222 Veggie Vegan restaurant review

My greatest apologies to 222 Veggie Vegan, but my mobile phone photography is just not up to the job of conveying how nice the food is. I would also like to give my apologies to a great friend of mine who came with me to the restaurant, but more of that presently.

We stopped in to 222 Veggie Vegan, somewhere out in west London, at lunchtime last weekend. It turned out they only serve a buffet at lunchtime, and not the full menu as me and my friend had been hoping for.

Fortunately, it also turned out that the buffet was rather tasty - and what's better than a tasty buffet? A tasty, all you can eat buffet, of course.

Unfortunately, it turns out too that a lot of the dishes - possibly all - are incompatible with the food allergies that my friend has. Rather kindly, said friend ate on and, fingers crossed, didn't suffer too much as a the result. She did go back for a second plate, so hopefully the quality of the food went some way to making up for the allergic nature of the ingredients it contained!

There were 10 dishes on the buffet while we were there. I think I tried most of them and enjoyed all I tried.

Everything on the menu is vegan - making me unnecessaryily happy to see coleslaw in the buffet. I'm too lazy to make it myself, and I for some reason it's all too rarely on served at veggie or vegan restaurants. Perhaps because it takes the healthiest of ingredients and covers them in fatty mayonnaise, perhaps because it puts me in mind of pub lunches - whatever it is, I love the stuff and am eternally grateful for 222 for making it.

The coleslaw was one of the five cold, salady dishes that made up one half of the buffet - avocado and spinach, bean and lentil also got the nod.

The hot dishes that lit my fire were a carrot tart - a gentle, tofu cuddle of a pastry dish - a chick pea curry, and mashed potatoes. Well, allegedly mashed potatoes - they had a very un-potato texture and more than a touch of parsnip about them. And, once they'd been wiped out by hungry diners, they were replaced with the equally nice fried, paprika-y spuds instead. Lovely.

222 has an interesting dessert menu, but not interesting enough to stop me going back for a second stab at the buffet. All that food, some excellent company and just £7.50 to pay? I call that made of win.

222 Veggie Vegan
http://www.222veggievegan.com/
222 North End Road
London
W14 9NU
020 7381 2322