Tibits - A Review

National Vegetarian week is upon us (20th - 26th May) and I have been a non meat eater for around 15 years. Not once have I been to a 100% vegetarian restaurant and for my first I thought I'd go to the finest.

I went to a place called Tibits, ideally located just off Regent Street in London. Tibits has been at this location for nearly 5 years, and originated from Switzerland. I don’t associate the Swiss with veggie food, just cheese and chocolate. But then, perhaps that is their idea of veggie food. The owner of the Tibits chain is also the owner of Hiltl, the worlds oldest vegetarian restaurant dating back to 1898. This small chain consists of a ground-breaking concept, where as the focal point is a 'food boat' containing around 40 hot and cold dishes from around the world. Customers can create their own ideal menu from a selection of dishes, and can choose to eat in or take away. The food is then weighed, so the customer is in complete control of how much food they pay for, bringing alive the quote 'you get what you pay for'. At any other 'buffet' type restauant, it is so very easy to over-inuldge and basically eat until you feel sick, as it has already been paid for. I really like the idea of plating up your food then it being weighed, that way you are less inclined to cram as much as you can onto the plate, thus saving you some money, and some room for that desert.

This large restaurant is on two levels, ground and lower ground. There is flock wallpaper and velour seat covers in greens and deep pinks but it's certainly not hippyish or overly 'vegetarian'; it's a calm, chilled environment with a relaxed vibe. There is outdoor seating in a courtyard dubbed ‘the Regent Street Food Quarter’, and several punters were just treating it as a bar. It’s less pretentious than its neighbours and perhaps that’s what draws in the crowds – the place was buzzing on a midweek afternoon. A warm and friendly welcome greeted us as we were explained the concept and taken to our table. Now whenever I eat out, the vegetarian option is always something around mushrooms or eggs, and I dislike both. Luckily for me, Tibits are a tad more imaginative than that. The food looked really fresh, not like it was a Pizza Hut buffet from the day before. The dishes have Asian, Indian and Mediterranean influences and it's all about offering healthy food: "Food that loves you back" is their slogan. The dishes are being monitored all the time and I saw a chef constantly changing and replenishing the options during my visit. He obviously had high standards and was always checking and wiping up any spillages.


If eating vegetarian generally feels more virtuous than enjoyable, you need to pay a visit to this Heddon Street restaurant. The name tibits may not be that enticing but frankly who cares when the rest of the offering is. The food is fresh and the dishes so diverse that you’ll be hard pressed to ever get bored with the selection, the drinks are reasonably priced and the surroundings stylish. Better yet, you’ll never be hurried off your table because someone else has booked it for a later sitting and there’s no service charge to pay. In fact, all things considered, Tibits may well be the perfect credit crunch restaurant.