Vegan menu puttingtown on the food map

Owners of a new '˜dining experience' in Horncastle believe they have come up with the recipe for success - but you won't find award winning Lincolnshire Red Beef among the Monday night specials!
Vegan restaurant in Horncastle EMN-161110-105043001Vegan restaurant in Horncastle EMN-161110-105043001
Vegan restaurant in Horncastle EMN-161110-105043001

Jeremy Connelly and Lucy Roberts - who run ‘Excellente’ in North Street - recently launched a vegan only menu on a Monday evening.

Instead of traditional favourites, diners are tucking into starters like tofu, courgette and sweetcorn risotto and mains of spinach, hazelnut and mushroom burgers.

And while some of the area’s meat producers might be shaking their heads in disbelief, Jeremy and Lucy think they have come up with the recipe for success.

They’ve been inundated with bookings from all over the county with people travelling from as far afield as Spalding and Stamford to tuck into their vegan specials.

Lucy said: “The vegetarian options on our menu were always fairly popular but we decided to go a step further and try a vegan menu.

“We did a lot of research but to be honest, we didn’t know what to expect.

“However, word seems to have got around and we’ve been really busy on Monday nights.

“We’re getting a lot of enquiries from all over the county - and a lot of bookings.

“We’ve been fully booked a couple of times and people are obviously prepared to travel a long way.

“We’ve people who regularly come from Spalding and we’re really pleased the idea is working well.”

The menu also features mushroom pate, leek and potato soup, leek and tofu gratin, kidney bean burgers and a vegan shepherd’s pie.

The couple are adding new dishes to their menu all the time - including the spinach, hazelnut and mushroom burgers, served in homemade vegan bread rolls.

Where possible, all the food used is sourced and bought locally with Lucy using a number of Horncastle-based businesses.

She added: “There are a lot of very good restaurants in the Hornastle area but we believe we’re the first to offer a vegan only night.

“At the moment, it’s just on a Monday but we might look at expanding to other nights - if the demand continues.”

The couple offer a full menu during the day and they also open on a Friday and Saturday night ... with meat eaters more than welcome!