At first thought, A Toby Carvery is probably the last place you’d think of when eating out as a vegan. But as veganism is becoming more mainstream, vegan food in turn is becoming more ubiquitous.
My partner and I visited the Toby Carvery in Maidstone on Monday, the 14th of January. Our waitress clearly explained what food was suitable for vegans, and double checked everything with the chef. There are three different main dishes to choose from, a grilled aubergine stack, roast mushroom and ale pie, and lastly a root vegetable roast. After our main dishes were brought out to us, we went to help ourselves to vegetables and roast potatoes from the counter. Again the chef clearly explained which potatoes were vegan and which vegetables we could have. The steamed vegetables, roast potatoes (cooked in oil, not beef fat) and vegetarian gravy are all suitable for vegans. There was some cauliflower which had been cooked with butter, so the chef made us some more minus the butter which our waitress brought out to us
I chose to go for the root vegetable roast. It’s comprised of shredded carrots and parsnips, a mix of mushrooms, swede, apricots topped with an oat and cranberry crumb
My partner chose the mushroom and ale pie, which consisted of roasted mushrooms, ale and parsley, encased in shortcrust pastry with a puff pastry lid. It was hearty and flavourful, just what you want on a chilly wintry day
To finish the meal off I decided to try the Belgian chocolate and raspberry fondant, which has a melted heart of raspberry filling, and comes with coconut sorbet. The chocolate was rich and decadent, and the sharpness from the raspberry balanced everything out perfectly. This would definitely be a hit for anyone with a sweet tooth
We had a lovely time and we would definitely eat there again. The staff had a good knowledge of what foods were suitable for vegans, and communicated this clearly with us. So there were no chances of mishaps or misunderstandings
This would also be a great option if you’re eating with non-vegan family members. It can be tricky eating out with family or friends who all eat differently, so going somewhere that caters for all really makes it easier. It turns out the the home of the roast is #TheHomeOfTheVeg too
Talk about a rookie mistake, take the main from your plate, put it to the side, go to the buffet and you can pile way more stuff on your plate! And why no stuffing in your photos?
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There was already a lot of food on my plate, I couldn’t finish everything so piling on more would have been even more unnecessary and wasteful. I didn’t want to eat stuffing, that’s all.
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You know the vegetables are cooked with butter at Toby carvery, right?
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The ones I had were cooked separately without butter
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