• 3
• Fab creative vegan options

Edit 28/08/17 I've heard Mad Chef no longer works at Bloc, and I'm sorry I hadn't gotten in before now for the vegan breakfast. There wasn't a mention of potato scone on the menu or I'd have asked for another one of those in exchange for omission of mushrooms (my request) rather than a sausage. The black pudding was alright - I've never eaten the meat equivalent - it was a bit like falafel. I'm not much of a fan of Linda McC sausages. The tofu scramble seemed like a packet of silken tofu had been opened + quickly heated in a pot with cayenne pepper. No turmeric, black pepper, kala namak (black salt), nutritional yeast.... the things usually found in a tofu scramble. It was super basic. I know it was only £5 but I'd rather pay £6 for a bit more creation and flavour. I'll go with three stars now as there are other vegan options on the menu which sound promising that I'm keen to go back and try. ............... (Nov 2016) The chef at Bloc 'Mad Chef' posts often on social media photos and videos of his dishes and it's refreshing to see someone who genuinely seems to enjoy working with food and looking at ingredients as art tools to make creations - when you see the same old, same old menu options, with particularly dire vegetarian and vegan options, you wonder why some people become chefs. On menu they have a freshly made vegan burger and a couple of hot dogs with all sorts of spices, fruits, and nuts inside and atop. Tonight I got to sample his latest 'Nofu, a blend of chickpeas and tofu, maple syrup, peanut butter, cashew nuts, and spices. SO good. A portion of tofu-not-tofu that satisfies and not the 2 or 3 chunks one usually gets in a noodle dish. Knowing we'd probably have room for more food we also ordered falafel dogs and chips, which were on their Friday £4 deal. Nothing vegan available to buy as extra toppings - they use butter in their caramelised onions - but we had ketchup and mustard out on the table so that was fine. Would be good if they used a different brand of meatfree mince other than Quorn, allowing their chilli to be suitable for vegans, and vegan cheese available. Staff were very friendly, attentive, quick, and chatty and it was a great dinner. I can't wait to get back to try their weekend vegan breakfast. It's usually very busy, booking advised. Updated from previous review on 2016-11-18