Feedback to and from the Cosy Club, Exeter

the 26^th July, after providing negative feedback. See here for the initial experience.

Dear Cosy Club,

I booked online in advance and added that I was a vegan. In fact, I chose to eat at the Cosy Club because vegans are given special attention on the website and menu, so I had high expectations and was excited about what would be on offer. The server seemed to know I was vegan and so gave me the vegan menu, but under Mains it simply stated ‘ask for details’. The server had gone, so I had to get her back, and then she didn’t know what the vegan options were. When she returned from asking the kitchen, there appeared to be only one option so I had no choice but to order that; I didn’t want to perpetuate the myth that vegans are demanding by asking for a second option. It is always nice to have choice, but I didn’t feel that I had it here; I felt a bit like I was an inconvenience for the chef to be honest.

The food was average at best; peppers stuffed with quite a conservative amount of couscous, on a bed of new potatoes and crunchy string beans. It was a shame there was no sauce to accompany it as it was all a little dry. I don’t know what type of sauce would have been used, as the combination of ingredients was quite random to start with, like the meal was thrown together with whatever was in the kitchen. To be honest, I could have stayed at home and made something better. There was also no beans/lentils/tofu/tempeh/alternative which I would expect from a restaurant that advertises vegan food. Chips are also vegan but no takeaways advertise this; the point I’m making is that if you advertise vegan meals then your customers will expect some more in-depth consideration.


The staff were helpful and the dessert was gorgeous. I write a vegan food blog and an part of many vegan groups in the region, I can guarantee that if there was an improvement in quality and thought, you would have a potential new customer base. This time, I left feeling disappointed and slightly cheated. I would suggest that an experienced member of the kitchen team puts together a number of good quality vegan meals which can be rotated regularly, and are easy to prepare. Then, when a vegan customer asks what is available, they have choice and should receive a good quality meal. Otherwise, maybe the vegan references should be taken off the publicity..?

Hi Helen,

Thanks for your feedback regarding your recent visit to Cosy Club Exeter, and I'm really sorry to read that you didn't enjoy the vegan food that we provided for you.

We are really proud of the fact that we have separate menus for people with special dietary needs and requests, and on the whole the menu choices we provide are always well received. The vegan menu is one where we try to allow our chefs a bit of creative freedom, allowing them the opportunity to go 'off menu' and provide something delicious for our customers, so I am really sorry to hear that on this occasion we have let you down.

In wake of your e-mail I have sat down with my kitchen team in order to put together some set vegan dishes that all chefs are aware of and fully trained in preparing so that this kind of disappointment does not occur again. If you would like to provide me with a postal address I would be happy to send you out some vouchers so you can come and try what we have put together and allow me to show you that we are an excellent choice for the vegan community of Exeter.

Kind Regards,

JW

General Manager

Cosy Club Exeter

Dear J,


Thanks for your e-mail and I hope I didn’t offend. I do appreciate that your kitchen work hard to provide nice food for everyone, and have heard really good things about the Cosy Club which is why we chose to have dinner with you. I have gone ‘off-menu’ in the past and understand what you mean about the opportunity to be creative; it can have amazing results. Last time I did this however (the Magdalen Chapter), the open kitchen was clearly in a state of panic(!) and their attitude to me as a customer was highly disappointing. On this occasion at the Cosy Club I just thought the imagination was missing a little, or that I’d caught the chef off-guard and s/he wasn’t experienced in cooking without meat or dairy ingredients. I hope my comments were taken in the constructive manner that I intended them.


I really appreciate your response and taking forward some ideas; I’ll be sure to let my friends and local vegans know about it! I would love to come back sometime in the near future.


I’m so glad that more and more eateries around Exeter are considering the vegan community and don’t make us feel like difficult customers, simply for our ethical choices.  In the past I have told serving staff that I’m a lactose-intolerant vegetarian as this sadly sometimes means that the service is better.  It is great to know that places like yours exist.