- vegetarian
- (204)
-
Le Nid d'Aigle (aptly named - it's position is indeed an Eagles Nest) is a restaurant in Gourdon; the most beautiful clifftop village in the maritimes Alps, overlooking the Mediterranean.
The quality of food eaten in this restaurant is incredible. Superb. The supremely talented chef - who you spy on occasion through the glass partition to the kitchen, with his tall white *toque* and his oh so French moustache - knows exactly how to tantalize those tastebuds and have you clamouring for more.
Perfect portion sizes, value for money, gastronomic without being pretentious at all, and the yummiest desserts ever. I went with some friends one of whom is vegetarian - at last - proper vegetarian food.
This restaurant puts France very firmly back on the culinary circuit. Too good to pass by without recommending it (we got back home this morning!). We'll be going again and again every time we hit the cote d'Azur. The waiting staff were very helpful and charming - a discreet, efficient, excellent team of waiting staff! Bravo. Felicitations. A restaurant that combines brasserie style eating with gastronomic quality.
Place Victoria
06620 GOURDON
Tél. : 0493775128
nid-daigle@orange.fr
Excellent Thai restaurant - with lots of veggie options, and some more unusual dishes too. Try some of the chef's specialities. Everything we had was great. If Jintana was in London (my home town) I would definitely be a regular.
Jintana Thai Restaurant
Lake Road,
Bowness-on-Windermere,
Cumbria,
LA23 3BJ
Telephone: 015394 45002
Email: eat@jintanathaicuisine.com
www.jintanathaicuisine.com/
nearest station: Windermere
Fantastic Lebanese veggie / vegan menu at Flandres de Liban (website even has English menu) in Wazemmes.
More centrally, Aux Indes, do a great veggie set lunch and dinner - but you have to ask for it.
And don't miss trying a 'palette' of four (small) different beers at Les Trois Brasseurs close to the old Lille Station (Lille Flandres, rather than the Eurostar station).
www.flandresliban.net/
Aux Indes is at 38, Rue Thiers, Lille
Cool, smallish pleasant place to have a snack or drink. Good for vegetarians.
Between the corniche and the evangelical church
This is a lovely vegan restaurant in a red double decker bus. Food is brilliant and the staff are very friendly!
Elys Yard, just off Brick Lane
www.root-master.co.uk
Korea is a nation of carnivores. The national dish is Galbi (marinaded beef or pork rib meat grilled on charcoal). Koreans are the world's largest importers/consumers of bacon -Samgyopsal (although the general Korean belief is that those are two different things.) We are basically talking about three-layered pork fat. The said thick slab of fat is grilled and cut into slices, dipped into salted sesame oil and wrapped into a lettuce leaf - great fun with chopsticks!
Vegans will have to make do on Bibimbap. It's steamed rice topped with boiled vegetables. Locals drench it in a thick, ketchup-like sweet, hot chili sauce. (Kochu-jang)
Fish eating vegetarians will have less problems. Plenty of Japanese Udon Noodles and California Rolls around for those on the budget. Plastic dishes are in the window.
But I'd recommend visiting a Raw Tuna House (Chamchi) for lunch and order a He-Dop-Bap which is a bowl of salad topped with a handful of raw tuna. You are supposed to add the small bowl of steamed rice and mix (and with the eternally present Kochu-jang as above) - I just put a bit of soy sauce and a few drops of sesame oil in the mix.
The best He-Dop-Bap lunch set (including soup and side dishes for 6000 won is found at a restaurant chain called Dokdo Chamchi (all over Seoul.) Wash it down with a nice hot cup of sake for the full effect! (5000 won).
If you really love Sashimi. Order an "Eat All You Can" tuna meal for 19.000 Won - they'll keep it comin'...
Jongno 3-Ga take exit 13 and walk towards Changdok Palace (it's a straight road between Jongno and the Changdok Palace entrance. It's the 3rd or 4th door after the cinema on the left). Recognize it by the Tuna pictures all over it's front sign.
Or walk from Changdok Palace - cross the road and keep walking straight on the right. 10 min later you'll get to a junction with a big cinema on either side opposite each other - you went a bit too far.
Backtrack a bit and see as above.
***Ask anyone Dokdo Chamchi?***
(Yogi=here) (Chogi=there)
Enjoy!
Yoga at the level of your choice: one, two or three times a day; stunning natural surroundings; delicious imaginative vegetarian/vegan food; a swimming pool; a nearby river to swim in/canoe down; traditional markets in medieval hilltop villages? Yes, please! La Roane near Toulouse has all this and then some (a treehouse, sauna, massage). Nigel Shamash (your host) is a wonderfully warm and open-hearted man, with much experience of life, and a mad sense of humour. He is a clown and a musician, but like many artists has a quiet reflective side as well.
La Roane is set in 20 acres of peaceful meadow and woodland, away from roads and neighbours. It’s peaceful and secluded with wonderful woodland walks to explore, a paradise for nature lovers. It is Nigel Shamash’s home, and when you stay there it feels as though you are staying with a friend. People (a maximum of eighteen at any time) go there to enjoy the activities of the week’s course, and to spend time in a relaxing environment where there are few rules. If you want, your greatest responsibility is to decide whether or not to eat another peach. Bring your books, your diary, and your computer, or your swimsuit and your running shoes, or none of them. It’s up to you.
La Roane offers one-week yoga retreats/holidays (as well as other holistic-themed weeks) during the summer months. There are three houses, a hundred metres or so from each other, set in a huge meadow and surrounded by woodland, all Nigel’s property. In the grounds are also a tree house, a swimming pool, a sauna, a huge swing in the forest, ping-pong tables, croquet and badminton facilities, and bicycles to borrow. The nearby medieval town of St Antonin has a thriving community, with a lively market on Sundays. The town nestles on the Aveyron river, surrounded by both the spectacular sheer cliffs of the Aveyron gorge and rolling hills of lush green countryside. It is exceptionally charming, and peaceful too. In the heart of the village is the oldest civic building in France, which dates from the 12th century. You can wander through the maze of alleyways and enjoy the patchwork houses which bear witness to centuries of life. Coffee and croissants are never far away.
Each yoga course is run by a carefully-chosen and experienced teacher. There’s usually an early-morning session, another before lunch, and one before supper. There’s plenty of equipment – mats, blocks, belts, bolsters etc. The sessions are held in the converted barn; it’s cool and airy with a smooth wood floor and doors on three sides lead to the garden. Your teacher helps you to work at your own level, beginner or expert.
The place is full of flowers, both cultivated and wild. The local wildlife list is long and as well as deer includes jay, hoopoe, nightingale, buzzard, honey buzzard, glow-worm, edible dormouse, rabbit, hare, badger and fox. There are frogs and fish in the pond, and an occasional harmless snake. There are literally hundreds of species of butterfly and moth and zillions of insects, but no mosquitoes!
The pool, always clean, is set in the meadow and surrounded by flower and bushes that attract butterflies. A modern system has done away with the need to add chlorine. There are plenty of sun loungers and you can move them into the shade if you want.
All the bedrooms are comfortable, with rustic décor, not luxurious. But there are enough hangers for your clothes, and towels are provided. There’s a washing machine in each house and washing lines for drying.
Some afternoons, members of the local community arrive to give excellent shiatsu and aromatherapy massages. On Sunday morning you can visit the market in St Antonin, and twice in the week Nigel offers an optional excursion at no extra cost. On these trips you might go for a walk in the local countryside, picnic by and swim in the river, visit a local town for tea or a beer or an ice cream, or a group might go canoeing down the river.
Nigel’s philosophy is that you are on holiday, and if you don’t want to do an activity then you don’t have to do it. But going off to get drunk at a different bar each evening and turning up late for meals every day is not considered acceptable.
The food is exceptionally good! Breakfast (at 09.00h) is a help-yourself affair of seasonal fresh fruit, fresh bread, local cheeses, jams, cereals, yogurts, with an endless supply of tisanes, fresh coffee, tea, rooibush etc. If what you want isn’t there, Nigel will try to get it, or you can bring your own. You eat breakfast wherever you want: in a sunny spot in the garden, or a shady spot if it’s very hot, or inside if it’s raining; with or without others, as you wish.
Lunch and supper are taken on the terrace of the manor house, weather permitting. If it’s wet you eat in the big room of the big house. These two meals are prepared by Enzo, an Italian chef who has lived in the village for 20 years. He describes himself as an artist whose medium is food. All vegetarian, every meal begins with a smooth vegetable soup: turnip, beetroot, a broth with dulse, leek, nettle, courgette... whatever was in the market that morning. The main course will include a grain (rice, couscous, quinoa, barley etc) cooked in an interesting way; a protein (a pulse or two, local cheese, soya, eggs) and plenty of fresh local vegetables exquisitely cooked with herbs from the garden (a courgette/tomato/potato/rosemary bake, or grated carrot with anise) or a vegetable curry. His crepes don’t last long! Pudding at lunch-time is fresh fruit if you want it. In the evening, Enzo makes a desert: tarte aux pommes, chocolate mousse to die for, banana-and-coffee cream, fruit pancakes… You can help yourself to tea, coffee, fruit juice and biscuits throughout the day. Good local wine is served in the evenings.
If you have special dietary requirements Enzo will happily accommodate you: no wheat, no sugar, no dairy, no eggs, no problem!
There’s always enough to eat but you never leave the table feeling too full. Enzo studied food phytology and combines his ingredients with knowledge and intelligence. And what’s more, your plate always looks divine, decorated with herbs and flowers from the garden and blazing with colour. Enzo frequently gets a round of applause at the end of a meal!
The courses are held only in the summer months. Like all of northern Europe, the weather can be unreliable. If you’re lucky, you’ll get long hot summer days and long warm evenings; if not you might get a terrific electric storm or a few cool rainy days. In the summer it’s never cold.
I keep returning to La Roane. Fresh air and nature, peace and quiet, solitude, company, riotous laughter – all these are easy to find. The surrounding countryside is as beautiful as anywhere in the world. Nigel takes great care of his guests. His community is warm and welcoming and in the course of running La Roane he provides many local people with work. There is also always a wonderful new friend to be found and each group has a different flavour, depending on the personalities who come. La Roane is like the best box of chocolates!
www.nigelshamash.com
phone: 0033 563 68 23 67
nearest town: St Antonin Noble Val
nearest airports: Toulouse, Rodez
nearest station: Caussade
La Roane is set in 20 acres of peaceful meadow and woodland, away from roads and neighbours. It’s peaceful and secluded with wonderful woodland walks to explore, a paradise for nature lovers. It is Nigel Shamash’s home, and when you stay there it feels as though you are staying with a friend. People (a maximum of eighteen at any time) go there to enjoy the activities of the week’s course, and to spend time in a relaxing environment where there are few rules. If you want, your greatest responsibility is to decide whether or not to eat another peach. Bring your books, your diary, and your computer, or your swimsuit and your running shoes, or none of them. It’s up to you.
La Roane offers one-week yoga retreats/holidays (as well as other holistic-themed weeks) during the summer months. There are three houses, a hundred metres or so from each other, set in a huge meadow and surrounded by woodland, all Nigel’s property. In the grounds are also a tree house, a swimming pool, a sauna, a huge swing in the forest, ping-pong tables, croquet and badminton facilities, and bicycles to borrow. The nearby medieval town of St Antonin has a thriving community, with a lively market on Sundays. The town nestles on the Aveyron river, surrounded by both the spectacular sheer cliffs of the Aveyron gorge and rolling hills of lush green countryside. It is exceptionally charming, and peaceful too. In the heart of the village is the oldest civic building in France, which dates from the 12th century. You can wander through the maze of alleyways and enjoy the patchwork houses which bear witness to centuries of life. Coffee and croissants are never far away.
Each yoga course is run by a carefully-chosen and experienced teacher. There’s usually an early-morning session, another before lunch, and one before supper. There’s plenty of equipment – mats, blocks, belts, bolsters etc. The sessions are held in the converted barn; it’s cool and airy with a smooth wood floor and doors on three sides lead to the garden. Your teacher helps you to work at your own level, beginner or expert.
The place is full of flowers, both cultivated and wild. The local wildlife list is long and as well as deer includes jay, hoopoe, nightingale, buzzard, honey buzzard, glow-worm, edible dormouse, rabbit, hare, badger and fox. There are frogs and fish in the pond, and an occasional harmless snake. There are literally hundreds of species of butterfly and moth and zillions of insects, but no mosquitoes!
The pool, always clean, is set in the meadow and surrounded by flower and bushes that attract butterflies. A modern system has done away with the need to add chlorine. There are plenty of sun loungers and you can move them into the shade if you want.
All the bedrooms are comfortable, with rustic décor, not luxurious. But there are enough hangers for your clothes, and towels are provided. There’s a washing machine in each house and washing lines for drying.
Some afternoons, members of the local community arrive to give excellent shiatsu and aromatherapy massages. On Sunday morning you can visit the market in St Antonin, and twice in the week Nigel offers an optional excursion at no extra cost. On these trips you might go for a walk in the local countryside, picnic by and swim in the river, visit a local town for tea or a beer or an ice cream, or a group might go canoeing down the river.
Nigel’s philosophy is that you are on holiday, and if you don’t want to do an activity then you don’t have to do it. But going off to get drunk at a different bar each evening and turning up late for meals every day is not considered acceptable.
The food is exceptionally good! Breakfast (at 09.00h) is a help-yourself affair of seasonal fresh fruit, fresh bread, local cheeses, jams, cereals, yogurts, with an endless supply of tisanes, fresh coffee, tea, rooibush etc. If what you want isn’t there, Nigel will try to get it, or you can bring your own. You eat breakfast wherever you want: in a sunny spot in the garden, or a shady spot if it’s very hot, or inside if it’s raining; with or without others, as you wish.
Lunch and supper are taken on the terrace of the manor house, weather permitting. If it’s wet you eat in the big room of the big house. These two meals are prepared by Enzo, an Italian chef who has lived in the village for 20 years. He describes himself as an artist whose medium is food. All vegetarian, every meal begins with a smooth vegetable soup: turnip, beetroot, a broth with dulse, leek, nettle, courgette... whatever was in the market that morning. The main course will include a grain (rice, couscous, quinoa, barley etc) cooked in an interesting way; a protein (a pulse or two, local cheese, soya, eggs) and plenty of fresh local vegetables exquisitely cooked with herbs from the garden (a courgette/tomato/potato/rosemary bake, or grated carrot with anise) or a vegetable curry. His crepes don’t last long! Pudding at lunch-time is fresh fruit if you want it. In the evening, Enzo makes a desert: tarte aux pommes, chocolate mousse to die for, banana-and-coffee cream, fruit pancakes… You can help yourself to tea, coffee, fruit juice and biscuits throughout the day. Good local wine is served in the evenings.
If you have special dietary requirements Enzo will happily accommodate you: no wheat, no sugar, no dairy, no eggs, no problem!
There’s always enough to eat but you never leave the table feeling too full. Enzo studied food phytology and combines his ingredients with knowledge and intelligence. And what’s more, your plate always looks divine, decorated with herbs and flowers from the garden and blazing with colour. Enzo frequently gets a round of applause at the end of a meal!
The courses are held only in the summer months. Like all of northern Europe, the weather can be unreliable. If you’re lucky, you’ll get long hot summer days and long warm evenings; if not you might get a terrific electric storm or a few cool rainy days. In the summer it’s never cold.
I keep going returning to La Roane. Fresh air and nature, peace and quiet, solitude, company, riotous laughter – all these are easy to find. The surrounding countryside is as beautiful as anywhere in the world. Nigel is a wonderfully warm and open-hearted man, with much experience of life, and a mad sense of humour. He is a clown and a musician, but like many artists has a quiet reflective side as well. He takes great care of his guests. Nigel’s community is warm and welcoming and in the course of running La Roane he provides many local people with work. There is also always a wonderful new friend to be found and each group has a different flavour, depending on the activity and the personalities who come. La Roane is like a box of chocolates!
www.nigelshamash.com
phone 0033 563 68 23 67
nearest town: St Antonin noble Val
nearest station: Caussade (5 hours from Paris)
nearest airports: Toulouse (75 mins), Rodez (90 mins)
Tucked away at the end of a "white track" this wonderful gem of a rural retreat will recharge your batteries within a few minutes of arrival. With only 10 bedrooms and set in a 25-acre olive grove surrounded by evergreen woodland, this family run hotel has one great secret - cooking the best vegetarian food in Italy, if not Europe. It would have been enough just to find this quiet and idyllic haven, but the added bonus of award winning vegetarian cuisine is the icing on the cake. Rooms are simple yet comfortable, all with ensuite facilities, no TV's - keeping the rural idyll quiet and relaxing. Daytimes by the pool or out exploring Lake Trasimeno and the nearby villages work up an appetite for the beautifully cooked evening meals made with love and skill by Malu and her team and served by her immaculately dressed husband, Alberto. Everyone should stay here at least once in their life.
www.montalionline.com/
Via Montali, 23
06068 Tavernelle di Panicale
PG
Italy
Tel: 00 39 075 8350680
Not only is Hansa's one of the finest Indian restaurants in Leeds (indeed, restaurant of any kind), it is also entirely vegetarian - as much Indian cuisine traditionally is, or in Britain, was at least. The finest ingredients, lovingly prepared, go into making subtle, complex Gujarati dishes, whose flavours can all be made out even in the hottest of dishes. The staff - including Hansa herself - are extremely helpful and friendly, eager to explain the dishes to you, if you need any help after the thorough and interesting menu. A real treasure.
72-74 North St, Leeds, LS2 7PN - a fifteen minute walk from Leeds City Station, or ten from the bus station.
Friendly new tapas bar - loads of great dishes, excellent veggie selection (and the omnivores liked it too), good beers/wines, menu changes frequently. Bar downstairs.
Leopold Square
platillos.co.uk/
Surprisingly good vegetarian falafel place on Las Ramblas. Grab a falafel, fill it to the hilt with one or more of the supplied toppings, and watch the world go by on a sunny day.
On a street corner to the right (when walking down Las Ramblas from Plaça de Catalunya), just before the main entrance to Mercat de la Boqueria.
Chain of cheap-and-cheerful veggie cafes. Portions are small so order two - it's still a cheap meal. Menu changes constantly and English spoken if you're lucky.
Several locations around the city.
www.t-most.ru/
Excellent value vegetarian Indian food.
Veggie restaurant - hot and cold food sold by weight, all veggie, lots of vegan/gluten free options.
Best veggie restaurant in the Mongolian capital. Excellent value and will cater for vegans/allergies on request.
It's a funky, friendly modern tea room, selling fantastic home made cakes, fairtrade tea and coffee etc. The gallery and gift shop has a brilliant range of handmade items; locally made souvenirs and contemporary art, crafts and design, most of it from recycled and sustainable materials.
The lemon cake is unbelievable, and there is plenty of vegetarian and vegan choice.
40A Marina, St.Leonards on Sea, East Sussex.
www.aardvarkonsea.co.uk
This is a hidden gem, tucked away down steps accessed via an alleyway off King's Parade, opposite the main gate to King's College. It's a vegetarian establishment but if you're not veggie, don't let that deter you. The place is small but very pleasant inside and the staff are very helpful and friendly. The food was fantastic, really tasty with a very varied choice, not cheap but not overpriced either, and worth every penny. The beetroot chocolate cake was to die for (and I don't particularly like beetroot.) If I didn't live five hours drive away I'd certainly go again just for that. Well worthy of a recommendation.
9a Kings Parade, Cambridge, CB2 1SJ
Telephone: 01223 321551
Both these modern vegetarian restaurants served really tasty fresh food. We'd highly recommend them both.
Oriente Chaido - Rua Ivens, 28
Jardim dos Sentidos - Rua Mae d'Agua, 3
The best vegetarian restaurant in Lisbon (and one of the very best I've ever been to).
Amazing buffet with vegetarian versions of traditional Portuguese food. It is like being at home with a very talented Portuguese friend!
They have a wall full of awards and press clippings. Moby has been there and praised the place, as have several other very well-known artists.
It can get crowded, especially on weekends.
Rua da Palmeira, 15 1200-311 Lisboa
near garden of Principe Real and Barrio Alto
www.terra.vg
Send your feedback or queries to been.there@guardian.co.uk
Search Been there
