Hurray for veggie lovers!

Ranelagh is set to become home to a new vegan restaurant. It’s usually the case whereby those of us who don’t eat meat, or are vegan, have to mosey into the city centre when in need of the real deal, scrumptious vegan meal. So you might be glad to hear this new eatery is setting up shop a bit further into the suburbs and there are plenty of folks within walking or driving distance. The Garden of Vegan food truck - best known for its yummy offerings at festivals across the country including Longitude and Electric Picnic - is now becoming a restaurant. The food brand was set up in 2006 by traditional musician Sharon Shannon and has attracted food lovers ever since. Thanks to Garden of Vegan’s online funding campaign, it seems they’ve reached their goal of gathering the cash to create a sit-down eatery for the people at last. Soon we’ll all be able to grab a coffee (or an evening tipple) and munch on delicious vegan grub fit for a queen. And clearly, management have done their market research. According to the Sunday Business Post, they believe it will be such a success, five more restaurants are already on the cards, hopefully opening within the next three years. You might recall Sharon, the Clare native, playing her accordion for a herd of cows last year. The video clip of course had everyone cooing over the cuteness of it all. Clearly an avid animal lover, the vegan lifestyle is close to her heart. With so many people opting to be kind to animals, having taken part in Veganuary or wanting to feel better by reducing their intake of meat, there’s no doubt there will be oodles of eager beavers heading towards the Garden of Vegan Restaurant when it opens its doors in March. Until then, we'll just continue dreaming of what could be on that delightfully appetising menu. Mmm...