Toby Carvery’s New Vegan Dishes

When the weather turns chilly we seem to gravitate towards comforting food naturally, so it’s great to see not all restaurants and chains think us vegans only eat salad. I have featured Toby Carvery on the Canny Food blog earlier in the year (see post here) and were surprised to find filling dishes on the menu like Allotment Pie and Portobello Mushroom Tart.

One of the things that has really struck me about Toby is the value for money. It can be expensive to dine out for some, especially if you have a larger family. Some also say that vegan food is on the expensive side. Eating out in chains like this proves this isn’t the case, especially when you consider the portion sizes served up by this nationwide chain. 

There have been some new additions to the Vegetarian and Vegan menu at Toby Carvery so I popped along to try out the Root Vegetable Roast, an addition to the roster that’s bound to be popular on a Sunday. I was surprised to learn my meat-eating sister had never this establishment and thought she might appreciate the carvery. To her credit, she’d eaten a lot of vegan food during her stay with us and enjoyed her Roast Beef and Yorkshire Puddings. Even my own non-vegan puds were never that impressive!

As stipulated on the menus, vegans should mention their dietary requirement when ordering so freshly cooked vegetables can be served up alongside your main course options. The only things that are SFV amongst the carvery items are the roast potatoes, onions, stuffing, and the vegetarian gravy. It’s best to check in your branch for further information. Some vegans are squeamish going up to the counter where the joints of meat are, which is understandable. Thankfully most bring your food out to the table, although you may have to get other items like the gravy yourself.

I remembered to ask for no peas amongst the veggies I got and was nicely surprised by the selection. The parsnips were a little bit dry without a roasting in maple syrup and the other vegetables could have used a knob of dairy-free butter, but once the thick gravy was lavished over the dish I really didn’t mind. The Nut Roast was one the sweet side with its mix of root veg like swede, carrots and parsnip, as well as the cranberries. It worked well against the meatiness of the gravy, however.While I enjoyed it, I think some places locally to us offer up a better nut roast offering – The Ship Inn is one example – but I don’t think Toby can be faulted on its pricing.

I was pleased to see something other than Coconut Rice Pudding for dessert, although it is a shame Toby aren’t offering a dairy-free ice cream to accompany the Chocolate and Cherry Torte they have available. 

Made with apple sauce as an egg replacement, the cake is incredibly moist. The tart cherries stop the chocolate from being too sickly sweet, but I feel a glug of custard (many custard powders are accidentally vegan and can be made with plant milk alternatives) or the chocolate sauce that it was supposed to arrive with would have elevated the dessert above average.

With 2 courses each and drinks coming in way under £25 and full tummies all round Toby Carvery is really not a bad place to visit for a family meal, especially with a mix of dietary requirements. I will be interested in trying out the Grilled Aubergine Stack that is also one of the new dishes on offer, which is topped with a vegan white sauce. Keep up the good work!

Thanks for reading,

Pip x

Wanting a Vegetarian Sunday Lunch option in Newcastle? Check out our recommendations to try here.