The Grain Shop

Fantastic value for SO MUCH FOOD. I literally asked for a little bit of everything and all of it fit in one container. There were a few things that weren't warm in my container but, overall, there were a lot of vegan choices that were delicious. I would recommend and the staff was wonderful and friendly.

Best fast vegetarian I have ever been to around the world over! Beets, celeriac, potatoes, cauliflower, so many options and so healthy! Really, really good food!

This little shop has been on Portobello Road for ever. It is excellent for lunch - you get very generous portions of pick and mix warm dishes in their famous lunch boxes. Regulars know to go for the open option which gives them an even bigger portion.
They stock a limited selection of breads and drinks, but it's basically all about healthy take away food.

I came to the Grain Shop for dessert after my lunch at Falafel King. The delicious looking baked goods in the window caught my attention, and I had to go in... They have a decent variety of treats (wheat-free sunflower seed flapjacks, wheat-free sesame seed flapjacks, 'chocolate nut slices', sugar-free apricot & almond slices, sugar-free date & lemon slices, pecan pie, etc.), with some looking more appetizing than others...

It took me a while to decide, but I ended up getting a raspberry & almond slice, The lady at the cash register was nice - I asked if I could have the big corner piece and she said, 'Of course'. Ha. It was tasty but somehow quite greasy, as the brown bag it was placed in was stained in oil within 5 minutes...

I'm trying the pecan pie next time, as it looked amazing, sumptuous, etc.

2 visits: 4/5

I really love the Grain Shop. As a vegetarian it is a treat to be able to eat anything you can see and not worry about it being contaminated with meat or fish.

There are 2 box sizes, standard and large. I can't remember the exact prices but I think it was about £4.10 for a standard and £5.45 for a large last time I went. I got the large one both times.

There are a wide selection of dishes to choose from, and both times I have been they have had these dishes as well as others:

Brown lentil shepherds pie
TVP chilli
TVP moussaka
Macaroni cheese (it is actually penne not macaroni)
Green curry
Noodles
Fried rice
Roast potatoes
Roast carrots and parsnips
Various vegetables ranging from spring greens to mange tout to sweet potato

You can also have some cold salad dishes added to your box depending on what they have - for example, I've seen coleslaw and red cabbage available.

They really fill the boxes as much as possible, especially if you have it open (without a lid) so you do get your money's worth. I love being able to get a little bit of everything, but you can be more selective and have a big portion of stir fry and noodles or whatever takes your fancy, rather than mixing different cuisines. My only complaint is the food doesn't stay very hot the way they keep it, so you need to eat it straight away or it'll get cold.

Also, they have pastries too - sausage rolls, pasties, spinach plaits etc, again depending on availability. I haven't tried them yet but they look delicious.

You can take your food next door to Mau Mau bar to eat and get a drink - I have done this and felt comfortable and welcome, so don't feel intimidated about taking your food into a quiet bar.

Note: they also sell drinks and desserts, but I haven't tried those

The Grain Shop's signage is misleading.

One touts, 'Vegetarian Hot Food, PIZZA'.
Another advertises, 'Sourdough Bread'.

The Grain Shop had neither pizza nor sourdough bread on my visit.

Disregarding this spurious marketing ploy, I found that the Grain Shop did have a whole buffet of vegetarian entrée and side dishes available to be piled into a 'regular'- or 'large'-sized box for £3.99 or £5.50, respectively.

I got a regular box and asked for green pea dal, asian-y tofu and bean sprouts, a carrot salad and some sort of stir-fried rice dish. I took it outside and ate it while perched precariously atop a flower planter, since there was no obvious seating available inside the establishment.

The food was just okay. The dal was the highlight. The tofu hadn't been prepared properly (definitely hadn't been pressed) and thus water came streaming out of it whenever I took a bite. There are definitely better purveyors of lunch boxes stuffed with vegetarian foodstuffs in London, and there are definitely cheaper ones too. Perhaps the Grain Shop is the best of its kind in Notting Hill, though. That being said, I think I would have been happier with a falafal from the vegetarian food cart just a little farther down Portobello Road.

I'm not vegetarian but I love The Grain Shop for tasty vegetarian takeaway food at a very reasonable price. The Thai curry is so delicious I always forget it's vegetarian! Unlike many takeaway venues the staff never serve stingy portions and cram as much as they can into my container. If walking and eating is not your thing (not a good idea on busy market day!) head next door to Mau Mau where you can sit at one of their tables enjoying the best veggie takeout. Eating and people watching- my idea of heaven!

I live really close to Portobello Market so normally, on a sunny weekend day, we head out for some Grain Shop lunch.
Even though I'm not a vegetarian, I absolutely love the food.
The salads are really yummy with loads of feta cheese and the tomatoes don't taste bland! The cheese pasta bake, spicy roast potatoes or rice noodles are incredible.

The menu changes from time to time: sometimes they have vegetarian pizza or a new type of dessert.

It's not pricy, I mean a normal container is £4 but the staff will cram as much they can in the container.

You can eat there, if you dot mind sitting on the floor. But there's a park nearby you can go to or if you're not a nature person you can head next door to Mau Mau, where you can sit down and relax, enjoy your food, have a great drink and listen to some good music.

What an odd little shop - from the outside, you can forgive me for thinking this was some kind of simple bread shop, and when inside, you can forgive me again for thinking this was a greasy, hearty comfort food takeaway. But upon closer inspection, I realized that this is a VEGETARIAN deli, and a healthy one at that (or so they say). The tofu stir-fry looked virtuous, but a creamy mac-and-cheese just couldn't be so...

I opted for chili and rice instead of the carrot mascarpone cake I had my eye on so can only give The Grain Shop 3 stars at this time.

Portions are huge as they fill your container to spilling point.

Finally tried this place after hearing raves reviews from my colleagues!

Fantastic value for money, as £5.90 I received a massive portion, which would have been even more had I taken up their offer of leaving the box opened, then piled higher (as I saw many opting for!)

Large array of freshly made vegetarian dishes, mostly hot, with a few cold salads as well. Today I had a mix of the cauliflower cheese, lentail dahl (tops!), beetroot, stir fried rice, and greek salad. Filling, healthy, fresh and full of flavour.

I now know that the large is far too big for lunch - think I let me eyes do the ordering! I'll definitely be back to try some other of their tasty looking options, great spot for lunch just a few minutes from my office.