I absolutely hate going to noisy pubs. Crowds of people, dim light, loud music: it’s my idea of hell. I will suffer through it in the name of greasy ole vegan junk food,though! Belzeburger in Brighton is quite a rowdy all-vegan pub, though it’s possible that we were just unlucky that there was a huge group of young people bellowing at each other across several tables when we arrived. It was worth it to get a good greasy fix though!

The menu was heavy on burgers and fried food, and you know what that means: onion rings! These were very good onion rings (something of a rarity, in my experience), with excellent light batter.

If an establishment has a signature dish, it’s probably worth a try. Hence Dr HH ordered the belzeburger, which featured a good seitan patty, topped with a crispy hash brown and excellent vegan cheese. He raved that the patty was really well-seasoned, and not properly spicy but with a nice heat. It was a good size as well (not always the case these days, are more places are creating massive burgers that must be shamefully tackled with a knife and fork), and he was very pleased that the lettuce was shredded rather than the usual leaf, making it much easier to handle and devour.

And for the first time in my life, I ordered a mac and cheese burger. Yes, the patty was just fried mac and cheese, and it was exactly like you’d imagine! It was topped with cheese and some tasty bacon with maple syrup, but in the end it was all a bit too sweet and sticky from the maple. It could have been a bit more savoury, or more balanced flavour-wise, but it was still tasty and very exciting.

If you’re looking for a proper greasy junk food experience, look no further than Belzeburger!