The Calabash of Culture

A gem located in south east London..you HAVE to try this place! Great service and amazing food I’m definitely bringing back friends to try this place out. Who knew vegan food could be this tasty?!!

We had a lovely table by the window. The food was delicious and although the Vegan Glory wasn't on the menu for puddings, they made it for us. Second time I've been to this restaurant and it's well worth the long bus ride to get there. Excellent and I'm not even a Vegan.

I enjoyed the experience of calabash, being a small establishment I felt there was a personal touch to the customer service, the food was great although I think they would benefit from having more options on the menu and opening slightly later as I went for food in the evening and had to leave by 9pm but all in all a lovely and for me a great alternative Dining experience. Well done guys

Food was good, though a lot on the menu wasn't available. Small portion size is plenty and affordable. I would definitely come again. The desserts particularly were really good.

We went for our anniversary meal and so happy we did the food was amazing and excellent staff. We went for the large plate which was SO Much food but we finished it :-) We will be back.

Had a wonderful meal at the Calabash of Culture with my sister who is allergic to so many things. My only slight grumble would be that there is no option to alter the set meals if there is something you don't like. However I totally understand that this is a small establishment that does not bulk cook and microwave food, therefore they have to ration accordingly. Will definitely be back.

This was my second visit to the restaurant. I was giving it another try after enjoying the food the first time but finding the service slow. This time, unfortunately, the service was ridiculous. It took almost 40 minutes to get a drink and an hour and a half to be served our mains. Several things we wanted were not available when we ordered so we chose other things, only to be told about 20 minutes after ordering that our choices were also unavailable. We ordered dessert after being assured it would be served quickly. After a 10 minute wait we were told two of the four desserts we ordered were not available. It then took another 15 minutes to be served cakes and ice creams. The food is very tasty and worth a 5. The service is unfortunately a 1. It is a real shame but we will not go back this time.

Excellent food and service. Very relaxed surroundings. Would definitely go again. Suggest you buy some organic wine from Bob's wine shop which is very closeby in the direction of the train station.

Great food, really friendly vibe. It was my first visit but I'll be back! Great food, really friendly vibe. It was my first visit but I'll be back!

Absolutely incredible. Lovely lovely people, amazing food that somehow tastes both GOOD and HEALTHY. I forgot to tell them I'd be arriving late but they still stayed behind to cook our food because they knew we traveled far and it was my birthday, and they were very pleasant. It was an all round beautiful experience. I highly recommend it.

Chilled, friendly place. Really yummy food and we're not even vegan! Only gave a 5 instead of a six because they were out of stock of a couple of menu items that we wanted ( one of the cakes and the chai tea.) Will definitely return.

Lovely vegetarian food at reasonable price and very friendly staff. Nice relaxed atmosphere. Very good value for your money and a lunch restaurant to recommend.

Extremely disappointing. Started off with a 2, but writing this has reminded me of how awful my experience was here. I went to Calabash on 04/06/16 with my mum after reading some good reviews. I'm not Vegan, but do have many intolerances that Vegan food caters for. I have a card stating my intolerances, one of which is Garlic. I was then assured by the manager that none of the food they would be serving today contained Garlic as he had made everything himself. I then made a selection and put an order in. 5 minutes later the manager returned to tell me the chef had advised that all the meals prepared that day contained garlic. This was disappointing, however I was told a raw super food salad could be made to order; as the only dish available to myself, I accepted. My mum ordered the veganese and we requested a side of quinoa. We were informed the wait would be 20 minutes due to the quinoa. This was more than okay, however... No exaggeration, we were waiting over an hour and a half for our meal. For A SALAD and a Veganese?! It was outrageous. When I asked about the wait, I was told it was due to my "intolerances", which to me came across as inconsiderate and wholly lacking in taking any responsibility. The restaurant was very quiet during out visit so I still cannot make out why it took such a long time. When the food finally arrived, my mum was served a random concoction of items; none of which were the veganese she had ordered. This was raised and the manager stated he would bring the veganese out to her "as a gesture of goodwill" A gesture of goodwill?! For a customer to be given what was ordered after a 90 minute wait? I was fuming by this point. Throughout the prolific waiting period, I was continuously asked about various ingredients and whether or not I was allowed to have them... even though I had given the manager my intolerance requirements already. There were also an array of other occurrences that took place while we were there that simply seemed unprofessional and inappropriate. Onto dessert: "provided free of charge as a gesture of good will" my mum asked for raspberry ice-cream and was given blueberry, I had a slice of cake with custard, which was very tasty indeed however my enjoyment on the food was spoilt considerably by the waiting time and transference of blame onto myself due to the intolerance issues. Perhaps this was a one-off negative experience, however I was outraged by it and would only ever set foot through Calabash's doors with exceedingly low expectations, to hope to be proven they are able to provide significantly improved service! The toilet was also pretty grim.

Hearing about this Resturant through word of mouth was a blessing which I regret acting on so late! The food was amazing! The staff were fantastic and the environment was great! There is a gift shop with a lot of gifts for everyone all ages, also a small library of books are available. The table was great, made from what looked like a tree trunk! The background music was also great a wide variety was played! Being a vegan I enjoyed the food throughly, my friend who is an omnivore was pleasantly suprised and was asking for recipes and cooking classes from the chef! It was overall a great experience and will defienately be going back there in the near future!

My son and me had a lovely blue smoothie and I some delicious food. Everything is vegan! My son relished the choc brownie and vanilla icecream. Very friendly and warm welcome... we both loved the place. My son has some difficulties with social interaction and the staff just got it and were really patient and kind. All round Fab!

Friendliest people south of the river! Great food, extremely well priced and plenty of curious ornaments to take in as well. Ask for a ginger shot if you're feeling a bit ropey, it'll sort you right out!

Great place, people , food, ethics. Take a chance and go. You won't be disappointed! We'll be going back there as soon as we can

This is a wonderful restaurant with amazing vegan food! The atmosphere is relaxed and the staff welcoming and friendly. This is my new favourite place to eat 😊

The staff are super friendly. I'm not a vegan but the food was excellent. Portions are decent and the soothies are brilliant! I will be going back and can recommend.