4 April 2015 | Drink, Food | By: Sejal Sukhadwala

In this series,we review restaurants from an entirely vegetarian angle. While some restaurants will be specifically vegetarian, others will be mainstream. Well be tasting everything from veggie burgers, to posh meat-free menus. Along the way, well try to find out, as far as possible, whether chicken stock, cheese made from animal rennet, gelatine, fish sauce and so on are not lurking in the supposedly vegetarian dishes.

Vegan burger with sweet potato fries

Londonist Rating:

Central London is full of identikit touristy restaurants, so its refreshing to discover a place as unique as Little Water.The clue is in its name: vodka is a Slavic word for water, interpreted as little water. So as youd expect, the venue specialises in vodka specifically house-infused ones in adventurous flavours such as sea-buckthorn (very fashionable right now) and charred rosemary. Curiously, theyre paired with every dish on a simple but enticing menu of mostly burgers and snacks (which, for vegetarians, include wild mushrooms on toast, mozzarella salad and a cheese board).

Whether the vodka and burger matching is designed by a drinks expert or completely at random we cant say. In fact, we know little about the restaurant except that its probably owned by a Russian lady, according to our friendly waiter, who was new and still learning the ropes and neither have we been able to find out more. This is okay, though, as its in keeping with the spontaneous, just-discovered-this-kooky-little-place spirit that only adds to its mystique.

Chocolate burger

As we wanted to save room for both vegan burger and the intriguing-sounding chocolate burger, we decided to miss the starter of vegan feta salad made from nut cheese (in fact both burgers turned out to be quite light). We did ask if we could taste a few of these cheese pieces, but they never materialised. The burger is a colourful affair: a small, soft, brioche-like bun crammed with grilled asparagus, aubergines, courgettes, peppers, avocado slices, pumpkin pure and lots of rocket. Its fresh and flavoursome but even though our beefburger-loving companion pronounced it satisfying even for meat-eaters, a slab of protein would have made it more substantial. Perhaps an old-fashioned bean, nut or tofu patty; or the option of cheese for vegetarians. It comes with a sprightly little garnish of salad and pickles. The accompanying shoestring sweet potato fries are over-cooked and over-brown, but the normal potato fries are beautifully crisp and moreish.

The chocolate burger is in fact a platter of two little toasted sliders filled with strawberries, whipped cream and what appears to be chocolate mousse more like a sort of cream bun. Its rich yet light, just like the accompanying chocolate and caramel vodka. We also like the zippy lemon and intriguingly woodsy lingonberry vodkas that come in shot glasses filled with crushed ice. Pine kernel vodka has a pretty orangey-dusky pink colour and tastes more like citrus; and saffron is subtle and beguiling. Burgers and vodkas are not a natural match like, say, burgers and milkshakes or beers, so this unusual pairing has more of a curiosity value. It doesnt feel gimmicky though, as vodka is very much the starting point of the place.

Assorted vodka shots in adventurous flavours

Read more from the original source:
Vegetarian London: Little Water Restaurant Review