If you read my Manchester adventure last year, you may well have come across my write up of The Allotment. It was my first ever experience eating in a vegan only restaurant and at the time it blew my mind. I had never eaten so many tasty dishes which were free from animal and animal derived ingredients.
So, when I was asked to try the new ‘Six course Tasting Menu’ at The Allotment, obviously I said yes, how could I possibly turn down 6 courses created by these amazing food wizards?
This is what I had to look forward to:
Summer Greens, almond miso broth, laver emulsion
King Oyster Scallops, pea truffle puree, charred green onion
Sweet Potato Gnocchi, heritage tomato sauce, basil oil
Aubergine, brown sugar and shoyu glaze, paired with golden potato puree
Aperol Spritz Granita
Banana Ice Cream with fresh cacao
It all sounds mouth-watering, and it truly was. However, The Allotment still managed to surpass all my expectations. Honestly, these guys are just SO good at what they do and since they never disappoint with their creations it is nearly impossible to choose my favourite dish, so due to this inconvenience, I thought I would talk you through my top three courses:
I start with the summer greens course which basically tasted like summer in a bowl. It was fragrant, sweet, juicy and had that ‘just picked’ taste. I imagined the greens were sat in a sun-bleached field ready for picking just five minutes before serving. The almond miso broth was also the most perfect companion to the vegetables, although the taste was strangely unusual (a flavour I have never experienced before) it was moreish, and I lusted after a second bowl.
My second favourite dish was the king oyster scallop creation, which was a genuine mind bender. I read scallop as the sea crustation, however, I realised that was impossible as we were sat in a vegan eatery, however, when the dish arrived, I had my second wave of confusion.
Although I understood we were talking about a mushroom, upon receiving the dish it physically resembled a sea scallop and when I tried it, I then had my third wave of confusion (and partial terror), the texture even resembled a sea scallop. I also noticed a few other customers who had the exact same reaction, and we looked at each other and laughed.
Once we had the realisation that it was impossible (again reminded that we were sat in a vegan restaurant) we then appreciated how incredible the dish truly was! The sweet pea truffle puree complimented the slightly smokey taste of the charred onion which sat with the earthy scallop mushroom gorgeously. Personally, this was a perfect dish to confuse your fish loving friends and prove to them that vegan foods can be just as delicious and exciting without using animal derived ingredients- I adored the confusion and the taste of this dish.
Lastly, I picked the aubergine course. It was a close call (between the ice -cream and cocoa dessert) but I chose this dish because typically I find aubergines boring. However, after The Allotment taste test, boring could not have been further from the truth. The brown sugar and shoyu glaze gave the aubergine an incredible umami flavour which triggered all my taste buds (they went off like fireworks all at once) and made every single mouthful a pleasure, and the potato puree was the ideal accompaniment to this outstanding dish. I was genuinely blown away.
I cannot recommend The Allotment enough, whether you are a vegan, a vegetarian or meat eater, it is a perfect example of flavour wizardry, and I challenge anyone to go and not appreciate their spectacular dishes (I mean, they didn’t win restaurant of the year 2017/18 for nothing!!).
Words and Food Photos by Luke Williams (@stanleydru)
