Pastan, Prince Street: ‘A lesson in executing lovely vegan food’ – restaurant review

The words ‘vegan’ and ‘pasta’ seem to some like sacrilege.

Add to that plant-based buffalo mozzarella, ‘shrimpz’ made from a root and lemon curd cheese sauce and some Italians would probably be so offended they would shudder in their graves.

And fair enough: the alchemy of pork, cheese and egg in spaghetti alla carbonara in all its creamy savouriness, for many, might well epitomises the best of Italian cooking.

It is due to this that many are skeptical of vegan pasta: that without animal products, chefs revert to the warm but unimaginative embrace of pasta marinara, leaving hungry vegans yearning for more.

But if the food at newly-opened Pastan is anything to go by, the trope that Italian food needs to have once had a face to be indulgent and delicious should be taken with a large pinch of (cashew) parmesan.

Pastan has opened on Prince Street, on a corner bit next to Queen Square, and offers an all-vegan experience reimagining Italian classics as well as conjuring up mould-breaking new dishes. And all hail the blessing that is nutritional yeast – because times have moved on since vegans were forced to eat salads and bean burgers when eating out.

Portofino

Inside, furnishings were minimalistic and modern – a far cry from your typical Italian with painted murals and red and white check table cloths. Tables were bare, as well as light bulbs, and there was a golden cactus sculpture sitting on the bright yellow coffee machine. It was the second day of opening and every table was full.

Onto the food and we started with portofino (£14): a plate of tomatoes, buffalo mozzarella, fresh basil and olive oil. I was nervous about the cheese because I’m yet to try a plant-based version that doesn’t have a weird texture or stick to my teeth.

I, however, was impressed. While it didn’t have that stringy feel when you pull it part with a fork, overall it nearly nailed the flavour of the original dairy-based cheese with a creamy and sour hit. We ordered bread with it (£3) which was inoffensively singed.

The smooth operator

For the main event there are 11 pasta dishes, all priced around the mid-teens, and we ordered what was recommended to us: the smooth operator (£16.50) and Caspian Sea (£15.50).

What you need to know is that it was impossible to tell the difference between the perfectly cooked egg-free pasta and normal pasta. In fact, southern Italy has been making dairy-free pasta for a long time, so it shouldn’t be a surprise.

The first dish, pumpkin and sage tortenilli, was a jewel in Pastan’s starchy crown. The pasta was firm, if ever so slightly stodgy, and lustrous, swimming in an oily sea encrusted with crispy sage leaves.

Our second main was more experimental: charcoal activated taglioni served with a dill hollandaise sauce and topped with ‘shrimpz’. It looked bizarre – like seaweed worms draped in raw eggs – but it was lovely. In the shallow bowl, plant-based ingredients were manipulated to become the most slippery and glossiest of sauces which clung to every wiggly tendril of pasta. The faux shrimps were rubbery and a bit odd, but, in my vegan dining partner’s opinion, a fairly tasty alternative to the shellfish.

The Caspian Sea

Post-pasta and nearly defeated, I would have been failing in my role as reporter if I had left it there, so we ordered Speculoos (£12 for nine), or little doughnuts, to finish. Although I had my heart set on tiramisu, which was on the website’s menu but not on our paper copy, I was pleasantly surprised with the Biscoff filled balls.

Perhaps one sticking point for Pastan was its prices. Despite there being no meat or fish on the menu, dishes didn’t come cheap and our bill came to £80 for one starter, two mains, a dessert and two soft drinks.

Despite that, we are lucky to have more and more vegan restaurants like Pastan, which demonstrated a lesson in executing lovely vegan food, gracing Bristol with its presence, making it even easier, and tastier, to cut down on dairy and meat and be part of a sustainable future.

As we left, feeling virtuous and full, vegan pasta suddenly didn’t seem like such sacrilege.

Pastan, 53 Prince Street, Bristol, BS1 4QH
www.pastan.co.uk

All photos: Betty Woolerton

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