VBites.

Ok so I can't really review this place. Even mini review it. So maybe this is more of a comment!?

Mr T and I swung by Heather Mills' restaurant, VBites, to give the Mr Swirly a try! After seeing her eating one of these bad boys in her interview with Observer Food Monthly, I had been dreaming of luscious vanillary creamy goodness in a cone. I was a little disappointed, but I'll get to that after listing a few positives.

The setting is perfect; it was a baking hot summer afternoon, and surrounded by families fresh from the beach, children racing around in excitement, and everyone generally smiling and enjoying the weekend sunshine, VBites certainly lucks out with family day trips. Dozens of picnic benches leave you with a view of the lake, and a decent sized children's playground sits next to the cute cottage-esque cafe. I took a peek inside, and the sushi style cupcake conveyor was everything I dreamed of, and more!! Super cute, and sat on top of the belt were stands of large cakes, waiting to be sliced up. The staff were friendly and smily, even though I'm sure they are exhausted after explaining to the 100th customer, that everything is vegan. That the beefy burgers have no actual beef in them... I'm sure a large portion of their business is coincidental convenience; children who have seen ice cream and don't understand the notion of vegan and non vegan; rather chocolate or strawberry. It's a beautiful setting, and an inviting menu sits minutes next to it. I hope that VBites can survive when the weather is not so enjoyable, as it sits a fair drive from the centre of Brighton, and although I didn't eat anything from the menu- it wasn't altogether that tempting. Rather meals that I would rustle up at home.

The Mr Swirly looked impressive enough; it came straight from a soft serve machine, wound into a tasty cone. The texture of the ice cream was good. It just lacked the creamy flavour which I had been anticipating. No vanilla. It tasted more like very cold soya milk. Or frozen water. Which is a shame, because I think that this recipe could have been really worked on and made to taste just like Mr Whippy. They also offer flavoured ice cream scoops, which are Swedish Glace. I really would like to pop back and try their cakes though, they looked fantastic!