Toby Carvery – An Unlikely Place For a Vegan
You won’t usually see many vegans (if any) a a carvery. I used to love a carvery but since becoming vegetarian over a year ago I’ve steered clear. Don’t get me wrong, I know the I could have a plate of veggies and roast potatoes but I could do that at home right? Then a few weeks ago I saw something online about the vegan and vegetarian options at Toby Carvery and thought we should check it out.
We went to Toby Carvery in Macclesfield and it was just as you’d expect it to be. It seemed pretty quiet for a Sunday lunch time but there was still a queue for the food. There was actually a good few choices for vegetarians and vegans. There’s a Broccoli and Brie Parcel for the vegetarians and then a Portobello Mushroom Tart, Grilled Aubergine Stack or a Root Vegetable Roast (and of course the meat free carvery) for vegans. When you order you need to ask about the vegetables on the carvery – they are often glazed with butter but they are happy to bring you out some freshly steamed ones. We both had the Root Vegetable Roast which had carrot, parsnip, swede, mushrooms and apricots with an oaty cranberry crumb and we were told when it was ready so we could go up to the carvery to get all the other bits and bobs. I’d happily eat everything at a carvery so when we were queueing up I was eyeing up all the things I couldn’t have. Mustard mashed potato, cauliflower cheese and Yorkshire puddings were among the things we couldn’t eat but there was so much veg that the only thing we really missed was the Yorkshire pud although if you look at my plate you’ll see I definitely didn’t need any more on my plate.
Everything was delicious! I loved the Root Vegetable Roast as it had so much flavour. Billy wasn’t too keen but said he would be very happy to just have a meat free roast next time. There were plenty of veggies and the vegetarian gravy and stuffing along with the roast potatoes filled us right up! There’s even a Chocolate and Cherry Torte that’s suitable for vegans but who really has room for that?!
I’d go to Toby Carvery for a vegan meal again especially since you can go with meat lovers and everyone will be happy. They even do Yorkshire pudding wraps!
To finish off this post I just want to point out that I realise this isn’t ideal. Firstly, you have to stand in line and see all the slabs of meat being carved but more importantly you’re supporting this by buying for from there. However, if Toby Carvery can have four vegetarian options (three of which were vegan) as an alternative to meat then so can everywhere else. I think it’s a real step in the right direction!