Amazing lunch at the Coach and Horses in Soho

Welsh Rarebit

With a poached egg!

Pie of the day

Last weekend we were going to see the Queens of the Stoneage at Wembley but wanted to go out and do something during the day. Our friend Lindsay was keen to do something as well so he suggested meeting for a late lunch at this vegetarian pub in Soho which sounded great to us! I was getting my hair cut in the morning so went to meet the boys there. The Piccadilly line was having a mare so we were all late by varying degrees although no one was too bothered, we just had several drinks while waiting for each other!

The pub was a bit busy when we arrived and just got busier as it got later in the day. I'm not sure if it is the location or the food or the drink that brought people in but the food was definitely good and the man who ran the pub was lovely. They have a restaurant upstairs but we sat downstairs in the bar which is small but cool, super old fashioned.

They had a menu downstairs which may be the same as the one upstairs, and also a bar snack menu. I decided to get the Welsh Rarebit since I had never tried it before, and it came with the option of adding a poached egg, which I totally love. Adding a poached egg to things definitely makes them better. The meal was delicious, super tasty! The egg was poached perfectly which made me happy and the carrot salad went really well with the rich rarebit. It was a bit spicy because I think it was made with hot English mustard but it was just right for me. Quentin said he probably wouldn't have been able to eat the whole thing because it would be too hot for him. For me it was cheesy and spicy and creamy all at the same time, on sourdough which made it a bit chewy as well. It may be one of my new favourite foods and I am thinking about eating it again just writing it, the memories are making me hungry!

Quentin was tossing up between the burger and the pie and decided on the pie since he is always getting burgers. The pie came with butternut mash and the crust was made from bread dough. The pie was pretty large and filled with all sorts of veges and grains in a rich gravy. The butternut mash was average, I don't know why anyone eats butternut because it basically has no flavour. Quentin enjoyed the pie though which was good. We were talking about the bread as pastry and the owner overheard and told us about how they are trying to work down to zero food waste so if they run out of something (e.g. pastry) they will replace it or take it off the menu. He said he would rather run out of something than waste it which is something I totally agree with, I hate wasting food!

Lindsay order the 'tofush and chips' which came out looking exactly like fish and chips! He let us have a try of some and it was really good! It tasted surprisingly like fish but kind of better because it was tofu. The chips were really good as well and I got to eat some, excellent!

I would give them a 4 out of 5 because my food was so tasty and delicious, the host was great and the service was quick. We are already talking about going back to try the burger, and there were a bunch of other options to try as well, like a beetroot ravioli where instead of pasta it is beetroot and it is stuffed with cheese, that sounds awesome!

The only real downside was the butternut mash, and also the bathrooms which were absolutely tiny, you would not fit a large person in there I don't think, and I wouldn't be too keen on going in there while drunk! Overall though it was great, we stayed there for several hours and felt comfortable and welcome, although a little cold from all the people going in and out. I would recommend this place to vegetarians and meat eaters.