A new addition to Northampton's Chilli village, the Green Loft promises the "Biggest Plant-Based [Sic] Restaurant in the UK". The restaurant, located on the second floor, offers a three-course menu entirely free from animal products and does appear to have a lot to offer. As a meat-eater (or, perhaps more annoyingly, "flexitarian") I was intrigued to see if they could cut the mustard. Vegan-friend in tow, I visited the restaurant a week after its opening.

First a little admin, the complex has parking in the back which they will validate inside. They serve dinner daily with additional lunch services on weekends. Once inside you are immersed in Chilli Village - a restaurant with a rather different ethos. The restaurant is a cowboy cartoon and definitively meat-eating. We were early, arriving before Green loft had opened and so had a drink at the bar here. While a little tacky for my tastes this didn't bother me, my vegan companion, however, did point out it wasn't ideal to have your vegan guests waiting on seats made of leather saddles. In a similar vein, as you ascend the stairs to the loft there is a cadge of beautiful birds - perhaps a tasteless choice of decor.

Upstairs is a continuation of the American desert- this time a green hippy oasis. Plants hang from the ceiling and sit on every available surface, folk art kitsch adorns the walls. The overall aesthetic is bright and friendly just like the staff.

After we were seated we were informed that they would not be serving the full menu. however, the very knowledgable staff listed off the specials for the day including their recommendations. To start the melon mojito and the prawn-style goujons.

The service was slow but the atmosphere was friendly and we didn't mind the wait. The mojito was a little plain and unexciting. The goujons were Quorn-like inside well-flavoured (not too fishy for those concerned vegans) with a lovely crispy batter. this was served with pitta vegan mayo and chilli sauce as well as a side salad. For the next course, we tried the tofu skewers and the Thai green curry.

The tofu was a little less crispy than would have been ideal however it was full of flavour! and the texture inside was lovely. I'm not sure that the onion marmalade went with the meal. They also brought us some sweet potato fries as an apology for the delay, without prompting. The Thai curry had a chicken substitute and was packed with vegetables. The vegan naan bread was very buttery (a real treat for my friend who hasn't had any in months). Finally, we finished with the salted caramel cheesecake and the chocolate torte.

This is where my friend and I disagreed (which, as we were sharing, was no bad thing). I have concluded that you have to be a vegan to go for the cheese-less cheesecake. In my opinion, the texture was grainy, the flavour was overly sweet and the whole thing was no competitor to a real cheesecake. My vegan friend, on the other hand, swears its the best thing ever and so did the wait staff- and who am I to argue with happiness. In contrast, the chocolate torte was perfect. Rich and dark chocolate with tart berries in the middle there was no discernible difference between this and any other torte. My friend, who says it is too rich may have a point but, to me, it was undoubtedly the better dessert.

All this came to a bit over £30 a very reasonable price in my opinion. Overall the food was pretty good and good value. Hopefully, they will work out their timing issues with a little more experience.

Well worth a visit if you're in the area.

Green Loft,

145 Wellingborough Rd, Northampton NN1 4DX.