Category: Bistro (££)

Hammersmith in West London is completely out of my culinary comfort zone. Apart from the budget-breaking River Cafe I am not aware of any decent restaurants in this area and River Cafe is certainly too posh for a quick pre-theatre bite.

When researching for a restaurant close to the Lyric Hammersmith, I stumbled upon this review of The Gate on Time Out. A vegetarian restaurant that gets 5 out of 5 stars? Intriguing. Even though I am certainly NOT a vegetarian, I do very much enjoy pure vegetable dishes if they are well done.

Our attempts to visit The Gate were hindered by the fact we couldn’t find it. Even though we had the exact address we kept running up and down Queen Caroline Street which almost ended up in a relationship crisis. Maybe The Gate would consider putting a sign up, that people can actually see? I am sure this would help in getting customers.

Anyway, we did find it in the end and I was glad that we did not give up, or break up for that matter. As far as non-Asian vegetarian restaurants go, The Gate is as good as it gets. You will certainly be disappointed if you expect oddly dressed hippies wearing birkenstocks, you will search in vain for the obligatory falafel on the menu and no, the waitresses don’t have dreadlocks. There is a tree painted onto the wall though.

I loved the bright room with the high ceiling and large windows. It could however do with a little refurbishment. Overall the place looks a bit run down, which was apparent when we arrived and it was still light, and less obvious during the course of the evening. And have I mentioned that a big sign in front would be a really good idea?