Vedge

Vedge is a fully vegan restaurant in Philadelphia that offers both a la carte dishes as well as a tasting menu. They were listed in the innaugural edition of the Michelin guide Philadelphia as a selected restaurant (indicating “good cooking”) though they were not awarded any stars. The restaurant also has a fair share of fans on social media and are frequently cited as a favorite place by vegans and omnivores alike.

I’m not vegan but I also don’t cook with meat and I have several vegan cookbooks that I love. This is to say I’m not a “vegan skeptic” and am well aware that vegan dishes can be delicious so I decided to make Vedge my first stop on my weekend visit to the City of Brotherly Love.

The restaurant made a positive impression on me before I even set foot in it. My train into Philadelphia was delayed (thank you Amtrak) and I was not able to stop by my hotel before dinner. Thankfully the restaurant was understanding of my delay and was happy to provide space for me to keep my bags. In fact, every server and staff member I interacted with at Vedge was very friendly.

The restaurant is located in a Center City brownstone that feels like it may have once been someone’s (very nice) house. The lighting was low and intimate and felt like a nice spot for a date night. For my solo date I decided to order the tasting menu, which cost $79. Non alcoholic drinks were sparse but they did have an intriguing-sounding celery soda that proved tasty and refreshing.

The meal

To kick off the tasting menu there was an arepa (maize flatbread) with black garlic and onion as well as a parsnip and truffle soup of sorts. Both bites were simple yet satisfying.

Next came a charcuterie board with various spreads paired with toasted bread. The spreads covered a range of flavor profiles including smoky celery root, spicy carrots, acidic pickled beets, and herbal fennel-avocado. I loved the variety and all iterms were very tasty.

Then came my favorite course: pretzel with rutabaga fondue and homemade pickles. The soft pretzel by itself would’ve been delicious but the fondue really elevated it. It had a unique flavor somewhere in between hot mustard and cheese but without feeling like it was a mere vegan imitation. The richness was balanced nicely by the pleasantly tart pickled vegetables.

Unfortunately the next course of roasted mushrooms over fregola was a major miss for me. The mushrooms tasted good, but the fregola was pretty bland with the only flavor note being a bitter “planty” taste that made me think “this is what omnivores are afraid of when they think of vegan food”.

Thankfully the next course of yakiniku tofu was much better. Tofu had a smooth silky texture and a nice smokiness. The miso butter sauce and the roasted sweet potatoes were nice accompaniments.

At this point the pacing had been good with about one course every ten minutes. But after the tofu, there was a 20 minute gap before my server informed me that the kitchen was backed up and offered me some complimentary coffee or tea. When I declined, he ended up bringing me a small scoop of their coconut sorbet, which was a nice gesture. The sorbet was delicious and one of the better vegan ice cream/sorbets I’ve had.

Unfortunately it would take another 25 mins before dessert actually arrived (a 45 min gap between final savory course and main dessert). Worse, it was neither the chestnut cheesecake with cardamom ice cream that was listed on the tasting menu nor was it the lemon cheesecake listed on the a la carte menu. Instead it was a plain cheesecake topped with pomegranate syrup and served with red wine poached pear. The cheesecake itself was good and impressive for being vegan but the flavors of the pear and pomegranate clashed with each other. Honestly I would’ve just preferred a full serving of the sorbet as dessert instead. Given the long wait and the fact that it wasn’t listed on the menu I suspect that they ran out of the listed dessert and tried to improvise something. Unfortunately it was a disappointing way to end the meal.

Final thoughts

Overall, I think Vedge can put together some impressive vegan dishes but my tasting menu had a couple of misses. I do want to acknowledge that mid January is kind of a bad season for a fully plant based restaurant so I can see a different season being much stronger for them. The ambiance of the restaurant is nice without feeling stuffy and the staff are wonderful so perhaps the better move for visitors is to ask a server for a la carte recommendations. I probably won’t be itching to return but if I ever find myself returning to Philadelphia in a different season I may still pay them another visit.