Samphire Brasserie vegan restaurant, Plymouth

Before our recent trip away, I made a note of several vegan-friendly restaurants in Plymouth. Plymouth is one of the largest cities in the south-west of England, and so it has plenty of restaurants to choose from, vegan and non-vegan alike. We ate at Samphire Brasserie, which is located in central Plymouth and was about 30 minutes from the small village where we stayed. 

Samphire Brasserie. We liked the herb pots on the tables.

On the restaurant website, the menu refers to vegetarian and vegan dishes. There has been a recent change such that everything is vegan - good news for me! There are also a few extra dishes not referred to online, expanding the menu choices even further.

I ordered one of the dishes not referred to online: a nut roast with crispy kale and roast baby carrots and potatoes, as well as vegan gravy. It was a delicious meal. I haven't had a huge number of nut roasts, but this one was among the best I've tried. It was tender while still holding together, and although I couldn't tell you which herbs were used, I can say that herbs and seasonings were applied in perfect proportion. The vegetables and gravy were delicious too, and the crispy kale was a nice touch - almost like kale crisps. 

Nut roast

One of the reasons Samphire Brasserie made my list is that it has a range of veganised 'normal' dishes that I thought would appeal to Mr Bite. For example, there are three burgers on the menu. You can also order vegan 'fish' and chips. Mr B went for the speciality burger, which is described as a "soy mince, cheese and onion burger with a tower of battered onion rings, side salad, coleslaw and twice fried chips". I expected the cheese to come on top of the burger patty, but it was instead part of the burger flavourings. The chips scored top marks and the burger was rated as good - Mr Bite is somewhat of a burger connoisseur so he has exacting standards.

Speciality burger

We didn't need dessert, but we ordered it to share anyway. The vegan brownie came with soy vanilla ice cream, chocolate chips and chocolate sauce. The menu suggested it had a secret ingredient - I am guessing black beans, although Mr B wondered about beetroot. I wish we'd asked, because it certainly wasn't discernible in the flavours. Mr Bite is a brownie connoisseur too, but he (both of us) really liked this one.

Vegan brownie

The restaurant is quite casual, but attractive at the same time and there is an old record player complete with LP records customers can select from if they wish. The service was friendly and efficient without being hurried. The prices are reasonable too; our bill including the two mains, dessert and one soft drink plus tip was £24. It isn't in a particularly attractive part of town, but it's central and easy to find.

All in all, if you find yourself in Plymouth, I recommend Samphire Brasserie for diverse and delicious vegan offerings. It only opened in March 2013, so given the timing of this post, happy two year anniversary to them too!

Samphire Brasserie is located at 111 Mayflower Street, Plymouth, Devon, UK. Their phone number is 01752 263116 and they have a webpage - http://www.samphirebrasserie.com/ . Current opening hours are from 12pm to 3pm Tuesdays through Saturdays, and from 5pm to 9pm Wednesdays through Saturdays.

Do you do advance research on eating options before going away?

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