VX Cafe, Bristol



123 East Street, Bristol BS3 4ER | Tel: 0117 329 1610 | Mon-Fri 10am > 5pm ; Sat 10am > 6pm ; Sun 11am >5pm.

When my Dad told me a few months ago that a vegan cafe was opening in Bedminster, I was excited although a little dubious. Bristol has its fair share of vegan eateries, but they're usually in Clifton or in town and East Street seemed an odd place to put one. My first impression has since been dashed, though, because it's always busy whenever I walk past! It's been on my to-do list forever but I never had occasion to go, what with my anxiety and it being too far from home but too close to my Dad's, until my Mum, sister and I went on a little charity shopping expedition last week. 



VX is a café that prizes itself on vegan junk food. All of the furniture is second-hand and up-cycled and all of their packaging is 100% recycle-able. They also source their bread locally, from Mark's Bakery.  A place after my own heart, no?! It's quite a small place but there's plenty of seats - we chose the breakfast-bar-style window seats. On the left hand side there's a few fridges and a freezer packed with vegan groceries for you to take away, plus there's a little 'cupboard' section featuring things like nutritional yeast, plant-based milks and plenty of junk food, too!

The menu itself is pretty extensive and features all of the cafe regulars - coffee, tea, hot chocolates, cakes - as well as hot food like kebabs, nachos and burgers. Everything is 100% vegan and there are several gluten-free options, too. Everything is pretty reasonably priced, especially considering it's the only place like it in the immediate area! The fresh baked goods cover the counter looking glorious and are stacked right next to a mini fridge containing sandwiches and a little collection of pro-vegan merch. There's also a giant kilner-jar-style water dispenser offering free cool water.

What we ordered ::

 

♥ Mum :: soy milk latte & a slice of mint chocolate cake (£3).

♥ Leigh :: vegan BLT sandwich (£3), a mini banana loaf (£1.80) and a mint chocolate Oreo cupcake (£2.50).

♥ Me :: a mini banana loaf (£1.80), a slice of mint chocolate cake (£3) and a gluten-free peanut butter cup (£1).

As you can tell, we went pretty cake-heavy with our order! Leigh inhaled her banana loaf within about 15 seconds flat, where-as Mum ate her mint chocolate cake at a more leisurely pace. Mum reported that her latte was deliciously creamy and the cake a little mint-heavy but still heavenly. I ate my banana loaf in (!!) and it was honestly the most delicious thing I've eaten in ages. It was soft, squishy and the flavour struck the perfect balance between banana and cinnamon which is a tricky thing to achieve in my eyes. I'm genuinely plotting when I can next return for another slice, it was that good.

 I took my mint cake to go, and also picked up a slice for Luke, and ate it once we were home. The chocolate sponge was divine, perfectly flavoured and melt-in-the-mouth moist although I wasn't a fan of the mint icing. It was a little too sweet for me, and a tad grainy. The slices are mammoth-sized though so I'd recommend splitting it with a friend so you have more room for banana bread ;) The peanut butter cup was amazing and tasted close enough to a Reeses cup that I was happy, although the chocolate tasted darker than I was expecting. I like dark chocolate so this was a win for me, but be a little more mindful if you prefer your chocolate to be a little more creamy.

 

For my first time eating 'out' since my relapse, I couldn't have chosen a better place than the VX Café. The gorgeous lady that served us was so lovely and had the most glorious bright green hair, and that bloody banana loaf. I don't think I'm ever going to stop talking/Tweeting/dreaming about it.

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