Today I was back in Southampton and looking for ideas of somewhere to go with my brother for lunch. Being near the sea most of my life I was dying to go there and one of our favourites places to venture is Southsea. With that destination in mind, I had a look at one of my old haunts. The Tenth Hole. They do cake slices the size of my head and a killer fish finger sandwich. Obviously no longer ideal for my new lifestyle however it was worth a look as they had a few years to become allergen and Vegan friendly. Unfortunately, not the case so onto Happy Cow I went.
For those of you who are Vegan or Vegetarian that haven't used Happy Cow before, you are missing a treat. They are the go to website for when you are looking for a cool new place to eat or are in an unfamiliar town. They list places that are completely Vegan or Vegetarian, plus restaurants that have a good selection of those options too. I found the latter in a place called Pie & Vinyl. There were quite a few amazing options in Southsea however this one stood out from the rest. You'll see why...
Pie & Vinyl is pretty much what it says on the tin. A cafe selling Pies with a shop selling Vinyls. The Pies are Handmade with great attention to detail, including sourcing of fresh organic ingredients. With so many options, even for the hardest to accommodate, there is truly something for everyone.
Without saying too much up here, let's move on to the review!
Staff:
What a warm welcome we had! Straight through the door to be met with a cheerful hello, we were asked if we were here for food and then given a choice of table. I guess for a Thursday at Midday I was a bit optimistic as I thought surely a place like this would be packed... Well Becki, it's Thursday in the longest month of the year, it's cold and people are working. So we had the cafe to ourselves!
Anyway with an empty cafe perhaps we were given even better service than usual but I was impressed. They were so friendly and certainly made us feel totally welcome. It is an order at the counter place with the food and drinks then brought to you. Not a problem as again, the lady at the counter was amazing, ensured we were getting what we wanted and she explained it wouldn't be too long for the food.
The drinks came over in the most quirky way (I'll get onto that in a minute) served by a lovely gentleman who worked at the bar part of the cafe and then 5-10 minutes later arrived the food.
What I loved was that they left us to it, not too much badgering and no pushing more drinks on us. They simply let us sit and enjoy the meal for as long as we liked. Then when we left, they smiled so brightly and thanked us for coming, wishing us a good day.
Just completely brilliant service, no shred of doubt in my mind that service really does make an experience such as this 10x better.
10/10
Food:
Such an extensive menu with great humour and theme blended with it. As it's name suggests, the cafe goes hand and hand with the Vinyl shop making the menu a quirky take on song names.
For example mine was called "Where the Wild Roses Grow" in association with the shouldn't work but it did combination of Kylie Minogue and Nick Cave's song "Wild Rose", whilst referring to the finally mastered pairing of Vegan and Gluten Free Pastry. Therefore finding where the wild roses grow. I thought that was quite clever. I really love quirks like that!
When the drinks came, yet again I was not disappointed by the uniqueness of this cafe. They brought over the Strawberry & Lime cordial in a teapot. Oh, not any old teapot though. I received it in a Pink Elephant teapot! Just awesome. My brother got the Sour Cherry, Red Grape and Hibiscus in a Washing Machine teapot. Both were extremely tasty, mine being a little more drinkable as the Cherry one was very sweet!
The main event itself was so exciting. When they brought it out I felt like a proper English lass! The Pie resting perfectly on a pile of Vegan Mash with a side of "Wavy Onion Gravy" in a beautifully floral jug. The Pie I ordered (as I've only told you the name) was an organic Cauliflower and Sweet Potato in a Spicy Peanut Satay Sauce. Not something I would usually order but I am challenging my tastebuds at the moment. As on most occasions I do this, I was not disappointed.
Firstly, the pastry. THE PASTRY! So delicious. It was flaky, soft at the bottom (in a good way, not soggy) with a perfect lid that wasn't crunchy or dry at all. After my blog the other day about accepting Gluten Free pastry to be a little dry, I want to totally eat my words... Preferably if they were written on the pastry! Just incredible, super impressed with them for mastering that art.
Secondly, the filling. Astounding. They have created a brilliant mix of flavours that not only go well with each other and the pastry, but seamlessly with the gravy and mash as well. There was a good level of spice to it, nothing I couldn't handle though which is something I always worry about. I have like 0 spice threshold. The Sweet Potato was cooked to perfection, with the Cauliflower mashed through in the Peanut Sauce like they were made to be together. The flavours were amazing, mixture was the perfect consistency with the best pastry I've had.
The Mash was perfectly creamy, seasoned well and not too much of it. You don't want it to overpower the star of the show! I forgot how much I missed Mash Potatoes, I haven't had them in ages and I don't know why! They also have a Sweet Potato Mash, where that has such a strong flavour I didn't want it to distract from the Pie, so for once I didn't get it!
The "Wavy Onion Gravy" was delectable, perfect accompaniment and again, best I've had as a Gluten Free Vegan. I could have drank the whole jug, but that's a bit weird, plus I was completely full by the end. Although my last hurrah, as always with Pie, was smothering the lid pastry with Gravy and enjoying that!
Last point, the cost of the meal was £11 each for everything including a drink. You can't say much against that!
10/10
Allergies/Intolerances:
For somebody with intolerances this is a hidden gem. Looking from the outside in, you would never expect for a place selling Pie to be this accessible to so many with allergies. Yet it was completely. Almost half of the main menu was Gluten Free, then 5 more options were Vegan and one option was Gluten Free AND Vegan. Bewildering to me.
For them to take the time to do this blew me away. In the description of the Pie I had they even go on to say that they made two things that don't ordinarily go together work well. They make all the Vegan Pies in a separate part of the Kitchen, I can only assume the same for the Gluten Free but I am unsure. So if you're Coeliac, it might be worth checking. Their side options were just as extensive and when ordering, my brother went for a Chilli mash with his Vegan Pie. They didn't just accept that, they checked to confirm if he wanted that as a Vegan version or if the regular was what he was after. Again, Service!
For anyone who is Vegan or Gluten Free, or even both like me. You would be completely in safe hands here, I say that with complete confidence.
10/10
What a wonderful discovery we made today, down a quite street in Southsea lies this brilliant cafe. Somewhere that anyone living in the South should visit at least once, I'm sure after that you will decide to go again. I implore all Vegans of the South to please support these kind of places and spread the word! It must be encouraged! Plus, you'll get a lot out of it too!
Happy Veganuary Day 25 everyone and Happy Birthday to my Nan P! :)