Be The Change lunch review

100% vegan food in the centre of Worcester.

2 Corn Market, Worcester, WR1 2DJ

This restaurant is not closed. Why not check out my blog post Vegan Restaurants in Worcester?

the café

My daughter and my eldest son, Billy, joined me for this Be The Change lunch review. The café is set in a building of character and age in the Cornmarket. Once inside there is a hive of activity, although only a couple of tables downstairs. Upstairs leads to two rooms. One set up for private functions and another, intimate room with three further tables.

The welcome was friendly and we were shown to our table upstairs.

The purpose of our visit was twofold. Firstly, I very much want to include vegan options/restaurants in my reviews. Secondly, so I could update (to be updated soon) my blog post Vegan Food in Worcester – identity crisis accordingly. To ensure we all got to try more than one meal, we shared the four dishes we ordered.

the food

German not dog

Looking in advance at the menu, this was to my mind likely to be the dish I liked least. I assumed this would taste quite false and leave an aftertaste often found, in my experience, with meat substitutes. I was wrong. This was possibly the nicest of the four dishes. Both I and daughter think that had we not known it was a vegan substitute, we would have assumed this was a meat dish. The sausage was good, it was loaded with onions, mustard and tomato ketchup and I would certainly order this dish again.

chickpea choona

The menu states this dish is “That savoury tuna-mayo feel, created with chickpeas, nori & plum vinegar.” It certainly had a very similar texture and taste to tuna mayo. However, it was slightly less tasteful than tuna. Perhaps a little unfair to review this, as I wouldn’t usually order a tuna wrap. If you like tuna wraps and want to reduce your meat consumption, this dish is ideal.

Bunny’s Monster Breakfast Bap

Good. As good as a meat-filled breakfast bap. The taste is somewhat different, but just as good. Eaten separately, the veeg bacon tastes like well-done bacon and is harder to bite through than its meat counterpart. That’s all fine for my taste. The German sausage, presumably the same as is used for the German Not Dog, was good. It is more like a meat hot dog than a quality, high-meat content sausage from a butcher, but the taste and texture were fine. The veeg fried egg on its own was not a convincing substitute, but did add to the burger as a whole. This is a dish we would order again.

Spencersaurus-Rex

The vegetable burger tasted fine on its own. However, inside the bun, it didn’t dominate. I would prefer the burger to have a stronger taste and a firmer texture so that it didn’t seem lost inside the bread bap. That said, it is a matter of taste and there will be many who don’t agree with my comment. The only way to find out is to visit the café and try it for yourself.

the drinks

For me the Sencha Green tea was spot on. The taste and freshness of the tea followed by that subtle earthy taste. At least that’s how I describe it, and it certainly brought back memories of my 18-month visit to Japan in the 1980s.

The plant-based smoothie Dale Loves Kale (kale, spinach, apple, lemon, peanut butter, soya milk) was Billy’s choice of drink. He said he liked it, it was tasty, and it had a nice aftertaste. However, he wasn’t keen on the nutty element (it is clearly mentioned on the menu!). So, whilst he would order a smoothie here again, it wouldn’t be that flavour.

Daughter had the Oreo & Bourbon Chocolate Explosion shake. I assumed (again) that this would be a disappointing substitute for a milk shake. I was wrong (again!). Daughter said it was really nice. So much so, that the following day she went past the café to get one to take away. What else can I say!

around and about Be The Change

Be The Change is in a wonderful location in the Cornmarket and is close to the shops. Round the corner is New Street which is one of the oldest areas in Worcester, with much period architecture, and it leads onto the equally historic Friar Street.

Nearby are three museums including The Commandery. This is a wonderful museum and the site of the royalist headquarters during the the Battle of Worcester in 1651. Greyfriar’s House and Garden and the Tudor House Museum – two museums offering a glorious glimpse into Worcester’s past.

Another nearby museum is the Museum of Royal Worcester. This is a fascinating delve into the industrial heritage of the region. And, of course, it has a presentation of the world’s largest collection of Worcester Porcelain. Worcester Cathedral is a 10-minute walk.

Both the Vue cinema and the Odeon are about a five-minute walk away – although in opposite directions.

facilities

parking

The restaurant does not have a car park. Nearby are Cornmarket, Crowngate, Silver Street, and St Martin’s Gate car parks.

disabled access

This restaurant is not suitable for wheelchairs.

toilets

The toilets were clean, but there is not a disabled toilet.

take-aways

Take-away food is available.