Craighaar Vegan Menu Review. I was kindly invited by The Craighaar Hotel to try out their Vegan menu ahead of their Vegan week running from 11th – 17th November.
I had previously visited the Craighaar Hotel a good few years ago and had fond memories of it’s cosy atmosphere, modern Scottish decor and delicious food. Luckily it had not changed and I was just as impressed on my return visit. Situated right beside the new P&J Live Arena, it is perfect for a pre-event meal or drink and just a few minutes walk to the arena on a newly built path.
Menu
You won’t miss meat with this special menu. With the likes of a huge Vegan Burger, Herbed Quinoi Salad and Salted Caramel Cake with Coconut Ice Cream, it’s bound to sway anyone who might not think a Vegan meal can be filling and satisfying.
I’m admittedly not Vegan, but love to try out Vegan dishes and ingredients and try and limit my meat intake as much as possible. I do also have a couple Vegan recipes on this blog, including Vegetable Thai Green Curry and Beetroot Hummus.
Even if you aren’t Vegan, or have no interest in becoming Vegan, I still encourage you to try out this menu and promise you won’t be disappointed.
What we ate
For starters, I went for the Fresh Tomato, Basil and Mozzarisella Crostini; A crispy pastry base was topped with a generous amount of marinated tomatoes, basil leaves and Vegan mozzarella. As I was eating this, I forgot the mozzarella was vegan and I don’t think I would’ve known if I hadn’t been told. It was full of flavour and a perfect starter.
My partner also had the Sweet Potato, Leek and Butternut Squash Soup. A generous and tasty portion of smooth, perfectly seasoned soup topped with crispy vegetables as a garnish. The only thing missing was a slice of bread!
For mains, I opted for the Aubergine and Chickpea Tagine served with Rice Pilaf. A huge dish filled with chunks of aubergine and chickpeas in a richly spiced sauce. I loved this dish, and can’t wait to recreate it at home. The only change I would make is having the aubergine chunks bigger.
My partner had the Stuffed Baked Courgettes, a very flavoursome and filling dish of Courgettes stuffed with Wild Rice and cashews with a sweet tomato and basil sauce to pour over.
We were stuffed by this point, and my vegan-doubting partner was very pleasantly surprised to have enjoyed a non-meat starter and main, but we still had room to try out the desserts on offer.
Desserts were equally as good. We shared the Vegan Salted Caramel Cake with Coconut Ice Cream and the Chocolate Iced Parfait. I doubted that desserts could be this good without dairy, but I was so wrong. They were both a dessert lovers dream. The cake was moist, sweet and full of sweet salted caramel sauce. The parfait was chocolate heaven, with the most amazing berry compote on the side.
My favourite thing about this whole meal was the fact that every element was homemade. From the crostini in the starter, to the walnut brittle in dessert everything had clearly been prepared with such care and attention. Massive credit goes to the Head Chef, Kenny Moir, for creating such a delicious menu and an exciting way to eat plant-based food in a restaurant setting without missing meat whatsoever. I highly recommend you check out The Craighaar Hotel Vegan Menu this week, and beyond.
