Note: I've not been back to Aber for a while now, so this page might be completely out of date. I've tried to reflect any information sent my way, though.
Aberystwyth is a nice small seaside town in Mid Wales. It's very pretty (in summer), quite busy and almost everyone that comes here develops a strong affection for the place. But what's it like for vegans? Getting worse. I've been informed that the town's original 100% vegetarian restaurant, Ancient Rain, has now closed. There's still just about enough around to get by though (unless it's Sunday!).
The menu for this curry house, as well as offering a 'mixed vegetable' option for all their standard dishes, has an entire section headed 'Vegetarian Haven'. It is usually obvious from the descriptions which dishes are vegan, but the owners are very friendly, so just ask if you need clarification. Portions are very generous, but the quality is equally high. Eat-in or take away.
Added: 2003-07
Location: North Parade
Open:
Saturday to Thursday, 12noon-1.45pm.
Monday to Sunday, 5.30pm-10.30pm.
Generally open for tea, coffee, fruit, sandwiches (salad with houmus or vegetable paté, but whether they have unbuttered ones out is as random as everything else here). At noon they start serving hot lunches, and they're apparently open from 5pm with an evening menu, but I've not been then (so the following may only apply to lunchtime).
They often have a vegan option or two, but sometimes they have nothing at all! Generally, you'll get a plate with some food from a tray on it, and then you can pile up as much salad on top of that as you like. I was told that the salads that didn't obviously have mayonnaise or cheese in them were all vegan, but you may want to ask if you're unsure. Sometimes if there's no main course there will be a suitable soup, but again don't rely on it - they're very helpful when it comes to telling you what is or isn't vegan, but they don't always go out of their way to provide anything.
Added: 2002-05
Location: On the university campus, next to the Union building.
Open: Monday to Saturday, 10am-8pm, lunch served 12noon-2pm,
evening menu from 5pm.
Self-serve salad for a starter and one specifically vegan option on the menu (spaghetti and tomatos) plus one that can be adapted (penne arrabbiata). Not very exciting and quite expensive - so, possible to eat there, but you're very limited.
Added: 2002-06
Location: Alexander Road, opposite the station, next to the Cambrian pub.
Open: ?. Evenings.
Nice cosy little restaurant at the top end of town quite obviously adapted from a normal house. They only have two vegan items on the menu at the time of writing: Garlic Mushrooms starter and Vegetable Chilli main course. When we ate there they handed out small dishes of vegetables to accompany the meal (I'm not sure if that's standard practice - it might have been because there were eight of us). Note that the roast potatos are cooked in animal fat.
Added: 2002-06
Location: St. James' Square, at the top of town.
Open: Every day except Tuesday and Sunday. Evenings.
Quite a nice Italian style restaurant. There are many dishes that look suitable (any with shaped pasta should be alright), or you can have pizza without cheese (the bases are fine), which I can heartily recommend - very tasty.
Added: 2002-06
Location: North Parade.
Open: Every day, 12noon-2pm (lunches) + 6pm-10pm (evening meals).
Organic shop/restaurant. Always has at least one vegan main course and quite often a soup or two as well. They also do bowls of salad (very seasonal) and vegeburgers. If you order anything that comes with butter, you can ask to have vegan margerine instead. Also, don't be afraid of the mayonnaise - it's fine. They frequently have lovely vegan desserts, although if you're out of luck they'll only have a date slice. They have various hot drinks, wine and beer.
Added: 2002-05
Location: On the corner of Baker Street (which the Natwest is on the
other corner of) and Eastgate.
Open: Monday to Saturday, 12noon-4pm.
Okay, so it's a supermarket chain, and to be honest there's not much you can get in there that you can't get elsewhere, but all co-op own-brand stuff is labelled if it's suitable for vegans, so it's a good place to go for snacks and cheap wine :)
Location: Waunfawr - right to the top of Penglais hill then turn right.
Open: Monday to Saturday, usual supermarket hours. Sunday 10am-4pm.
Pretty standard shop with all the usual stuff in (including rows and rows of pills and protein shakes and whatnot). They've got a selection of vegan 'cheeses', and sometimes have those Jamaican Pasties that you see everywhere (which seem to have changed shape recently). They usually have a special offer on something, so it's worth sticking your head in.
Location: Terrace Road.
Open: Monday to Saturday.
This shop has some nice things none of the other shops sell - like quite a good halva, some wines, vegan sausages, etc.
Location: Chalybeate Street.
Open: Monday to Saturday.
Organic shop/restaurant. They sell a fairly wide variety of organic foods amongst all the normal vegan staples. What makes this shop a must though is the fresh fruit and vegetable section - mostly organic foods from the surrounding farmland - and they've got a bit of everything. They also have a refrigerated snack bar which sells a few vegan items like vegetable pasties, stuffed vine leaves (best ones I've tasted) and vegetable/cous-cous tartlets. Top that off with a selection of prepackaged salads in takeaway containers and a drink, and you've got yourself a packed lunch to walk along the beach with. Lovely.
Location: On the corner of Baker Street (which the Natwest is on the
other corner of) and Eastgate.
Open: Monday to Saturday, 9am-5:30pm (at least), Fri 9am-7pm.
I'll update this page whenever I try a new place, but if you know of other places in Aber that are vegan-friendly yourself, let me know!
Updated 30 Oct 2007