold. Healthy and ... not.
These items were about half the same between my visits.
These items were about half the same between my visits.
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| Puddings, Day 1. |
Down below was the aforementioned fruit, vegan gummy bears, chai-chocolate cream pudding, raspberry cream pudding, creme caramel, tiramisu, vegan cream, and fruity bircher muesli.
Something for everyone, right?
The second day the chai-chocolate cream was replaced by mocha cream, and the flan by cheesecake. The fruit and raspberry cream remained the same.
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| Cold Puddings: Day Two. |
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| More Cold, Day 2. |
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| Hot Puddings Day 2. |
For the hot puddings, the fruit crisp turned into Orange-Ginger bake, and the signature sticky toffee pudding remained.
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| Coffee and Dessert, Day 1. |
I also ordered a decaf Americano to go with it, which was made to order.
I intended to eat the hot items there, and bring the cold ones takeaway, so I boxed up the cold ones, and put the warm ones on a plate. But I couldn't resist trying a bite of each, and, well, nearly finished the whole thing there. Ooops.
The coffee was actually quite good, not decaf funky, not acidic, not bitter. Best coffee of my trip actually.
The hot puddings were a berry crumble and their famous sticky toffee pudding. I plated these with vegan cream on the side.
The crumble was the only dessert I didn't like. The fruit was decent, but the base was total mush, not quite sure what it was, but I hated the flavor and texture. The crumble on top was crispy, but again, I didn't care for the flavor at all.
But its friend, the sticky toffee pudding ... swoon. This was good. Very good. Moist. Rich. Great toffee sauce. Studded with bits of dates and walnuts. A bit of ginger for spice. Warm. It was everything I was looking for in a sticky toffee pudding. It beat the pants off the supposed "Best" sticky toffee pudding in London that I had at Hawksmoor a couple nights prior (review coming soon!). It was vegan even. It didn't even *need* clotted cream topping, which is good, as the vegan cream was ... lackluster. Hands down, best of the puddings.
The creme caramel was no slouch though, pretty classic, smooth eggy rich custard, plenty of very sweet sauce. The tiramisu too was good, the ladyfingers soaked in plenty of espresso base, so very moist, and the cream on top was thick and rich.
The raspberry cream was ... ok. Very fruity, with real raspberries inside. The chai-chocolate cream was similar, a bit bitter, but a really nice fluffy consistency. I didn't really taste chai. It was vegan though, so, impressive.
The figs were fine, a good healthy option. I did skip the grapes and pineapple, and bircher muesli, as in, the real healthy options.
The gummy bears were more like jellies, I guess since vegetarian they didn't use gelatin, and thus were a different texture than I'm used to.
I was thrilled with my coffee and sticky toffee pudding, and loved that I could make up a dessert platter like this.
The second time I visited, I tried the cheesecake, hoping it would be as good as the creme caramel. It wasn't. Neither I nor my dining companion finished our portions.
The crust was similar to the mush under the crumble that I disliked, and the cheesecake wasn't rich, it wasn't cream cheesy, and I was really surprised this was actually traditional cheesecake. It tasted like a vegan gluten-free item, if you know what I mean. Like tofu, with strange texture to the cheesecake, and mushy horrible crust.
Worst of the desserts by far.
As I was standing around the dessert bar making my selections, the sad looking portion of sticky toffee pudding was whisked away. It had 2-3 quasi chunks left in it, and clearly had been there a while. But I still wanted sticky toffee pudding, as it was *so* good the first day. I asked, "are you bringing a fresh one?", intending to grab the remnants if they weren't. Luckily, they were, and I was rewarded with a full fresh batch.
Except ... it wasn't great. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't nearly as magical as the day before. Warm-ish, but not very flavorful, not nearly as much sticky toffee sauce.
The real double cream was better, but still, this was just ... ok. Maybe I was sick of sticky toffee pudding 3 days in a row?
I also tried the bircher muesli, but it was just soggy mushy cold oatmeal, with berries, nuts, coconut, and apple in it. Meh.
The orange ginger bake was not great, just a dry cake, more like a quick bread, with orange and ginger flavors, powdered sugar on top. Still, better than the crisp.
I intended to eat the hot items there, and bring the cold ones takeaway, so I boxed up the cold ones, and put the warm ones on a plate. But I couldn't resist trying a bite of each, and, well, nearly finished the whole thing there. Ooops.
The coffee was actually quite good, not decaf funky, not acidic, not bitter. Best coffee of my trip actually.
The hot puddings were a berry crumble and their famous sticky toffee pudding. I plated these with vegan cream on the side.
The crumble was the only dessert I didn't like. The fruit was decent, but the base was total mush, not quite sure what it was, but I hated the flavor and texture. The crumble on top was crispy, but again, I didn't care for the flavor at all.
But its friend, the sticky toffee pudding ... swoon. This was good. Very good. Moist. Rich. Great toffee sauce. Studded with bits of dates and walnuts. A bit of ginger for spice. Warm. It was everything I was looking for in a sticky toffee pudding. It beat the pants off the supposed "Best" sticky toffee pudding in London that I had at Hawksmoor a couple nights prior (review coming soon!). It was vegan even. It didn't even *need* clotted cream topping, which is good, as the vegan cream was ... lackluster. Hands down, best of the puddings.
The creme caramel was no slouch though, pretty classic, smooth eggy rich custard, plenty of very sweet sauce. The tiramisu too was good, the ladyfingers soaked in plenty of espresso base, so very moist, and the cream on top was thick and rich.
The raspberry cream was ... ok. Very fruity, with real raspberries inside. The chai-chocolate cream was similar, a bit bitter, but a really nice fluffy consistency. I didn't really taste chai. It was vegan though, so, impressive.
The figs were fine, a good healthy option. I did skip the grapes and pineapple, and bircher muesli, as in, the real healthy options.
The gummy bears were more like jellies, I guess since vegetarian they didn't use gelatin, and thus were a different texture than I'm used to.
I was thrilled with my coffee and sticky toffee pudding, and loved that I could make up a dessert platter like this.
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| Traditional Cheesecake with Walnuts. |
The crust was similar to the mush under the crumble that I disliked, and the cheesecake wasn't rich, it wasn't cream cheesy, and I was really surprised this was actually traditional cheesecake. It tasted like a vegan gluten-free item, if you know what I mean. Like tofu, with strange texture to the cheesecake, and mushy horrible crust.
Worst of the desserts by far.
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| Sticky Toffee Pudding: Day 2. |
Except ... it wasn't great. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't nearly as magical as the day before. Warm-ish, but not very flavorful, not nearly as much sticky toffee sauce.
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| Vegan Cream & Double Cream. |
I also tried the bircher muesli, but it was just soggy mushy cold oatmeal, with berries, nuts, coconut, and apple in it. Meh.
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| Orange Ginger Bake. |
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