The Veggie Red Lion

We decided to go out for lunch yesterday, not something that happens often as the food from the small kitchen is hard to beat! But go out we did. We had heard of a vegetarian pub just outside Ipswich a couple of years ago but the opportunity to go hadn't really come up so with it being a bank holiday weekend we decided to take a trip through the rainy Suffolk countryside to give it a go. Its a bit out of the wat in a tiny hamlet 10 miles from town in Great  Bricett so if you havent got a satnav or , like us, only have the paper version print a map off from their website, http://www.theveggieredlion.co.uk/ .
We had booked a table after getting cought out in Aldeburgh at Easter and having to find somewhere else. Arriving just after one as we got a bit lost, after leaving the map on my desk at work, the place was packed both with people and charm, a typical English country pub with low beams and painted plaster. We were directed to a small table in the corner and given a while to peruse the menus including the daily specials of which there were many, they also do loads of vegan options and will cater for allergies and intolerances. We both decided to start with an olive and bread platter, I love those starters where you can just pick and this was no excption. Lots of pitted green and black olives marinated with peppers, a bowl of olive oil and balsamic and a basket of freshly made bread.

The main course arrived, I had cashew and shitake mushroom roast with red wine sauce and new potatoes. The roast was moist and packed with flavour and had a couple of triangles of puff pastry on the top to soak up the juices of the delicious sauce. Husband had Mushroom Wellington, a large portabello mushroom stuffed with morzarella and pesto wrapped in a pastry case, it smelt ,and according to husband tasted delicious. We had to order vegetables which is one of my bugbears with restaurants, a meal isnt really a meal wirthout vegetables and I feel short changed if they dont come with the main dish! I need my five portions a day and every restaurant should serve at least two per person as a matter of course! However the vegetables were perfectly cooked, carrot batons -just al dente as was the brocolli and the mangetout still ahd some snap to them. Plates were soon cleaned and we were presented with the dessert menu. Now desserts are my one weakness and there were loads al of which we could have gone for: treacle sponge; summer pudding; rhubarb and apple crumble, bannoffe pie, the list goes on . We were so stuffed though that we couldnt even squeeze a mouthful in so next time we go we will perhaps miss out on the starter to go for dessert! The meal cost around £35.00 which wasn't half bad.
We give it four stars out of five due to the lack of veg! We will definatley go again!
Pictures are from their website as I forgot my camera!