I really like The Donkey. Located on Welford Road, it is the perfect combination of things I love in a pub; funky, mismatched furniture, live gigs, and of course, dedicated vegan offerings.
We headed to the Donkey on a quiet Sunday for lunch to find a near-empty pub. Looking at the menu, there are several vegan mains, desserts and sides, including an all day English breakfast and Sunday roast. After a few sips of beer and a lot of deliberation, I decided on the vegan burger while Andrew went for the roast.
My dish was described as a “meaty” vegan burger, and it certainly did not disappoint in that regard. I spoke to the chef after the meal, and he said he uses TVP (textured vegetable protein) to create the patties that day, so no two burgers are ever the same. The burger came with salad, rustic hand-cut chips and was topped with a homemade ranch dressing which was delicious, and such a nice change from the usual ketchup being the only vegan dip option.
Andrew’s Sunday roast was a real treat. It was fully loaded with a lentil bake, tons of veggies, lashings of gravy and came with both mash AND roasties. It’s up there for the best vegan roast in Leicester IMO.
I wish The Donkey was on my side of town, as I would be in there all the time. I need to go in sometime to try the full vegan English breakfast which the chef said is “great for hangovers”… not that I would know anything about that 😉