Chef Jono at V&V

We’re always very conscious of booking fine dining restaurants due to my gluten intolerance so always check ahead of time as we understand adapting a set tasting menu can be difficult however - V&V is marketed as gluten intolerant friendly, and I’d suggest this is not quite the case if you’re expecting a GF menu of the same standard as the original. We were served the second course first without communication that we weren’t going to be getting the first(?!) the bread course was quite clearly shop bought Genius (or similar) bread which is the spongiest and blandest on the market. Dishes skipped the sauce due to the ingredients having gluten in, which made them also bland. Most courses lacked the element of having ingredients you wouldn’t expect to go together, work and therefore wow you which you’d expect for an almost Michelin star priced menu. The good parts!! We had a dish swapped out due to the restrictions and were given a Thai-style peanut/coriander/courgette/lychee plate which had the experimental/imaginative Michelin quality described above - please put this on the regular menu! The final dessert was prepared/developed by one of the other chefs and it was absolutely beautiful - crumbed carrot cake and chocolate mousse (this was the winner). The service was great, the staff were very friendly and welcoming. Tableware and crockery for each dish were at the standard you’d expect for fine dining and a lovely touch. I personally loved the atmosphere, the playlist was fun and created a great vibe. Overall as someone with dietary restrictions I won’t be returning, however my experience is not the norm, so I wouldn’t take this as gospel if you are not the same.

Would highly reminded V&V! As a person with dairy/gluten intolerance, V&V was able to cater my dietary requirements without any problems. I chose the Vegan taster menu (due to my dietary needs) and my husband chose the standard menu with wine paring. Being not the biggest alcohol drinker, sharing the wine paring with my husband was perfect. I was able to sample each wine but not feel too tipsy! Also, As a meat eater, I would definitely say that I didn’t feel I was missing out for choosing the vegan menu. There was only the pea and lamb dish I would have enjoyed more from the standard menu, however my husband said he would have preferred the courgette/lychee/peanut dish from my menu, so there was dishes from both menus that we both preferred. The dishes that stood out on the vegan menu was the not so onion soup and courgette/lychee/peanut. My husband said the Jamie dodger, lamb and pea were his favourite. Staff were knowledgeable, attentive and really helpful. The restaurant was relaxed, great play list and nice to see the open kitchen and chefs cooking including chef Jono. Overall a great meal and would visit again for sure!