Article from the Bristol Evening Post
Is this Britain’s first vegan pub? From the beer to the bar snacks it’s all veggie-friendly here.
Put aside thoughts of bare lettuce leaves and bland pulses, the UK’s first vegetarian and vegan pub is set to tickle the taste buds and change the way you think about meat-free food.
Based in Hotwells, the Adam and Eve is run by the team behind the craft-ale pub, Small Bar, and promises to be a top destination for herbivores and carnivores alike.
The pub on Chapel Hill, which is thought to be the first of its kind in the country, serves exclusively vegetarian food and drink.
From the bar snacks and the beer, to the main dishes and the wine, everything is meat free and up to 80 per cent of the menu is suitable for vegan diets.
Baked stuffed aubergine
Date: 15/01/2015
Photographer: Michael Lloyd/Freelance
Reporter: Esme Ashcroft
Copyright: Local World
Owner Bruce Grey said: “It is early days, we only introduced the menu at the start of January, but so far the reaction has been brilliant.
“When we were thinking of starting the pub we wanted to make it completely different from what we have at Small Bar and different again from the hundreds of other gastro-pubs in Bristol.
“We also wanted it to be a concept which we felt passionate and excited about – something which the staff and the whole team to get behind.
“During our research we couldn’t find any other vegetarian and vegan pub in the UK – there are cafes and restaurants, but no pubs.
“And as a vegan, I thought this would be a fantastic idea.”
Bruce and his wife decided to give up their meat-fuelled diets five years ago.
Initially just an experiment to help with his endurance sports hobby, the 35-year-old felt such benefits from the vegan diet that he decided to stick with it.
However, drinkers and diners will not feel pressure to permanently change their eating habits.
“The pub has something for everyone,” Bruce said.
“We aim to serve food which is exciting, diverse and flavoursome.
“We have paid a lot of attention to textures and flavours, so we think it is a menu for people to get really excited about.
“People often ask me how I manage to be a vegan because they think that all I eat is salad.
“But actually when we serve people who eat meat our food they are amazed by how diverse and delicious it all is.”
Bruce has created a combination of traditional and world dishes from roast dinners to Moroccan tagines to Japanese udon soup with noodles.
Nearly all of the menu is vegan, with only some vegetarian cheese dishes off limits.
Alongside the food, Bruce hopes nearby residents will continue to use it as their go-to watering hole.
“It is also a pub for locals as well,” he said.
“Everything we pour at the bar is vegetarian, mostly vegan, and one hundred per cent delicious.
“Bristol is a very accepting and almost bohemian city, and very willing to support new independent businesses.
“Ultimately we want locals to come in for a drink and people who are intrigued by our menu to travel to us.”