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Sian Victoria © - Cocktails, Festive Christmas menu, The Plough & Harrow, Aldridge

Vegan Christmas & Sunday Dinner Places in West Midlands

It’s that chilly time of year when all I crave is warm comforting food with plates full of veggies, roasters and lashings of gravy and cranberry sauce. Although, the only thing I’m not keen on is that these hearty meals require tremendous amounts of washing up, so as I’m someone that’s always trying to get out of the washing up at home I jumped at the chance to experience a 3-course festive meal at 3 of the most popular chain pubs in the West Midlands.

The invitation to food with friends and family is pretty much the only thing that will get me out of hibernation mode during the winter months. So, to save you looking around at where to go for a pre-festive Christmas meal this season, I’ve done (ate!) the research for you and have the food baby to prove it.

Here’s my list of 3 of the best places to go for a vegan festive meal in the West Midlands, whether you have cash to splurge on dining out or are on a tight budget with a family to feed, you’re bound to find somewhere that’s perfect for you and your fellow foodie guests to get you in the Christmas spirit.

1. The Plough & Harrow, Aldridge

Sian Victoria © - Roasted Tomato Soup, Festive Christmas menu, The Plough & Harrow, Aldridge

The first pub I visited on my festive foodie tour was The Plough & Harrow in Aldridge, Walsall. It’s one of the many Premium Country Pubs located in the West Midlands.

There is also the The Lyttleton Arms in Stourbridge, The Crown Wergs in Wolverhampton, The Bulls Head in Meridan, The Boot Inn in Studley, The Victoria in Barnt Green and The Green House in Sutton Coldfield. These are just a few I’ve visited with friends and family over the years.

Although, it was my first time visiting this venue, I always know I’m in for a treat with their stylish interiors, cosy country pub feels and fantastic menu and table service.

With December well and truly here The Plough & Harrow have a variety of festive menus on offer in the lead up to Christmas. They have a classic 3-course menu for £27.95, an indulgent four-course menu for £34.95 and a special five-course menu for £49.95pp.

Sian Victoria © - Slow-Roasted Tomato & Almond Bake, The Plough & Harrow, Aldridge

Since there is only one vegan option for starters and mains and two for desserts I didn’t have much choice on the festive menu compared to the regular menu but I was pleased with what I ate on the Classic festive menu with it feeling light and healthy without the guilt of having a food baby and being unable to move for hours afterwards.

For starters, I went for the Roasted Tomato Soup (ve) ‘topped with crispy vegetables and pesto, served with ciabatta and oil’. Despite the oil being missing from the ciabatta, this was a lovely wholesome dish full of flavour and I just loved the crispy veggies on top.

My main was the Slow Roasted Tomato & Almond Bake featuring beetroot, carrot, spinach and roasted celeriac. I’ve had a similar version to this before when I visited the Hagley venue, and it was gorgeous, so this didn’t disappoint I’d chose this again and again but it did feel like it needed a bit of something on the side so that the flavour wasn’t so repetitive. We checked the menu and it does say that ‘all of the main dishes are served with seasonal vegetables’, but we didn’t receive any.

Sian Victoria © - Blackcurrant Mousse, The Plough & Harrow, Aldridge

To end our festive evening by candlelight I had two vegan desserts to choose from, either Christmas Pudding or Blackcurrant Mousse, I went for the latter based on our friendly servers’ recommendation.

The Blackcurrant Mouse is beautifully presented on a biscuit base, served with crushed mango and fresh strawberries. It was tangy, sweet and packed full of fruity flavours.

If you are looking for somewhere fancy, with a cosy romantic vibe then Premium Country Pubs is for you.

2. Toby Carvery, Walsall Broadway

Sian Victoria © - Slow Roasted Tomato Soup, Toby Carvery

Known as 'home of the roast dinner' Toby Carvery located at Walsall Broadway is a place I’ve visited many times over the years with family. Although its well known for its selection of meats at the carvery station, they do have a delicious alternative for vegans at the veggie deck, and I made sure to ask what I could and couldn’t eat to be sure.

Always check with your local Toby Carvery, but at the Walsall restaurant the roast potatoes are roasted in olive oil and they have a separate Roast Veg & onion gravy. So, if you are vegan you need to avoid the cauliflower cheese, mash potato and Yorkshire puddings which contains diary.

At the time I forgot to ask about the sage & onion stuffing and parsnips, so I’ve since checked the website for Toby’s nutritional information and the stuffing is diary-free but the parsnips contain honey, although I didn’t taste honey when I had them so the Walsall restaurant either do it without or use very little honey to roast them.

Sian Victoria © - Sweet Potato & Apricot Chutney Tart, Toby Carvery

To enjoy a Merry Roastmas Toby Carvery have family-friendly prices with 2 courses for £11.29 or 3 courses for £14.79pp for adults between Monday to Saturday. They also have refillable soft drinks for approximately £3.30 making it purse-friendly too.

On the Toby Festive menu, there are two vegan options for starters, there is either Fresh Honeydew Melon with Champagne sorbet and raspberry pieces or Slow Roasted Tomato Soup ‘topped with chopped parsley and served with ciabatta bread’. I went for the soup, which was lovely, but it was missing the bread, I didn’t ask for it as I knew that by eating carbs before more carbs would mean I’d struggle when it came to round 3, the dessert!

There’s only one vegan option on the festive main menu, but its so delicious you won’t feel left out and is certainly worth the wait. My highlight of the Toby festive experience was the Sweet Potato & Apricot Chutney Tart with roasted diced sweet potato, apricot chutney and stuffed with spiced spinach & sweet potato sauce. As it’s not available to get from the carvery & veggie deck, I recommend ordering it ahead of time so that you can go up at the same time as others if they’re having meat.

Sian Victoria © - Vegan Christmas Pudding, Toby Carvery

As you can see, I piled on the veggies with sprouts, red cabbage, carrots and peas. Although what you don’t see is them hidden under a river of gravy and cranberry sauce.

To finish off an enjoyable evening with family, we indulged in desserts with me having the only vegan option, Christmas pudding served with soya custard. I must admit (and I’m sure some of you will agree) I’ve never been a fan of this traditional pud, so it’s a shame Toby’s didn’t think outside the box a little but nonetheless it was nice although I was envious of my guests who were eating Belgian Chocolate Brownie (this can be made vegan too, sob!).

Overall, to be able to customise your main from a large selection of Sunday dinner type foods and serve yourself as little or as much as you want, Toby Carvery does receive top marks for great value for money.

3. Cookhouse + Pub, Oldbury

Sian Victoria © - Soup of the day, Cookhouse + Pub, Oldbury

Next on my festive foodie tour, was a visit to the Cookhouse + Pub in West Bromwich. I’ve been once before with friends and really enjoyed it, but to the Cookhouse + Pub in Oldbury so was hoping this lived up to the same expectations, as the table service we received was brilliant.

The only thing to let it down slightly is that there are no vegan options on the festive menu, only a few vegetarian options. But they have recently launched the Fake & Ale Pie that comes with carbs, veggies and plenty of gravy so I wasn’t disappointed for long and the starters and main is similar to that of Toby’s so the only difference is that by ordering from the main menu you don’t get the festive offer of 2 courses for £14.99 or 3 courses for £16.99 but as the pie was under £10 it works out pretty much the same price anyway.

Sian Victoria © - Fake & Ale Pie, Cookhouse + Pub

For starters, I had the vegan soup of the day which was a delicious chunky mushroom soup topped with croutons. I really enjoyed it and could have easily of eaten another dish full.

My main was the new Fake & Ale Pie stuffed with Chestnut and flat mushrooms, butternut squash in a rich vegan ale sauce and served with boiled potatoes, green beans and unlimited vegan gravy. I loved everything about the pie, especially the pastry!

Sian Victoria © - Apple pie & soya custard, Cookhouse + Pub,

Just like Christmas pudding, I’m also not usually a fan of Apple Pie (I’m a chocolate dessert only kind of girl). But since Apple Pie was the only vegan option, I had no choice, but surprisingly I absolutely loved it and again the pastry was cooked to perfection. Also, the table service was outstanding just like my previous visit, so a big shout out to Ana and the team for that!

To conclude

So, there you go, a round-up of three of my favourite family-friendly pubs in the West Midlands to eat a festive dinner this Christmas that have meals for vegans. All these festive menus are available in the run up to Christmas.

Plus, each venue has an additional menu for Christmas Day and Boxing Day if you fancy skipping the washing up and dining out with the family instead of spending Christmas at home.

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