Goji, York

I’m not a vegetarian but Squidbeak unashamedly campaigns on their behalf. Until recently they have had a dismal time eating out in Britain. It’s getting better but it has for a long time been a choice of one with nothing more exciting than butternut squash risotto or the sort of pasta dish you might throw together at home on a Monday night. Most chefs simply don’t care and don’t bother hiding it.

Happily, Goji, a dedicated veggie restaurant in York’s Goodramgate, has more to offer. By day it’s a café serving soup, bread, tofu hotdog, hummus with olives and pitta bread or, as I enjoyed, their stir-fried brown rice with vegetables, hizjike seaweed, seeds and tofu. There’s a variety of tempting cakes and tarts and plenty of vegan options.

On Friday and Saturday evening, Goji trades up as a licensed restaurant. Eat downstairs in the tiny dining room or out the back in the rough and ready conservatory or upstairs on the likes of sweet potato, cumin and spinach pie, or vegetable curry with paneer and peas with chocolate roulade, rhubarb fool and pears in maple syrup and chocolate crumble to finish. Wines are all vegan and organic.