I first visited the Cosy Club in Leicester when it had just opened back in 2014 and at the time the vegan menu was a little on the thin side and what we ate was pretty average, so I admit I hadn’t been back since then. So when Cosy Club got in touch recently to see if I’d be interested in visiting as part of Veganuary, I jumped at the opportunity.
We visited on a cold Thursday evening, and the place was bustling which is always a good sign. It is an enormous space with an open plan bar and restaurant, but the soft, warm lighting, plush seating and painting-adorned walls manage to give the place an intimate feel which is a real feat.
We were promptly shown to our table and given a beautiful vegan menu with plenty of options to choose from. While we checked out the menu, Andrew ordered a beer while I opted for a glass of the Malbec. What is fantastic about the wine menu is they even mark the vegan wines so you don’t have to ask, which is nice because I often feel weird about enquiring about whether a wine is vegan. I’m fine asking about food, but drinks just feel like I’m being awkward… anyway, on to the food!
For starters, Andrew and I chose to split two dishes: the first was garlic mushrooms on sourdough toast, and the second was heirloom tomato and lovage pesto on sourdough toast. These dishes were a DELIGHT. The mushrooms were beautifully cooked and so succulent, with a smoky flavoured balsamic dressing drizzled on top. The heirloom tomatoes were juicey, sweet and beautifully seasoned. Andrew, who normally hates tomatoes, said it was one of the best starters he’s eaten in a long time. Some praise indeed!
For my main course, I chose the Thai green curry, which came with a bowl of steamed basmati rice and three crispy spring rolls. The curry itself was nicely seasoned and had a bit of a kick which I loved. It was also flavoured with seaweed in lieu of fish sauce, which is very common in Thai dishes (and thus making Thai food so difficult for vegans!). My only tiny complaint was that I do prefer curries to be a bit thicker, but I know that Thai dishes do tend to be more soup-like than an Indian curry, for example. The spring rolls though were delicious and the perfect accompaniment.
For Andrew’s main, he opted for the Thai burger made from a spicy quinoa patty. The burger came with roasted red peppers, pak choi, coconut sauce and a sweet chilli jam in a sourdough bun. It also came with house slaw and a side of sweet potato fries. The burger was really tasty – all the flavours went beautifully together, and the patty had a really nice texture that wasn’t too dry. The slaw and sweet potato fries could also not be faulted.
As always, we ate too much to leave any room for dessert, but we’re not big dessert people anyway. And also, we really hate the combination of chocolate and orange (sorry!), and the only option was a chocolate orange torte. So that was a pass for us. Everything else though, from the ambiance to the service to the food, was on point. The Cosy Club has come a long way since I last visited in 2014, and I would be happy to recommend it to other fellow vegans.