Tibits vegetarian restaurant
I’d like everyone to give a very warm welcome to the firefighter…. he’s written his first ever guest post about our trip to vegetarian restaurant Tibits… over to you Matthew:
Katie is out drinking again, so i’m taking over the blog for an evening. Ought to be long enough to let you know about a meal we were able to have on our recent anniversary.
We were very lucky to receive a timely invite to a restaurant/bar called Tibits.
It is billed as a vegetarians paradise so I was keen to get along and give it a try, secretly hoping that its veggie charm would rub off on katie.
The restaurant
The interior of Tibits feels upmarket
Tibits is just off Regent Street, within the food quarter (apparently). It has a great location because although being close to a busy part of town it is set far enough back to be peaceful and inviting.
The crowd
A mix of friendly trendy hippies with obligatory piercings, well-heeled gay guys and a range of right-on ultra ethical attractive women. And of course I was with my lovely looking wife.
The service
The staff were lovely
The staff were all friendly and the manageress was incredibly welcoming and pleased to help explain all about the concept and more importantly how to go about ordering.
This involves loading a plate up with everything you fancy from the buffet – the finest veggie and vegan food i’ve ever seen – taking it to the till, having the grub weighed and then paying up.
The food
Attractive and fresh looking for a buffet dish
Decent veggie and vegan food is a real challenge to put together. The best ingredients are not easily sourced, preparing the food is time consuming and blending the flavours is a fine art way beyond the capabilities of your average geordie.
The chefs at tibits have it all under control with over forty healthy dishes. I settled for the tofu & cucumber salad, carrot salad, spicy potato cakes, beetroot, samosas, olives and a lush quinoa salad (my favourite). Alan Partridge moment – Quinoa is a veggie super food as it is a complete protein source and is easy to digest – so now you know. I also added loads of tasty dips and sauces to the mix as well.
Although I was completely full I did squeeze in a cheeky tiramisu and a piece of berry pie – lush. The strange thing was that despite being sated it was not like the feeling you might have after a hearty meal that leaves you bloated and lardy. I was well fed and energised! Most unusual after a massive meal.
Value for money
Once i’d loaded up and taken it to the weighing station I was pleasantly surprised that the meal i’d chosen was a little over a tenner. Considering how much effort had gone in to the preparation of the food on my plate and how tasty it looked it seemed a fair price.
Overall verdict
As well as enjoying the grub I got a real kick out of knowing most of it was produced free from animal products. Obviously meat and fish were off the menu but there were also many vegan options.
One of the big criticisms of veggie food is that it still relies heavily on egg and dairy products – which is a big problem for many people.
Katie’s verdict: Great food – surprisingly fresh and inviting for a buffet restaurant which I normally steer well clear of. A real array of delicious dishes – definitely want to go back so I can try even more of them. Fantastic location and would also be a perfect place for a quick lunch when you’re out shopping in the west end. It’s incredibly kid friendly with the basement all decked out with toys for the kids.
If you’ve got veggie friends – take them for a meal here – they’ll love you for it!
tibits
12-14 Heddon Street
off Regent Street
London W1B 4DA
We were both guests of the restaurant
No animals were hurt in the writing of this blog.
Sounds yummy! If ever we are in town we’ll check it out. Great post Matthew… will you be having your own blog soon? 😉
Matthew: thanks for the comment Jo. i think my writing is an acquired taste so will not be rushing in to a blog just yet. the blog i wrote passed through Katie’s propaganda filters, which was a good thing. see you soon 🙂
Sounds like an interesting place! I think it’s really hard to provide a wide range of decent veggie dishes, especially on a large scale but it sounds like they’ve managed it well. And at a reasonable cost!
Matthew: thanks Sian, it was a great night. Can i interest you in meat free mondays? 😉
Hi, does that mean Matthew is the veggie/vegan of the family? As a vegan I find cooking at home easy and sourcing organic and vegan foods easy too!
Thankfully there are more and more places arriving on the scene like Titbits that actually make delicious vegan food – see it can be done by everyone 🙂
Matthew: thanks for the comment Sarah. I’m veggie and am trying to go vegan. Don’t drink cows milk and try to reduce the number of eggs and cheese i put away. Going off on a tangent, in the fire brigade our gloves and boots are made of leather so i’ve a couple of barriers to figure out if i do go vegan. Keep up the good work!!
This sounds great. I’m always grateful to read a good review of a veggie restaurant. Katie should let you loose more often!
Matthew: Hi Lucy, Katie used to let me loose more often but the results were varied. it’s for the greater good that i’m kept heavily sedated.