The Plant Cafe, Cathedral Green

visited on the 9th February 2013, for a lunch-y treat

I've lived in Exeter on and off for about five years, and for some reason have never made it to one of our two dedicated vegetarian eateries- The Plant Cafe. For some reason, it seemed like a forbidden fruit; something I could never afford and wasn't 'cool' enough to experience. In other words, a vegetarian cafe for middle-class hippies. I had very high expectations for the place, which is why I chose to take the other half there for a special lunch; to sample some of the finest vegetarian food that Exeter had to offer. All this expectation came from one simple word- Deli. This conjured memories of 'De Vegetarische Slager' or 'The Vegetarian Butcher' which was set up a few years ago in the Netherlands where I used to live.

I imagined vegan cheeses, 500 different types of dip, and the humble soya-bean manipulated in ways I never thought possible. Maybe I had set the bar a bit high, but I was excited.

The other reason I chose The Plant this weekend was because I have been itching to write a review without cynicism. A review that enthusiastically explains how fantastic a place was and how easy it was to find something meat/dairy-free (without having to ask for the ingredient list or reading the packet). Before I start, please be reassured that the food was lovely and I'll get to that in a bit.

The Plant Cafe has approximately 3 x 4 metres of floor space available for customers, ample for a walk-in deli-takeaway, but an incredibly small space to squeeze in 11 tables of two. Once we had put our bags on the ground, there was only really room for tip-toes! Getting my scarf, gloves and coat off was a bit like traversing a bank vault through a web of lasers; trying not to knock over a drink with the left arm, or slap someone in the face with the right, whilst ensuring my large winter coat didn't take out a waitress. Obviously in winter months, I can't really blame them for wanting to get the maximum volume of customers, but it was quite a squeeze. Not one for a first-date or intimate conversation!

Ordering food proved to be our first task. The cafe doesn't provide menus on each table, but instead has the names of the various dishes scrawled on the walls and chilled display unit. Personally, I found this really confusing and deprived me of the pleasure of quietly considering my options. We sat at our table, glancing around the room at random angles to take in all The Plant had to offer. Unfortunately the wall-text gave very little information about the content of the dishes so it was difficult to know what exactly a 'mixed salad' consisted of, and if for example, the mushroom risotto was vegan. After tripping over my bags to read the chilled unit more closely, I mistakenly and coincidentally found myself at the counter and was asked what I would like to order; of course my answer at that point was still 'I have no idea'. Personally (and particularly when in vegetarian places), I like to have something I can read at leisure from my seat, and which tells me precisely what is in each dish so I can peruse and deliberate. As vegetarians often only have one choice in mainstream eateries, having the ability to choose is a real pleasure on its own. Without the choices being made clear, I was lost and frustrated- how would I know I was ordering the best thing they had, or if I was missing out on something I'd never tried before?!

Eventually, I plumped for the mixed salad, hoping that the nature of it would provide me with a bit of everything. Maybe even some tofu. Both our meals plus two drinks set me back £17, so given the cramped and chaotic location, I was expecting very good things.

Large mixed salad

As I wasn't privy to any of the information about the salad, it was only later that I knew what its components were. Starting from top-right; lemony new potato salad, chickpea and tomato mix, artichoke hearts and cucumber salad, cabbage and peanut stir-fry, green leaf salad, and date/fig couscous in the middle.  

It was indeed a very nice and varied salad- perfect for the winter sniffles as it was colourful and full of vitamins. The Plant use organic, local vegetables, so you know you're paying for quality which is obvious in the taste. The salad was quite filling, but a bit of crusty organic bread alongside would have made it perfect. Seeing as the falafel sandwich meal was the around the same price, a bit of carbohydrate probably wouldn't have pushed the salad into a wildly higher price bracket. An hour after leaving the cafe (and 17 quid lighter), the salad had been digested and I was in the health food shop buying a Clive's flapjack.  

I had hoped that a cafe with a reputation such as The Plant would have experimented a bit more with vegetarian and vegan alternatives like seitan or tempeh, maybe even tried out some home-made sausages. This sadly wasn't the case on this occasion, but the food felt very healthy and was bursting with flavour. For vegetarians, The Plant offers quite a choice, but nothing you haven't seen before.  Expect to find old faithfuls like goat's cheese, risotto, and quiche.  With even high-street greasy spoons offering veggie sausages these days, I found the lack of soya-derived ingredients quite surprising here.  For vegans, the choice is still quite limited; the breakfasts mostly focus on eggs, with beans or mushrooms on toast being the vegan option.  One of the only vegan mains is a falafel pitta with houmous.  Panini sandwiches are still cheese-based, and the frittatas obviously contain yet more egg.

My fizzy nettle cordial was worth every penny of its £1.85, with its label confidently stating that it 'knocks the socks off Elderflower'.  That was indeed true.  The personal, community feeling of the cafe is really its strength, and the home-made local food compliments it perfectly.  

Overall, The Plant left me with the positive reassurance that vegetarian food covers a wide spectrum, and that there is still plenty of space in the market for new veggie cafes and restaurants. More of this, I say!