The Gate

Pictures and more here http://hungryinlondon.com/2011/10/the-gate-hammersmith/

Hammersmith in West London is completely out of my culinary comfort zone. Apart from the budget-breaking River Cafe I am not aware of any decent restaurants in this area and River Cafe is certainly too posh for a quick pre-theatre bite.

When researching for a restaurant close to the Lyric Hammersmith,I stumbled upon this review of The Gate on Time Out. A vegetarian restaurant that gets 5 out of 5 stars? Intriguing. Even though I am certainly NOT a vegetarian,I do very much enjoy pure vegetable dishes if they are well done.

Our attempts to visit The Gate were hindered by the fact we couldn’t find it. Even though we had the exact address we kept running up and down Queen Caroline Street which almost ended up in a relationship crisis. Maybe The Gate would consider putting a sign up,that people can actually see? I am sure this would help in getting customers.

Anyway,we did find it in the end and I was glad that we did not give up,or break up for that matter. As far as non-Asian vegetarian restaurants go,The Gate is as good as it gets. You will certainly be disappointed if you expect oddly dressed hippies wearing birkenstocks,you will search in vain for the obligatory falafel on the menu and no,the waitresses don’t have dreadlocks. There is a tree painted onto the wall though.

I loved the bright room with the high ceiling and large windows. It could however do with a little refurbishment. Overall the place looks a bit run down,which was apparent when we arrived and it was still light,and less obvious during the course of the evening. And have I mentioned that a big sign in front would be a really good idea?

I loved both of our the starters. The sweet potato and pomegranate salad (5.75) is certainly very good for you. The tangy pomegranate and the sweet potatoes were beautifully complemented by the fresh green leaves and lentils. The sauce contained small pieces of goat’s cheese,mint and tahini and this is certainly a dish I could eat every day should I attempt a vegetarian diet in the near future. Less healthy but nonetheless delicious was the Wild Mushroom Gallet (7.50). It is the time of the year to eat wild mushrooms,particularly if they are that impeccably prepared. The light puff pastry was generously topped by aromatic sauteed wild mushrooms flavoured with thyme and onions. The sweet onion jam it was served with offered a beautiful contrast.

The mains were not that cheap considering that there is no expensive meat or fish involved.The dishes are prepared with the freshest ingredients and with a lot of attention to detail and as you don’t miss the meat at all,this seems fair enough. The Thali (12.50) was thoroughly enjoyable. A light and flavoursome vegetable curry with aubergine and cauliflower came with fluffy pita bread and nicely cooked basmati rice. Delicious were the two different coriander raijtas –one sweet,the other one herby.

The least convincing of all dishes was the Aubergine Teriyaki (13.75). It was bland and could have done with some sauce. It actually didn’t taste of teriyaki very much. The aubergine was prepared almost like meat,which was lovely and with a bit more seasoning this dish would have certainly hit the mark.

We had a chat with the owner,who told us that he had this restaurant for over 20 years. He appears to do something right –it was packed with diners when we had to rush off to our show,unfortunately missing out on the desserts. I would not travel through town to eat at the Gate (as long as I don’t become a vegetarian at least),I am very glad though to know now of a reasonably priced and high quality restaurant close to one of my favourite theatres in London.

After all the rave reviews, perhaps I was expecting too much. I was sorely disappointed by The Gate. I want to give it another chance but I’m not sure it’s worth the money. There was nothing wrong with the food but it was just average.
Service was good.

If all veggie food offerings were like this, I’d still be a vegetarian. Inventive, tasty, fresh and a menu that is hard to choose from.

What’s missing from most reviews here is a comment regarding the impressive wine list. So here goes.

The wine list is impressive.

Other than that, this place is an oasis and well worth a visit. Incidentally it’s linked to a VERY nice bed and breakfast establishment.

I haven't been able to find too many nice places in Hammersmith for lunch but The Gate is a nice find. I was invited there once for a business lunch and have been back on many occasions. I am not vegetarian and I find myself easily tempted by many of their dishes.

I have only been there for lunch, never for dinner.

The meze platter is a good starter. I also like their Thai green curry and the wild mushroom risotto cake. I have yet to be disapointed by their food. I usually drink their carrot, ginger, beetroot & celery juice which is freshly made on premise.

My only reservation about this place is the fact that "they take themselves" a little seriously and service is a little distant and cold. I would dare say "snobbish". I would not bring my kids there as I have the impression that we would be "persona non grata".

The restaurant is not that easy to find as it is tucked away but it is well worth finding.

this place is a far cry from the hole in the wall veggi resturants run by hippies, serving falafel wraps and salads.

I was taken here for my birthday by my husband this year and absolutely loved it. I was so nice to find a vegetarian resturant in london that does very good quality food in a relaxed, well decorated, artistic environment. And what a menu. My husband could have anything on there instead of the choice of pasta or risottos in most places we go to for dinner!

A nice veg resturant to be able to go to for Birthdays, special events, special family meal....

Will definately go again!

Photos on http://www.urban-vegetarian.blogspot.com

To get to a restaurant you go through a little gate into a pretty courtyard - which must be a lovely spot to lunch on days when the sky is slightly less imposing – up some stairs and into an attractive high ceilinged room.

The food is inventive, flavourful and more than satisfied my meat-eating friends. I don't think we got them at their best. There was a food festival going and those not participating were inevitably side-lined. I will have to go back and see what they can really do.

So for reasons I cannot disclose, I am getting very into vegetarian food these days. My irrational mind decrees substituting tofu for chicken tones my abdominals towards greater definition, steering clear of red meat saves an animal life somewhere, somehow. So after an intensive work out session last night, a friend and I arrived a full hour late for this dinner reservation.

After a frantic pant up the stairs, they agreed to serve us as we took a nanosecond to decide upon the halloumi kibi. Think chargrilled halloumi in a tikka marinade, served on a skewer with red onions, peppers, courgettes, a chickpea salsa and schoog. 5/5, top notch and went some distance to satisfying my rampant appetite for food and other less quotable things!

After some light banter with the lovely manager, we moved on to mains. Truffled risotto cake, oyster and chestnut mushrooms served on a risotto cake with creamy cep (more commonly known as porcini) sauce on a bed of rocket and parmesan. Now actually it was a little crisp in places, which I adored but was perhaps unintentional. Meanwhile, the tree motif on the back wall panged my friend with bursts of nostalgia, I'll be feeling nostalgia anticipating my next welcome return. A happy sanctuary in W6, leaving a sweet taste in my mouth.

The 13th Annual Wild Mushroom Fest was at last an opportunity to try truffle: despite being in a parmesan foam on top of the first course, their perfume was unforgettable. The broth evoked autumn forays with a meaty taste that only vegetarians seem to be able to create. The wild rocket and roasted hazelnut dominated the delicately flavoured chanterelles, but the crunchy kale was a perfect accompaniment to the girolles, ceps, pied de mouton and trompettes-des-morts. The meal was beautifully concluded with a sweetly-marinaded snow fungus and vanilla ice-cream, spoilt slightly by the underipe pears.
If you want to try, the Gate is a vegetarian restaurant hidden away near central Hammersmith in what looks like a private house. The words 'Temple Lodge' over the garden doorway entrance suggest some kind of vegetarian secret society, by invitation only. The black-and-white painting covering the far restaurant wall, like an oversized Rorschach blot, gives a sensation that your subconscious is being re-tuned to vegetarianism.
Exclusive, yes, and well worth the visit for a special occasion.

Finding The Gate is like coming across a treasure you don’t know you are looking for. The food was delicious and I’m not even near being vegetarian but it was absolutely amazing food, with what you can tell is a carefully hand-picked wine list and a very interesting menu as well, the place has got a tremendous, buzzing atmosphere and unpretentious character and a friendly and likeable staff. This place is a well kept treasure for the locals and the regulars, they also have a beautiful terrace for those hot summer days which is real pleasure to have a table on. Enough talk, just go.

What a delightful place with brilliant food and attentive wait staff. I was so pleasantly surprised regarding this place, a tad difficult to find on the first visit - I now know how to find my way there for my repeat dining experiences.

The food is just amazing and presented so well, exceeding my expectations.

The space is nice also, not designed but comfortable, I imagine on a summer’s eve how lovely it could be.

I recommend this restaurant, as a semi vegetarian (if it’s in the sea, i’ll eat it!) - it was easy for my guest to eat from the menu and he is a serious meat eater!..

I don’t think anyone could be disappointed at The Gate and will take my partner there this week after pay day for sure!!

Went here for a company meal quite a while back, with a little trepidation (vegetarian). However, I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the food, and the delicious nature of vittles without meat.

It never ceases to amaze me how many nice restaurants are available in Hammersmith - you just have to know where to look. This is a very good example of one tucked away in a not very nice location, but drawing a great deal of trade through its fantastic reputation.

If you find yourself in Hammersmith, with the wind blowing in your hair and a plate of vegetables in front of you, do not worry, for you are already dead and are in vegetarian alyseum.

It’s a pleasant surprise tucked away in the pretty grim part of Hammersmith, Nice little patio for the summer. It’s a really cool little place offering vegetarian fine dining. The dishes are very well presented and scrumpious. I would recommend it to even the most ardent meat lovers.

The Gate is a real treat for vegetarians - and offers an upscale dining experience, which is also totally quirky as it’s behind a church hall. You have to use the church hall loos, and the whole thing is secretively hidden away behind a church wall somewhere off Queen Caroline street. But the space is great, the food was fantastic and I can highly recommend it for a nice treat of an evening.

I have only eaten here once (so far) but I absolutely want to sample the excellent food again. We went for my husbands 50th birthday meal with his family - none of them are veggie, although we are long-time veggies. We were a bit wary about trying a place sight-unseen (we live in Cumbria, chose Gate because it’s near sister-in-law) but were delighted with our meal. Tempting choices at every course, and when the food arrived we were all immensely impressed - perfect combinations of flavours, beautifully seasoned and presented. Every course was excellent, and the wine list was very good too - we sampled severel different bottles, all very enjoyable. The staff were friendly and helpful, nothing was too much trouble. Very highly recommended.

I’ve been a regular at The Gate for over ten years now and it never fails to disappoint. As another reviewer pointed out it’s very much at the “fine dining” end of the vegetarian restaurant scene & I’ve taken many non-vegetarian friends there and they’ve loved every minute of the experience. For those not in west London possibly not the easiest place to get to, but definitely worth the journey.

This is a wonderful vegetarian restaurant and ideal if you prefer the “fine dining” experience to “boho chic”.

The food we had was delicious and gorgeously presented only spoilt a little when halfway though the kitchen staff decided to turn up the volume on their tinny radio.

It is to the credit of the waiting staff that when we mentioned it to them it was promptly dealt with.

The dessert didn’t disappoint either a lovely evening was had and would defiantly go again.

The vegetables get up and dance right off the plate - simply I have never eaten such skillfully crafted vegetarian food. My family’s conversations switched predominantly to groans of appreciation as each wondrous course came out. Even my meat loving father didn’t bemoan the lack of flesh.

They charge a “cake fee” if you want to bring out your own cake to celebrate a birthday, which felt a little tight, but other wise the service was immaculate, the wine list decent and the food sublime.

The perfect vegetarian restaurant. It makes a change from the more bohemian places to eat. Get dressed up and enjoy vegetarian food at it’s best. Highly recommended.

I’m not surprised I couldn’t find this when I first searched Qype. I was kind of tempted to keep it a secret too since it is one of my favourite restaurants ever. And I’m not even a vegetarian.

It’s tucked away not far from the Apollo, so you’d have to know it was there to find it. Once you arrive you may find yourself eating in either the courtyard or the attic overlooking it. Either way, you sure as Hell don’t feel like your in Hammersmith any more, Toto.

You’ll have to book ahead as every table is usually full of very smug looking people who have found the place.

The service is just right and it makes for the kind of evening one would wish for a great birthday meal for someone special.

Sometimes the food might be considered complicated or a bit pretentious. Yes, it is. But it is also absolutely wonderful.

Welcome to veggie Heaven.