Hoorah! At last a vegan restaurant that does not feel the need to imitate meat products – no fake chicken or fish here. Instead the aim is to demonstrate to all that vegan food can be tasty and filling. They achieve both aims, the latter perhaps too well.
One of the most brilliant things about the Amrutha Lounge is that I can walk there in 20 minutes. It is situated on a rather unprepossessing stretch of Garratt Lane but once inside the welcome was warm and the decoration simple but effective: it is now hard to remember a time when fairy lights were just for Christmas. Having been open for a year the Amrutha Lounge is ridiculously popular, possibly because it is the number one restaurant in London on Trip Advisor. We were lucky to get an early Saturday cancellation on a day when their Deliveroo service had been cancelled as the kitchen was struggling to meet demands.
The menu is simple with seven savoury dishes and three sweet dishes only. Having seen the portions en route to other tables we limited ourselves to one plate each – a Thai selection, an Indian dish and a noodle stir-fry. All were fresh, delicious and massive. However the sauces were rich, and we felt full quickly. We managed at best half of each plate but were readily provided with boxes to allow us to take the remaining food home where it did another complete meal. Although the basic ingredients were the same (rice, vegetables, sauce, salad) there was good differentiation between the Thai and Indian versions. The vegetable pakoras were especially good. If I were to order the same meal again I would ask for the different elements to be served on individual bowls and order two main courses between the three of us, a suggestion made by the manager. The pakoras too would benefit from being served separately to their accompanying sauces.
By stopping just before we exploded it meant we could share a generous chocolate brownie (sic), more a chocolate slab but uber-chocolatey and accompanied by excellent dairy-free vanilla and raspberry ice creams and a generous dribbling of goji berry sauce. Complimentary herbal teas acted as a useful digestif.
Attention to detail was excellent. Ingredients are organic where possible, including the cucumber slices in our abundant drinking water. Staff were charming and seemed genuinely interested in whether we were enjoying our supper. The choice of background music was as eclectic as the punters (beards are not mandatory). Although there is no alcohol served if you want to bring your own no corkage is charged. Our bill was a very reasonable £45 without service, although there is also an innovative pay-what-you-can-afford option.
My only criticism is the name. How can you have a lounge without sofas ? Otherwise an invaluable addition to the local restaurant scene doing great food that just happens to be vegan. One of the chocolate bars for sale here contains the ingredient ‘Liquid Love’, and there is plenty of that on display at the Amrutha Lounge.
More info and bookings here