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The Gate

Vegetarian Restaurant in Clerkenwell
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8 / 10 from 1 review
Address
370 St. John Street
Clerkenwell
London
EC1V 4NN
Map
History
Telephone
020 7278 5483
Cuisine
Vegetarian
Region
Clerkenwell
Nearest Station
Angel
0.15 miles
Opening Times
Monday Open 12:00 - Closes 15:00
Open 17:00 - Closes 22:30
Tuesday Open 12:00 - Closes 15:00
Open 17:00 - Closes 22:30
Wednesday Open 12:00 - Closes 15:00
Open 17:00 - Closes 22:30
Thursday Open 12:00 - Closes 15:00
Open 17:00 - Closes 22:30
Friday Open 12:00 - Closes 15:00
Open 17:00 - Closes 22:30
Saturday Open 10:00 - Closes 15:00
Open 17:00 - Closes 22:30
Sunday Open 10:00 - Closes 15:00
Open 17:00 - Closes 22:30
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All In London Review

A place where classic food and bold flavours trumps all else.

Review Image
As a committed meat eater, visiting a vegetarian fine dining restaurant wasn’t top of my 2016 foodie agenda – and I’d hazard a guess that others might have similar feelings on the matter. But, you know what? We all need to stop with the tunnel vision because while looking down a tunnel with a perfectly cooked piece of steak waiting at the end of it is an undeniably amazing dream scenario, there is so much more out there in the real world. Which brings us to The Gate. Located in Angel, the stylish space takes in raised levels, a standalone bar, some handsome tiling and even squeezes in a contemporary open fire to warm the place up. Our only bug bear was the sight of food photography on the walls. We’re not sure what possible purpose these incongruous pictures serve but they’re certainly not in keeping with the rest of the design.

Aside from those pictures, I’m left feeling all warm and fuzzy over the Gate. Its menu is short and succinct and between the starters and mains I would happily eat everything on it. What I do try is the baby artichoke filled with wild mushroom duxelles and dolce latte served with puy lentil salsa and garlic aioli, a rich, perfectly proportioned beginning to the meat-free meal. The main dishes of wild mushroom risotto cake and tortillas with two fillings (sweet potato, sweetcorn, goats cheese, chilli, lime and coriander and baked beetroot, feta and parsley) are both delicious. The intense seasoning of the risotto cake and its truffle and parmesan shavings made it the pick of the two. No description of the Gate needs to be qualified by the fact that it is vegetarian; it’s good food, meat or none. Classic and classy, the Gate doesn’t bring the future-veg gastronomy of the current vegetarian scene but instead does solid cooking with broad appeal.

We drink a full-bodied Malbec with the meal and finish with the chocolate and griottine mousse, for that extra jolt of a reminder that this food is plenty indulgent. In the future, I dream of a time when labels are redundant, where ‘vegetarian restaurant’ is just ‘restaurant’ and food becomes the latest facet of culture to shake off its boundaries and go free for all. Until then, The Gate is a start, a place where classic food and bold flavours trumps all else.

Reviewed by T.A.O anonymously on Feb 8, 2016
Published on Feb 7, 2016

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