Over the last 12 months, we’ve really seen a spike in interest in a more plant-based diet. So much so, more and more of our pubs are hosting vegetarian and vegan nights, and our teams attending inspiration days with friends from Mildreds.
The High Field’s weekly veggie night has proven popular, and blogger Word in Veg Ways stopped by for a review recently. We think the night’s great, but here’s what she had to say.
“I’ve been many times over the years both in a blogging capacity and as general diner and have had the same smiley experience from them on all occasions, so I know that their approach and welcome is genuine. Last month, I visited The Highfield in my guise as a blogger to check out their Tuesday night special menu. A new concept for them, responding to the rise in vegetarianism and the spike in veganism, they are offering a menu that allows non-meaters variety as opposed to a just couple of menu choices which is the norm.
How it works is that you can either have a dish on its own or you can have a taster of each one via the Tapas Style Tapas Style offer. As I was dining with my flexitarian Mother, we thought it made sense for us to have the tapas style so that we wouldn’t miss out on anything. One thing that I applaud The Highfield for is their flexibility. They’re very keen to adapt their dishes to ensure that allergies and preferences are catered for.
Okay, so here’s a roll-call of what we had:
Aubergine, Roast Pepper & Onion Tart – a light, flaky pastry base with shredded aubergines and peppers on top. The vegetables were lightly fried, and the dish wasn’t as heavy as it sounds. If purchased as a main course, it would need some green vegetables to pad it out with. Overall, very enjoyable.
Cherry Tomato Rigatoni, Garlic Crumb, Ricotta & Basil – although pasta is the epitome of go-to-veggie-food, this was delicious. Very buttery, crunchy, with a bit of punch from the garlic.
Vegetable Bimbap, Fried Egg & Gochunjang Sauce – I would describe the bimbap as a light, fancy, stir-fry. The gochunjang sauce was replaced by soy sauce for my portion to avoid any exposure to chilli/spice. When splitting this up for Mum and I to eat, I gave the egg to Mum which was speckled with nigella seeds. Again, a very light dish, with a little salty edge from the soy sauce. Mum said that the egg really complimented the stir fry and with a slither of the sauce (which she could have) it made it tangy.
Caramelised Goats’ Cheese, Confit Shallot & Pumpkin Seed Salad – beetroot and goats’ cheese are great partners anyway and again in this dish, they worked well. The cheese was baked slightly to soften it and its sharpness when dipped into the balsamic glaze around it, brought a collective of all the flavours together.
Sweet Potato & Black Bean Burrito, Avocado & Coriander – the different textures worked well together, it had a little kick, but it was pleasant and probably wouldn’t have been noted by someone not sensitive to spice.
Summer Vegetable Salad, Orange & Toasted Cashews with Oriental Dressing – fresh, crunchy, with a mixture of textures with a little hit of citrus and ideal for those watching the calories.
Even as served in tapas style, the portion sizes were good and for £30.00 for 2 people it is an ideal option for mid-week eating and a great affordable price to dine out on. Equally, what is great about Live Life on the Veg, is that their menu changes weekly so that you know it won’t be a predictable cycle of the same dishes.” > Full blog available here.
Following suit, The Star & Garter host a weekly veggie night, and The Rose & Crown monthly. The Fleece also have regular vegan nights, so keep an eye on their events page.
The High Field are also hosting a special evening with Daniel Acevedo from Mildred’s on Tuesday 23rd October. See here for details and book a table soon and expect more vegetarian dishes coming onto our pub menus over the next few seasons too.