Truro's 'Vegan Quarter' introduces something new, healthy and tasty to Cornwall
The street includes the 'best vegan restaurant in the South West'
Graham and Rob with some of their lovely vegan cakes
There's a bit of a dining revolution going on in a street in Truro – it appears the city now has its very own 'Vegan Quarter'.
Kenwyn Street, off the city centre, not only has a business recently named the best vegan restaurant in the region but three other traders who sell an array of plant-based and vegetarian food, from a cool café to a renowned burger joint.
The Cornish Vegan – which was named best vegan restaurant in the South West in the Prestige Awards – has long been at the vanguard of plant-based dining in Cornwall and is now going from strength to strength under new ownership.
Graham and Rob Edgeler-Matthews bought the restaurant last year after dining there twice – the former accountant and HR manager for Sainsbury's long had a dream to run their own restaurant and as vegans, this was the perfect place.
Arguably it hasn't been the best time to take over a restaurant – the second lockdown was announced on their wedding day in October – but they've fought back to run a successful vegan takeaway business (one of the few in Cornwall) and this week opened an outdoor garden dining area for the first time; which has the feel of a Greek taverna in the heart of the Cornish city.
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The menu is a popular mix of global dishes given a vegan makeover – from gourmet hot dog and fries to lasagne, Thai red curry to a hot reuben sandwich (with seitan replacing salt beef).
Their most popular dish is 'f'sh and chips' – a take on the British classic with bubbly battered banana blossom providing a surprisingly fishy replacement.
Graham said: "There has always been an interest in vegan dining in Cornwall, among students and surfers particularly, and now most restaurants offer vegan dishes. It doesn't have to be about the radical side of veganism, but the healthy eating side.
"A plant-based diet is the way forward – we want people to try our menu and see that it's a delicious and healthy alternative to meat and dairy. We know that meat-eaters will love these dishes. You don't even have to eat vegan food every day – mix it up."
Of Kenwyn Street, Graham said: "We all call it the Vegan Quarter now. You've got Archie Brown's opposite us, which has always been popular, Hubbox at the end of the street whose vegan burgers are amazing, and Pollen, which sells a lot of vegan and healthy eating dishes just down the road."
With other acclaimed dining spots, such as Nepalese restaurant Yak & Yeti, Habaneros burrito bar, 108 Coffee House and unique businesses such as Clique, with its barbershop, clothing and coffee shop, Kenwyn Street is fast becoming the specialist dining and retail part of Truro.
Pollen was opened in October by Kimi Chandler, a former assistant manager at Mannings in the city.
She specialises in selling (and cooking a large amount of what she offers) natural, plant-based, gluten-free, gut-healthy, sugar-free and healthy option dishes.
Kimi Chandler in her healty-eating cafe and takeaway, Pollen
If the kimchee, vegan cheddar and rocket bagel and salted caramel tahini shake I bought for my lunch the other day are anything to go by, the menu offers delicious treats, which are big in flavour with the bonus of being good for you.
Kimi said: "It's become a really nice independent street and a real hub and destination for holistic food and a healthy lifestyle."
'Healthy lifestyle' might not be the first thing that comes to mind when you think of Hubbox, but among its burgers and fries lies some of the tastiest vegan (and gluten-free / veggie) options around. The Beyond All Star, Beyond Hub and Beyond Chilli burgers are often chosen over their meaty mates, which has got to be a sign of how good they are, even if you're not a vegan.
Graham and Rob in The Cornish Vegan's new outdoor dining area
Farther up the road is Archie Browns, the long-established health food shop and café (the latter will reopen when lockdown easing allows).
An early harbinger of the vegan / healthy eating lifestyle, Archie Brown's is the granddaddy of Truro's 'Vegan Quarter'.
So if you're a dyed-in-the-not-real-wool vegan or an inquisitive carnivore like me, enjoy a Mushroom Fusion in the sunny Cornish Vegan courtyard or a takeaway Acai Bowl from pollen.