The Ropewalk, Barton on Humber

Reviewed by Edward, 19th April 2009
I had lunch in the Ropery Coffee Shop at the Ropewalk today. This is the same place where the Green Party have their meals. Although it was very busy the service was fast and they made a point of serving everyone’s food at the same time. The majority of the items on the standard menu, and all the items on the "specials" menu, were vegetarian. I had Spinach and Potato Balti with rice, which was also vegan. Other vegetarians in the group had Brie and Red Onion Tart, Panninis, and Potato Wedges. Everyone enjoyed their meals and although the portions were large there was no food left on anyone's plate. I spoke to the staff and they said that they cannot guarantee that there will be a vegan item on the specials menu every day, but on the standard menu Roast Vegetables & Humus Panninis and Wraps are always available. Unfortunately they are only open, for meals at lunchtimes.

Marrowbone and Cleaver, Kirmington

Reviewed by Edward 31st December, 2008
The Marrowbone and Cleaver is in Kirmington, near Humberside Airport. It was used by bomber crews, flying from Kirmington during WWII, and has a number of old pictures of the airfield and aircraft decorating the bars. The restaurant is in a new conservatory attached to the main building. It is a friendly place and the restaurant is clean and tidy. It is usually quiet in the restaurant. There is a sign on the wall asking parents not to allow their young children to run around annoying the diners. It doesn’t mention flying club members however who can be quite boisterous. I have eaten there before and they have a number of vegetarian items on the menu. On this occasion it was a flying club meal, with fixed menu options. The only vegetarian main course was the ubiquitous Mushroom Stroganoff. For a starter I chose Garlic Mushrooms. These were presented nicely, with a garnish and were tasty without the garlic being overpowering. I wasn’t expecting too much from the Mushroom Stroganoff. Over the years I have eaten this dish more times than I can remember often because it was the only vegetarian option available. I was pleasantly surprised however. I think that this must be the best example of this dish that I have eaten. It appeared to be home-made, rather than the usual bought-in variety that pubs serve - often in a separate dish. It was a generous portion and was piping hot. It came with boiled long-grain rice and a salad. The rice cooked to perfection. My meat-eating companions were not so complementary about their meals. I heard a number of them moaning that their roast beef was overcooked, along with other complaints. For dessert I had Plum Pudding, which again was tasty and hot. The cost, for three courses, was £13.95. We amused ourselves, during the meal, by making and flying paper aeroplanes across the restaurant. This added to the aeronautical ambiance for us, if not for the other customers.

Da Vinci’s, Grimsby

Reviewed by Sue 19th July, 2008
Very old fashioned interior with the sort of tables you’d expect to get in a cafe in a shopping centre before they were called precincts or malls in the UK. Served by this miserable and worried looking old guy- he did his job but nothing more to make you feel welcome. There was a huge menu but only 3 veggie starters and 4 veggie main courses to choose from: 2 pizzas, 1 pasta and 1 risotto. None of the options sounded very exciting. Had the aubergine starter, which was OK, but could have been thrown together in 10 mins at home. Pizza for main was nothing special. Chocolate pancake for dessert- again, nothing special. Dessert menu was very plain. £25 for 3 courses. All in all, this place was very old fashioned, dingy, and couldn’t give a shit about providing for veggies. If you want to go out for an Italian in Grimsby, I would definitely stick with the Pink Butterfly- it wins hands down over this place.

Indian Kitchen

Reviewed by Angela 14th July, 2008
Went here for a meal in honour of a friend who was back in Grimsby for the first time since emigrating to Canada 9 years ago, 7 people including 2 vegetarians went. Quite a basic restaurant but the food was delicious. Around 10 vegetarian options on the menu (all curry of course). Can't actually remember the name of the one I chose but it was really nice, quite delicately spiced and containing a mixture of cauliflower, nuts and other veggies. Also tried some of the dish my friend ordered which was comprised mostly of chickpeas, this was also really nice but preferred the one I had ordered. On arrival they serve a starter of poppadoms and chutneys. Reasonably priced and really nice food.

The Farmhouse

Reviewed by Angela 14th July, 2008
Went for lunch on Saturday with two non veggies, one had fish and chips and said their meal was delicious, the other had sausage and mash and was 'not too impressed'. Vegetarian options are limited there were two main courses on the specials board but nothing on the main menu. The two options were Mushroom Suet Pudding (not particularly appropriate on what was for once a warm summer's day) and Pear and Dolcellate Tart, so I opted for the latter. Unlike some pubs there was no problem with swapping the new potatoes that were supposed to come with the tart for chips, unfortunately though this did also mean that you lost the salad and instead received carrots and mange tout, or maybe they were just out of salad that day! Decent sized portion and edible but nothing to write home about. The pastry on the tart was on the hard side and not quite sure where the pears were, as it seemed to contain only a fairly runny cheese sauce, no flavour of pear detected. Not bad enough to say I wouldn't go back but not somewhere I would rush back to either.

‘The Beck’, Mablethorpe

Reviewed by Sue, 12th July, 2008
Service was quick and my carnivorous friends all seemed happy. There was plenty of food- no one managed to finish (although we had eaten two birthday cakes earlier). There were only two vegetarian options, tomato pasta and fajitas. Other dishes on the menu could easily have been adapted to being veggie. I asked if it was possible to have the veggie option for the carvery and it was- they charge for a child’s meal and you get veggie gravy and the veggies. Not somewhere I’d be running back to.

The Olde Barn, Tealby

Reviewed by Edward, 18th May, 2008
The Olde Barn has a comfortable atmosphere. It is clean and well decorated throughout. We were able to have a drink first, in the comfortable lounge area, and were shown to our table when the food was ready. There are eight vegetarian options available. I chose Mediterranean Vegetable Wellington. This consisted of various vegetables in puff pastry with a tangy tomato sauce. The pastry was slightly burned in a couple of places but not enough to cause complaint. I enjoyed the meal , which I would give a mark of 7/10. Bobby chose the Vegetable Lasagne with Garlic Bread, which she rated as 8/10. Both meals came with a crisp side salad containing lettuce, onion, beetroot, radish etc. Some of the meals came with salad; some with vegetables of the day and some had the choice of either. Although the salad was very good, if I had the same meal again I think that I would ask if I could have it with the vegetables instead. For dessert I had Gooseberry Crumble; and Bobby, Strawberries and Cream. Both desserts were of ample proportion, well presented and tasty. The total cost, for food, worked out at about £13 each.

The Coffee Shop, St Peter’s Ave., Cleethorpes

Reviewed by Sue, 18th March, 2008
Pleasant environment with quiet background music. Very good and polite service. I had a vegetable melt which was served with salad and a chocolate sunrise- or something- basically an orange hot chocolate with a mountain of cream and chocolate flake on top. The food I chose was a bit bland but the hot choc. was lovely. It came to £6.05 The Shake Shack- owner tried very hard to please but the milkshake was so crap I didn't finish it. All the knives etc. were laid out in such a way that it reminded me of a body piercing shop!

The Riverside, Cleethorpes

Reviewed by Angela, 10th February, 2008
Went to The Riverside last night in a group of 6, 2 vegetarians and 4 meat eaters. First impressions were good, very nice decor and atmosphere and place was very busy which gave the impression that it was going to be good. Our table was booked for 8pm; we were shown straight to our table on arrival and given copies of a main and specials menu. The only vegetarian starter on the menu was minestrone soup and the only two vegetarian main courses were on the specials menu. I did not particularly fancy soup as a starter, (normally I find it too heavy when going for a 3 course meal), and neither did the other vegetarian in the party; so when the waitress - who definitely would not have won any awards in the intelligence department - finally came to take our order we asked if there were any alternative vegetarian starters available. I say when the waitress finally came as this must have been at least 30 minutes after sitting down. The said waitress went to speak to the chef and came back to tell us that we could have the field mushroom with goats cheese without the pancetta so we both ordered this. The best description that can be given to it is that it was OK, pretty flavourless and with a slightly bitter taste but edible. One of our party had opted for the non vegetarian option of this dish and said that the only flavour was from the pancetta. The other non vegetarians who had chosen the fish cakes did better, these looked nice and they reported that they were. A considerable wait longer our main courses were finally brought to the table around 9.50pm by which time we were all pretty hungry as non of us had really eaten during the day. Both us vegetarians had chosen a dish of courgettes with feta cheese and pine nuts on a bed of savoy cabbage. What can we say about this dish! Well the first words that spring to mind are bland and tasteless. The savoy cabbage had simply been boiled in water and about 3 tablespoons of it placed on each plate. On top of this were two pieces of courgette approximately 3" long with a meagre sprinkling of pine nuts and a thin layer of cheese on the top, there was no real flavour to them other than when lucky enough to find a pine nut. In a circle around the edge was a pattern of 4 blobs of some sort of sauce which again did not have much flavour and 4 tiny and very overcooked bits of potato. Could this be what they call nouveau cuisine? Lets just say that once I had eaten this I had wished that I had opted for the soup as a starter at least then I would not still have been hungry, maybe this is the only vegetarian starter for a reason, perhaps it is a deliberate ploy to ensure that you are not still hungry after the meagre main course. Our meat eating friends did better portion wise as they at least were served decent sized portions of meat and this was accompanied by mashed potato and another vegetable, think it may have been cabbage, none of them were particularly impressed with the taste though. Only the mussels received full approval. It is true to say that we could all have easily found room for dessert, (unusual when dining out), but the truth is by the time we were offered the dessert menu at around 10.40pm we had basically all got past it, decided to ask for the bill and head down to the nearest bar. The cost was around £21 each plus £36 for 3 bottles of wine, with dessert would have been around £26 each which on the face of it is not all that expensive but costly enough to expect quality. If you take into account the poor quality, meagre portions and snail paced service then it could be said to be very expensive. Normally we would leave a tip but on this occasion we decided that neither the service nor the food warranted it. General opinion once outside was that we would have enjoyed it more and been less hungry afterwards if we had opted for a takeaway.

The Dovedale Hotel, Cleethorpes

Reviewed by Sue.
We attended the Dovedale restaurant on Friday 16th November. The hotel is easily recognizable from the road and has a pleasing frontage. Inside, both the bar and restaurant areas had pleasant décor, comfy seating and a pleasant ambiance. This was however, spoilt by the lack of heating in the restaurant area in particular. The menus were clearly laid out and there was a good range of vegetarian options. It took quite a while after being given the menus before the head waitress showed us to our table. Starters arrived together in reasonable time and matched the descriptions on the menus. There was only one plate of butter and oil for the bread, to share between the whole table, which was a bit tricky. There was no vegan spread provided as an alternative to the butter. Water took a while to arrive. We munched our way through: warm goats’ cheese and beetroot salad, tempura of vegetables, mushroom and spinach risotto and a stuffed pepper (which was advertised as stuffed peppers). Main courses arrived together and everyone was satisfied with their dish. The dishes that we gobbled were: tarte tatin, stuffed aubergine and mozzarella mousakka. However, salads, chips and vegetables had to be shared and butter had been put on the vegetables, which were to be shared by a vegan. Since we had booked as a vegetarian society a little more consideration could have been taken into account and the waitress could have checked if anyone was vegan. The dessert menu looked good and some of us were tempted by it. Unlike the starters and main courses, the desserts (chocolate brownie and cheesecake) were disappointing although the standard of the presentation of the dishes remained high. Unfortunately there were no vegan desserts. Overall service was a little slow and unsatisfactory especially given the price of the meals- I got the impression the waitresses were new to the job and the service is therefore likely to improve. The bill came to £133.80 for five of us, with £104.35 being for the food.

The Victorian House Restaurant, Welholme Road

Reviewed by Edward 22/09/07
A number of people had told me about this restaurant. All were complementary about the food and service there. The restaurant advertised an extensive vegetarian menu, including some vegan items. I therefore thought that it would be a good place to host a meal for Grimsby Vegetarians. A few days before the meal one of the group informed me that a friend had told her that the restaurant was now under new management and that standards had fallen. The restaurant, as its name suggests, is in a converted victorian house. It is clean with pleasing décor. The vegetarian menu had changed since I copied it, from the notice board outside the restaurant, some months ago. The vegan items no longer appeared. I had twice spoken to the proprietor and told him that there would be at least one vegan attending and he told me that this would not be a problem. As it turned out there were no vegan items, which could be ordered, although the chef did come up with a vegan meal. The menus were badly organised. Different copies showed different items. Some copies did not even include the vegetarian items. Three of us started with the minestrone soup. This was freshly-made and was hot and tasty. When the main courses were served they were not all available at the same time. This meant that those people who got theirs early had to start eating before the others otherwise their food would have been cold by the time everyone was served. The potatoes and vegetables also arrived at different times and people had to start eating their meals before all the components arrived. The proprietress served the meals. Unfortunately she got some of the orders wrong. She also totally forgot one person’s main course. The way the dining table was arranged in the room meant that she could not get around the table and the diners had to pass plates, and menus, around. The Walnut Mushroom Stroganoff, which I had, was quite tasty but was not very hot. I think that I got most of the walnuts because the person next to me had a hard job finding any in her meal. Opinions on the other items ordered varied. Some found their main course to be tasty; others said that they found the food to be quite bland. There was an extensive range of desserts, although different menus showed different items to be available. One diner ordered an item only to be told that it was not available. Most desserts were well presented although one was served which was still frozen! There were no desserts to suit vegans. The proprietress forgot one of the desserts. Unfortunately this was for the same person whose main course she had forgotten. In summary the food was of varying quality. The service fell well below satisfactory standards. The proprietress did say that if any vegetarians or vegans gave them some recipes that they would like to have served, and gave advanced notice, then the chef would cook them specially.
I could not recommend this restaurant to any vegetarian and will not be eating there again.
Note: This restaurant has now gone out of business!

The Cricketers, Littlefield Lane

Reviewed by Angela 04/08/07
Visited the newly refurbished Cricketers today. It opened yesterday with a new menu following a complete update. Much better than it was last time I was in there as they seem to have separated the family area from the main pub so not so many screaming kids running riot. As for food, it was very good. Not a great deal of choice but then what have we veggies come to expect its a bonus if we get more than one option and it was the usual Beanburger, Lasagne and Pasta (just the 3 choices) but at least the Lasagne was a Spinach version rather than the usual roasted peppers. Unlike before they do let you substitute the garlic bread that comes with the past for chips but in order to do this you do have to forfeit the salad as well. The beanburger was spicy but very well cooked, nice and crispy and the chips were done to perfection - the salsa advertised on the menu was missing though. The lasagne was also good, well-flavoured but perhaps could have been a wee bit hotter. Pretty good value too as long as there is an even number of diners. All meals are two for one so if 3 go, one gets ripped as in reality they have to pay the price of two meals. Also one of our party wanted to order a pint of coke and they refused to sell one, would only sell it in a standard sized glass.

Tesco Cafeteria, Cleethorpes

Reviewed by Edward 03/08/07
I tried today’s “Vegetarian Option” at Tesco. Mushroom Stroganoff. The price was reasonable at £3.49 but it was a small portion – more like a child’s portion. The rice was cooked well and was warm. It was a pity it was not brown rice. The Stroganoff itself was watery and tasteless. It seemed to have been made from tinned mushrooms. This is one to avoid.

The Ropewalk, Barton on Humber

Reviewed by Edward, 19th April 2009
I had lunch in the Ropery Coffee Shop at the Ropewalk today. This is the same place where the Green Party have their meals. Although it was very busy the service was fast and they made a point of serving everyone’s food at the same time. The majority of the items on the standard menu, and all the items on the "specials" menu, were vegetarian. I had Spinach and Potato Balti with rice, which was also vegan. Other vegetarians in the group had Brie and Red Onion Tart, Panninis, and Potato Wedges. Everyone enjoyed their meals and although the portions were large there was no food left on anyone's plate. I spoke to the staff and they said that they cannot guarantee that there will be a vegan item on the specials menu every day, but on the standard menu Roast Vegetables & Humus Panninis and Wraps are always available. Unfortunately they are only open, for meals at lunchtimes.

Marrowbone and Cleaver, Kirmington

Reviewed by Edward 31st December, 2008
The Marrowbone and Cleaver is in Kirmington, near Humberside Airport. It was used by bomber crews, flying from Kirmington during WWII, and has a number of old pictures of the airfield and aircraft decorating the bars. The restaurant is in a new conservatory attached to the main building. It is a friendly place and the restaurant is clean and tidy. It is usually quiet in the restaurant. There is a sign on the wall asking parents not to allow their young children to run around annoying the diners. It doesn’t mention flying club members however who can be quite boisterous. I have eaten there before and they have a number of vegetarian items on the menu. On this occasion it was a flying club meal, with fixed menu options. The only vegetarian main course was the ubiquitous Mushroom Stroganoff. For a starter I chose Garlic Mushrooms. These were presented nicely, with a garnish and were tasty without the garlic being overpowering. I wasn’t expecting too much from the Mushroom Stroganoff. Over the years I have eaten this dish more times than I can remember often because it was the only vegetarian option available. I was pleasantly surprised however. I think that this must be the best example of this dish that I have eaten. It appeared to be home-made, rather than the usual bought-in variety that pubs serve - often in a separate dish. It was a generous portion and was piping hot. It came with boiled long-grain rice and a salad. The rice cooked to perfection. My meat-eating companions were not so complementary about their meals. I heard a number of them moaning that their roast beef was overcooked, along with other complaints. For dessert I had Plum Pudding, which again was tasty and hot. The cost, for three courses, was £13.95. We amused ourselves, during the meal, by making and flying paper aeroplanes across the restaurant. This added to the aeronautical ambiance for us, if not for the other customers.

Da Vinci’s, Grimsby

Reviewed by Sue 19th July, 2008
Very old fashioned interior with the sort of tables you’d expect to get in a cafe in a shopping centre before they were called precincts or malls in the UK. Served by this miserable and worried looking old guy- he did his job but nothing more to make you feel welcome. There was a huge menu but only 3 veggie starters and 4 veggie main courses to choose from: 2 pizzas, 1 pasta and 1 risotto. None of the options sounded very exciting. Had the aubergine starter, which was OK, but could have been thrown together in 10 mins at home. Pizza for main was nothing special. Chocolate pancake for dessert- again, nothing special. Dessert menu was very plain. £25 for 3 courses. All in all, this place was very old fashioned, dingy, and couldn’t give a shit about providing for veggies. If you want to go out for an Italian in Grimsby, I would definitely stick with the Pink Butterfly- it wins hands down over this place.

Indian Kitchen

Reviewed by Angela 14th July, 2008
Went here for a meal in honour of a friend who was back in Grimsby for the first time since emigrating to Canada 9 years ago, 7 people including 2 vegetarians went. Quite a basic restaurant but the food was delicious. Around 10 vegetarian options on the menu (all curry of course). Can't actually remember the name of the one I chose but it was really nice, quite delicately spiced and containing a mixture of cauliflower, nuts and other veggies. Also tried some of the dish my friend ordered which was comprised mostly of chickpeas, this was also really nice but preferred the one I had ordered. On arrival they serve a starter of poppadoms and chutneys. Reasonably priced and really nice food.

The Farmhouse

Reviewed by Angela 14th July, 2008
Went for lunch on Saturday with two non veggies, one had fish and chips and said their meal was delicious, the other had sausage and mash and was 'not too impressed'. Vegetarian options are limited there were two main courses on the specials board but nothing on the main menu. The two options were Mushroom Suet Pudding (not particularly appropriate on what was for once a warm summer's day) and Pear and Dolcellate Tart, so I opted for the latter. Unlike some pubs there was no problem with swapping the new potatoes that were supposed to come with the tart for chips, unfortunately though this did also mean that you lost the salad and instead received carrots and mange tout, or maybe they were just out of salad that day! Decent sized portion and edible but nothing to write home about. The pastry on the tart was on the hard side and not quite sure where the pears were, as it seemed to contain only a fairly runny cheese sauce, no flavour of pear detected. Not bad enough to say I wouldn't go back but not somewhere I would rush back to either.

‘The Beck’, Mablethorpe

Reviewed by Sue, 12th July, 2008
Service was quick and my carnivorous friends all seemed happy. There was plenty of food- no one managed to finish (although we had eaten two birthday cakes earlier). There were only two vegetarian options, tomato pasta and fajitas. Other dishes on the menu could easily have been adapted to being veggie. I asked if it was possible to have the veggie option for the carvery and it was- they charge for a child’s meal and you get veggie gravy and the veggies. Not somewhere I’d be running back to.

The Olde Barn, Tealby

Reviewed by Edward, 18th May, 2008
The Olde Barn has a comfortable atmosphere. It is clean and well decorated throughout. We were able to have a drink first, in the comfortable lounge area, and were shown to our table when the food was ready. There are eight vegetarian options available. I chose Mediterranean Vegetable Wellington. This consisted of various vegetables in puff pastry with a tangy tomato sauce. The pastry was slightly burned in a couple of places but not enough to cause complaint. I enjoyed the meal , which I would give a mark of 7/10. Bobby chose the Vegetable Lasagne with Garlic Bread, which she rated as 8/10. Both meals came with a crisp side salad containing lettuce, onion, beetroot, radish etc. Some of the meals came with salad; some with vegetables of the day and some had the choice of either. Although the salad was very good, if I had the same meal again I think that I would ask if I could have it with the vegetables instead. For dessert I had Gooseberry Crumble; and Bobby, Strawberries and Cream. Both desserts were of ample proportion, well presented and tasty. The total cost, for food, worked out at about £13 each.

The Coffee Shop, St Peter’s Ave., Cleethorpes

Reviewed by Sue, 18th March, 2008
Pleasant environment with quiet background music. Very good and polite service. I had a vegetable melt which was served with salad and a chocolate sunrise- or something- basically an orange hot chocolate with a mountain of cream and chocolate flake on top. The food I chose was a bit bland but the hot choc. was lovely. It came to £6.05 The Shake Shack- owner tried very hard to please but the milkshake was so crap I didn't finish it. All the knives etc. were laid out in such a way that it reminded me of a body piercing shop!

The Riverside, Cleethorpes

Reviewed by Angela, 10th February, 2008
Went to The Riverside last night in a group of 6, 2 vegetarians and 4 meat eaters. First impressions were good, very nice decor and atmosphere and place was very busy which gave the impression that it was going to be good. Our table was booked for 8pm; we were shown straight to our table on arrival and given copies of a main and specials menu. The only vegetarian starter on the menu was minestrone soup and the only two vegetarian main courses were on the specials menu. I did not particularly fancy soup as a starter, (normally I find it too heavy when going for a 3 course meal), and neither did the other vegetarian in the party; so when the waitress - who definitely would not have won any awards in the intelligence department - finally came to take our order we asked if there were any alternative vegetarian starters available. I say when the waitress finally came as this must have been at least 30 minutes after sitting down. The said waitress went to speak to the chef and came back to tell us that we could have the field mushroom with goats cheese without the pancetta so we both ordered this. The best description that can be given to it is that it was OK, pretty flavourless and with a slightly bitter taste but edible. One of our party had opted for the non vegetarian option of this dish and said that the only flavour was from the pancetta. The other non vegetarians who had chosen the fish cakes did better, these looked nice and they reported that they were. A considerable wait longer our main courses were finally brought to the table around 9.50pm by which time we were all pretty hungry as non of us had really eaten during the day. Both us vegetarians had chosen a dish of courgettes with feta cheese and pine nuts on a bed of savoy cabbage. What can we say about this dish! Well the first words that spring to mind are bland and tasteless. The savoy cabbage had simply been boiled in water and about 3 tablespoons of it placed on each plate. On top of this were two pieces of courgette approximately 3" long with a meagre sprinkling of pine nuts and a thin layer of cheese on the top, there was no real flavour to them other than when lucky enough to find a pine nut. In a circle around the edge was a pattern of 4 blobs of some sort of sauce which again did not have much flavour and 4 tiny and very overcooked bits of potato. Could this be what they call nouveau cuisine? Lets just say that once I had eaten this I had wished that I had opted for the soup as a starter at least then I would not still have been hungry, maybe this is the only vegetarian starter for a reason, perhaps it is a deliberate ploy to ensure that you are not still hungry after the meagre main course. Our meat eating friends did better portion wise as they at least were served decent sized portions of meat and this was accompanied by mashed potato and another vegetable, think it may have been cabbage, none of them were particularly impressed with the taste though. Only the mussels received full approval. It is true to say that we could all have easily found room for dessert, (unusual when dining out), but the truth is by the time we were offered the dessert menu at around 10.40pm we had basically all got past it, decided to ask for the bill and head down to the nearest bar. The cost was around £21 each plus £36 for 3 bottles of wine, with dessert would have been around £26 each which on the face of it is not all that expensive but costly enough to expect quality. If you take into account the poor quality, meagre portions and snail paced service then it could be said to be very expensive. Normally we would leave a tip but on this occasion we decided that neither the service nor the food warranted it. General opinion once outside was that we would have enjoyed it more and been less hungry afterwards if we had opted for a takeaway.

The Dovedale Hotel, Cleethorpes

Reviewed by Sue.
We attended the Dovedale restaurant on Friday 16th November. The hotel is easily recognizable from the road and has a pleasing frontage. Inside, both the bar and restaurant areas had pleasant décor, comfy seating and a pleasant ambiance. This was however, spoilt by the lack of heating in the restaurant area in particular. The menus were clearly laid out and there was a good range of vegetarian options. It took quite a while after being given the menus before the head waitress showed us to our table. Starters arrived together in reasonable time and matched the descriptions on the menus. There was only one plate of butter and oil for the bread, to share between the whole table, which was a bit tricky. There was no vegan spread provided as an alternative to the butter. Water took a while to arrive. We munched our way through: warm goats’ cheese and beetroot salad, tempura of vegetables, mushroom and spinach risotto and a stuffed pepper (which was advertised as stuffed peppers). Main courses arrived together and everyone was satisfied with their dish. The dishes that we gobbled were: tarte tatin, stuffed aubergine and mozzarella mousakka. However, salads, chips and vegetables had to be shared and butter had been put on the vegetables, which were to be shared by a vegan. Since we had booked as a vegetarian society a little more consideration could have been taken into account and the waitress could have checked if anyone was vegan. The dessert menu looked good and some of us were tempted by it. Unlike the starters and main courses, the desserts (chocolate brownie and cheesecake) were disappointing although the standard of the presentation of the dishes remained high. Unfortunately there were no vegan desserts. Overall service was a little slow and unsatisfactory especially given the price of the meals- I got the impression the waitresses were new to the job and the service is therefore likely to improve. The bill came to £133.80 for five of us, with £104.35 being for the food.

The Victorian House Restaurant, Welholme Road

Reviewed by Edward 22/09/07
A number of people had told me about this restaurant. All were complimentary about the food and service there. The restaurant advertised an extensive vegetarian menu, including some vegan items. I therefore thought that it would be a good place to host a meal for Grimsby Vegetarians. A few days before the meal one of the group informed me that a friend had told her that the restaurant was now under new management and that standards had fallen. The restaurant, as its name suggests, is in a converted victorian house. It is clean with pleasing décor. The vegetarian menu had changed since I copied it, from the notice board outside the restaurant, some months ago. The vegan items no longer appeared. I had twice spoken to the proprietor and told him that there would be at least one vegan attending and he told me that this would not be a problem. As it turned out there were no vegan items, which could be ordered, although the chef did come up with a vegan meal. The menus were badly organised. Different copies showed different items. Some copies did not even include the vegetarian items. Three of us started with the minestrone soup. This was freshly-made and was hot and tasty. When the main courses were served they were not all available at the same time. This meant that those people who got theirs early had to start eating before the others otherwise their food would have been cold by the time everyone was served. The potatoes and vegetables also arrived at different times and people had to start eating their meals before all the components arrived. The proprietress served the meals. Unfortunately she got some of the orders wrong. She also totally forgot one person’s main course. The way the dining table was arranged in the room meant that she could not get around the table and the diners had to pass plates, and menus, around. The Walnut Mushroom Stroganoff, which I had, was quite tasty but was not very hot. I think that I got most of the walnuts because the person next to me had a hard job finding any in her meal. Opinions on the other items ordered varied. Some found their main course to be tasty; others said that they found the food to be quite bland. There was an extensive range of desserts, although different menus showed different items to be available. One diner ordered an item only to be told that it was not available. Most desserts were well presented although one was served which was still frozen! There were no desserts to suit vegans. The proprietress forgot one of the desserts. Unfortunately this was for the same person whose main course she had forgotten. In summary the food was of varying quality. The service fell well below satisfactory standards. The proprietress did say that if any vegetarians or vegans gave them some recipes that they would like to have served, and gave advanced notice, then the chef would cook them specially.
I could not recommend this restaurant to any vegetarian and will not be eating there again.
Note: This restaurant has now gone out of business!

The Cricketers, Littlefield Lane

Reviewed by Angela 04/08/07
Visited the newly refurbished Cricketers today. It opened yesterday with a new menu following a complete update. Much better than it was last time I was in there as they seem to have separated the family area from the main pub so not so many screaming kids running riot. As for food, it was very good. Not a great deal of choice but then what have we veggies come to expect its a bonus if we get more than one option and it was the usual Beanburger, Lasagne and Pasta (just the 3 choices) but at least the Lasagne was a Spinach version rather than the usual roasted peppers. Unlike before they do let you substitute the garlic bread that comes with the past for chips but in order to do this you do have to forfeit the salad as well. The beanburger was spicy but very well cooked, nice and crispy and the chips were done to perfection - the salsa advertised on the menu was missing though. The lasagne was also good, well-flavoured but perhaps could have been a wee bit hotter. Pretty good value too as long as there is an even number of diners. All meals are two for one so if 3 go, one gets ripped as in reality they have to pay the price of two meals. Also one of our party wanted to order a pint of coke and they refused to sell one, would only sell it in a standard sized glass.

Tesco Cafeteria, Cleethorpes

Reviewed by Edward 03/08/07
I tried today’s “Vegetarian Option” at Tesco. Mushroom Stroganoff. The price was reasonable at £3.49 but it was a small portion – more like a child’s portion. The rice was cooked well and was warm. It was a pity it was not brown rice. The Stroganoff itself was watery and tasteless. It seemed to have been made from tinned mushrooms. This is one to avoid.

The Trawl, Littlecoates Road, Grimsby

Reviewed by Angela 14/7/07
They don't have a great number of vegetarian dishes on the menu and they are pretty much the pub grub veggie standards, but there is a choice of more than one which is good in comparison to some places. There is a vegetarian pasta (possibly two can't remember), veggie burger and a veggie curry. Also a couple of vegetarian wraps and sandwiches available. I had the roasted pepper wrap. The food was quickly prepared, well cooked and hot - in more ways than one. The wrap was really nice but wouldn't recommend it to anyone who doesn't like their food spicy. For a cheap meal out, The Trawl is a pretty good choice. They have lots of deals such as 2 meals for £8 before 8pm. The wraps and sandwiches are also available on a meal deal. About £4.50 for the wrap/sandwich, chips and a soft drink.

Lucy’s Cafe Bar, Queen Street, Louth.

Reviewed by Angela 2/7/07
Called in here for something to eat after a long wet day at an open gardens event in Sutton on Sea, thought it would be better than having to go home and cook. What a mistake, at least if it had been cooked at home would have been edible. On first glance there were several vegetarian dishes to choose from, on closer inspection these were the standard vegetable lasagne, vegetable balti, spicy bean burger, vegetarian burger, vegetable fajitas and vegetable kiev. There was also one vegetarian pasta with a tomato sauce a vegetarian pizza. Four of us present, 2 veggies, 2 non-veggies. One of the non-veggie meals, pasta carbonara was apparently OK but that was more than could be said for the other 3 meals. I ordered the vegetable kiev. This was well cooked and quite tasty, (although you could probably buy these in Iceland), the chips, however, were virtually completely raw. Don't know how you can cook frozen chips wrong but the chef here managed it. The vegetarian burger ordered by one of the party was OK but dry, served on a toasted bun with no leaves or sauce of any kind. Mayonnaise was asked for but they had run out so it had to be tomato sauce. The chips on this meal were also raw as were the ones that came with fish and chips ordered by the fourth member of the party. Apparently, the fish was well cooked but the garden peas were the opposite of the chips and overcooked to the point of being hard and wizened. Got the distinct impression that the waitresses were avoiding asking if everything was OK and avoiding removing the plates of uneaten chips and peas from the table. When they eventually had to give in and take them did complain about the chips and got a 'sorry about that' but no offers of a refund on 3 half plates of inedible food.

The Haven Inn, Europa Park, Appian Way Grimsby

Reviewed by Angela 28/6/07
Went to the Haven Inn last Saturday and would rate it as no more than OK. The food was edible but far from being a gourmet delight and wouldn't even make it into the league of decent pub grub. Being there for lunch we only ordered main courses but these were definitely nothing to write home about. One of the dishes sampled was a Four Cheese Pasta with Ciabatta Garlic Bread and I am informed that the pasta was OK but only lukewarm and the garlic bread on the soggy side. I opted for one of the dishes on the specials board Spicy Roast Vegetables with Pitta Bread and Chick Pea and Sour Cream Dip. Sounded great on the menu. This was also only just warm and consisted of a small dish of roasted onions, peppers and mushrooms and a small 2mm thick piece of virtually rock hard pitta bread which took some prizing apart in order to put some of the veg inside it. The chickpea dip was nice though. Price per meal £6.99 which is pretty much standard for decent pub grub but expensive for the small portions and poor quality here. OK if you are desperately hungry and don't have time to look around but otherwise best avoided.

The Trawl, Littlecoates Road, Grimsby

Reviewed by Angela 14/7/07
They don't have a great number of vegetarian dishes on the menu and they are pretty much the pub grub veggie standards, but there is a choice of more than one which is good in comparison to some places. There is a vegetarian pasta (possibly two can't remember), veggie burger and a veggie curry. Also a couple of vegetarian wraps and sandwiches available. I had the roasted pepper wrap. The food was quickly prepared, well cooked and hot - in more ways than one. The wrap was really nice but wouldn't recommend it to anyone who doesn't like their food spicy. For a cheap meal out, The Trawl is a pretty good choice. They have lots of deals such as 2 meals for £8 before 8pm. The wraps and sandwiches are also available on a meal deal. About £4.50 for the wrap/sandwich, chips and a soft drink.

Lucy’s Cafe Bar, Queen Street, Louth.

Reviewed by Angela 2/7/07
Called in here for something to eat after a long wet day at an open gardens event in Sutton on Sea, thought it would be better than having to go home and cook. What a mistake, at least if it had been cooked at home would have been edible. On first glance there were several vegetarian dishes to choose from, on closer inspection these were the standard vegetable lasagne, vegetable balti, spicy bean burger, vegetarian burger, vegetable fajitas and vegetable kiev. There was also one vegetarian pasta with a tomato sauce a vegetarian pizza. Four of us present, 2 veggies, 2 non-veggies. One of the non-veggie meals, pasta carbonara was apparently OK but that was more than could be said for the other 3 meals. I ordered the vegetable kiev. This was well cooked and quite tasty, (although you could probably buy these in Iceland), the chips, however, were virtually completely raw. Don't know how you can cook frozen chips wrong but the chef here managed it. The vegetarian burger ordered by one of the party was OK but dry, served on a toasted bun with no leaves or sauce of any kind. Mayonnaise was asked for but they had run out so it had to be tomato sauce. The chips on this meal were also raw as were the ones that came with fish and chips ordered by the fourth member of the party. Apparently, the fish was well cooked but the garden peas were the opposite of the chips and overcooked to the point of being hard and wizened. Got the distinct impression that the waitresses were avoiding asking if everything was OK and avoiding removing the plates of uneaten chips and peas from the table. When they eventually had to give in and take them did complain about the chips and got a 'sorry about that' but no offers of a refund on 3 half plates of inedible food.

The Haven Inn, Europa Park, Appian Way Grimsby

Reviewed by Angela 28/6/07
Went to the Haven Inn last Saturday and would rate it as no more than OK. The food was edible but far from being a gourmet delight and wouldn't even make it into the league of decent pub grub. Being there for lunch we only ordered main courses but these were definitely nothing to write home about. One of the dishes sampled was a Four Cheese Pasta with Ciabatta Garlic Bread and I am informed that the pasta was OK but only lukewarm and the garlic bread on the soggy side. I opted for one of the dishes on the specials board Spicy Roast Vegetables with Pitta Bread and Chick Pea and Sour Cream Dip. Sounded great on the menu. This was also only just warm and consisted of a small dish of roasted onions, peppers and mushrooms and a small 2mm thick piece of virtually rock hard pitta bread which took some prizing apart in order to put some of the veg inside it. The chickpea dip was nice though. Price per meal £6.99 which is pretty much standard for decent pub grub but expensive for the small portions and poor quality here. OK if you are desperately hungry and don't have time to look around but otherwise best avoided.