For the first time in history, a vegan and plastic-free restaurant is number one on Trip Advisor, the world’s largest travel site.
Twelve Eatery — which has been open for less than a year — has taken the top spot for Bournemouth. It focuses on serving organic, plant-based cuisine, with no single-use plastic used anywhere on site. Even it’s cocktails are 100 percent organic, mixed with fresh cold-pressed juices.
After years of experience in London’s fine dining scene — working at prestigious establishments such as the Ivy and Gaucho — co-founders Dalton Mello and Greg Rush decided to branch off on their own, launching a sustainable, organic, high-end restaurant near the seaside in Bournemouth. It’s even decorated with vegan paint by Farrow & Ball.
“We are the only organic plant-based restaurant in Dorset and the UK’s first organic bar to make cocktails with fresh cold-pressed juices,” the pair note on their website.
A Vegan Menu for Everyone
The menu includes comfort classics like a full English breakfast, beer battered tofu and chips, and tagliatelle carbonara with tofu bacon. But most customers don’t walk in looking for vegan food. “There are no obvious vegan cues,” the website explains. “Most of our guests don’t even make the connection that the menu is plant-based, for us it’s all about organic and sustainability!”
It continues, “Twelve Eatery is where vegans, vegetarians, pescetarians, flexitarians, omnivores, and meat eaters meet to try creative dishes in a good atmosphere with stylish interiors.”
Mello and Rush aren’t looking to slow down any time soon; they told Bournemouth Echo that they’re eager for Twelve Eatery to become the UK’s first vegan restaurant chain. But they wouldn’t lose their sustainable, organic, focus.
Mello said, “we are passionately committed to offering British product, no frozen food or microwaves; just fresh organic food sourced as locally as possible.”
It’s not all about sustainability and quality of ingredients, it’s about customer health too. Mello continued, “every dish is created to include the average daily recommended amount of B12 – hence ‘Twelve’ – as this is the vitamin that vegans are most likely to be deficient in.”
