Canteen

Having spent twenty years looking in vain for that impossible dream, a good vegetarian meal in a "normal" restaurant, I decided to open my own. However I was determined that it would not be a "vegetarian" restaurant either. Words can have too much meaning, we wanted to produce the best vegetarian food but did not want to get bogged down with the branding. Having been the victim of intolerance many years ago, I decided to never take any higher ground. The truth of the matter is nobody really knows where the higher ground lies. What we are hoping to achieve at Canteen is a relaxed environment where veggies, vegans and omnivores can come together and eat the best food. To that end we will ensure that there is always one choice on our menu to suit anyone. As it happens, this gives the omnivores the advantage, because they can eat everything. The food we produce for meat-eaters will be long braises of cheaper cuts of meat. We do not wish to compete with restaurants who cook steaks and chicken to order; such places are ten-a-penny. Instead we will scour world cuisines for the best slow-braised dishes; tagines, daubes, hot-pots. The main focus of the menu will be vegetarian and vegan. That is not to say that it will be all pulses. Again what we will be aiming for is to take the best of Mexican cooking, Italian cooking, Lebanese etc. and find the dishes that just do not contain meat. We will also be aiming to re-interpret classic dishes in a non-meat manner.

Is there a market? Who knows. I am a vegetarian, my wife is not. Sometimes compromises around food are difficult to find. We hope Canteen can be that compromise.

40 Clifton Street,

Cardiff, CF24 1LR

Tel: 029 20454999

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