tibits restaurant, Bankside review ★★★★★

In a nutshell: Pay per 100g of food at this vegan-focused restaurant. Faster than the fastest fast food joint and cosier than your local corner café, tibits is here to redefine vegetarian eating – brought to London with some help from the owners of Hiltl, the oldest vegetarian restaurant in the world.

The space: Situated on Southwark Street, tibits has already become one of the more popular lunchtime eateries for the financial crowd despite its recent opening. Tibits Bankside sticks to the aesthetic of its Heddon Street counterpart with a similar colour scheme – pine wood and trendy floral wallpaper – and spaceship-like food boat that presides over an otherwise minimalist space.

Notable differences are the second floor and the bar area. Unlike Heddon Street (whose second floor comes fully equipped with conference room tables and a 'kids corner'), the second floor at Bankside is a single room that can be reserved for special occasions. There's also a bar area, so you can just pop in for one of their signature cocktails guaranteed to get the uptight vegan in your life really, really drunk.


Interior of tibits: Bankside

The food and drink: Making Smörgåsbords chic is no mean feat. Everything is made fresh daily. Guests serve themselves from the food boat, and, because you pay by weight, diners can take as much or as little as they want from the 40 dishes on offer daily. These dishes vary according to the seasons – except for their signature Sticky Toffee Pudding – and include hot plates, salads, and deserts. This means you can try a little bit of everything from the menu if you want. You go up to the bar to weigh your food, order your drinks, and pay – but remember, you can always go back for more.

For anyone intimidated by the buffet-style eating, be reassured: on this food boat, it's all hands on deck. Chefs leave the kitchens to check on the plates, respond to customer criticisms, and communicate their findings via walkie-talkie. Cold plates are kept on ice on the first deck of the food boat and feature everything from guacamole to vegetable tartar, to unexpected standouts salads such as the dried bean salad and Virgin Bloody Mary salad. Above the cold dishes and heated beneath special lights are hot plates so you can indulge in comfort food like beer battered onion rings or Thai veggie meatballs – all while sipping one of their cocktails.


Tibits Thai veggie meatballs

Oh, the cocktails. Have we mentioned the cocktails yet? The drinks list playfully integrates Matcha and ‘fitness juice’ into classic cocktails; the Cucumber Martini makes ample use of the house-infused cucumber and lemon gin, offering a fresh spin on integrating health into the London lifestyle.

Would we return? Yes – back to the food boat for seconds, thirds, and fourths.

Opening date: June 29th
Price: £15 - 25 per head on average
Time: Mon-Wed: 9am-10.30pm, Thurs and Fri 9am-midnight, Sat: 11.30am-midnight, Sun: 11.30am-10.30pm. Price: For lunch, 100g costs £2.50, at dinner, £2.80.
Reservations: 020 7758 4113 / info@tibits.co.uk