Zilli Green vegetarian restaurant on Dean Street in London
I spent my last birthday alone, my husband out of town, making do with a frozen ready-to-eat meal. So when this birthday came around, it wasn't going to be hard to top that. My husband suggested we head into London, pick up tickets for a play, and find a nice vegetarian restaurant. Since we very rarely eat out at home, this was a real treat. I took some time and checked out the reviews of London's vegetarian restaurants. I'd already been to several, and some I eliminated due to location—we wanted to stay in the West End so we'd make it to the play on time.
Although I'd read some negative reviews of Zilli Green, a new restaurant by Aldo Zilli in Soho (one was particularly scathing) I decided to give it a try, mainly because its location was perfect. Plus, one of my vegan Twitter friends had a good experience there. I swear by personal recommendations.
I was also intrigued by the menu. There were plenty of interesting vegan options available; even better, many of the non-vegan dishes indicated that a vegan substitution was available.
So, after picking up tickets at Half Price Tickets in Leicester Square, we headed through Chinatown to Dean Street. It was only around four in the afternoon, but fortunately this is one London restaurant that's not only open mid-afternoon, but also has its full dinner menu available.
We were the only patrons eating inside, and I wondered if the cramped quarters would accommodate many diners. It turns out there is more seating downstairs. Still, you might want to make a reservation if you're dining during normal high traffic times—and after reading this, you're gonna want to eat there, trust me.
We first ordered a "bite" of edamame, since my husband hadn't had lunch, and drinks—a Sam Smith ale for him, a Prosecco for me. The menu was worth lingering over. Along with several main dishes, Zilli Green offers several "Italian Flavours", and I already knew I wanted to try the tagliatelle with porcini mushrooms. For a starter, though, I went in a different direction geographically, because the idea of quinoa and wild mushroom sushi was just too tempting. My husband ordered a fusion platter, with sushi, a South Asian inspired curry, and tempura fried vegetables, which included samphire.
No, the portion wasn't this small; we'd already eaten most of the sushi by the time I remembered to photograph it. After that, we were too busy eating to bother with the camera.
My sushi was divine. Who said sushi has to involve seaweed and rice anyway? The portion was more than enough for both me and my husband to sample, and included a small bowl of soy sauce (tamari?) and wasabi, plus a sprig of coriander and slices of pickled ginger. I recommend the whole experience: Place a coriander leaf on the sushi, wrap a ginger slice around that, and dip it into the wasabi-soy sauce. Pop the whole thing in your mouth and enjoy. Swallow some Prosecco. Rinse, repeat.
The Prosecco gone, I switched to red wine for my main course, a nice Argentinian that was recommended for the tagliatelle (the wine list includes the menu items each wine goes well with, making it easy to choose). When the tagliatelle arrived, I was so eager to dive in I forgot to take a photo. I'd also ordered some bread, simply because I wanted to try the olive oil that was placed on the table.
I was glad I did, because missing out on that fruity olive oil would have been a shame. And who wants to have any regrets on her birthday?
Not to be self-congratulatory, but I chose my meal well. The tagliatelle was redolent of earthy porcini mushrooms. These were not the rubbery dried porcinis, which are fine for adding flavor but not much for texture. Curious, I asked, and the chef Enzo himself came out to talk about them. They're frozen, since obviously April is not the month for fresh porcini mushrooms. (October is, if you're inclined to forage.) But they tasted every bit as good as the fresh porcinis I'd had in Italy in October. The chef told me where I might find the frozen ones, and told me they buy the most expensive ones. I didn't ask how much. Some things are just worth every pence, and as my tastebuds can attest, frozen porcinis are worth seeking out.
Interestingly, I would never have guessed the dish was vegan—but I don't doubt for a minute it was. The chef told me he was a vegan; plus, the server didn't even bother asking if I wanted grated Parmesan on my plate, as he did for my husband. He offered me vegan Parmesan, but I declined. I wanted to taste the mushrooms, not the musty dairy-free cheese.
I also sampled a bite or three from my husband's plate: the curry was very nice, and I have to confess, I robbed his plate of the tempura vegetables. (Birthday girl gets privileges.) If you want to try the exotic samphire, this is a perfect introduction. After all, anything fried is good, right?
Since it was my birthday, we splurged on dessert. Again, there were plenty of vegan options to chose from—a rarity at London's veggie restaurants, when you usually are stuck with a crummy crumble. It came down to the tiramisu or the Limoncello cheesecake. I chose the tiramisu, but it didn't live up to the rest of the meal. It was more salty than sweet, perhaps due to the dairy substitute. I think the sweet Italian wine—Vin Santo—my husband ordered made up for that, because I didn't hear him complain.
The service was impeccable—but then, we were the only customers for part of the time we were there. An almost imperceptible lift of an eyebrow was enough to bring our server to our table. And even better, he was knowledgeable about the menu and willing to talk, but only when we wanted him to. Many a surly London server could learn from the service at Zilli Green.
In fact, the whole experience was so good I'll definitely be returning—but I don't intend to wait for another birthday. I'll be bringing my non-vegetarian friends, and dragging my husband out again.
Oh, and in addition to the amazing vegetarian food we enjoyed, we also enjoyed a play by my favorite playwright, George Bernard Shaw, who, yes, was a vegetarian.
Sadly, he never got the chance to eat at Zilli Green, but I suspect old George would have loved it too—and like me, he'd have been glad to ignore the negative reviews.
Zilli Green is located at 41 Dean Street, just north of Chinatown, off Shaftsbury Ave. They're open Monday - Saturday, 12 noon to 11 p.m.
