Sprout Plant Café

Sprout is a plant-based café in the centre of Exeter, just opposite the cathedral, serving food and drink “that’s as good for you as it is for the planet”. All of the food, including the sourdough, is made in house, and the whole menu is vegan.

The counter runs on dips and small plates, sourdough focaccia, herby chickpea flatbread, mixed vegetable quiche, savoury pastry rolls and seasonal salads, with Portuguese custard tarts, chocolate chip cookies and banana bread muffins on the sweet side. The dips, the small plates and most of the salads are gluten-free. Sprout also puts on an occasional plant-based afternoon tea, booked in advance, with seatings that fill up. The room is small, with a bench along one wall and pale wood tables under globe lights, and there are yellow tables and chairs on the pavement outside.

The coffee comes from Triple Co Roast, an independent, “ethically-trading, open-access” roastery in Stokes Croft, Bristol, which works directly with coffee farmers so that they get a fair price. The loose leaf tea is from the Exmoor Tea Company, the juices and sparkling drinks from Luscombe in Devon, the kombucha from Fix8 and the sodas from Gusto Organic. Sprout does not roast; Triple Co Roast roasts for it.

Photograph: Sprout Plant Café