Vegetarian food. That’s something I’ve eaten on a regular basis. But vegan? Not so many times. And I’d certainly never been to a vegan restaurant before which was why Wulf & Lamb with its promise of ‘fiercely kind’ food intrigued me so much. Especially as the chef is Franco Casolin, formerly of Vanilla Black – one of London’s most well-known veggie restaurants.
Enlisting fellow blogger and vegetarian, Sima from the Curious Pixie as my plus one, I headed down the new parade of artisan food and drink shops on Pavilion Road just off Sloane Square.
Interiors are casual, this isn’t a fancy place and actually you order food from the downstairs counter and it’s bought to your table. This style of dining led us to conclude Wulf & Lamb was more of a lunch place, a healthy stop during a shopping day rather than for dinner or a special occasion. There’s this small seating area downstairs and a more spacious upstairs with its own bar – this may be veggie fare but don’t worry there’s still wine!
It was my first time meeting Sima, but long-term followers of each others blogs, we immediately dived into conversation and didn’t pause once the whole night. Well, there was one brief pause to look at the menu but we’d already had lots of recommendations from people. 
I was in no doubt about ordering the chilli non carne as this had been the resounding recommendation from everyone. We love the smoky and spicy flavours of the mushrooms, lentils and kidney beans which sat on a bed of basmati herb rice with cashew sour cream, lime and coriander cress. I did find it a little under seasoned and preferred it with added salt but that is of course personal preference and it was still my favourite dish of the night.
It was also a really filling and substantial dish, and I thought if I had presented this to staunch carnivore Mr S, he would have really enjoyed it and perhaps not even been able to tell the difference between this and the beef version. 
Another successful dish was the Tex Mex salad – Sima and I are both big spice lovers and we really enjoyed the kick of chilli running through this salad of chilled vermicelli with mango, avocado, green beans, sugar snaps, cucumber, radishes and red pepper and topped with black sesame seeds, fresh coriander and mint. We both felt that the sauce was what really bought this whole dish to life and so filled our plates with plenty of that.
If you are vegan coming to Wulf & Lamb you’ll be pleased to know that everything served here is 100% plant-based and organic – on the website they joke ‘it’s not allowed in if it’s had anything to do with a pulse. (Unless it’s a chickpea, lentil or bean).’ Want cow’s milk in your coffee? I’m sorry but that’s also a no however oat milk and almond milk are on the menu for those, like myself, that can’t do without milky cup of coffee. 
Another of my favourites was the simple chargrilled broccoli, it was cooked to perfection in my opinion and was a great main dish as well as a side. 
Less successful for us was the spicy vegetable burger. Topped with tomato, baby gem, pickle, red onion and cashew aioli in a brioche bun, and even including plant-based cheese, it looked great but it reality it as quite bland and stodgy. However it does serve as a good example for the philosophy behind Wulf & Lamb – to satisfy a craving for comfort food.
We also went for extra wedges – regular and sweet potato and covered in rosemary.
Both Sima and I were intrigued by the desserts, two traditionally creamy options that were of course dairy free. We weren’t so sure about their take on tiramisu – a pudding made from raw almond cream on a chocolate and nut base and topped with coffee meringue, brandy and vanilla cashew cream. The nut-based cream did work well in itself but we didn’t feel like the flavours were quite on point.
We preferred the mango and passionfruit cheesecake which was a great refreshing option. It’s dairy-free, of course, on a base of macadamia, pistachios and sesame seeds, topped with raspberry crumble and mint – the mini meringues on the side were just divine!
You may be wondering, as I was, why the name? Surely wolf and lamb are predator and prey – that’s not very vegan! Well the name was chosen because the restaurant is all about shattering expectations, ‘slaying misconceptions’ and finding harmony. Definitely an idea I can get on board with.
In conclusion, our meal at Wulf & Lamb was a little hit and miss but mostly hits. I also think Mr S would have been perfectly happy with the vegan meal and not missed meat at all, I reckon if I didn’t tell him it was all vegan he wouldn’t guess. Though it’s not perfect, I think it’s an excellent addition to the London restaurant scene and I’d love to see more restaurants catering to vegans and plant-based diets.
WULF & LAMB
243 Pavilion Road
London
SW1X 0BP
Our meal was complimentary for the review.
