Vegan-friendly
Lacto
Ovo
Pizza
Italian
Mediterranean
Beer/Wine
Take-out
Vegetarian cafe and restaurant set in a complex that also houses cinemas and a jazz bar. Menu offers snacks like olives and potato wedges, pizzas, pasta dishes, salads, and mains like wellington plus drinks and ice cream for dessert. Established since the 2000s. Open Mon-Sun 10:00-22:00. Restaurant is closed Mon but the caféi s for drinks and cakes until 5pm.
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Last update on 05 Aug 2023 by geometric-noise
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108 Reviews
First Review by jonnie
Nicola1111
Points +1133
Tons of vegan options! - Edit
Vegetarian restaurant.. Deserves 5 stars as this is a full vegetarian restaurant. Loads of vegan options. We had garlic bread, pizza, and sticky toffee pudding. All of the pizzas are vegan, the base in vegan, they will add whatever topping you want and if course vegan cheese. Amazing food!
Read morePros: Tons of vegan options
Cons: None
Guest
Kerryyork
Points +228
Amazing 5 Star Food - Edit
We had a fantastic meal here whilst staying at Yewfield nearby. Lots of vegan options, 3 delicious courses. The Pecan and Cashew Wellington was outstanding and house wine was really good. Staff were friendly and helpful. Would definitely return, wish it wasn't 3 hours away!
Read morePros: Excellent selection of vegan options , Great atmosphere
Cons: None
Guest
Esiuolouise
Points +47
Perfect! - Edit
Really lovely restaurant with lots of choice for vegans and vegetarians alike.
Read moreThe food was amazing and I particularly enjoyed my Pecan and Cashew wellington. It was so flavourful and my husband wishes he'd ordered it too as he'd never tried anything like it before- although he loved his own meal as well (pizza)
We thought the place had a great atmosphere and it was so nice to go to a restaurant that felt luxurious, whilst still having a fantastic menu for vegans and vegetarians. With that said, it was very reasonably priced and we wouldn't hesitate to visit again if we were in the area. We'd definitely recommend it here! If it was possible to give it 5* we would!
Pros: Good prices for what feels like a high end place, Great atmosphere, Wonderful food
Zeffirellis
Hi,
Read moreThank you so much for taking the time to write us such a lovely review. We are delighted to hear that you both enjoyed your meal as well as t he atmosphere and we look forward to welcoming you back soon!
Kind regards,
Maria & the rest of the team at Zeffirellis
Guest
MateuszWoch
Points +67
Outstanding food! - Edit
Perfect, delicious food and outstanding service! Full range of vegan pizzas and almost every meal with a vegan option😄
Read morePros: Lots of vegan options, Vegan pizza, Service
Guest
Kirky
Points +58
Very happy vegans!! - Edit
Superb food vegan & veggie options plenty too choose from.. pecan&cashew wellington was insanely good! A must try! 10 out of 10!!
Read moreCons: More cake deserts
Guest
Fattyted
Points +4056
Lots of choice for vegans - Edit
I really like this place. The food is delicious and there's a lot of choice for vegans. There's a nice cosy atmosphere and good service
Read morePros: Delicious vegan food, Friendly staff, Cosy
Guest
JohnPettifor
Points +94
Fantastic vegan pizza, so much choice - Edit
Took ages to choose what we wanted on the menu as they have so many vegan options, we had pizza and coleslaw salad, even the wine and Beers are labels vegan on the menu, very impressed, friendly staff, next time we will stay for the cinema.
Read moreGuest
lrosina
Points +264
Wonderful restaurant, loads of vegan options - Edit
A great vegetarian and vegan Italian restaurant in Ambleside. A cinema is attached to the restaurant and they do a great meal deal with cinema tickets. Pizzas, pasta and other dishes available. Highly recommended!
Read morePros: Extensive vegan menu , Great food
Cons: Drinks are on the expensive side
Guest
alexanddan
Points +164
The Good, The Bad and the Pizza - Edit
There were lots of vegan options on the menu, which was great to see! I had the nut wellington, my partner had a pizza. Mine was FANTASTIC! Absolutely delicious, would recommend to all. The pizza however - very average. The base tasted like it was a cheap frozen one. Not bad! But not great either. The service was a bit... robotic? Very polite, ticks all the boxes, but delivered in an unfriendly manner. Must have just been our waitress as every other server seemed in good spirits. It was a little on the slow side, but we weren’t in a rush (fortunately)! Overall I would recommend - just maybe avoid the pizza, go with one of the other mains!
Read moreGuest
Beau77
Points +105
Very enjoyable. - Edit
Horrific weather meant we were drenched when we arrived 50 mins early for our table reservation, however friendly staff pointed us to the bar in the cinema area upstairs so we could grab a cocktail and dry off before our table was ready. When it was we found even friendlier waiting on staff and we throughly enjoyed our food, soup to start and then the vegan wellington and Mushroom Bourguignon, both extremely tasty. Unfortunately we didn’t have room for dessert, but I was pleased to see that the sundaes could all be made vegan......which was a refreshing change to fruit salad.....if only I could’ve squeezed one in! We will be back.
Read morePros: Lots of vegan options, Lovely ambiance , Friendly waiting on staff.
Cons: Too far away from home
Guest
KathrynLamb
Points +311
Very mixed review - Edit
We were staying at Ambleside Manor B&B, owned by the same people as the restaurant, and had an exceptional stay there with wonderful food - would highly recommend! We therefore had high expectations of the restaurant but were a little disappointed. The double feature deal of a 2 course meal and cinema ticket is good - check out their website.
Read moreThe vegan desserts menu is only ice cream and a summer pudding, which seemed to be lacking slightly.
My partner's bruchetta had 2 cherry tomatoes and a lot of lettuce - very bizarre and disappointing. My soup was delicious but was served with dairy butter, despite the dish being labelled vegan on the menu (not "vegan option"). I began to eat this without realising which dampened my meal to begin with.
My nut Wellington with mash and roasted veg was lovely, and my partner's pizza was okay, but we didn't like the vegan cheese very much and expected better of the pizza base etc itself.
Lovely wine, and we visited for drinks another evening at the jazz bar above - really lovely atmosphere and great music.
Overall would recommend, but we had better food in ambleside elsewhere, and care needs to be taken with allergens and some of the dishes.
Guest
rubyjones13
Points +56
Delicious vegan food - Edit
Amazing vegan pizza!! Yummy varied options. Fab live music. Amazingly welcoming staff!
Read morePros: Great vegan pizza, Loads of wine, Fab live music
Guest
zerlinya
Points +50
Gorgeous food - Edit
We had a great visit to Zeffirellis, they seem to have mixed reviews from others, but we loved them.
Read moreOur starters were delicious, avocado caprese and the "ultimate in nibbles"
I had the nut roast Wellington, it was unbelievably delicious. My partner had mushroom bourguignon which he raved about.
I ordered a cider, forgot to check if it had sweeteners, it did, I gave it back and they didn't charge me for it. It was my mistake, so I wasn't expecting that, happy surprise.
My only feedback for improvement is they could have had a greater variety of vegan options on the dessert menu. We got the summer fruits pudding which was lovely. It was either that or vegan ice cream.
The mains portions didn't look enormous but they were very filling, you could have rolled the two of us out of there.
I like that when they delivered the food, they presented each item as the "vegan" dish. It was nice to have that verbal confirmation without asking.
Pros: Really delicious mains and starters, Super speedy service without rushing us, Verbally confirmed that dish was vegan
Cons: Limited but nice dessert menu
Guest
onavegantip
Points +22
Excellent - Edit
It is fully vegan/vegetarian. One of the best vegan meals I’ve had in this country, it was like a proper dinner. Had the nut wellington which was delicious. Good selection of desserts too, they made us a vegan banana split. Live music was good too, and no cover charge. The service was exceptional; they were very attentive.
Read moreGuest
viboro
Points +22
Good to have options but the food is only okay - Edit
I have tried both daytime and evening menu (from 5.30pm). The Chickpea Jacket potatoes are the best option for lunch, dillitng, fairly priced but don't expect too much. I wouldn't recommend the Lentil Burger, dry (no sauce)and tasteless. (the bun is actually not dry, fresh and crispy but there is no sauce and the patty is just lentil with tomatoes)
Read moreFrom the evening menu the Avocado starter was ok, not much flavour more like a side salad but the Nut Roast was absolutely perfect!
Pros: Nut Roast!, fair prices
Cons: Tastless lunch options
Guest
tofu_panda
Points +777
Busy but average - Edit
Busy restaurant probably because of a good cinema offer deal. Limited vegan options. My friend enjoyed the Wellington. My chilli lacked flavour expected in a chilli and who puts vegan cheese on a chilli? Only vegan desert option was fruit salad
Read morePros: Good meal deals
Cons: Poor vegan desert options
Guest
newcastlehypnotherapy
Points +110
Vegan Food In the Lakes - Edit
So pleased to find this place in the Lake District.
Read moreA great choice of Vegan Options and plenty of vegan wine.
Pros: Lots of vegan choice, vegan wine & beers
Guest
infolibre
Points +20
Excellent - Edit
Very busy but fast and excellent service, great choice of well marked vegan options in a 99% vegetarian restaurant. Would have liked a bigger range of vegan desserts but it was adequate.
Read morePros: Loads of vegan options, good service
Cons: Small selection of vegan deserts
Guest
DitaCarlita
Points +483
Okay if no other options - Edit
The service and speed our food came out was good. The food was okay - not bad but not worth coming back for. We tried the vegan Wellington and vegan basil pesto pasta - it was very oily. The bruschetta was nice. The vegan cheese was yummy. It was a very 90s feeling place!
Read morePros: Service, Vegan options
Cons: Nothing too exciting
Guest
Matt&Kim
Points +46
Great Vegetarian Restaurant - Edit
Zeffirelli's is definitely worth a visit. The menu is very varied, and there are many vegan options. We were very satisfied with the nut wellington and the funghi pizza with vegan cheese.
Read moreGuest
Pennylite
Points +297
Loved the meal & movie voucher - Edit
So enjoyed coming down from the cinema to have dinner at Zefferellis. Its a great concept. Plenty of vegan options on menu. Foodwise. loved the mushroom bourguignon followed by the summer pudding. Both vegan. Overall great food, presented beautifully. Lively atmosphere. Helpful service. Highly recommended
Read moreGuest
TinaDipi
Points +210
hard to sum up - Edit
I was somewhat confused by this restaurant and that isn’t meant as a slur. It’s a very classy looking place, tastefully decorated in a modern style but somehow feels like a restaurant from the 70s.... perhaps that’s the wicker chairs... The waterfalls surrounding the booths look really stylish and the bar is lovely.
Read moreIt hosts a random mix of clientele from families with young kids to groups of older people and everyone in between. Personally, I think this is great- it’s making vegetarian and vegan food available to the masses and seems to be very very popular.
The staff are all dressed in smart back uniforms which seems strange in a veggie restaurant which are generally more relaxed but it seems to be working!
It is disappointing in a veggie restaurant that there is not more emphasis on vegan options. There are vegan choices for cake etc but surely they could all be vegan. Maybe oat/rice milk could be used as the default option as opposed to cows milk. Maybe less emphasis on dishes with cheese could be considered.
I really am glad we found this place. The food was lovely. Vegan pizza, sweet potato with hummus and sour dough bread. And a cheeky glass of wine. Nice.
Pros: vegan options
Guest
JuliaMcK
Points +92
very glad it is there but it needs updating - Edit
It’s amazing to have two veggie restaurants in one small town plus two veggies guesthouses (highly recommended - Yewfield and Ambleside Manor who both do vegan breakfasts) nearby. The restaurants are also part of a larger building with several cinema screens which is great too. Both restaurants are buzzing and vibrant, however, the food is reliable but old school veggie with a surprising lack of fresh vegetables. You will definitely get choice of a few vegan dishes which are solid but won’t knock your socks off. Also selection of vegan friendly wine and beer. They just need to modernise the menu and get with the new style of plant based cooking.
Read moreGuest
Alaneatyourgreens
Points +83
Uninspiring pizza/pasta place - Edit
The starters were nothing special. The green salad was just that! A few lettuce leaves with not a single additional item or flavour. None of the mains appealed so I chose a pizza. When it arrived it resembled something that came in a box from the supermarket. And tasted like it. I prefer a pizza to be hand made and wood fired. Nothing like that here.
Read moreThe service was hit and miss and unfriendly/unsmiling.
We probably won't return.
Cons: Joke salad, Bland pizzas, Bland service
Guest
RuthyRaLaing
Points +58
Amazing cake!!! - Edit
I visited here after a "tip off" from a friend. I was not disappointed. The menu clearly marks what is Vegan or can be adapted. Because this place is vegetarian I was fully expecting to have a main (I had a lovely avocado,hummus and cucumber sandwich) but i was sceptical as to weather there would be any vegan cake. I need not have worried. There were 3 or 4 options. I chose the "bounty cake". Oh my,it was good. A crumbly crumb base,large wedge of coconut ice type layer topped with dark chocolate. I have had similar in the past but usually as a thin tray bake. This however was as a slice of cake. It made it all feel that extra bit special. Great cappacinno too :-)
Read moreUpdated from previous review on 2017-11-02
Pros: Really great staff, Fantastic atmosphere, Fantastic cake and cappacinno
Cons: It isn't closer to where I live :-)
Guest
Bafodelic
Points +190
amazing!! - Edit
The food was unbelievable. We went to felinis for a disappointing meal but decided to give this a shot and oh my god the Wellington was the best thing ever. The service was awful, not a single smile - almost rude. But the food was really good
Read moreGuest
turntableshred
Points +90
A Giant Meh. - Edit
We were excited to eat here as our family that generally only eats at pure veg*n places but it was ultimately disappointing. The vegan pizzas were dire. Have any of the staff actually tried them? A thin smear of sauce on a lifeless base with a very bland cheese alternative. The vege toppings on another were way too sparse. The Wellington was good but other places (e.g. Lancrigg before it went to the dark-side) did it better. The salad was a bowl of leaves. The service and ambiance are good but the chefs and/or owners need to discover some inspiration and revisit their offerings for vegan customers.
Read morePros: Ambiance, Service, Great if it was 1990
Cons: Bland, Dull, Thinks it's 1990
Guest
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