Cafe Van Gogh

Jul 25, 2017 | Food Reviews | 3 comments

One of my biggest cravings since transitioning to a vegan lifestyle is what I like to call ‘fat food’. You know Mac n’ Cheese, BBQ Wings, Potato Salad and so on. Which is why I was over the moon when Cafe Van Gogh contacted me to trial their brand new vegan menu.

Cafe Van Gogh is a social enterprise cafe meaning that it is not-for-profit, as all profits are reinvested into the local community through on-the-job training and food nutrition workshops. Located in North Brixton (7 minutes walk from Oval Tube Station), Cafe Van Gogh is the perfect spot to enjoy wholesome plant based dishes inspired by Caribbean and Asian flavours. I was so excited to learn that Cafe Van Gogh is now 100% Vegan as in the past it used to offer vegetarian options; but due to popular demand the founder Steven Clarke made the decision to change the menu and offer his customers with various plant based options which do not fail to tantalise those tastebuds!

On arrival my guest and I were given the fondest welcome by Steven himself and he made us feel right at home (providing us with the WIFI code)! Luckily for us we were blessed with beautiful weather, so Steven seated us in the corner of the garden courtyard which was absolutely stunning; and refreshed our dry palates with a Tumeric Iced Latte which I fell in love with so much that after my third glass I was made aware that it had ran out (ha, ha).

Then the food began to arrive, lucky for us we were hungry as the portion sizes were out of this world. We were blessed to have received and tried the following;

Seitan Sticky Ribs

(with potato and pickled onion salad, grilled corn, “bacon” butter)

I am not usually that keen on seitan as I am not that fond of the texture but I cannot fault Cafe Van Gogh’s version. I have never eaten a ‘real’ rib in my life but the likeness of it was unreal. I really enjoyed the sauce they had been marinated in and getting my hands dirty!

Sri-Lankin Jackfruit & Aubergine Stuffed Chapatti

(with dhal, pineapple chutney, salads)

I love Asian infused flavours and I really enjoyed this meal; however it is very filling, so I would recommend not eating anything before you get to Cafe Van Gogh as to not ruin your appetite.

Jerk Plantain

(with smoky beans and mango salsa)

Plantain is one of my all time favourites and I was impressed with the jerk sauce. Not many restaurants make the sauce spicy enough, but boy oh boy Cafe Van Gogh you got it spot on.

Side of Mac n’ Cheese

(with homemade cheese sauce)

Mac N’ Cheese Pie was my go to before I became vegan; its just my all time comfort food and I haven’t found a recipe nor have I ordered a vegan one that has hit the spot as of yet. Fortunately Cafe Van Gogh put their own spin on their version and I really enjoyed it and was pleased to find out that they had made their own ‘cheese’ sauce.
Can you believe after all this we still had room for dessert! To my surprise after tasting both the;

Sticky Toffe Pudding & Black Forrest Oreo Sundae

I fell in love with the Sticky Toffee Pudding and my friend fell in love with the Black Forrest Oreo Sundae which had not been expected.

So far I can honestly put my hand on my heart and confidently say that this is one of the best vegan cafes I have ever been too and as you have seen despite our bad press, vegans could probably eat you meat eaters under the table! Cafe Van Gogh also has a space upstairs to hire if you have a special celebration or big meeting. I want to say a huge thank you to Cafe Van Gogh for being such a remarkable host and I cannot wait to come down and see you again.

3 Comments

  1. Amina
    Amina on July 25, 2018 at 6:59 pm

    These look so delicious! I love Mac and Cheese and consider myself a conisour if you will. Theirs looks so good and a healthier alternative to what I normally eat. I will definitely check it out if I am ever in the area! I love how creative people are with food.

    Reply
  2. Joanna -
    Joanna - on July 26, 2018 at 1:01 pm

    I am not vegan or vegetarian but I would like to go to this cafe and try out their menu. The food sounds intriguing and you can see that the owner has put a lot of effort into creating the menu to be flavorsome and filling in the same time.

    Reply
  3. Little B & Me
    Little B & Me on July 26, 2018 at 5:02 pm

    OH MY GOSH!
    Those ribs have got me running in my dressing gown over to London, they look so AMAZING.
    The stuff we can replicate as vegans is FAB. I so need to head to this place. The food looks fantastic, thank you for sharing this x

    Reply

Submit a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *