This evening we were booked in for dinner at Cafe Maitreya. It's a vegetarian restaurant that we've been meaning to try for as long as I can remember, but because it's a taxi ride away on the other side of Bristol and we've got so many good places nearby, we never seem to get round to it. It's won lots of awards and came well recommended by friends, so I was quite excited about going.
I love my veg, but I was actually quite surprised when I checked back through this blog so far at how many actual vegetarian meals I cook. Looking just at main evening meals, over the past three and a half months, only 5% of my meals have been properly vegetarian. Another 14% have been predominantly veg, with just a bit of pancetta or chorizo added. 21% have been fishy, leaving a shocking 60% of meat-based meals!
Anyway, my verdict of Cafe Maitreya was a bit mixed really. My starter of courgette flowers stuffed with goats cheese was really nice and the wine, a South African chenin blanc, really stood out. But my main course had that rather 'mushy' texture about it that makes me think of nut roasts and baby food and often puts me off "vegetarian" dishes. It was described as "aubergine escalope", which was slices of aubergine fried in a couscous coating - not bad. But it was served with a rather large dollop of mushy, slightly sweet pepper and almond pate and rather too much sweet cherry sauce (even though it was described as 'sour' on the menu). By the end of which I just felt a bit sicky. Which was a shame as it was a really cool spot, with a nice atmosphere and really friendly staff. If it was nearer, I'd probably give it a second chance, but as it is, I don't think we're likely to spend 20 quid on taxi fares to get over there again.
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