Wild about veggie food?

Written by East End Life Monday, 19 May 2008 11:51

FAMED for its all-day breakfasts on a Saturday, I decided to find out if Wild Cherry was more than a one hit wonder.

To coincide with National Vegetarian Week this week, from May 19-25, my colleague and I went down to the café on Globe Road, which specialises in veggie food, to see how meat-free grub measured up.

Wild Cherry is well located just off the busy Roman Road and is quite spacious inside.

Contemporary art adorns the walls, which diners can buy. There is a separate dining area outside for those who prefer to eat al fresco.

There are no menus in this hip eatery as the café changes its dishes every day. I chose chilli bean and quinoa with mint sauce while my colleague opted for cauliflower cheese and broccoli pie with a green leaf and spinach and mushroom salad.

Other treats on offer included vegetable quiche, lentil and caraway soup, pesto pasta and oven-baked potatoes with a range of fillings.

We ordered our food and as the café operates a canteen style service we didn’t have to wait for our meal.

We chose to sit inside and the café was beginning to fill up with lunchtime diners.

The quinoa looked like a mixture of couscous and rice; the flavour was quite nutty and was a nice alternative to rice. The chilli bean was packed with courgettes, carrots, tomatoes and kidney beans.

I felt very virtuous after finishing my meal as quinoa is a great source of amino acids and protein.
The cauliflower cheese and broccoli pie went down well and my colleague said it was very tasty but surprisingly not heavy. The mushroom and spinach salad was unusual but a good combination, while the leaf salad was crisp and fresh.

I had fresh orange juice to drink and my colleague had organic ginger beer. The café also sells cakes for those with a sweet tooth, including cheesecake and fruit crumble.

For those who have never had a veggie meal before, Wild Cherry is a great place to start.

The meal came to £15.20 including drinks.

Wild Cherry is at 241-247 Globe Road, Bethnal Green. Tel. 8980 6678.