The relatively understated Mayfair townhouse exterior of Tendril.
What can you tell us about Tendril?
Tendril has been about in a few forms since 2019, when it first popped up as a residency at The Sun and 13 Cantons in Soho. Run by Rishim Sachdeva (previously at Chiltern Firehouse) the restaurant then moved to this address in Mayfair as another pop-up location to start with, before finally settling in there as its permanent home. The restaurant's driving aim is to serve "mostly vegan" food with dishes based on Rishim's experience gained in both British and Indian kitchens.
"Mostly vegan"?
Yes, that catchphrase is exactly how it sounds. About 90% of the dishes served by the restaurant are vegan, while a few dishes do make use of cheese. On our visit, there were just a couple of dishes that fell into that non-vegan category.
Where is it?
You'll find Tendril less than a five-minute walk from Oxford Circus tube, just off Regent Street. It's in the space that many will remember as being Stem and for a while, the layout of the restaurant stayed very much the same. The change to a permanent restaurant has opened things up a little and made it seem a lot less narrow, particularly at the front. That's done wonders for the vibe, we think.
Inside the restaurant, you'll find a few seats up front, but there's a much larger room out the back.
Where should we meet for a drink first?
In this part of Mayfair, you can either go very fancy and have a cocktail at Claridge's or if you're looking for a decent pub nearby you could head to The Windmill (which happens to be where we actually went). Tendril itself is billed as a bar and kitchen so, space willing (as it can be very popular), you can also just pop in for a drink (although you should really order some snacks while you're there). There are some higher tables at the front of the restaurant that are ideal for this.
So, what's on the menu?
You have a couple of choices here. You can leave it all up to the restaurant and choose the Discovery menu (£45). That's a selection of snacks and starters, a couple of larger dishes and something sweet to finish. Alternatively, go a la carte where smaller dishes are in the £10-13 price point and larger mains are around £18.
We went for a bit of both - the Discovery menu with a couple of important extras. Starting things off, here's what was on that menu when we visited:
In the initial snacks section of the menu, this is a white bean, chilli and garlic dip. It is absolutely amazing and if we could have taken some of this home we absolutely would. Goes very well with the excellent sourdough.
Aubergine, kalamata and tahini
The almost obligatory (and very well done) confit potatoes, served with chives and fennel remoulade.
The only non-vegan dish we had on the night - stuffed courgette with pilaf rice, feta and harissa. On the Discovery menu, you have the option of this or...
...the vegan option which is grilled oyster mushroom, croquette and pumpernickel
The main course is very, very beetrooty. Underneath this beetroot blanket, you'll find grilled beetroot and spring onion in smoked, sticky soy.
The main comes with excellent coconut rice, baby pok choi and this absolute stunner, sweetcorn and charred wakame with a phenomenal sweetcorn custard.
And the add-ons?
First off, the following has been one of the chef's signature dishes at all iterations of Tendril, so we had to try it.
"Chinatown" purple potatoes, sticky sesame (£11) - so-called as it takes its inspiration from a dish the chef had in Chinatown when he first arrived in London. They marinate the potatoes in homemade miso and soy before cooking to give them flavour (and deep colour) and then add a sesame rice cracker.
And finally, dessert. The Discovery menu does come with a small chunk of Basque cheesecake, but it was the one dish that didn't quite compare to a non-vegan dish. However, we had heard extremely good things about the following:
Tiramisu - this completely vegan creation is absolutely one of those dishes where you can't understand how they made it without cream. It's really very, very impressive. They're keeping that recipe secret for the time being...
And what about drinks?
As for the drinks, there's a one-pager wine list. That is again mostly vegan with about four non-vegan wines thrown into a list of about 25. A European wine list, prices start at a reasonable £33 a bottle with plenty available by glass or carafe.
It's also worth a look at the cocktails (the below margarita was excellent) and there's also the option of "drinking vinegar and kombucha". We'll be honest and say we swerved that part of the list.
The Tendril margarita (ojo de tigre, arette, jalapeño, smoked salt with "a dash of heat and lingering smoke" - £13) and in the back the non-alcoholic Head in the Clouds (Everleaf forest, grapefruit, hibiscus tonic refreshing with bittersweet grapefruit note - £10)
Overall thoughts?
It's been something of a winding road for Tendril in its journey to finding its permanent home in Mayfair, but the space really seems to fit it very well. The food on offer here is uniformly excellent (particularly that white bean dip) and there's a lovely friendly atmosphere in the room. Whether you're avoiding meat for good or just want to give it a miss for a night, Tendril is an easy recommendation.
More about Tendril (mostly) Vegan Kitchen & Bar
Where is it? 5 Princes St, London W1B 2LQ
How to book: Book online.
Find out more: Visit their website or follow them on Instagram @tendril_kitchen.
Hot Dinners ate as guests of Tendril. Prices are correct at the time of writing.
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