As a meat eater I am generally quite sceptical about vegan restaurants that aim to serve convincing replicas of fast-food meat products. Nonetheless, since it is ‘Veganuary’, myself and a vegan friend decided to give this popular Manchester joint a try to see if the dishes could really compete with the real deal.
On arrival it was very evident that V-REV is a popular diner, and although it was 14:30 on a Thursday we had to wait a few minutes to be seated. The menu consists of seitan burgers which are either deep fried to replicate and taste like fried chicken or mixed with soy and moulded into patties to replicate beef burgers. In addition to burgers, V-REV also offers a range of vegan sides from ‘mozzarella’ sticks to loaded ‘cheesy’ fries, all at a very reasonable price.
I decided to order the Kenan and Kale burger which was spicy fried ‘chicken’ with avocado, vegan mozzarella and Siracha. For two pounds extra I also added some poutine fries which were topped with vegan gravy, cheese and fried onions. My companion ordered the Whopper Flocka Flame burger and buffalo ranch fries. Her burger consisted of ‘beef’ patties topped with vegan cheese and bacon and her fries were also drenched in vegan cheese, bacon and ranch dressing. Both meals were less than ten pounds and the portions were very generous.
However, after trying both dishes we both felt that the ‘beef’ burger was a bit of a disappointment. The patty was thin, did not have a convincing texture and did not taste of much. Most of the flavour derived from the sauce and the vegan cheese, which was generously lathered on top. On the other hand, the Kenan and Kale burger was delicious and could have passed for a real, albeit less greasy, chicken burger. The fries were also tasty and a steal at only two pounds for such a large portion.
Although V-REV has made a good effort at providing vegan diners with an alternative to beef and chicken burgers, the food I tried has not convinced me too give up the meat. That said, the diner is a good place to meet with friends and is reasonably priced, so I will be visiting again.
