With an Instagram as creative and contemporary as the décor of the restaurant, you know you’re in for a treat at By Chloe. Finding their fortune in the States before making like Meghan Markle (a fan of this eatery) and heading over to the UK; By Chloe is a vegan restaurant with a target audience of everyone.
Forget frumpy falafel and tasteless tofu, By Chloe are shaking the meat-free industry up with their incredible vegan dishes. You want pasta? They go it. A tasty burger? No stress. They even have a couple of UK-only items where you can find much-loved classics like fish n’ chips (with crispy tofu instead of fish) and sticky toffee pudding.
We were honestly spoilt for choice when we went in to try a few items off the menu because everything literally sounded SO GOOD. There was also a touch of curiosity with some dishes to see how they would replace the meat items and how the substitutes would taste. After much discussion, we settled on the Mac N’ Cheese, the Pesto Meatball sandwich and the Royal Roast, with two fresh coconuts to drink (umm summer vibes yes pls).
Vegan cheese has honestly come in leaps and bounds over the years, and we’ve had some damn good vegan cheese lately. By Chloe’s mac and cheese was no exception, made with sweet potato and cashew cheese sauce, which was deliciously gooey, tasty and all-round cheesy. Paired with soft macaroni, crispy shiitake bacon for some crunchy texture and almond parmesan, this definitely hit the spot.
We were recommended the meatball sandwich by a few friends who had been to By Chloe before, so we needed to see if it lived up to the hype. This was probably the highlight of the evening, and we’re literally drooling just dreaming about this sub now. The potato sub roll was outrageously soft, almost like a brioche (without the butter, obvs) but was still dense enough to hold the weight of the copious filling. With portobello and vegetable Italian meatballs, sweet peppers, cashew mozzarella, almond parmesan and topped with marinara sauce and basil pesto, it was rich, comforting and everything you’d expect from a meat(less)ball sub.
The royal roast is one we were particularly curious about, as instead of using the classic nut roast as a substitute for the meat they’d used celery root. Something we’d not even heard about before, the celery root was crusted in salt and pepper and served with glazed carrots, green beans, thyme potatoes, Yorkshire pudding and rosemary gravy. The gravy and the Yorkshire pudding were the real highlights here, making every bite of vegetable one of pure bliss. The celery root was an interesting substitute for meat and was pretty tasty, however about halfway through the taste became a little underwhelming and we turned to finish the vegetables with gravy instead.
By Chloe also have a little fridge where you can grab salads and sandwiches to take away, as well as a range of delicious drinks and juice shooters. The Penny Lane with carrot, turmeric, apple, lemon and ginger is a classic immune booster and always a fave. If you’re on a bit of a detox, try On The Road, using filtered water, activated charcoal, lemon and pure maple to create a darkly aesthetic and cleansing drink.
Everything about By Chloe is youthful, fun and modern, from the friendly staff to the bright branding and the swinging wicker chairs by the windows. Vegan or not this is one spot to put on your foodie list, whether it’s to try their incredible dishes or sate your curiosity about how one makes a vegan roast.
