Restaraunts required to have at least one veggie option?

monellia

About two months ago I was told that a new law had been passed requiring all licensed restaurants in Ireland to have at least one vegetarian option on their menus. As I couldn't find any information about it on the net or in the papers, and this is not the sort of thing I would miss, I think the person who told me about it may have been misinformed. Can anyone confirm whether this is true or not? If not, do you think that there should be such a law? Personally, I think it kind of silly to have a law about this, even though it is convenient for me. Why not make the restaurants provide at least one vegan option as well? We might as well extend the law to cater for everyone's dietary needs.

batbaby

Yup, it's true. But it's not a LAW, it's just something Bord Bia (or some other group that has a say over restraunts in ireland, not 100%...) introdued a while back. A vegetarian option has to be provided not only because it's a lifestyle choice of some, but some cultures do not eat meat and to avoid discriminating against these cultures and all that jazz....

But even if a restraunt doesn't offer a veggie option,you can ask for one to be made up. Of course, the restraunt has to oblige! Most will also do it without a fuss and sometimes charge you next to nothing due to the "inconvience caused"
(at least that's what happened me once!:P)

Vegan is seen as more a lifestyle choice so restraunts don't have to provide for it.... But i'm sure that'll change in the coming months and years...

Slaphead07

batbaby wrote: »

But even if a restraunt doesn't offer a veggie option,you can ask for one to be made up. Of course, the restraunt has to oblige! Most will also do it without a fuss and sometimes charge you next to nothing due to the "inconvience caused"..

They don't have to oblige and at this stage of my life if a restaurant doesn't have a decent veggie main course (preferably a choice of them) and offers instead something called "Vegetarian Option" then I won't be asking them for anything. A good chef will already be providing this and the bads ones will only arrive with "omlette and two veg" type muck anyway.
In short, if a restaurant doesn't have a vegetarian option up to the standard of the rest of its menu then walk out and let them know why. We're not second class customers.

Mark Hamill

TBH, even as a vegetarian, I think that rule is stupid. If a restaurant doesn't want to cater for vegetarians then fine, they shouldn't have to, no more than a seafood restaurant should have to serve steak to cater for people who dont want to eat seafood. I would be far happier if they properly advertised what was veggie and what wasnt ie hefty fines for restaurants that advertise foods as veggie even though they contain parmesan, pesto etc (I've seen it done in many places).

cocoa

If restaurants are too foolish to realise the extra customers they're missing out on I don't see why a law should force them to do what makes sense anyway. Let the free market take care of it to be honest.

Tar.Aldarion

Shouldn't be a rule, doubt it is?
Anyway it's more common sense, cos if I'm eating out with non veggies they will be going to a place with a veggie option or two, so it's not just the veggies you would miss out on etc

Slaphead07

Tar.Aldarion wrote: »

Shouldn't be a rule, doubt it is?
Anyway it's more common sense, cos if I'm eating out with non veggies they will be going to a place with a veggie option or two, so it's not just the veggies you would miss out on etc

that's just it.

You can't force restaurants to put on dishes they won't sell and have no interest in making - that's not good for anyone.
I remember seeing some Bord Bia sponsored campaign a few years ago where restaurants/hotels etc. could put up certain signs that their food was always fresh and local. I'm sure it was but it was no guarantee of quality. Quite the opposite in my experience. As Tar says, one vegetarian in a group can be the reason that group go to a particular restaurant. Vote with your feet.

taram

Slaphead07 wrote: »

They don't have to oblige and at this stage of my life if a restaurant doesn't have a decent veggie main course (preferably a choice of them) and offers instead something called "Vegetarian Option" then I won't be asking them for anything. A good chef will already be providing this and the bads ones will only arrive with "omlette and two veg" type muck anyway.
In short, if a restaurant doesn't have a vegetarian option up to the standard of the rest of its menu then walk out and let them know why. We're not second class customers.

+1 It depresses me when friends go somewhere and say 'oh it has a veggie option' to see them eating fabulous dishes and I end up with the inevitable goat cheese salad/penne pasta with soggy veg/plain stir-fry. Once was offered plain pasta for a main course, 18 euro for the pleasure. Only resturant I ever made a fuss about being vegetarian in Some places though do great veggie options, the Kingsley Hotel in Cork being one, they put the same effort into the veggie main of the day as they do the rest.

Mentalmiss

monellia wrote: »

Why not make the restaurants provide at least one vegan option as well? We might as well extend the law to cater for everyone's dietary needs.

Great. Now they have to put at least one Raw Food option for me as well.

Tom65

On this topic, would it possible for this forum to have some sort of name and shame thread for restaurants that either don't provide a veggie option, or whose veggie options is "chips" or "water" or some such? I was going to start a thread but don't want to get Boards.ie in any sort of trouble.

sweet-rasmus

well, let's be honest, it would be a very negative thread. why don't we stick with reporting delicious vegan/veggie meals and restaurants

henryporter

Not necessarily negative - if people were to indicate good and bad experiences of restaurants, then it would allow others to make informed decisions of where to go on a night out. For example the only hotel in the my area does a relatively good vegetarian menu alongside the main menu, however the vegetarian menu hasn't changed in 5 years, so the choice is limited to eating the same risotto over and over again, unless i wanted to eat the goat cheese thingy which I don't.

ch2008

Tom65 wrote: »

On this topic, would it possible for this forum to have some sort of name and shame thread for restaurants that either don't provide a veggie option, or whose veggie options is "chips" or "water" or some such? I was going to start a thread but don't want to get Boards.ie in any sort of trouble.

I don't necessarily think its shameful for a restaurant not to have a veggie option. I think i'd rather see restaurants be really into what they do whether its veggie or not. I think anyone who's ever been a veggie (I'm not btw) has experienced the token veggie option. Its rarely palatable.

Slaphead07

ch2008 wrote: »

I don't necessarily think its shameful for a restaurant not to have a veggie option. I think i'd rather see restaurants be really into what they do whether its veggie or not. I think anyone who's ever been a veggie (I'm not btw) has experienced the token veggie option. Its rarely palatable.

Spot on, you can't force a restaurant to produce a decent veggie option. If the chef has a bit of pride in his work he'll provide one anyway, if not you don't want to eat there. Vote with your feet folks.

Carawaystick

Would the corollary not be that Denis Cotter has to provide a meat dish for balance...

Michellenman

I dunno if it's required by law or not. It'd be nice of them to do it though. As a matter of interest what's the story with veggie options on the special offers lunch menus and the like? I went to a place (quite a nice place, too) that was offering their lunch menu for a tenner between certain times, only thing was there wasn't a vegetarian option so I had to fork out 13/14 euro for my meal. And it's not like the other could be altered to make them vegetarian, it was burgers and meat balls and the likes. Thought that was a wee bit unfair.