Busaba Vegan Calamari and Cocktail Review

I have to say I’m a huge fan of all the Busaba’s, but the Shoreditch one is by far, the best. Set just a short walk from Shoreditch High Street Station, it boasts an amazing outside space, extravagant interior and a truly stunning feature piece bar.

When I want to go to a bar, that usually means, I want to go to a bar, but the Busaba here has somehow managed to nail the swanky East London bar vibe. There’s two sides to the venue, the Restaurant and bar, both offering a completely different energy depending on what you were after. We were there on a mission, to try the vegi holy grail, vegan calamari. I know, I wasn’t convinced at first either, vegan calamari? Having been vegi for a good 15 years now, although it seems food suppliers have become experts at faking meat, for some reason it’s near impossible to fake fish. Fish-less fingers, Linda McCartney Scampi, I’ve tried the lot, and none of them even came close, so I have to admit I was very dubious, ready to be left heartbroken once again.

We chose to sit in the bar area, no surprises there. Having already met the lovely hostess it was an absolute pleasure to meet one of the resident mixologists, introducing herself and explaining their amazing new cocktail menu with a Thai twist. We were in for an absolute treat! My ears certainly pricked up when I heard the word ‘Samsung’. A Thai whiskey that I’d only ever experienced in Thailand. Directly linked to travelers getting absolutely hammered, I was interested to see how she could make this one taste good. We watched as she expertly crafted each cocktail before she returned with three cocktails that were an absolute feast for the eyes. Fresh cut flowers, burnt cinnamon sticks, candied fruit, the lot. They tasted as good as they looked. We tried a selection and there was one that really, really stuck out for the both of us. Soon to be launched on the new menu, the Thai Caipirinha really is something special. Usually a short Icey drink, this is smoother, longer than a normal Caipirinha, but still with the cachaça and citrus bite that makes a caipirinha so special. We knew it was delicious, and thoroughly moreish, but what makes it Thai we had to ask. Pineapple. The sugar syrup has been infused with pineapple which gives it, it’s South East Asian edge.

And now was judgement time, time to try Busaba’s ‘Thai Soyamari’, made from ‘Oumph!’ products which are completely plant-based and free from gluten, dairy and nuts, dressed in Busaba’s signature ginger and green peppercorn sauce. First impression… It looks exactly like their actual calamari. Having worked in an office directly next to Busaba in Hoxton Square, I had seen it many times. In fact, almost every day someone popped out of the office to get what they had renamed ‘crack squid’.

So it looked great, how did it taste? Simply amazing! Sweet and crispy, chewy and moist, so many different flavours and so many textures all at the same time. Myself and my guest were both mmmming out loud and just repeating the words ‘so good’ as we munched through it, not really talking to each other. A clear 10/10 for flavour. I’m not convinced it tastes exactly like calamari, my non-vegetarian friend told me it was close and from what I remember of the taste it was a pretty close match, but that wasn’t really the point, it was so delicious I didn’t really care.

If you are a plant eater and ever pass a Busaba, don’t pause to think, go on and buy the vegan calamari! It might not taste identical to the real thing but it’s a damn good substitute. Definitely check out their new Thai inspired cocktail menu, launching very soon. These guys really know how to mix up your cocktail classics to give you something truly tropical.

Website: www.busaba.com

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Written by Jordan Crowley