Cool central London veggie restaurant (Mildred's)

Name: vintage_laurie

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Product:	Mildred's
Date:	18.09.05 (517 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Good portions, tasty, friendly, celebs!

Disadvantages: A little expensive (but OK for London)

My OH and I always find it difficult to find somewhere good for lunch in central London for two main reasons. Firstly, we can't afford to eat in a lot of places, and secondly, I'm a vegetarian, but he's not a fan of veggie meals. We always end up with either deli sandwiches, fast food or sushi, which can get a little tiresome. So when we were recommended Mildreds, we thought we'd try it.

It's conveniently located on Greek St, Soho, which is convenient for Oxford Street. It's easy to spot, mainly because of the large sign and the many people coming in and out. I think Tottenham Court road is the nearest tube.

When we arrived, we were seated immediately, but we were lucky that a table was free; most of the people who arrived after us (we got there about 12.20) had to wait 10-15 mins. The decor is American inspired, but not overbearing; it has some diner decor, but not a tacky overdone look.

It's a vegetarian restaurant, so no meat or fish at all. The menu gave a lot of options, including lighter lunches like salads, sandwiches, soups, and proper cooked lunches. These consisted of lots of fast food style meals - burgers in usual and unusual varients -, lots of mexican inspired meals and daily specials, including pies and bakes, pizzas, pasta/noodle based meals, curries - lots of different things. Some of them were quite unusual and sounded delicious, but OH and I both fancied Mexican, so we went for tortillas filled with beans, rice and all the usual guacamole/salsa/sour cream/salad stuff - his had a different type of rice and beans in to mine (more spicy) , while mine was a 'classic'. We also ordered potato wedges on the side, from a choice of mostly potato and vegetable based side orders.

There is a wine and beer list, but as it was lunch, we went for smoothies - I had a gorgeous one with honey and rasperries in, while he went for a banana and mango one; both were a good size and delicious.

While we were waiting for our stuff (the smoothies arrived in 5 mins, the meals in about 10), we had a chance to look about at the other diners. I'd heard it was popular with celebrities, but my OH was still amazed to see a popular indie singer/TV presenter who he's had a crush on since he was about 12 (so nearly 10 years) sat behind us, he had to really try hard not to stare! There was also a table full of columnists from one of my favourite magazines and some music journalists/managers in. It was mostly filled with people aged about 20-35, not an office-y crowd particularly, with some shoppers.

The tortillas were piping hot and a good size, served with tortilla chips and salad, with extra guacamole and salsa on the side. The filling were great - perfect proportions of everything, nothing was sloppy and it was hugely filling. I thought mine was more flavourful, but he preferred his, so I'd recommend both. It also satisfied his need for something substantial and with texture, which he usually complains veggie resturants lack. Despite us both having good appitites and being fairly hungry, we only just finished them, ate about 1/2 the wedges and couldn't face dessert.

The service was extremely efficent and while the staff began to look a little tired and harrassed as it got busier, they were very friendly, smily and professional - everything was brought and cleared promptly, without us feeling rushed.

The prices I thought were reasonable for the location and portion size - it was about £5.50 - £6 for each of the tortillas, and about £2.60 for the smoothies. The sides (like the potato wedges) were priced between £1 and £3.50. The tortillas in our favourite cafe here in Manchester are about £5 and the smoothies £2, so for central London, I thought it was pretty good.

I'd definitely recommend Mildreds, it's very convenient, with a good atmosphere and good food.

Summary: Tasty filling food at good price in great location