I actually wanted to go to the Franco Manca on Westbourne Grove, but because I had limited time and needed to get some dresses before my holiday, I decided to go to the one in the Westfield (White City). Franco Manca must have grown a lot in relatively short time, because though I heard about it a few years ago, all of a sudden I see them everywhere. They have 38 restaurants in total now, whilst only starting in 2008. Franca Manca make their pizza’s with a sourdough base. Though it does have some gluten, it is easier to digest this way. I saw a lot of great looking pizza’s on Instagram and some good reviews. So I wanted to try this for myself and to see if they have some vegan options of course.
The waitress explained to me that you can choose your pizza (the have 6 options) and then add the topping you like. Some pizza’s already have lots of toppings, but the first pizza only includes the base, the sauce, oregano and garlic. So no cheese too. This makes it a perfect vegan pizza to begin with. They have 2 huge signs with their toppings and you can choose whatever you like. I went for the courgette, olives, onions and some spinach. My pizza was in front of me very fast. This must be thanks to the 2 huge pizza ovens. It looked amazing, quite big too! I started with the crust first. It was soft, but with a slight crisp. I expected to taste a lot more of the sourdough taste, but even though you could taste it was different, it wasn’t that obvious. The vegetables on top were perfect and very tasty. If you love garlic, then this is your pizza, because it has a big garlic taste. I liked it! The base in the middle was good from the bottom, but it was slightly undercooked on the top. This was a shame. I couldn’t finish the pizza because of this, because it was quite heavy this way.
Apart from the pizza and some small things (olives and bread) there aren’t that much vegan options, but in their defence, they do not have a very big menu. They do have one desert for vegans though, what is the very familiar vegan dessert: the sorbet. I didn’t try it though and I do appreciate that at least they have something. The Franco Manca in Westfield is a very beautiful restaurant I must say. Because of the very big windows from floor to ceiling, it’s super light and they have 2 huge pizza ovens (the red and the yellow one, here on the picture ^) in their open kitchen. I also really like their interior, it’s very industrial and it has high ceilings. I also really like the chairs, they really add to the style.
WHO? Franco Manca.
WHERE? Westfield White City, Ariel Way, W12 7GA.
CUISINE? Italian.
VEGAN? No! (omni)
OVERALL? 7 (Nice pizza, but a shame it wasn’t cooked properly in the middle, great interior)
Did you already know Franco Manca? Or are you planning to go here now? Please tell me about your experience! You can do this by leaving a comment below, but you can also show me by tagging me on Instagram or by using #PlanetManel. Thank you! X
The crepes at Crepeaffaire always look so yummy, but they’re not vegan, so not that yummy after all. Until a while ago, when I was in White City Westfield, I saw a sign with buckwheat crêpes and in little letters (I would really make them a bit bigger) that they’re also vegan. Yay! They’re also gluten-free btw, what is just great. That time I just had lunch, but the next time I visited Westfield, I was sure to try them. So they have a menu where you can choose from. Sweet and savoury. They only thing is that basically everything has something non vegan (cream, butter, chocolate..). If they offer vegan crepes, they should offer a few options of vegan fillings. It’s not that hard and it’ll be so much more attractive for people on a plant-based diet.
They are happy for you to customise your own filling, though it wasn’t going all smoothly. I ordered one with banana, strawberries and cinnamon. You get a buzzer with you, so you can find a place to sit. When it’s ready, the buzzer will go and then you can collect your crepe. It isn’t very busy and so it was ready quite quickly. They asked if I wanted some icing sugar on top and showed me where you can get cutlery. It looked tasty and it smelled really nice. So I was excited for my first bite. It was delicious. Not mind blowing, but it was very tasty. I really like the combination with fresh fruit and the hint of cinnamon. It wasn’t very filling though, so it’s more like a big (naughty) snack. What is very nice, is that so many places, even Crepeaffaire offers something plant-based! There are quite a few Crepeaffaires around London, but I went to the one in Westfield (White City). Go find your nearest one!
It looks so nice.. sushi on a belt! You sit at a table or at the bar and you can pick whatever you like. When I think about sushi, I always think about a sushi belt. Though, a lot of sushi restaurants don’t even have one. There is at least one known sushi restaurant that does have one and that is ‘Yo Sushi’. Funny name! A few years ago I went to Yo Sushi, but I only remember ordering some Avocado maki. I really wanted to go again as I love Japanese food. On my last birthday my boyfriend and I went to the premier of ’50 Shades Darker’ in Westfield and as there is a Yo Sushi in Westfield, I chose to go there. So that is what we did.
It was a Friday evening, so there were no tables available anymore. Not to worry, we took seats at bar. What was fine. I asked about the vegan options and they asked if I would like to see the vegan menu. Vegan menu? Yes please! On the vegan menu you can see what dishes are vegan. To see what it looks like (every dish has a picture) and what it costs, you have to look at the general menu. If you look at the pictures I took, you can see that every plate has a different colour. Every colour is a different price. You can get the dishes from the belt or you can order them. There is plenty of staff walking around, but in case there is nobody or they’re busy helping somebody else, they invented a button. If you push the button they can see you need them to come over. Super handy! The edamame beans are on the belt quite a lot, but the 
maki rolls for example, you have to order. They also have a ‘Tofu Katsu Curry’ (yes!) and you have to order that one too. Of course I did, because this was one of the reasons I wanted to go here. It was super delicious. My boyfriend ordered the ‘Miso Dumpling Ramen with Rice’ and that was very delicious too. I really love that he chooses to eat vegan whenever he’s with me. He’s amazing! Another favourite of mine, is the ‘Pumpkin Katsu’ and my boyfriend really liked the ‘Vegetable Gyoza’. In total there are 17 vegan dishes and I think that really deserves a compliment! I also really like that on the bar, in a lot of places, there are 2 little taps with still and sparkly water. So you order a glass and then you can fill it as many times as you like. Next to the tabs you can also help yourself to soy sauce, wasabi and ginger.
Yo Sushi is quite a fancy restaurant I think. The sushi belt makes it look really cool I guess. Though I also really dislike the belt at the same time. It’s just because you’re eating this yummy cruelty free food, but in the meantime there are all dead fish and cows passing by every second. It would have been amazing if all plates had vegan food on it. Maybe they should introduce vegan evenings?! Haha.. would be cool! The place itself is all very bright and quite colourful. There is a lot of silver, white and bright orange. I think Yo Sushi is very nice to go to with people who all like something different, because there are so many little dishes. I think you can always find something you like.
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