Wild Food Cafe, Covent Garden

Eating out Vegan style Review

No matter how miserable and grey a rainy day in London may be, there is always one place you can head for a guaranteed splash of colour- Neal's Yard. If you haven't been, it is a tiny patch of land hidden between two uneventful looking alleyways in Covent Garden. Here the quirky buildings are painted rainbow bright in such a way that you can't help but feel a little giddy! Everything in Neal's yard is designed to make you feel good: from the herbal remedies, to the healthy eateries, to the massage and therapy boutiques- stepping into the yard one could be forgiven for thinking they had died and gone to hippy heaven.
The Wild Food Café is situated above the famous Neal's yard remedy shop and is a vegetarian, vegan and raw café with incredible food and a wonderful atmosphere.
The ambience:
There is an open Kitchen surrounded by counters so you can chose to sit up at the counter and watch your food as it is prepared or you can sit on the long tables which all come with rustic looking bottles of water. The canteen style tables encourage a charming, chatty atmosphere. Today I sat by the window on one of these long tables, shamelessly people watching and chiming in with their conversations when it seemed appropriate.
The taste:
To drink I had their VIBRANT GREEN cold pressed juice- apple, celery, cucumber, spinach, parsley, lemon, ginger. A dark green juice with pink rose petals sprinkled on top with a complex and refreshing taste. Every mouthful you consume at the Wild Food Café tastes as healthy as the ingredients suggest. The drinks sweet taste is completely natural so it might be a shock to those who are more used to sugar laden, chemical juices but if you like to feel your nutrients being replenished with every slurp you'll be hard pressed to find a better juice! (ooo "hard pressed", look at me with my juicing puns!)
For my main course I had The Wild Burger- shiitake, raw olive & dulse burger with in-house cultured Wild Sauce, tomatillo salsa verde, caramelised onions, baba ganoush & crispy gem lettuce in a wholemeal sprouted organic wheatbread. At first glance I thought that the bread on my burger looked a little on the small side but this particular bread is so dense that it really is all you need. Actually the ratio of bread to burger is, to my taste, much better than in conventional burgers! The filling is delicious and the warm and cold ingredients work perfectly together. Everything you eat seems fresh as fresh can be. It come with some sweet potato fries cooked to perfection and a light leafy salad with a wonderful vinegary dressing. It goes without saying that everything I had was vegan although the restaurant does serve dairy cheese which you can add to any of the dishes, if you're so inclined. They also have vegan cheese which I am yet to try. Also pictured is another main dish that I've tried- RAW VEGAN PIZZA! This is probably the best vegan thing I have eaten so far. The raw pizza base made with butternut squash and almonds is so moist that it renders cheese entirely unnecessary. This is a must eat for all vegan food lovers...seriously... I keep dreaming about it!
For my pudding I tried the Vegan chocolate mousse. This is made with Banana, avocado, dates, raw cacao powder and very possibly some other good stuff that I can't remember. I must be honest I am not a big banana fan but I am trying to be brave and eat things I normally wouldn't. For this reason I didn't love the chocolate mousse but I can say that if you like Banana you will love it! It is smooth, creamy, sweet and, as we've come to expect from The Wild Food Café, good for you! I have also tried their raw chocolate and berry tart. This is the perfect pudding to give to people who believe that going vegan will put an end to indulgence in their lives. This cake is as indulgent as any I have ever tried vegan or otherwise! It just tastes so creamy and yet NO DAIRY! If nothing else tempts you to this amazing café than go for this cake alone, I beg of you!
Final thoughts: I am so happy that this place exists. I look around and see bustling, friendly staff working hard to bring us wonderfully presented and delicious tasting food with an ethos behind it. I see a room packed full of happy customers all of whom, to a greater or lesser extent, are open to the ideas of ethical and healthy eating. It's not just a place to enjoy a filling and delicious meal it's a place where you can actually see a movement towards a greener and kinder society gathering steam. Food for the stomach, food for the soul!