Review: Tibits
I’m going to be honest: I love meat. In my world no Sunday is complete without a roast chicken, sausages are my go-to quick meal and nothing excites me more than a big slab of steak.
But before I sound too much like a carnivorous glutton, I do also like vegetables. Rather a lot, in fact, which is why I was greatly intrigued to visit Tibits, the smart vegetarian restaurant just off Regent Street.
Tibits is a Swiss import, having originated in Zurich 14 years ago. It has a different approach in that customers serve themselves, and then pay by the weight of their plate. This lends a more casual, café-like vibe to the place, and naturally makes the process of dining a little more swift than table service.
The large central buffet , dubbed the ‘boat’ because of its shape, comprises an array of hot and cold dishes. My pet peeve with buffets is that the hot dishes are invariably lukewarm, but this isn’t this case at Tibits. The place is busy so the dishes go down quickly, which happily means piping hot ones are replaced quickly (a simple point, perhaps, but there is nothing worse than tepid pasta).
The range of dishes are seasonal, fairly regional and change each day. This can cause disappointment (I was looking forward to trying the North African sweet potatoes with peanut butter and cream, which sadly were not on offer on the night we visited) but also keeps it interesting. All the dishes, however, are made using noticeably fine-quality ingredients, and even the raw salads pack a real flavour punch. The fennel antipasti with white balsamic vinegar and pepperoncini was simple but delectable, and the kale swede salad with walnuts and cranberries was especially fresh. In terms of hot dishes, the mushroom risotto was a firm favourite – it was hearty and creamy and had us self-serving far more than was strictly necessary. I am not usually one for faux meats (being such a fan of the real deal) but their soya sausage casserole was also a surprising hit, the flavoursome bits of ‘meat’ swimming in a warming paprika and tomato sauce.
We both filled our plates to the rim, and the cost hovered around the £12 mark for each, which is fairly standard (and perhaps even relatively cheap) for a central London restaurant. It’s worth mentioning that the bread is not weighed, and it really is worth trying their spelt and flaxseed rolls, which are both dense and delicious.
The selection of desserts on the boat –Victoria sponge, fruit salad and tiramisu amongst others – was perhaps the least inspiring aspect. We decided to eschew the solid sweets in favour of a mango lassi. A great decision, as it turned out, because the lassis were wonderfully thick , laced with sugary maple syrup and even a tiny bit spicy from the hint of garam masala. It was essentially an Indian twist on a truly decadent milkshake.
The buzz in the restaurant began dying down at around 10pm as the crowd thinned. Despite its central location, this is certainly more of a place to chow down rather than languorously stretch out your visit. It is the food alone which would keep you coming back, and that is really the whole point of a restaurant (however much you like fancy light fittings or dapper waiters). In fact, as I was leaving, I realised I hadn’t even missed the meat. And that is saying something.
http://www.tibits.ch/en/home.html
But before I sound too much like a carnivorous glutton, I do also like vegetables. Rather a lot, in fact, which is why I was greatly intrigued to visit Tibits, the smart vegetarian restaurant just off Regent Street.
Tibits is a Swiss import, having originated in Zurich 14 years ago. It has a different approach in that customers serve themselves, and then pay by the weight of their plate. This lends a more casual, café-like vibe to the place, and naturally makes the process of dining a little more swift than table service.
The large central buffet , dubbed the ‘boat’ because of its shape, comprises an array of hot and cold dishes. My pet peeve with buffets is that the hot dishes are invariably lukewarm, but this isn’t this case at Tibits. The place is busy so the dishes go down quickly, which happily means piping hot ones are replaced quickly (a simple point, perhaps, but there is nothing worse than tepid pasta).
The range of dishes are seasonal, fairly regional and change each day. This can cause disappointment (I was looking forward to trying the North African sweet potatoes with peanut butter and cream, which sadly were not on offer on the night we visited) but also keeps it interesting. All the dishes, however, are made using noticeably fine-quality ingredients, and even the raw salads pack a real flavour punch. The fennel antipasti with white balsamic vinegar and pepperoncini was simple but delectable, and the kale swede salad with walnuts and cranberries was especially fresh. In terms of hot dishes, the mushroom risotto was a firm favourite – it was hearty and creamy and had us self-serving far more than was strictly necessary. I am not usually one for faux meats (being such a fan of the real deal) but their soya sausage casserole was also a surprising hit, the flavoursome bits of ‘meat’ swimming in a warming paprika and tomato sauce.
We both filled our plates to the rim, and the cost hovered around the £12 mark for each, which is fairly standard (and perhaps even relatively cheap) for a central London restaurant. It’s worth mentioning that the bread is not weighed, and it really is worth trying their spelt and flaxseed rolls, which are both dense and delicious.
The selection of desserts on the boat –Victoria sponge, fruit salad and tiramisu amongst others – was perhaps the least inspiring aspect. We decided to eschew the solid sweets in favour of a mango lassi. A great decision, as it turned out, because the lassis were wonderfully thick , laced with sugary maple syrup and even a tiny bit spicy from the hint of garam masala. It was essentially an Indian twist on a truly decadent milkshake.
The buzz in the restaurant began dying down at around 10pm as the crowd thinned. Despite its central location, this is certainly more of a place to chow down rather than languorously stretch out your visit. It is the food alone which would keep you coming back, and that is really the whole point of a restaurant (however much you like fancy light fittings or dapper waiters). In fact, as I was leaving, I realised I hadn’t even missed the meat. And that is saying something.
http://www.tibits.ch/en/home.html