Shrub — Restaurant in Great Britain

Me and my partner came here for the first time as it's an all vegan place (although it's not 100% clear) and the food was delicious. We had the teriyaki tofu (sauce was a bit too rich/sweet as there was a lot of it but it was still tasty), the gyozas which were really nice and I personally had the gnocchi which was lovely which I would eat again. My partner had the house burger and really enjoyed it too. We did have dessert after as a treat which was the blondie, the chocolate sauce tasted like it was dark chocolate which slightly let it down but apart from that we liked it.

The service was great from everyone as I think we had 2-3 different servers throughout the meal and the guy who originally served us was helpful when I asked questions about different food and what they were as a few things on the menu are quite unique.

The only cons were the drinks were a bit small for the price and filled with ice which I should've requested without but I completely forgot and didn't expect that much. The prices are quite expensive for some things, definitely a place for when you want to treat yourself. They also add a 10% service charge for over £20 which wasn't advertised as far as I could see on the menu or when we walked in and when we got the bill the waitress seen my partner had his card out already so went to get the machine and I only just read we were being charged extra as he was about to pay with his card that second. I will admit this left a bit of a sour taste and spoiled the experience a bit as it felt very American, we weren't notified before we sat down otherwise we would have ordered less or maybe gone elsewhere as the prices were already a bit up there for tapas style food. It does say optional but how many people are comfortable asking for it to be taken off? As someone with anxiety and who struggles talking to people I wouldn't have felt ok doing so and I think that is something that should be taken in to account. Maybe have a thing that comes up on the card machine that says would you like to add an optional...

We were impressed by Shrub's offerings at Vegan Camp Out 2024 (particularly the szechuan fries!), so when we decided to get away for a few nights in Chester, visiting their restaurant was at the top of our list.

Firstly, we weren't prepared for how gorgeous the restaurant is. As if being located in The Rows wasn't beautiful enough, the decor and atmosphere were stunning, and they even had a cosy outdoor balcony area. I bet that would be lush on a summer evening!

We were absolutely spoiled for choice and struggled to whittle down what we wanted to order. I had the teriyaki tofu, artichoke wings, and delicata squash, and my partner had the "lamb" ragu and the szechuan fries. However, we had a little nibble of each other's food.

Everything was delicious and cooked to perfection! We decided we needed to come back and try more of the menu before our time in Chester was over. So we went again the following day!

This time, we shared the pumpkin tortellini (not pictured), tenderstem broccoli (not pictured), brussels sprouts, baby carrots, and potato terrine.

My partner and I were firm haters of sprouts in ALL forms, but we both thought they were one of the best dishes we had eaten over the last 2 days. My partner also isn't a fan of tofu usually, but that was also one of his favourites.

What I love about Shrub is their quality of ingredients and creativity. I love that they make veggies fun and the main event without the need for every dish having a protein/meat alternative, which is why it's no surprise that even non-vegans enjoy eating here so much.

The staff are all so lovely! On our first night, we were served by Eloise and Tim, who were both super sweet and welcoming. I am gutted that we didn't get the names of the people on our second night as they were fantastic, too. But the people working at 7.30pm on Wednesday 11th December 2024 deserve a shout-out too ❤️

Hopefully, we'll get to come...

We ate here for a reunion celebration and had a nice time on the night. The staff were nice and we had a good laugh. Following eating here I had the worst and most violent food poisoning of my life.

My friends and I ate the same things all day, and the only thing I ate differently in the preceding 24 hours was my main dish at this restaurant.

Ordinarily this would not be enough for me to give a 1* review, but on contacting the restaurant to tell them about my experience (assuming they would have to do some sort of enquiry) my comments were basically dismissed.

The staff member who replied to me tried to suggest that my food poisoning experience was down to my own lack of digestive familiarity with seitan (they assumed wrong, I have eaten it before with no issues).

I was not looking for them to admit liability or anything ridiculous like that, but I was expecting a vague sense of genuine apology and a reassurance that some sort of investigation would be underway so as to prevent this from happening again. I didn’t get any sense of this, hence the 1*.

I also got the sense that the message I received was a bit copy and paste which makes me wonder how many times they have had to send out similar responses.

I’ve never been so poorly after eating out before, so I can’t and will not be recommending this...