These Clever Hotels Are Finally Embracing Plant-based Menus

At the Shelbourne hotel in Dublin, high tea is served every afternoon under the crystal chandeliers of the Lord Mayor’s Lounge, which ignores the historic St. Stephen’s Green. Traditional as the meal might sound, the finger sandwiches nowadays feature smashed avocado, and the mango mousse is dairy-free. This vegan spin on the old-school spread is among many examples of how, at a time when approximately 10 million American grownups recognize as full-time vegetarians and another million eat vegan, according to a Harris Poll, even some of Europe’s many buttoned-up hotels are adapting to meatless diet plans.

In London, 26-year-old chef Tom Booton is assisting to press the trend at the Dorchester’s freshly refurbished Grill. “Any contemporary restaurant should listen to the altering diet plans of diners,” Booton said. “Being vegan or vegetarian isn’t simply a pattern– it’s individuals making a conscious effort to consider what they’re consuming and how that’s affecting the planet.” In western Ireland, the six-course tasting menu at the Dromoland Castle is now exclusively plant-based, with dishes like pickled-mushroom bruschetta and orange-and-Campari sorbet. At the Belmond Le Manoir aux Quat’ Saisons in Oxfordshire, England, chef Raymond Blanc has presented five- and seven-course vegan tasting menus, with the majority of the fruit and vegetables sourced from the home’s own two-acre vegetable garden.

Meanwhile, Continental Europe, which has actually been behind the veg-friendly curve for years, is also entering the present. The Shangri-La Hotel, Paris has a regular monthly 100 Percent Green supper series, including a five-course vegetarian menu accompanied by biodynamic red wines. The 82-room Yeatman in Porto, Portugal, which ignores the Douro River, now offers vegetarian (and gluten-free) options. Two hours outside Barcelona, the lovely seven-room Casa Albets has its own vegan dining establishment. And in Berlin, the Almodóvar Hotel has an in-house vegetarian dining establishment that even does a vegan currywurst.

The new mindset is even spreading out beyond hotels: the Venice-Simplon Orient Express train has gotten on board, including vegan menus that consist of meals like gnocchi with morels and almond milk, and sweet red peppers stuffed with galangal and artichoke, on trips between London and Venice.