Woodys Cafe, Apsley Marina, Near Hemel Hempstead

http://www.woodyscafe.co.uk/

A relaxed vegetarian cafe style eatery


Does what is says on the ethically sourced tin and a must for all vegans and vegetarians in the South Hertfordshire area. The cafe occupies a unit within the Apsley Lock development, right on the Grand Union Canal. It's reached by foot (or narrowboat!) across a modern footbridge from the Apsley side.

The food and service are cafe style with the menu a little bemusing for first time visitors. The main menu includes savoury crepes (available as vegan rice flour versions) with a mixture of fillings, you may have to ask which ones are vegan but there will be a few. There are pizzas (three are specifically vegan but without cheese, the rest would be too) and a partly changing specials board on the wall inside the cafe which has a number of vegan options.

Mixed salads with various changing components are available  although you're likely to be limited to a certain number of changing  salad components.

Refreshingly, there are usually a number of vegan cakes and desserts.

There are no meat options and the cafe has quite an ethically progressive, vegan and vegetarian 'feel' to it, so it may not be the place to take your sceptical dad if you want to gently introduce him to the concept that not all vegans are hippies (well alright, we're all a BIT hippy but we don't all meditate at the dining table). On the other hand, if you want to relax amongst veggie and vegan friends, and not have to justify your leather free outfit, this is the place to do it.

I've tried a number of dishes here. I have to say that the burgers leave me underwhelmed but they're tasty enough. It's the rather dense consistency that I find a little abrasive. I'm similarly unmoved by the crepes, which have been a little bland for my taste. The specials and soups are usually a really good bet and are always varied. Similarly, the cakes are delicious. A mixed salad, where you get a selection of things to eat such as a vegan coleslaw or a couscous mix, can also produce some interesting combinations, most recently a shredded red cabbage and caraway mix that I would never have put together myself but was  really vibrant and unusual. A taste combination I may try and recreate myself.

Not least of Woody's virtues is the child friendly cafe atmosphere which doesn't mean the place is so overrun as to put other diners off. A selection of books, colouring pencils and paper have kept my own Little Cherub amused whilst she waited for her Penne in a Tomato and Herb Sauce or a Rose Ice-Cream (Little Cherub isn't vegan) . Plain and simple food but nicely done. Special mention to the apple and Rhubarb Juice. It's just heaven.

It would be perfect if the staff were a tiny bit more friendly perhaps. Not that they've been unfriendly but I've twice had the impression that asking for the vegan options was interrupting the waitress' busy workload. A little odd for a vegetarian cafe.

Vegan Food: Plenty of choice
Ambience: Relaxed Cafe
Customer Service: Efficient if a little impatient