-
english pub food meets vegan fine dining
10May 3rd, 2009london, more restaurants (not LA)as you probably know, i am madly in love with london and all the fabulous vegan food the city has to offer. i tried out so many restaurants when i went a few months ago, and i can safely say that mildred’s vegetarian restaurant in soho was one of the best. although the menu isn’t entirely vegan, there are more than enough vegan options to choose from, all of which are clearly marked. the popular restaurant is usually buzzing, and with small tables and dim lighting, the atmosphere is ‘fancy,’ but the prices are reasonable and the food is excellent.
chargrilled artichoke crostini with lemon aioli £5.25
when i went to mildred’s with my husband, we started off with the vegan-optional chargrilled artichoke crostini. huge thick slices of artichoke came piled on top of little crusty toasts, with a dipping sauce that was incredibly tasty. while the appetizer was simple, it was cooked and seasoned perfectly. i would definitely have this again.
mixed mushroom, porcini and ale pie served with fries and mushy peas £8.75
mildred’s menu is pretty extensive, with offerings that range from asian to mexican food. they also have a pretty big selection of vegan pub fare, which is hard to come by. my husband ordered the mushroom pie with chips and mushy peas, which i stole many bites from. growing up in england as a vegetarian, my husband used to eat mushroom pies in pubs all the time…however the buttery crust and creamy innards make them totally off limits to vegans. i am so glad mildred’s created a cruelty-free version so he could enjoy pub food just like back in the day.
even though i’ve never had a ‘real’ mushroom pie, i can vouch for this thing and say it was absolutely delicious. the flaky crust was filled up with succulent vegetable bits and covered in a savory runny gravy. damn, why can’t i get food like this in los angeles? oh, i did have one complaint about the pie though…it came with MINTY mushy peas, which are gross. normal mushy peas are awesome, i hate it when people add mint to them. wtf.
sundried tomato, tarragon and kidney bean sausages served with celeriac mash, braised red cabbage and rosemary red wine gravy £8.75
i also went with traditional pub fare for my main dish and ordered mildred’s take on bangers and mash. the sausages were amazing, like nothing i’ve ever tried before. they were thick and meaty, but also full of chunky tomatoes and large kidney beans. the mashed potatoes were wonderfully fluffy and creamy, and soaked up all the red wine gravy just perfectly. i love mildred’s take on classic food, they really made delicious and unique vegan versions of old favorites.
coconut tofu cheesecake with caramelised banana £4.75
for dessert we shared the vegan tofu cheesecake, which i was very impressed with. mildred’s only has a few vegan dessert options, and i wasn’t really in the mood for coconut, but this thing definitely won me over. it is the closest thing to a ‘real’ cheesecake that i’ve ever tasted. the coconut flavor was subtle, as to not overwhelm the amazing cheesecake taste. the carmelised bananas were a nice touch as well, good stuff all the way around.
i really don’t think i could speak highly enough of mildred’s. our food was so excellent, i can see why the place is always packed. definitely don’t miss this one when you are in london, it’s one of the best restaurants i’ve ever been to.
mildred’s
Tags: england, english, london, pub food, soho, uk
45 Lexington St
London, W1F 9AN, United Kingdom
+44 20 74941634
12 noon till 11pm Monday to Saturday
10 responses to “english pub food meets vegan fine dining” 
-
my mouth is watering- seriously!
guess this is the fun part of living in a big city- vegan food is much easier to find- not complaining- but it must be fun! 🙂
-
thank you so much for writing this because i went here 3 years ago and couldn’t remember the name, just that it was awesome. so good.
-
Rachel May 4th, 2009 at 00:49
Oh I was hoping you’d write up about this restaurant. On my previous visit to London, I wanted to eat at Mildreds but didn’t have the chance to. This now confirms that I should definately try this place out when I go to London in July. That mushroom pie sounds and looks delicious.
-
Mildreds is a classic. Can become quite crowded and you can’t reserve, up to a 2 hour wait on Saturdays. U can spend waiting time in Redvegs round the corner having a hot dog 🙂 My favorite on the menu is the burger of the day with vegan mayo in a different style each time (carrot, beetroot etc. but still very meaty). The soups are killer too. So glad I’ll be there soon again.
-
Oh, my goodness, I want to try that mushroom pie and the celeriac mash immediately! They look absolutely delicious. I can’t wait to plan my next trip to London just for the sole purpose of trying every restaurant in the Quarrygirl’s Guide to London series!
-
msmerymac August 17th, 2009 at 11:14
I also had the artichoke appetizer and the mushroom pie! Mildred’s was probably the best meal I had in London. (We went to a great veg restaurant in Edinburgh called David Bann’s.) Of course, we ended up at Eat and Two Veg twice (very good, though not quite as good – or cramped – as Mildred’s), because there was an awesome pub across the street (the Prince Regent) which served strawberry Fruli and Aspall Cider.
-
heheee i couldn’t agree more about the minty peas! ^^ and we had a blackcurrant and vanilla tofu cheesecake, which i guess was a updated version of the 1 u guys had, but it hit the spot very well!
This was the first of many vegan restaurants Ive been to ever since moving to London and we had to wait almost 40 mins before we got a table but it was well worth it; i had already marked it down on my list of places to try out but ur blog and this post convinced me that mildreds was a good place to start! thnx so much and keep the posts comin!
TangerineTangerine May 3rd, 2009 at 10:55