Frankie & Benny’s New Veganuary Menu Review

Disclaimer: This post features a complimentary meal but I was not obliged to post. I would NEVER recommend something I didn’t love myself. All thoughts and opinions expressed are 100% honest and my own.

I was invited to a tasting event at Frankie & Benny’s Brighton restaurant last night to try their new veganuary menu. I took my friend Sophie and we had a great time trying all the food.

It was an event for people to try the food so no one thought twice about people trying to get the perfect photo. It was nice to not be stared at when taking 100 pictures of your plate.

I wasn’t sure what to expect and thought I would get to try like 2 or 3 things. Little did I know I’d be leaving in a carb coma with boxes of leftovers.

While You Wait

I didn’t expect as well as all the food to get olives and mini breadsticks while we waited a short period of time before the starters arrived.

• Marinated Olives – £1.99
• Mini Breadsticks – £1.99

I love having little nibbles while I wait for my food. The food usually isn’t served as quick as it was last night so when it takes ages for food to come its nice to have something while you waited. I love olives and the mini breadsticks were so moreish.

Starters

They have quite a few starters like

• Dough Balls – £4.99
• Garlic Pizza Bread – £3.99
• Garlic Pizza Bread With Vegan Mozzarella Alternative – £4.49
• Plantballs Italiano – £6.29
• Vegan Loaded Skins – £5.69
• Mushroom Ravioli – £5.99

Plantballs Italiano – flavoursome vegan balls made with oats, broad bean and pea protein, served in a spicy tomato sauce with vegan mozzarella alternative and rocket.

I love meatballs and really enjoy trying all the different kinds. These were much softer than meatballs usually are and like nothing I have had before but I liked them. Nothing hugely special about this dish but it was nice and comforting.

Vegan Loaded Skins – Fully loaded with red pepper, olive and sundried tomato, topped with vegan cheese. Served with mayo.

I really enjoyed these. Loaded potato skin are one of my favourite things and these were really nice. I loved the colours and flavours chosen, would definitely recommend.

The mayo was so creamy and was probably the nicest mayo I’ve ever had (including non vegan mayo).

Mushroom Ravioli – mini pasta parcels filled with porcini mushroom, spinach, vegan cheese and garlic. Deep fried until crisp and golden. Served with a spicy arrabbiata sauce for dipping.

These were incredibly moreish and I would definitely have them again. I think these were my favourite starter. So good! Having them crispy instead of soft was an amazing idea. The filling is flavourful and not stingy and it goes so nicely with the dip. Highly recommend.

Mains

They have quite a few mains like burgers, pasta and pizzas.

Burgers & Hotdogs

• The Smoky Beet Burger – £9.99
• Viva La Vegan Burger – £9.99
• Vegan Hot Dog – £7.79

*Add Vegan Cheese – £1.00

Pizza

• 10” Vegan Margherita Pizza – £8.39
• 15” Vegan Margherita Pizza – £13.39
• 10” Vegan Verdure Pizza – £11.99
• 15” Vegan Verdure Pizza – £16.99
• Calzone Vegano – £12.89

Pasta & Salad

• Vg Penne Arrabbiata – £8.99
• Vg Spaghetti Arrabbiata – £8.99
• Vg Spaghetti Mushroom Bianca – £9.99
• Vg Penne Mushroom Bianca – £9.99
• Rigatoni Ragu – £10.99
• Mediterranean Lasagne – £10.99
• Mediterranean Salad – £10.99

*Add Vegan Soy Pieces – £1.50

Calzone Vegano – folded pizza filled with roasted peppers, courgette, soy protein, tomato sauce, basil and vegan mozzarella. Served with salad on the side.

I really didn’t like this that much. It was the weirdest calzone I’ve ever had. The dough was amazing, the sauce was too watery (probably because of the courgette), couldn’t taste the cheese, why were there courgettes in here? and the chicken pieces were reallllly soft, yuk. Not my cup of tea and I can think of tons of ways to make it better.

Vegan Hot Dog – American style 6″ vegan sausage, fried onions and vegan mayo. Served with fries.

Do not be fooled by this dogs appearance and lack of ketchup and mustard. The sausage itself had the texture of a saveloy (without the pig anuses) and has such a nice flavour. The best vegan hot dog I’ve ever had. I would add ketchup and mustard to it next time I ordered it but it was sooo good. Also a great size and filling for a main meal.

Vegan Verdure Pizza – Roasted courgettes, pepper and torn vegan balls made with oats, broad bean and pea protein. Topped with vegan mozzarella, fresh parsley and tomato sauce.

I enjoyed this more than I thought I would. It was so much better than the calzone. Courgette again? No. Courgette does not belong on a meatball pizza and I don’t know why they’re obsessed with peppers and courgette when it comes to pizzas. The dough was great, very fresh tasting and light, couldn’t really taste the cheese though. The meatballs worked much better when used this way and not slathered in sauce, it made the texture less soft and more enjoyable. Overall I liked this pizza but it could use some improvements to make it great.

Rigatoni Ragu – A rich lentil and soy mince ragu bake with tomato, red pepper, red wine, fennel and thyme. Tumbled together with rigatoni pasta and smothered in vegan bechamel and vegan cheese. Topped with rocket.

I enjoyed this and it reminded me of something similar that I make. It wasn’t as rich as the description suggested but still very tasty. The ultimate comfort food on a cold winters evening.

Sides

They have a few simple but delicious starters to choose from like

• Side Salad – £3.69
• Sweet Potato Fries – £3.99
• Fries – £3.49
• Vegan Fries – £4.99

Vegan Fries – With vegan cheese sauce and chilli flakes.

These were amazing! That cheese sauce, omg I could take a bath in it. I wasn’t sure if it would be jalapeno cheese sauce or topped with Chilli Con Carne (that’s usually what people mean by chilli fries) but these weren’t that. They were surprisingly great though, a good dish to share. I think I would get these on every visit.

Desserts

They have quite a few delicious desserts to choose from like:

• Chocomisu – £5.99
• Apple Crumble  – £5.99
• Chocolate & Raspberry Lava Cake – £5.99
• No-cheesecake – £5.99
• Ice Cream (2 Scoops)  – £3.29
• Ice Cream (3 Scoops) – £4.19
• Chocolate Chip Shake – £3. 99

Chocomisu – vegan sponge soaked in a coffee & brandy syrup, layered with chocolate and coffee vegan cream and dusted with cocoa powder.

Well, this was amazing. I’m a huge fan of tiramisu and have tried a few vegan versions so feel like I’m hard to please. I love the one from purezza but this is very different from that. It’s a chocolatey take on the classic thats very cakey and moussey, it’s just to die for.

You have to order at least one dessert if you go to Frankie & Benny’s because they’re all so fantastic.

Apple Crumble – A sweet apple compote topped with vegan oats and a scoop of vanilla icecream.

The topping and ice cream were really good, buttery and oaty but the filling was meh. It tastes like a Mr Kipling apple pie. Just ok and no cinnamon either (madness!)

Chocolate & Raspberry Lava Cake – A warm chocolate & raspberry sponge with a gooey top. Served with a scoop of vegan choc chip icecream.

This was heavenly. The raspberry flavour with the chocolate was so good. I love a warm chocolate pudding with ice cream but they’re all usually nothing special, this, however, was really great.

Rich but not too rich and the ice cream complemented it perfectly.

Chocolate Chip Shake – soya milkshake with chocolate chip ice cream and chocolate sauce.

I would’ve liked it to be a thick shake but it was really tasty. It has an almost sweet caramel taste to it. Would make a nice accompaniment to burger and fries.

Verdict

I really liked the new vegan offerings, they really killed it with the vegan desserts especially. There were a few things I didn’t think were that amazing but overall it’s a great vegan menu in time for veganuary, a good effort guys! Check out all their menus here.

I hope you’ll pop down to your nearest Frankie & Benny’s and give some of these dishes a try.

Thank you so much for having us F&B, we had a wonderful evening.

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