No tags yet.
Nestled in the back room of Call Lane's bar Oporto, normally reserved for its dynamic live gig nights (having featured bands like Anteros, Trudy & the Romance, Sundara Karma and many more, as the décor demonstrates), there’s a new 100% Vegan comfort food pop-up restaurant. Knave’s Kitchen is bringing guilty pleasures to the plates of those who pursue plant-based diets (and those who don’t - go try it out even if you’re not vegan), proving that vegan diets aren’t exclusively restricted to kale and lentils.
The pop-up opened at the end of last March, just in time for the Easter holiday crowd, and follows Oporto owners Paul and Ged’s wish to open a chicken shop following their hot dog endeavours in ‘The Dogging Shop’. Alex Thompson, assistant general manager, pushed the idea of a vegan concept into the mix somewhere along the road.
So far, Knave’s Kitchen offers a petite amount of five mains and a selection of sides, but that doesn’t mean the options aren’t varied amongst them. On the menu, they’re separated by dishes made with seitan – a plant-based protein made from wheat gluten, which is handmade in-house– and those made with other meat replacements. For the former, they offer the ‘Mill Hill’ special, a kebab named after the famous late-night takeaway, and a ‘fish’ finger wrap complete with vegan tartare sauce. There are two tofu dishes, a crispy tofu satay with peanut sauce and katsu curry, and a crunchy onion bhaji burger with specially-made cucumber ketchup and vegan raita.
Out of all the dishes ordered this cloudy afternoon, the kebab is definitely a favourite. Being huge fans of hummus overall, and not having had a kebab in all the years I’ve been vegan, it’s a welcome new dish to try in the world of plant-based diets. With a hefty serving of hot sauce over the medley of lettuce, carrots, tenderly grilled seitan, all wrapped in a soft wrap, it’s a wonder to behold.
The onion bhaji burger was also a welcome change from normally-soggy veganised burgers. The bhaji retains its crispy consistency and adds new layers to veggie burgers. It also stays together better than any other non-meat burger I’ve ever had. The only drawback to the mouth-watering whirlwind of flavours is the overwhelming saltiness the bhaji brings to the table. It’s a relatively small drawback to such a great new twist on a classic takeaway dish.
The katsu curry was only slightly disappointing (especially after having tasted Manzoku Ramen’s take on it). The tofu is silken instead of firm (usually used to blend into sauces) but that can be excused from Knave’s Kitchen’s developing nature. The curry is also not quite as flavourful as hope, with a mild savoury taste – but that could be entirely subjective, as adding a dash of sriracha fixed it right up for us.
Overall, Knave’s Kitchen should be celebrated as a godsend for adding some new foods to the sea of curries in a vegan’s diet choices when eating out (there’s nothing wrong with a good curry, don’t get me wrong; but when it’s often the only choice, it gets disheartening). With the comfort you get from a good takeaway, and a variety of choices for the same prices as that takeaway (mains range from £5.50-6.50), Knave’s Kitchen is hopefully here to stay, so long as they get the support they truly deserve from the Leeds community.
Even better: Oporto is now serving up as many vegan beers as they can get ahold of, and they’re all available for recommendation by the reliable bar staff. (I got given a ‘juicy pale ale’ and it was magnificent). All their cocktails are now vegan as well; no more egg whites are in use and have been replaced by ‘aqua faba’, an alternative made with chickpea water. Whether you’re looking for tasty vegan comfort food or a great night out with vegan alcohol options, Oporto is the place to go.