At last, the pulled jackfruit ship has sailed. Now, thanks to culinary alchemists like Beyond Meat, our plant-based pals can get all the junk food they can eat. Honest, seeing the popularity of ‘the plant’, boarded the bandwagon and opened an all-vegan venture: V Honest.
Stepping into this casual eatery, you’ll notice backless benches and no dessert options. A quick turnover is still the aim here. Nothing wrong with that, it is fast food after all. As the staff lead you through the buzzy space, they double-check you know it’s all vegan.
There are five burger options (six if you count swapping relish for burger sauce as a separate dish). This number dropped when it emerged they had run out of vegan chicken, despite opening mere days prior. Before our options could dwindle further, we opted for ‘the chilli’ and ‘the buffalo’.
The chilli hit the spot, with a nice jalapeno kick and crunch from the red onion. ‘The buffalo’ was slightly forgettable - or rather ‘the pesto’ was, as that was what arrived instead. The giant onion rings and tiny nub-like chips did what they’re supposed to do, although the former arrived resting in a considerable puddle of oil.
The most exciting thing on the menu - pulled shiitake mushroom fritters - had an excellent filling, but were let down by the same excessively thick batter that encased the onion rings. Breadcrumbs would work much better here, croquette-style.
Given the American patties, Swedish chicken and Australian pulled mushroom, the claim of “showcasing the best vegan food in the country” doesn't seem V Honest at all. Prices here are similar to other branches, which feels steep given the meat ones are made in-house. That being said, Honest Burgers has impressed us in the past, so we’re sure these growing pains will get fixed.