Nestled in Great Western Arcade is Land Restaurant. Once upon a time, it was 1847 and I loved the look of the place. I remember visiting the first time and not being that enthused by the food. Especially as I wasn't full but within the last year, I've fallen in love with the place. So I didn't know what to think when I heard that it had become Land and has new owners. I was invited to go try out the vegan options, so I was ready to investigate...
So, onto the food! I was amused by the amuse bouche. The one on the left is Pulled Mushroom on a Rice Cracker with Sour Cream. This was smokey, meaty but also sweet and crunchy. Yep, every sense was adhered to. I know it's good when I want more. The one on the right is a Cauliflower Beignet, Chilli Jam and Alioli. This was a beautiful mouthful. Crunchy but soft. It's a lot of flavours but it works well.
Next up, is Rye and Poppy Seed Bread and Vegan Butter. They make their bread in house every week and it was damn good! The butter was slightly salty and went well with the bread that was warm, soft and bitty. I normally don't like rye bread, as it can be doughy and chewy.
This was one of my favourites, the Gado Gado. This is a modern gourmet spin on a classic Indonesian salad. I loved it. It contains rice, tofu, cucumber, green beans, beansprouts in a spicy peanut sauce. It not only looked good but it was also the perfect portion and the just the right amount of spiciness. I was looking forward to this and it didn't disappoint.
This was the most intriging dish. It was Pickled Watermelon, Polenta Crisps and Coriander & Chilli Jam. I didn't think I would like this one, nor did I think this would work. But oh my god, it was lovely and I'm so glad I was wrong. Again it uses different textures, such as crunchy, soft, meaty and sweet. You can't even tell it's watermelon!
This Oyster Mushroom dish was really interesting, Instead of using pasta, there was courgette linguine and it was served with soya cream, mushroom, cashew nuts and courgette powder. It was decadent, rich and creamy. I loved the texture of the courgette linguine and the courgette powder is genius. Such a clever dish that uses a variety of flavours and textures to create something super tasty.
Hello colour! This colourful dish is the Carrot Terrine and it contains pearl barley, miso volute, avocado mousse and carrot. This one wasn't as good as the others for me. I loved the colour and it's definitely instagramable but it's not one that I would have again. I quite liked the crunchy element of the toasted rice. They looked like maggots but it added a great texture to the dish.
Onto the sweet stuff, the desserts! First up, it's the Cashew Pudding. This contains granola, poppy seeds, mango and lime gel. I loved the creaminess of this and the zing of the lime with mango. I could see this working as a decadent breakfast, maybe for a birthday. It's a good'un!
Ok, it's the last one. This has been a picture heavy one but I gotta show you each dish! This is the Slow Roasted Strawberries, which contains strawberries, elderflower gel, crumb, coconut and strawberry sorbet. WOWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW! It was a beautiful spring/summer dessert. So fresh, creamy and crunchy. Simple but with high quality ingredients and it's executed so well! I'm in love with desserts and look forward to going back to try more!
**I was invited to the eatery and was given complimentary vegan food. My views are my own but the meal was paid for by the venue, in exchange for this review**
Would I go back? Yep, I have been since. I paid this time and the food and service did not alter. I have heard only good things from friends.
How did they cope with the vegan dietary requirement? They are a fully veggie restaurant but they have a number of vegan options that are labelled perfectly on the menu.
How's the service? It was great. The loveliest and funny French man was my waiter. He knew the menu inside out and that made all the difference. Plus the music they were playing was ace!
What are the prices like? This was me trying out the Chef's Menu, which would normally cost £40
What is eatery best for? A special occasion, a date, a birthday or maybe when you wanna feel fancy
Hope you enjoyed this review. Let me know if you're been on any of my social media channels and what you thought
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