Healthy Vegan - Eating Out at Samphire Brasserie 100% Vegan in Plymouth

I have tucking into vegan junk food fairly a bit recently, but mostly when we go to Bristol.  And I don't mean burgers as I make a good vegan and vegan burger myself,  its the other stuff - greasy, deep-fried. 

I am a little excited to learn that Cardiff will soon be getting its first vegan junk called Greazy Vegan.  In 2015, Cardiff  got its first vegan eatery Anna Loka and its good.  I know if I lived in Cardiff, I would be a frequent diner. 

However, this blog post is when I went to Plymouth, England with some close young girl friends, well truth is their parents wanted them chaperoned - yes, people still do that and they felt they could trust me, don't know why?!.  I agreed as long as I was able to choose where we went to have breakfast - lunch = Brunch; and it was my treat.

When I told them we were going to a vegan eatery called Samphire Brasserie to eat, two of them turned their noses and proceeded to tell me that had ordered a pizza not knowing it was smothered with vegan 'cheese' at Zizzi and disliked it immensely.  

I said you don't have to have pizza here.  You like my veggie burgers and you like burgers in general, don't you?!  this of course was a rhetorical question.  Then order a burger! without the vegan 'cheese'. 

I was glad having said that as we looked at the lunch menu and the words 99 Problems and a Burger Ain't One.    - while they were deciding what to eat, I had already decided from this menu. 

Phish and chips - Beer Battered Phish created using banana blossoms  wrapped in seaweed and served with twice fried chips, mushy peas and tartare sauce. 

I was absolutely impressed.  My friends were impressed as they all had a taste of my Phish.  The closest I can describe the texture of the banana blossom was that to marinated artichokes, but of course enhanced with seaweed and other ingredients to give it that 'fishy' flavour.

Look there were even 'fish bones', no not really - these were pistils from the banana blossom.  The only bit for me that was a let down were the chips, I found them a little tough and not floury on the inside at all.  I was actually nicking some chips of the seitan burger plate, which were much tastier than those on my plate. 

When they had finally decided on which burger to have from the menu which offered lots of choices.

One of my friends had The bigger Moc - here sliced in half so you can see its height.  Two seitan burgers, American Cheese, Lettuce, 'Secret Sauce' Gherkins, and  Red onion sandwiched together in a toasted sesame bun served with loadsa fries and ketchup. 

My other two friends had copied each other and ordered the Deep South Crispy Fried  Chix Burger with tomatoes and creamy coleslaw, this was slathered in Buffalo Sauce, Garlic Mayo and Jalapenos.  I had a little taste, it was incredible.  My friends were bowled over at it and how close the seitan tasted to them of meat, as none of my friends were vegans, nor vegetarians and they loved their food. 

Their only quip about their food was when it arrived, they were a little bemused and said how do I (tackle) eat this?!  To be fair the photograph above does not capture the scale of the height of this burger, it was like a tower and they had 3 chix seitan pieces smothered in buffalo sauce. 

And yes, they did say 'I can't believe its all vegan!

I was tempted by vegan cake, there was lots of choice including cookie dough - but we all resisted.  

Thank you Samphire Brasserie - we will be back again.