Veggie Diner: can you eat out and enjoy it?

Earlier this week I posted a heartfelt moan about restaurants that pay lip service to catering for vegetarian customers. How many times have you turned up and found the veggie options run to just one starter and one main course? I've been vegetarian for more than 20 years and am amazed at how poorly we're still treated in many restaurants and cafes. 


Excellent websites such as veggieheaven.com are superb for championing vegetarian and vegan restaurants. But we shouldn't have to eat at a vegetarian or Indian restaurant in order to get a warm welcome and a choice over what we eat. Introducing friends to favourite vegetarian restaurants is great, but well-meaning comments such as "I didn't even think about the fact that it had no meat in it" aren't always received in the spirit in which they are spoken. 


It also gets tiresome as a vegetarian to be the one negating a visit to a restaurant based on the lack of anything palatable on the menu. Dozens of times over the years I've felt the weight of expectation from my dining companion as we've stood perusing the menu outside a restaurant they want to go into. "Is there anything there for you?", comes the hopeful query. 


Sunday lunch is a particularly awkward meal if there's a veggie in the group. Often, there's no vegetarian option on the menu at all - or "I'll do you a plate of veg, love". 


Sunday lunch is the most sociable meal of the week - one that's looked forward to as a treat and a relaxing way to spend time with family and friends. Yet many times we've driven round the country restaurants and pubs near my parents' home on the Welsh border only to end up disappointed that there's nowhere that can accommodate two vegetarians. 


With around 20 percent of the population vegetarian as a lifestyle choice, for health reasons or religious ones, plus many more keen to eat veggie as a change from the norm, this eating out lottery surely makes poor business sense. 


Lately, I've noticed more vegetarian guests getting a mention - and their dining experience commented upon - in restaurant reviews. It's about time and is certainly a welcome development. 


In the meantime, I'll be posting reviews and recommendations of veggie-friendly establishments. I'm starting with Wagamama - an obvious choice for those that have ever been there; an unqualified recommendation for anyone who has yet to discover the chain. 


I'd love to know where you like to eat, too, please, whether that's a vegetarian or vegan haunt or one that is refreshingly veggie-friendly.