I attended my first Vegetarian Crowd dinner on Tuesday night at new-on-the-scene Vegetarian restaurant, The Gate, Islington. It’s long standing sister restaurant in Hammersmith was opened in 1989 by the Daniel’s Brothers, who have now introduced refined Indo-Iraqi Jewish cuisine to my local hood.

I was joined by 10 other diners from TableCrowd, all vegetarians and/or vegans ranging from around mid 20s to mid 70s. The common theme was the food and the expectation of a broad vegetarian menu – something that vegetarians are rarely treated to, often being presented with just 1 or possibly 2 choices. The set menu was a bargain, just £12.50 for two delicious courses, or plenty of choices from the main menu. The venue itself was a pleasure, light and airy with a little sofa area for pre or post dinner drinks.

People moved around the table to make sure they met and chatted with all the other diners. It was an interesting mix – a vet, a freelance journalist, an architect, a retired wildlife fanatic and an insolvency practitioner amongst others, so there was no shortage of interesting chat.

My first Vegetarian Crowd dinner left me satisfied from the delicious food, attentive service and engaging company. I exchanged details with a number of people and expect to see their faces again at future Vegetarian Crowd dinners.