Fuller's Kitchen | Vegan | AD

Last week I was invited along to go to try out Fuller's Kitchen new vegan menu at The Gun pub in Docklands London. Fuller's Kitchens can be found within a number of Fuller's pubs and their mission is to create restaurant quality food using only the freshest and finest ingredients, which are more often than not seasonal and locally sourced.

Dining in a Fuller's pub was new to me and I was looking forward to seeing what their chefs had created on their special vegan menu. I'd also never stepped foot inside The Gun before which has all the charm of an East London pub but with a gastropub / fine dining feel. Situated right on the river within Docklands this pub has a spectacular view over the Thames which makes it feel a little more special than your standard boozer.  

It's really good to see a pub chain like this taking the dietary options of their customer base seriously and providing options for both vegans and gluten intolerant people. As I am not gluten free myself I don't always like to see these dietary needs put together on a menu as they are quite different, but I can also understand how the 'killing two birds with one stone' approach would be easier for a pub like this to cater for all. 

Once we had placed our order we were offered some bread and presented with a little surprise appetiser which was a really nice touch.

The appetiser, if memory serves me correctly, was a smoked tofu concoction wrapped in courgette which had a really flavoursome oriental flavour to it. Once we were handed the first appetiser I knew the food served here was perhaps of a slightly more fancy feel than I had been expecting. It wasn't 'pub grub' lets put it that way! 

As there were two of us dining and two options for each course on the menu we decided to try one of each of everything and share which meant we got to experience all of the options available. 

For our starters we enjoyed a leek and potato 'broth which came with a delicious rosemary and onion crisp on the side. We also had a grilled potato salad which came with sun-dried tomatos and rocket. 

The soup particularly stood out to me as a great tasting dish and it was exactly what I needed to warm me up on such a bitterly cold day. The salad, although tasty, did seem a little uninventive but was still enjoyable. 

For our mains we had a mixed bean 'fricassee' which was served with roasted aubergine, carrots and pesto. We also went for the seasonal tomato and basil pasta. 

I was quite surprised when I tried the pasta that it was in fact courgetti spaghetti. On initial inspection it really did look like actual spaghetti! It went with the tomato and basil sauce really well and the flavours were very nice but part of me did feel a little sad that it wasn't actual pasta as I was feeling really hungry and looking forward to something filling. 

The fricassee dish again seemed like another salad which wasn't ideal as I think we were both hoping for something hot and warming to tuck into. But again the flavours were great and presentation wise it all looked amazing.  

After our main dishes we enjoyed some hot drinks before the arrival of our desserts. We ordered the chocolate cake which came with a side of mango sorbet and a separate portion of berry sorbet to share. 

The presentation of the chocolate cake certainly had some wow factor and both sorbets were gorgeous! 

Aside from the main restaurant dining area The Gun also has some seperate cosy rooms where you can enjoy food and drink and also an outside terrace. Sadly it was far too cold for us to enjoy the views from the terrace but the open fire certainly made up for that. 

The Gun also have two rather grand function rooms which would be perfect for larger or more private parties. 

Our overall experience dining with Fuller's Kitchen was a good one and it's always so great to see pubs like this embracing change and offering up some choices for vegans too. One thing that I kept thinking throughout the meal was that this would be one of those perfect places to cater for a number of different dietary choices i.e if you were going out with someone who was hell bent on eating a steak! It would also be perfect for meals out with a large number of different people for example work functions or celebrations. 

Have you visited a Fuller's Kitchen pub before?

What was your experience? 

* This post was created in collaboration with Fuller's Kitchen.

All views and opinions expressed are honest and my own.