Last Saturday one of our friends had a Birthday celebration because he is Vegan and leans more towards the food side of things rather than drink. We searched for somewhere to go out for the evening – One of our other friends suggested Unity Diner in Whitechapel. We booked a table and decided that we should review this newly reopened restaurant so, here is what we thought.
Unity Diner has been around for a while now but we hadn’t heard of it until they reopened a little earlier this year. Nestled between Spitalfields and Aldgate in Wentworth Street sits this rather spacious, minimalist eatery.
We were booked as a party of six, seated directly opposite from the Kitchen – where the magic happens. The slogan The Future is Vegan proudly announcing that no matter what you order you will be safe knowing that there are no meat or bi-products contaminating your food. Whilst we waited for our friends to turn up we ordered some drinks – they have an extensive Cocktails/Mocktail menu but the beers are very limited if you wanted anything other than alcohol free or Lager. We settled on a Mojito and the Tropical Mojito because you can’t really go wrong with that (They were £11 each) When friends arrived they ordered a Lemonade and an Alcohol free Beer.
The Menu is all done via the website pdf but is ordered in person (you can work out what you want ahead of time) All together we ordered 2 Shoreditch Cheese Steaks, 1 Lobster Roll, 1 Mooli & Smokey Bacon, 1 Acai Chipotle BBQ Ribs.
We can’t really review what we didn’t eat, (Ash had the Cheese Steak and The Lobster Poutine and Bob had the BBQ Ribs) We were tempted by the 3D Printed Steak but it looked from the photos to be quite small and we were unsure of the wait time.
Whilst we waited we looked around at the decor, apart from the neon slogan there were paintings on the wall and a couple of canvases all animal related. There was a couple of other tables taken up by patrons all laughing and chatting. We were looking around to see if we could see the famous 3D Printer as the concept is intriguing but sadly it looks as though its in the back.
A little while later our food arrived – all together, for the most part, all fairly decent serving sizes which was a pleasant surprise (we were expecting very small but fancy looking morsels)
The Cheese Steaks were served on Mini wooden Breadboards, the Poutine was probably the largest serving. Now here is where the comparison will be different as Ash does eat meat so can compare and contrast the textures and flavors whereas Bob has not eaten it since she was too small to remember.
Ash – The Cheesesteak was better than I had expected, it had a density to it which was good, a lot of vegan meats tend to be fairly light/soft and airy. This however didnt have the stringiness or chewhness that the meat has. The sauce was good but the stand out thing for me was the Poutine with the Calamari rings on top. This had the same rubbery texture than I know and love and the cheese and toppings made a flavorsome filling side.
Bob – I have always been intrigued by the concept of Ribs and since I have been trying to purchase the Juicy Marble versions to no avail, this was my chance. I was glad I did this was really tasty, the sauce was rich and well-balanced. The Corn was pretty good too but I was a little unsure on how to eat it, as in was I meant to pick it up or try to eat with a knife and fork!
Our friends were very mixed on their feedback – with the one other meat eater praising the Lobster Roll and the two other Veggies not overly sold on their meal.
Overall, we liked it; the experience was quite enjoyable and exceeded our expectations although we probably won’t go out of our way to return, but if we are in the area!
Have you been to Unity Diner? What are your impressions, what did you have? Leave comments and come back next time for something completely different!
Climbing Moss 