Bundobust is a much loved Gujarati street food and craft beer hang out for spontaneous dining and casual catch ups, serving only vegetarian and vegan food and encouraging sharing.
The Leeds eatery opened in 2014 as a collaboration between the teams of Prashad – one of the UK’s most regarded Indian vegetarian restaurants based in Leeds, and The Sparrow Bier Café, a craft beer spot in Bradford. Since then, Bundobust outposts have popped up in Manchester and Liverpool. Most recently, Bundobust opened its own brewery, which means that the small chain of Indian eateries can serve their own beer.
This January, Bundobust collaborated with Meatless Farm, a Leeds-based company creating plant-based products, to create a special menu of dishes that meateaters and vegetarians alike can enjoy and relish. I was invited to Bundobust to try out the ‘Bundo does Meat’ menu.
I’ve only been to Bundobust once before, but I really like the casual vibe. Seeing people sharing small plates is always something that warms my cockles. I was shown to my table, which was a little awkwardly in the middle of the restaurant, separated by plastic COVID shields. Whilst I understand the need to keep people safe, I cannot wait for such shields to be gone, so we can enjoy each other’s company! Anyway, shortly after sitting down, I was given the menus to check out. I had been invited specifically to try out the Bundo Does Meat menu, so it was suggested that I go for the ‘Bundo does meat* combo’. It was suggested as a meal for 2, but despite being on my own, I went for it as it included all the dishes on offer. I also ordered a vegan chai tea as I’d cycled into town and I was freezing!
Thankfully, my tea arrived quickly. It was lovely and warming – just what I needed. It was nicely spiced and just sweet enough. I couldn’t tell that it was made with plant based milk either – so it got a big tick from me. It was also a nice size.
The food arrived shortly after the tea. There was quite a spread – certainly enough to fill my boots. I am never quite sure about paper plates, which is the Bundobust approach, but I can see how it helps to cut washing up time and is probably easier for the serving team. But anyway, overlooking the plates and cutlery, I tucked in to the food.
First, I tried the shami kebab – two ‘mince’ and lentil burger patties spiced with chilli, mint and ginger. The burgers themselves had a ‘meaty’ texture and I enjoyed the slight heat from the spices. They came with a red pepper chutney which I didn’t love as it was ketchupy in texture but too hot for me. I think the patties could have worked really well in a burger bun, but I’m not sure how that would have gone down with the Bundo team!
Next, I gave the butter chicken a try. I was told that the butter chicken has been hugely successful and had become one of Bundo’s best sellers since the dish arrived at the start of January. The dish was tasty so I could see why it had become so popular. The Meatless Farm ‘chicken’ was hard to differentiate from real chicken, which was pretty crazy! The sauce was rich in tomato and chili, although I thought it was a tad on the oily side which was a bit disappointing. But overlooking that, the dish was good and I would order it again.
The final ‘meaty’ dish was the keema matar, a bowl of ‘mince’ with peas and a mix of spices. I really liked the taste of the dish and thought that it could have worked really well as the base of a non-meat, Indian inspired cottage pie! I enjoyed dipping in the puri bread, which came as one of the accompaniment dishes in the combi meal.
In addition to the Meatless Farm dishes, there was a bowl of mushroom pilau, which was good with the butter chicken dish and had a good mix of flavours. I liked the lemon kick which helped to cut through the oily chicken dish. I also liked how fluffy the rice was – something that I struggle to recreate at home.
Finally, there was a bowl of Bhajis. I don’t really think any Indian meal is complete without a Bhaji so I was glad when they appeared. The bhajis were great, too – big enough to have a good amount of veg, but small enough to still be crispy. They were served with a sweet sauce which I enjoyed dipping into.
Overall, the menu was refreshingly unusual. It was also so good to see two great Leeds-based companies working together. Whilst some of the dishes were a little on the hot side for me, I enjoyed trying out some more traditionally meat-focussed Indian dishes with meat substitutes. I hope that the menu will help to show other people that meat is not always needed.
The Meatless Farm – Bundo menu is only available for a limited time. But, I hope that off the back of the success of the menu, some of the dishes will reappear or will be kept on the menu following the short term collab. If you haven’t yet tried out the dishes, why not head over to Bundo to see what you think for yourself.
bundobust.com
All photographs by Gemma Bridge. Feature photograph: Bundo Does Meat Combo.
