Throughout January, healthy plant based kitchen Wild and Wild were offering 30% off their whole food menu for the entire month in a bid to encourage people to try out Veganuary. And what better incentive to try something new than a hefty discount, cosy vibes and the promise of a chilled out indie playlist.
As a non-vegan fussy eater, looking at a plant-based menu can be daunting, but rest assured you will find something you’ll enjoy (even if it is just the skin-on fries or tater tots).
However, I’ve been to Wild and Wild, in Congleton, a few times now and have always found them to be helpful and supportive, and are happy to make alterations to dishes and offer recommendations for newbie vegans, or people just wanting to give this plant based kitchen a go. What I will say, is that when I’m trying new dishes out, I still always order a ‘safe’ option too, which is often the skin on fries or some loaded toast – I find it’s a great incentive to experiment with your order because you’ve always got a trusty back up.
On my most recent trip to the cafe, I decided to try out the BBQ Jackfruit Tacos. This gluten free main features four soft tacos filled with guacamole, yoghurt, radishes and salsa Verde with fresh herbs and a squeeze of lime – and of course, jackfruit. Jackfruit is often used as an alternative to chicken or pork due to it’s meat like shredded texture. It’s slightly sweet, but it tends to take on the flavour of whatever seasoning is used – in this case BBQ. I found it to be quite similar to pineapple in texture, and with all the other flavours in the dish, it went really well together.
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For £9, you get four tacos, which you can share between friends, or eat to yourself, but I found 2-3 to be really filling and ended up getting the rest to takeout. The meals were beautifully presented and you can see the health benefits in the rainbow of food in front of you, too.
Other mains on the menu include a Beyond Burger which can be loaded up with bacon and avocado, as well as a ‘soul bowl’ of red lentil and vegetable dhal or a full English vegan breakfast, which is served all day. The menus are seasonal and change up every few weeks, giving regulars a variety of choice every couple of months, meaning there’s always something new to discover.
Previously, I’ve really enjoyed their mac and cheeze, served with Wild and Wild’s own recipe cheese sauce, with macaroni and a panko crumb. Their food is always super Instagrammable, from their pink ‘rainbow’ burger in 2020, to their beautifully decorated loaded croissants.
I find Wild and Wild to be a really warm and welcoming venue where you’re able to just sit with a hot drink and a slice of cake and catch up on your latest read at one of their snug tables. The staff are extremely friendly and attentive – even on a surprisingly busy Sunday – and when the chai latte was unavailable, the waitress kindly suggested some other non-coffee drinks I could try instead, so I went for the ‘golden mylk’.
Made with oat milk, this warm tonic contains a shot of turmeric, giving it it’s gorgeous golden colour, as well as ginger. It’s got a slight spice to it, but smells absolutely beautiful. I did add one sugar to mine because I enjoy honey in my tea, usually, and after a tentative few sips, I really enjoyed this and look forward to ordering another.
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One of my favourite drinks to order, though, are the mylkshakes. Made with oat milk, and vegan vanilla ice cream, these thick and creamy dessert-style drinks are just dreamy. I usually go for the Oreo option, but this time, I opted for the Lotus biscuit mylkshake, made with Biscoff spread, soya whipped cream, Biscoff sauce and crushed Lotus biscuits.
Wild and Wild fosters a friendly community vibe, and they’re certainly not gatekeeping veganism, nor recruiting for it. It’s very much a place where you can try something new, and if you don’t even fancy that much, then the skin on fries are perfectly seasoned and the breakfast tea is great – so long as you don’t mind milk alternatives. They’re open seven days a week and are dog friendly, offering dine in or take away – and as mentioned previously, they have 30% off their food menu until the end of January 2022.
