Food For Thought

Was by there tonight and sorry to say, they have closed. By which I mean Closed. :-(

I wish I knew about this place earlier!
It is with a heavy heart that I write this review as Food for Thought will on 21 June 2015 close after over 40 years of business. The owners are another victim of London’s spiralling rent prices. There will be less independent shops in Central London in the not-​too-​distant future.
I walked passed this vegetarian restaurant many times but had never tried it until recently. I saw the notice of closure a couple of weeks ago. Since then I have been going to this restaurant for lunch every week. This week alone I was there 3 times! As a result I received Carrot Top badge.
The take away counter is on the ground floor while the eat in section is in the basement. The restaurant only accepts cash. It gets very busy during meal times but you can always get a seat if you do not mind sharing table.
The meal deals are the real deals! The eat-​in prices are only 20 pence more expensive than the take away prices.
Soup & salads £7.50/£7.30
Quiche & salads £8.50/£8.30
Hot dish & salads £8.70/£8.50
Hot dish & dessert £8.70/£8.50
The broccoli and mushroom quiche is a must try. As a mushroom lover I simply love this hot dish. You can choose to have a mixed salad instead of just one type of salad. The mixed salad is full of flavours. They put dill in the salad and it jazzed up the salad! Simply delicious.
I took my friend to Food for Thought for lunch a couple of weeks ago. She had the shepherdess pie and asked me to try some of it. But she had second thought as she was not sure if there was lamb or beef in it as I do not take beef. I burst out laughing! I told her, «This is a vegetarian restaurant.» We both laughed.
Every dish in this veggie place has that home cooked feeling. If the food is cooked with positive thoughts and positive energy, no doubt it will taste good!
I have joined the mailing list so that I will receive news on their future projects. I believe this is not ‘goodbye’, it is a ‘see you later’!
«We have loved being here and hope you have too!» Food for Thought

Please don’t leave Food for Thought! I love you! This is the only decent (and decently well priced might I add) restaurant in Covent Garden I have found so far and I just love it. The food is consistently delicious, generous portions and always friendly staff. Only reason it doesn’t get five stars from me is seating is a bit limited. I highly recommend this vegetarian restaurant and urge you go before it shuts down :(

One of my favourite vegetarian places in London — the other being Beatroot. So sad to here that both are closing down!
The menu changes every day, usually with three hot options for lunch as well as the soup or quiche of the day. I’ve never had a disappointing dish here! Prices are reasonable and it’s the perfect portion size for lunch. (I’ve not been here for an evening meal, so can’t comment on their dinner options).
I would definitely recommend anyone to go here before they close for good!

Absolutely delicious, reasonable, healthy food with great service. Yes please! The scones are a must!

Small place with big tastes. Great salads. Rotating menu of vegetarian yumminess. Always fresh options with fresh ingredients. Try the squash lasagna if they have it. Mega yum.
The staff are curt but friendly. They move efficiently through the lunchtime rush.
One thing to be aware of though: they will offer you the side salads, which are proper meals on their own. Unless you are ravenous, pass, as they will easily lift your lunchtime spend from reasonable (£6) to quite pricey (around £10).

Working around Aldwych can be pretty tough when it comes to lunch choices. All around me are run-​of-​the-​mill chains like Pret, EAT, Subway, Starbucks, Costa, and dingy sandwich places that serve greasy fillings encased by cheap baguettes. (I mean, I love a greasy grilled cheese from time to time, but I mostly need quality sustenance and taste!)
Then there’s Food For Thought, a little vegetarian gem in Covent Garden that offers simple, fast, healthy, and fresh lunches for takeaway or eating in. Sure, it’s a bit farther of a walk, but it’s much better than elbowing your way through the crowds for a mayo sandwich from Pret. Also, they have a handy web page that is updated every day with what they’re serving.
The staff are actually very friendly, but they do try to keep things efficient. Look at the menu outside to consider your options before heading inside and, if you’re still musing, you can decide when you see the dishes at the front of the queue.
I’ve loved most of their food — stews, soups, bakes, quiches, salads. I particularly loved their North African peanut stew and their Mexican bakes. And, as always for me, I love how the menu changes daily. It keeps me on my toes, but also challenges me to try new stuff.
As for dessert the fruit scrunches is a MUST try — delicious and refreshing! But maybe share it or take it away for later — it’s HUGE and filling. For some reason, I am addicted to their sweet scones, which are usually dairy free and gluten free. The brownies I found a bit lacking in taste and too grainy for me, but I strangely like those elements in their scones. Don’t ask me why, I just do.
As for dining in, be prepared to get chummy with the other customers. The space is very tight, and you have to serve yourself everything (except the food, of course). Since I don’t work far away, I usually just get takeaway so I can eat it in my own space. But it’s not bad for a quick catchup with a friend over some delicious, vegetarian food. It’s also nice to be able to share your mega plate of power foods. They are more filling than you think!
I haven’t tried their dinners, but they do look tasty. Still, it is hard to think about squeezing yourself into the space for a relaxing meal, so I’m not sure when I’ll be able to cross that off my to-​do list. But, they do a great workday lunch, so I can’t really ask for more.

Casual unusual dining experience, with amazing veggie comfort food! All very affordable too, considering the area it’s in! Only wished I ordered dessert earlier, as by time I queued up again it was all gone!

Just lovely. Will come again when I’m in the area next time. So many tasty veggie delights to try!

SO.MUCH.FOOD.
I got the hot meal/​salad combo and it was wayyyy too much food. Definitely more than enough to feed two people. I had a jamaican black bean stew and a combo of the daily salads. Everything was very good and the salads were fresh and different. The stew was perfect for a cold day and full of hearty vegetables. The shredded beet salad was also very nice and not overly beet-​y. Next time I would probably go for only one plate of the salads or one bowl of stew. The restaurant is very teeny and it is hard to find a place to sit so if you plan on eating in I would suggest going with a very small group or going solo.

This is one of those little gems in central London that consistently serves great «home» style food at an affordable price. I love meat but i never miss it when I eat here. Yes the menu is small but it’s always different and always awesome!

I had the tarragon stew when I came with a side of fruit. The stew was very hearty with great flavour! The food here is great and I like how it’s a small menu with food cooked with love.
I knocked off a star because I don’t really like the layout of the place. I wish it had better seating and I wish the ordering & paying thing was done more organised. Also, the guy who served us wasn’t very friendly in my opinion.
If I come again, I’ll just buy it as a takeaway.

A very unassuming restaurant tucked away in Covent Garden on Neal Street. The staff are friendly and patient.
The quality of the food is mixed; it tastes and looks like something a hippie mother in the 1970s made. Still the home cooked meal vibe can be wonderful on occasion.
The quiches are always good and the dessert options are excellent.
Expect queues around dinnertime.

I’m an omnivore and every so often, I’m happy to limit my diet to roughage. This was my first visit at Food For Thought. As I lined up… up the staircase funnily enough, I noticed a lot of the frequenters were opting for the massive pile-​up of food: Quiche and salad. As tempted as I was, I soon figured out, I could go for one of the hot food options — it was the spanish aubergine, potatoes and other good stuff stew that caught my eye. So I ordered this with the salad and I was good to go. I took a dollop of dressing — wasn’t gonna take this health drive too far.
The food — the salad had good bits and had average bits. I thought the rice salad and coleslaw were particularly good. Noodle salad — not so much. The condiments on the table smelt and tasted good in my food. I like that produce was all rustic and wholesome. The stew was tasty, but I probably could’ve done with a bit more — greedy I know. Food for Thought does wholesome vegetarian food. It’s not going to turn me into a veggie any time soon — but the odd meal here and there is definitely in order. I’m pretty keen to find out what will be on the menu next!
P. S. The dessert that I saw looked absolutely phenomenal — definitely not skipping dessert next time.

Lovely atmosphere and great food! The whole place has that homely feel with tables that you share with others. Many a time you get involved in very interesting conversations :-)

Oh yum, so yum! This place reminds me of something off of Telegraph Avenue in Berkeley, California! Except it’s got this cute London vibe going on too, and it’s very central! It’s also a bit like that place Rainbow Café in Cambridge. Underground deliciousness!
All veg foods and all palate pleasing, served in portions sure to fill. That day there was a celeriac soup, some Thai green curry, a baked pasta dish, fresh breads, and salads. It was just like home cooked style, made with whimsy and sometimes ingredients differing from what you might expect in any given dish — the Thai curry for example had nontraditional veggies in it, but they were all tasty! Great prices too!

It’s small but there was enough space for three of us! They have labels for everything (vegan, gluten free, wheat free, nuts)
The food was delicious and the price was great! They have water on the tables! The dessert looked amazing but i didn’t have time to try it! I will have to come back for it.
Even my non vegetarian friends loved the food!
It felt like having a home cooked meal. Take out is a little cheaper so you can even take it home or out for a picnic

I really love the name of this place and I really love veggie food, so I had to try it. In general this is a great place as it has good food for a very reasonable price. Its just not really a place to hang out.
First of all its based underground (as so many things in Soho, secondly its rather small, thirdly you need to buy your food on the counter and than take it to your table. All three things make it nearly impossable to find a free table. Its rather cozy most of the times, but if you sit next to the toilets its downright annoying.

My friend is on a health kick so suggested vegetarian. However, we then both went for the special which involved a lot of melted cheese (coincidentally my favourite ingredient!). It was some kind of vegetarian lasagna with a stuffed portobello mushroom and mixed salad including rocket, olives and courgettes. All elements were excellent and tasty, I happen to be a major fan of rocket, olives and courgettes so I basically loved it. Only thing was it had all gotten quite cold, and I was quite miffed to see my friend getting the first steaming slice from a fresh batch of lasagna (and a bigger mushroom but hey who’s bothered?).
I sense that the staff here would be more jovial if they ate more meat. JK! (njk)
FYI it’s cash only, there’s a machine just around the corner.

Food for Throught is one of my favourite places to stop for lunch. If I am within easy reach I’ll go out of my way to eat here.
It’s a Covent Garden institution that’s been around since the mid 70’s which must have been a very different Covent Garden at the time. Testament to it’s success is the fact that it’s managed to survive given that all the other businesses on Neal street seem to change hands every few years.
At street level it’s a small shop front with the menu printed outside. You descend down a narrow staircase to the restaurant. Upstairs is for take away and there are two seats in the window, good for observing the scene outside. It looks quirky now that everything around is striving to be the latest, trendiest. Food for Thought is just a good food place with no hard sell or trying to be hip theme restaurant and that makes it stand out in this area.
It’s slightly claustrophobic downstairs but don’t let that put you off. Read the blackboard menu, even better if you decide outside first, place your order and it’s served to you. Take your cutlery and try to find a space to squeeze in. You’ll generally have to share one of the small tables with fellow diners. At lunchtime it’s a fast moving operation so be ready and don’t dither with your order.
What I really like though is the food. They really know how to build flavours which can be more of a challenge when there is no meat present. The food always feels nutritious and substantial too which can be a challenge with non meat dishes. Classics include the quiche with 3 salads which are always different and well balanced with good dressings. The hotpot dishes are also great and I love the scrunch deserts and fruit crumbles with thick custardy cream /​yoghurt topping. Never had anything here that I didn’t enjoy.
A main dish will generally be under £5 going up to around £8 with salad and extra for desert. Try going earlier or later to beat the lunchtime rush.

Dieser kleine süße Laden war schon vor 15 Jahren eine kleine Kulinarische Oase inmitten der Stadt. Schön, daß es das noch gibt !!! Übrigens auch für Nichtvegetarier wie mich gut geeignet. Man muß ja nicht immer ein Steak essen.

Ich als Vegetarier bin ja immer auf der Suche nach Essen in anderen Städten. Allerdings wurden wir hier bitter enttäuscht. Darüber lachen wir noch heute. Leider nicht lecker, das Essen scheint mir nicht sauer zu sein. Hatten Haare im Essen, Dressing nicht geniessbar. Sieht auch nicht sehr sauer aus.

mon restaurant végétarien préféré !!! alors certains me diront que l’on né fait pas de bon repas san viande pff ceux là né n’ont jamais mis les pieds dans ce restaurant qui propose une variété infinie de plats chauds et froids, et de desserts. une ribambelle de saveurs et d’associations d’ingrédients de qualité. comment se délecter les papilles sans se plomber l’estomac: manger chez food for thought !! et acheter le livre de recettes si l’on veut pour pouvoir faire durer le plaisir chez soi et épater les amis !

Auf der kurzen, aber phantasievollen Karte findet man gebratenes Gemüse, japanische Tofugerichte, europäische Aufläufe und Suppen sowie interessante Quiches, üppige Puddings und Kuchen, z.B. scones mit Himmbeer– oder Apfelstreusel, Orange, Kokos und Schlagsahne. Für Covent Garden sehr preisgünstig, deshalb ist es insbesonders mittags sehr voll.
Hier hat sich der Fehlerteufel eingeschlichen,. In der Überschrift muß es natürlich «Food for Thought» heißen. Ich weiß leider nicht wie man es ändert.