While finding a vegan roast in Bristol is not the difficult task it may have been some years ago, when you have children and don’t fancy a trek across town for a meal it narrows down the options.
This time of year, as people get into the festive spirit, the twist on the traditional British dish becomes more popular. While there are a few vegetarian and vegan venues in the city with highly-rated roasts, I decided to go for a local pub, which welcomes children.
People often complain about tripping over toddlers in The Greenbank in Easton so I knew taking mine, who are more complainers than crawlers nowadays, would not be an issue. Living locally, I was passing by on the Friday so decided to pop in to enquire on their Sunday offering.
A member of staff handed me a copy of the menu, which had a vegan nut roast listed among two meat options (roast beef or pork belly) and a vegetarian wellington with goat’s cheese with smaller children’s roasts available for £7.50.
When we arrived at the pub two days later, the place was busy and we were shown to our table by a friendly member of staff who took our drink orders. There were a few tables free when we arrived and it became clear that it was possible to turn up on the day without booking.
My sweet potato nut roast was more appetising than it looked at first and definitely tastier than a standard nut roast. The vegetables and Yorkshire pudding were all slightly on the burned side.
This wasn’t a huge issue for me and didn’t stop me from eating all the vegetables on my plate but impacted the appearance of the food when it arrived, which does influence the general experience when eating out.
I like crunchy roast potatoes but there were a few I struggled to get my knife into. Other than that, the veg was all pretty average in terms of taste and flavour, but I particularly enjoyed the kale.
The portion size was about right for me and the dish cost £15. It’s unlikely I would go back to The Greenbank for a roast dinner, given the overall experience.
Alongside the four roast options there were a few desserts and two side dishes – pigs in blankets and cauliflower cheese. While it is common and understandable for pubs offering Sunday roasts to ditch their main menus for the day, if I went out for a roast again with the children I would make sure it was somewhere with other options available for the kids.