The restaurant is tucked away in a residential area of Vauxhaull and accessible by foot from Harleyford Road though the Harleyford Road Community Garden or by car on Vauxhall Grove.
The concept here is unique. Bonnington Cafe is a co-operatively run vegetarian and vegan restaurant, you can read more about it here. The mission statement proudly displayed inside the door explains it simply -
'The Cafe User Group (CUG) is a non-professional group of enthusiastic vegetarian cooks who run the Cafe as a community eating and meeting place. We appreciate the opportunity to cook once a week for friends and anyone else within the community and outside who cares to come along. We sell food in the evening for approximately four hours and at lunch for approximately two hours, and attempt to create a welcoming atmosphere.
Each cook plans their own menu, does the shopping and cooking. We attempt to buy quality products and because we are different cooks each night, we maintain a variety of styles and dishes. The menu is simple - a soup or other starter, a choice of 2 or 3 mains and a dessert or two at affordable prices'.
The website has a diary of who is cooking and when. Bookings are made by contacting the rostered cook directly. On my visit it was Margarete, she is a veteran and has been involved in the Cafe since the 80s. She takes a seasonal approach to her cooking and sources local foods to create mostly 'traditional' recipes which are 'adapted to her taste'.
It's not until you arrive that you discover what is on the menu. For my visit it was:
Starter £2.50: Roast Pumpkin & Pepper Soup
Mains £5.50: Pasta Pesto or Aubergine & Chickpea curry with rice, both served with salad
Dessert £2.50: Spicy Chocolate Cake or Apple Pie
Tea £1, Coffee £1.20, Fresh Juice £1, no wine list but BYO alcohol with no corkage
You are probably thinking the same thing that I was when I saw the menu on the blackboard - the food here is incredibly cheap! Everything but the cake was vegan too.
The soup was full of flavour with good consistency. It was pleasantly oily on the surface and full of well balanced spices and coriander.
For my main I chose the curry. It had beautiful flavour, the veggies were soft and the sauce was rich and thick with black sesame seeds stirred throughout. The salads were tasty and complemented the dish well. One with shredded carrot, beetroot, cabbage and both pumpkin and sunflower seeds. The other bulgar wheat, spring onion, coriander and mung beans. Both were dressed with a little vinegar and sat beside a simple combination of crispy lettuce and baby spinach.
It was almost impossible to decide between the desserts. I waited to see what my neighbour ordered and then chose the other thinking I could cheekily ask about her choice. I had the apple pie, it was divine. Soft and luscious fruit, smooth and delicate pastry served with a side of vegan custard. Spectacular! I was told the chocolate cake was very good also. The sponge was soft and there was a thin layer of citrus sauce in the middle which was a pleasant surprise.
I absolutely loved this place. Margarete worked the entire room like a professional but in her own quirky style. She seated me ("anywhere you would like"), took my order, served the food, cleared the plates and collected the money. The Cafe was full by 1:15pm and the curry was unavailable shortly after. The message here, get in early!
While the venue itself would not win a design award, it was warm inside and bright with ample sunlight beaming through the front window. The furnishings are mismatched and many of the items have been donated in return for free cake or soup. None of this seemed to matter, the place was full, the room was buzzing and the food to die for. I can't wait to go back and share it with my friends.
Bonnington Cafe
11 Vauxhall Grove
London SW8 1TD
Lunch 12-2pm and dinner 6:30-10:30pm
bonningtoncafe.co.uk
Copyright © 2013 Lazy Susan Food Reviews
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