London's best review, food and drink news
By Meryl O'Rourke
Rootmaster is a restaurant inside a Routemaster bus that's parked just off Brick Lane. The lower deck is the kitchen; the seating is outside in a quiet car park or on the top deck, which has been gutted and had the spongy, musty bus seats replaced with stylish tables and chairs.
We turned up with a baby in her pram, so had to sit out front. The effusive waiter's warmth made up for the autumn chill. He sat with us and chatted through the vegan menu. Lunch includes pasta and curry specials; Japanese gyoza (dumpling) and meze plates are added for the evening. There's no booze licence but, should you want something stronger than their wide selection of teas, you can BYO.
The tasty Rootmaster burger had a texture and flavour like a light falafel, topped with salad, own-made baba ganoush (aubergine purée) and sweet roast veg. A cold soba noodle dish (green tea, and plain buckwheat flavours) was served with tofu and warm stir-fried vegetables. The menu listed edamame and papaya as components, but neither appeared and were replaced in the dish by two cold slices of melons. Underdone potato wedges came smothered in guacamole,which would have been a nice surprise had I liked guacamole. Only one dessert was available - mango and coconut muffin, baked (as is the bread) on the premises. It was delicate, allowing each flavour its own space.
The weather then turned so cold I ordered tea simply for warmth. With limited seating inside, and the bus inaccessible for anyone with mobility issues, Rootmaster will need to think carefully about how it will survive the winter. Complaints aside, Rootmaster serves delicious, imaginative vegan food - it's a pity I had to eat in a freezing car park.
Time Out London Issue 1941: October 31-November 6 2007
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My boyfriend and I celebrated our 2nd year anniversary last night and we wanted a date with some good value, varied veggie options and an atmosphere with the X factor. It was amazing!! Tucked away in a yard off Brick Lane, we were so excited by the prospect of dining on a bus as we walked up to it, and we were warmed like family with friendly and querky staff and a specially painted sign on the side of the bus to congratulate us! :o) The atmosphere was great – especially as it got darker and the candles started flickering. The tempura veg and wasabi type dip were delicious, and my tofu stack with thai curry sauce was huge – so hearty and satisfying. My boyfriend’s lentil and filo parcel was rather dry and lacking in taste I have to say, but I had plenty of veg curry sauce to offer him! And the chocolate cake was rich, heavy and scrummy! I’ll definitely come back again and again. Thanks for a lovely evening Rootmaster! xx
I was visiting London with my daughter and son-in-law who are vegan, and I thoroughly enjoyed my meal. We sat outside and when the sun was out it was great. Our waiter was delightful and the food was very inspired and nice. Should I happen to be in London again (I'm American) I will be back for dinner.
Ate here recently and was very disappointed. We arrived for dinner and were wrongly given the lunch menu, which has hearty options for around £6. This was swapped for the dinner menu, which has fancy stuff (i.e. no burger or Mexican wrap, which was available at lunch) for about £12-15 for a main. We decided to just share a few starters. Gyoza were yum, bruschetta was made with sliced wholegrain bread (!!!) and was tasty but at £5/6 I'd expect more than two slices of bread cut into triangles. Biggest rip-off was the stuffed mushroom. For £6 you get... one mushroom. Stuffed with herbs and breadcrumbs. We paid up, and walked up the street to the beigel bakery as we were still hungry.
This is a good place for a date - even if only for the novelty of eating on a very nicely refurbished (if a little cramped) routemaster bus, but I won't be going back.
beatiful place and excellent vegan food :)