The AlleyCat

Tucked down an alleyway off the high street, The Alleycat is the latest and greatest restuarant and cafe to hit the food scene in Inverness. Owned by the team who brought us JVNK, The Alleycat blends traditional cafe and pub fair with an all vegan twist. If you've been following me for a while then you probably saw my rave review of JVNK here on the blog and I went back several more times, taking friends and family along with me.

I went for lunch with my foodie friend who is completely omni though loves trying new things so we could have an honest opinion from all angles. We went in at around 12.30 and the cafe was quiet but quickly filled as time went on. There was a slight wait for food but in a good 'I know this is freshly prepared' kind of way rather than a 'for gods sake' one. Its also worth bearing in mind that this was their first week open and that a member of staff had called in sick as well. The menu is split into 3 sections ... breakfast (served between 10 and 12 though the all day is, well, all day) lunch ( served from 12 till 5 and dinner from 5 till 9. There is also a drinks menu featuring soft and hot drinks while I believe you are more than welcome to bring a bottle for a corkage fee. I have popped pictures of the menu at the bottom of this post.

The huge (for me) menu meant I spent a while deliberating over what to have, even though I have been drooling over it since it was posted on facebook. Having had food from JVNK before, I knew everything should be delicious and this made it doubly hard. Fortunately, I have fantastic friends and my dining partner is more than happy to share food which meant we could try a little more.

We started out with a milkshake each while we decided on exactly what we wanted to eat. I went for a simple vanilla which is always a great test of the quality while my friend had a chocolate milkshake. Made with their signature homemade oat milk, the shakes were just the right amount of sweet without being sickly or pudding-y. The big dollop of squirty cream on top had us both nose diving into the concoctions with my friend declaring she prefers vegan squirty cream. I have to admit, we both scooped it into our waiting gobs with our fingers - classy!

Decisions finally made, I chose the all day breakfast - a novelty for me having been vegetarian for nearly 20 years and mainly vegan for the last 10. The dish as a whole was really lovely,  the sausage and bacon were perfectly cooked and the hash browns ( a personal favourite wherever I go) were a total delight but the crowning glory for me was the scrambled 'egg'. As someone who has been allergic to egg since birth, I was a little nervous for this in-case the texture or flavour triggered me but it went down a treat. While the textures and flavours aren't exactly the same as those of a traditional cooked breakfast ( I consulted my friend), this was one great plate of food we would both have been happy to scoff.

My dining partner chose the coronation chicken baked potato, a personal favourite of hers, and declared it was the best she's ever had. The baked potato was well loaded with filling and perfectly cooked to soft fluffiness while the filling was well seasoned and drool-worthy. I had a mouthful and nearly stole the plate. A crisp salad of iceberg lettuce and red onion accompanied the dish, with both elements fantastically fresh - always a good sign to me.

The portion sizes of both dishes were excellent, enough that we felt full but not so much we couldn't sample the selection of cakes and hot drinks on offer...

I chose a hot chocolate, again topped with the squirty cream, to accompany my chocolate chip cookie while my friend had a coffee with a chocolate brownie.

Again the use of the oat milk gave creaminess and a softness of flavour to both the hot chocolate and the coffee, with the coffee beans being ground in house too. The baking was delicious as well, crumby and soft with a fantastic bake.

Overall, we loved our meal at the Alleycat and while I feel I've probably used the word 'delicious' a few too many times, it really was. We are already trying to work an evening visit into our schedule so we can sample the new range of puddings.

I would highly recommend that anyone, vegan or otherwise, tries Alleycat and helps support a new, local business. The team are already great and I can see this cafe going from strength to strength and quickly outgrowing its current home.

When you go, please take a picture and tag me using #diaryofadefectivehousewife

Enjoy!