Dining Inspiration Archives - opentable.co.uk blog

Plant power: London’s best vegan takeaways

January 25, 2021 by OpenTable

With over 150 vegan restaurants to choose from, it’s no surprise that London is frequently voted one of the most vegan friendly cities in the world. Whether you’re a full-time vegan or just trying to eat less meat, we’ve rounded up some of London’s best plant-based takeaways.

Wulf & Lamb – For those days when you can’t face cooking, Wulf + Lamb is on hand to deliver healthy lunches and comfort food classics. You can power through your work day with nourishing soups and salads, or curl up on the sofa with mac ‘n’ cheese or one of their famous burgers. Plus, if you’re local, you can stop by their Chelsea restaurant for an oat milk latte and a croissant to takeaway.

OpenTable diners say: ‘No where can you find a better vegan Mac n’ cheese, never mind an entirely plant based menu that manages to be diverse and also classically British.’

What The Pitta – When only a kebab will do, What The Pitta is here to save the day. Their 100% vegan doner kebab comes with spiced soya pieces, fresh salad, tzatziki, and homemade hummus, all wrapped up in freshly made bread. We think it’s even tastier than the real deal, and it seems the experts agree – What The Pitta was voted London’s Best Takeaway in the 2020 British Kebab Awards.

Young Vegans – With vegan mozzarella, mock meats and dough made from scratch in their Camden prep kitchen, Young Vegans deliver plant-based pizzas for you to bake at home. Satisfy your carb cravings with The Devilfather, topped with spicy vegan ‘nduja, or a Smokehouse with smoked wild mushrooms. They also sell vegan cheese, desserts, and pies with fillings like ‘chickun’ katsu, mac and cheeze, and mushroom stroganoff.

OpenTable diners say: ‘The pizzas are sublime (they make their own fake Mozzarella which is the best I have ever eaten).’

by CHLOE – Whether you need a healthy supper or something more indulgent, by CHLOE has got your back. They’ve got soups and salads to scoff between meetings, cupcakes for the 3pm slump, and burgers and mac ‘n’ cheese for cosy nights in. Try their Guac Burger – a black bean, quinoa, and sweet potato patty with corn salsa, fresh guacamole and chipotle aioli.

Mao Chow – This Hackney hot spot has been on our radar since food critic Jimi Famurewa raved about its ‘scintillating Sichuan’ flavours back in 2019. Now, you can get their famous dan dan noodles, Chongqing cauliflower, and veggie dumplings delivered to your door. They also sell their fragrant homemade chilli oil, if you fancy adding some lip-tingling heat to your home cooking.

Tendril – Whilst his Soho residency is on hold, chef Rishim Sachdeva’s inventive vegan dishes are available for UK-wide delivery. Priced from £19 for two meals delivered on the same day, it’s a total steal for cooking of this quality. The menu changes weekly but might feature the likes of chipotle braised cauliflower with chimichurri, red Thai tofu curry, and roast celeriac with kale and mint tabbouleh.

OpenTable diners say: ‘The food was amazing, we ordered a lot of the dishes and every single one tasted great.’

Mooshies – Founded in 2016, Mooshies was London’s original vegan burger bar. They’ve been a hit ever since, thanks to plant-based creations like the Fillet-Om-Phish and the Pulled Mooshie with spicy jackfruit. Choose your burger, add some loaded fries and a dairy-free shake, and you’ve got everything you need for your next movie night. Mooshies also sell meal kits, sweet treats, and sauces online, so you can have a go at recreating your favourites at home.

SpiceBox – This Walthamstow gem serves ‘modern spins on curry house classics’, that also happen to be vegan. Menu highlights include a fiery jackfruit jalfrezi, a creamy cashew-based korma, and loaded onion bhajis topped with zingy tamarind chutney, raita and crispy onions. If you’re feeding a crowd, we recommend ordering double portions of their award-winning tarka dhal. Fragrant with cumin and fresh curry leaves, it tastes even better the next day.

Açaí Sisters – When there simply isn’t time to meal prep or make a smoothie, salvation comes in the form of Açaí Sisters. This West End superfood bar will deliver everything you need for a nutritionally balanced day, from fresh juices and breakfast bowls to salads and tartines. So far so virtuous, but they also do dessert – the avocado and cocoa mousse is a revelation.

Visit OpenTable to discover more vegan and vegetarian restaurants in London.

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Beyond braille: Dining out with a visual impairment

January 4, 2021 by OpenTable

There are almost 2 million people living with sight loss in the UK. To find out how this impacts dining out and how restaurants can help, we asked Joy Addo to share her experience.

As a 26-year-old self-confessed lover of food and drink (especially wine) I enjoy dining out just as much as your average millennial. I get excited at the thought of not having to cook for an evening and I love experiencing new foods, flavours and cultures. Whether it’s on an outing with a potential boyfriend, lunching with a friend, or a birthday celebratory meal, eating out is essential for me and for most of the people I know.

Having a visual impairment, however, can sometimes make the simplest things, such as dining out, a challenge. I often go back to places that I already know, because a lot of restaurants do not provide accessible menus for me and my friends. Although things have come a long way in terms of awareness and accommodating customers with disabilities, accessibility for diners with visual impairment must be a priority for all restaurants.

According to the Royal National Institute Of Blind People (RNIB), 250 people start to lose their sight in the UK every day. Having a range of menus would help so many individuals and their families. Eating out is, at its core, a sociable event and if everyone cannot access the menus, it can transform outings from fun to awkward, leaving people feeling isolated and different. If a restaurant adopts a partially-sighted-friendly approach then it immediately becomes more accessible. Simply making staff aware that they may need to assist partially sighted diners will make people feel more comfortable in restaurant spaces.

In a recent survey, 78% of respondents said that sight is the sense they fear losing the most. I strongly believe that the fear of missing out is a big part of the reason so many people fear sight loss. If the world was more accessible to blind and partially sighted people, there would be less to be afraid of. There would be a greater sense of normality.

When I go out to eat, I often have to ask the waiter or waitress to read the menu to me as I cannot see it. Not being able to access the information, including prices and ingredients of dishes, means I miss out on exploring new dishes and cocktails I would like to try because I do not want to take up too much of the staff’s time. Of course, if I was with a friend, date or family member that was sighted I would ask them to read the menu but this can take away my sense of independence.

When I attend a restaurant that has a braille or large print menu available, it makes me feel included. I get to experience what it is like to not miss out and I can take my time to choose whatever it is I fancy and discover new foods and drinks.

Restaurants can help partially sighted and blind diners by making braille and large print menus available and making sure their websites and apps are compatible with voiceover software so the menu can be read out loud. Being able to access menus before and during a restaurant visit is a great help to my overall experience.

With the OpenTable app, you can use your phone’s voiceover feature to read the menu out loud so you can have the same experience as your friends – making yourself hungry and choosing a dish before you step foot in the restaurant! For example, if I search for restaurants in Bristol, I can find my way to one of my favourite restaurants, Caribbean Croft, and then get my laptop or phone to read the menu out to me.

Nando’s have both braille and large print menus and the restaurant chain has become a favourite of mine (I guess I am a cheap date after all). Pizza Express also provides braille menus. At both of these restaurants I have been able to read the menus in full and get assistance if I required it. However, this experience should not be limited to large chain restaurants. It is now necessary for all restaurants to make their dining experience accessible to all. With apps like OpenTable, I have been able to explore different cuisines – from finding new pizza places like Bufi for date nights, to trying delicious Korean fried chicken at Co&Ko in Soho.

I hope that restaurants keep working on improving their dining experience for all customers, particularly those with partial sightedness and blindness. I for one will be investigating which restaurants are accessible, one cocktail and burger at a time.

To find out more about the charities for partial-sightedness and blindness, please follow these links to the Royal National Institute of Blind People and The Partially Sighted Association.

This is a guest post from podcaster Joy Addo, host of Joy’s World. She has written for Gal-Dem Magazine and featured in various video interviews for Vice Magazine and International Planned Parenthood Federation discussing sex, relationships and parenting whilst living with a disability. She is registered as severely sight impaired and is always on the hunt for a husband.

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Gourmet Gifts: The best restaurant hampers for Christmas 2020

December 14, 2020 by OpenTable

Packed full of delicious food and drink, these hampers are a great way to send some festive cheer to far-away friends and fellow foodies. After a tough year, we all deserve a bit of indulgence, so if you want to keep one for yourself, there’s no judgement here!

The Wolseley – Gift sets from £27.50
Bring the magic of The Wolseley home this Christmas with a selection of gourmet gifts and elegant hampers. You could send your boss some of their fabulous loose leaf tea or treat your favourite neighbour to a confectionary box filled with buttery shortbread, salted caramel florentines, and hazelnut praline truffles. For the gin lover in your life, there’s a Sipsmith Dirty Martini kit that’s sure to make their next home Happy Hour extra special.

The Quality Chop House – Deluxe Christmas Hamper £110
Santa, if you’re listening, this is the hamper we’d like to find under our tree this Christmas. In the QCH branded tote bag, you’ll find festive essentials like mince pies, plum jam and Christmas pudding, plus savoury treats like piccalilli and their famous pork pie. With a bottle of red and some bubbles thrown in for good measure, you’ve got everything you need to make it a December to remember.

Hicce – Boxing Day hamper £85
Hicce have put together a Boxing Day hamper that’s perfect for leisurely snacking in front of the TV. There are hand-picked French cheeses, award-winning charcuterie, and savoury snacks like salted almonds and spicy olives. You can even jazz up your turkey sandwich with some of their homemade chilli jam and apple and pear chutney.

Iberica – Spanish hampers from £50
With travel plans put on hold this year, we’ve relied on restaurants like Iberica to take our taste buds on a culinary journey. Their hampers are packed with Spanish delicacies like hand-carved jamon, truffle-infused Manchego cheese, Cantabrian anchovies, salted Marcona almonds, and wonderful wines.

Jikoni – Hug in a Box £85
Ravinder Bhogal’s Marylebone restaurant has three hampers on offer, but the Hug in a Box is our top pick for gifting. Inside, you’ll find a bottle of South Pickenham English sparkling wine, paan and cashew fudge, Jikoni Mix (an addictive Kenyan Bombay mix), and beautiful block print napkins to brighten up your dinner table. The chutneys – beetroot, Bengali tomato, and banana ketchup – are perfect for spicing up cheese boards and festive leftovers.

Wright Brothers – Seafood gift boxes from £55
Thanks to Wright Brothers, you can enjoy spectacular seafood at home or send some to a fish-loving friend. Snap up one of the last few delivery slots and choose from stunning shellfish platters, smoked fish, oysters, and more. Why not treat your favourite couple to the luxury hamper for two? With Morecambe Bay oysters, Kaviari caviar, smoked salmon and Champagne, it’s guaranteed to impress.

Côte – Gourmet gift selection £89.95
For the keen cook who deserves a special treat, Côte will deliver an impressive selection of fine French foods. With ingredients like black olive tapenade, raspberry vinegar, and fleur de sel, home cooks can take their recipes to the next level. The gift box also includes sweet treats like dark chocolate with sea salt and bottles of red, white and sparkling wine.

If you’re still looking for gift ideas, head over to Instagram and check out our foodie gift guide.

Photo Credit: Matt Austin for Wright Brothers and David Loftus for The Wolseley. All other images courtesy of the restaurants.

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Delicious, delivered: London’s best restaurant meal kits

November 22, 2020 by OpenTable

Lost your cooking mojo? Exhausted your local takeaway options? We hear you. If you’re missing dining out, these meal kits are the perfect way to recreate a little restaurant magic at home.

Passo To Go
We can still remember the thrill of leaving the office after a long day and heading straight to Passo for restorative carbs and Negronis. Now, you can recreate that post-work buzz at home with pizza and pasta kits from Passo To Go. With a little help from their how-to videos, you can have a proper pizza or a bowl of paccheri arrabbiata on the table in no time. There’s tonnarelli cacio e pepe and bottled Negronis, too – perfect for your next home date night.

Mac & Wild
Mac & Wild’s Venimoo burger is a thing of beauty – two patties (one beef, one venison) with cheese, pickles, béarnaise sauce and caramelised onions. Their kit has everything you need to recreate it at home, right down to the brioche buns and their famous Red Jon sauce. There are haggis pop kits and a virtual drinks cabinet stocked with bottles of their signature cocktails. Burgers and Manhattans on the sofa? Maybe staying in isn’t so bad after all.

Blacklock at Home
Someday soon, we’ll be back at Blacklock knocking back £5 cocktails and demolishing platters of chargrilled chops. Until then, they’re delivering everything you need to create the steak supper of your dreams – rump fillet steaks, or a 40 day aged Porterhouse, with beef dripping chips, kale salad, chop sauce, and white chocolate cheesecake for afters. The majestic ‘All In’ box (above) is currently sold out, but keep an eye on the website for its return.

Gauthier Home
Enjoy a box of eight vegan dishes from award-winning chef Alexis Gauthier, prepared at his Soho restaurant and delivered ready to heat at home. There’s enough food for a plant-based feast for four, or you can split the dishes to eat over a few days. The menu changes weekly and you can order paired wines, or even Champagne, to make dining at home feel extra special.

Dirty Bones
Take burger night to the next level with a little help from Dirty Bones. With their kits, you can recreate the classic cheeseburger, the vegan chilli cheeseburger, and the Mac Daddy, topped with pulled beef short rib and mac ‘n’ cheese. For the ultimate indulgent night in, get the Hero Kit – two Mac Daddy burgers, plus an Old Skool Fashioned cocktail and everything you need to make their delicious crispy lamb fries.

Bocca di Lupo at Home
This celebrated Italian restaurant is sending out feast boxes inspired by different regions of Italy – Puglia in November, and Piedmont in December. We’ve got our eye on their festive hampers and the Alba truffle feasts, which include a whole white truffle to shave over tonnarelli al fonduta.

Chotto at Home
Expand your culinary horizons with a recipe kit from Chotto Matte, a Soho spot that specialises in Nikkei cuisine – a fusion of Peruvian and Japanese. Priced at £60 for two, the kit features five of their most popular dishes, including spicy pollo picante, black cod with a chili miso marinade, and asado de tira (slow-cooked BBQ beef with teriyaki jus).

Arabica
While their restaurants are closed, Arabica are delivering Middle Eastern meal kits and ingredients to your door. You can get the kids involved with the DIY falafel kit or treat your housemates to their ‘Feast for Beirut’ – a selection of fresh meze dishes, followed by Lebanese-style beef short rib with vermicelli rice, and baklava for dessert.

These kits are a fantastic way to support restaurants while we can’t dine in. Check out Restaurant Kits and Dishpatch for more at-home options from restaurants like Farang, Berenjak, and Café Murano.

If you would rather leave the cooking to the experts, check out our Instagram feed for some of London’s tastiest takeaway options.

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