The Gate Hammersmith in Hammersmith and Fulham

I went to The Gate frequently five or six years ago and it was one of my fav veggie places in London. Came back for the first time today and I’m sad to say I won’t come back. The food was average at best, the service really bad - got the starter within 15 minutes then had to wait 1 hour 45 minutes for the mains - they arrived cold. They forgot the sides, waiter shrugged and said they would check - they didn’t and the side never came. The restaurant was also half empty so not sure what was happening there… Way too expensive for the quality of both food and service… a real shame as it used to be great. Only good thing is that they’ve accepted to remove the service charge when asked - sad that I had to ask.

I had lunch at vegetarian The Gate Hammersmith in mid-September 2024. Impressive natural light from a big window. I had a glass of champagne, the chickpea tagine which was a bit sweet from the apricots, and the excellent roasted cauliflower side. I didn't have dessert. The food was not spicey which dominates vegetarian fare in London, a limiting factor for me. I will go back to The Gate Hammersmith, next visit to London. Easy walk from Hammersmith Underground station, Queen Caroline Street appeared in front of St Paul's church, before I knew it. After lunch, I continued down Queen Charlotte Street to the Thames River and walked to Putney bridge, past the Fulham Football Club stadium and ancient oaks (?) bordering Bishop's Park. The tide was out, so the river didn't look navigable, except for rowers. I love London.

Excellent food, the best vegetarian food in London and perhaps the UK. Never had a bad meal in 5 visits over 15 years and always amazing staff and service.

Nice restaurant with good plant based dishes. Friendly staff. Not much of an atmosphere for dinner. Lower lighting would make it better

Lovely food and friendly service

The Gate is a vegetarian/vegan restaurant in London which should be a ‘must’ for every lover of great food! As it is located in Hammersmith, a short walk from the underground, it is easily accessible from Central London by Public Transport. I have been going to The Gate ever since it opened in 1989, and I continue to be amazed by the variety of its menu and its consistently high quality! And although I am primarily an omnivore, I have never been disappointed by anything I have chosen! Along with the excellent food, the atmosphere and the service is always conducive to a pleasant experience!

The manager was rude to us and towards his staff. I have been there countless times and the food is excellent however after that experience I will never be going again. The staff are very polite and attentive, unfortunately the manager / boss is abrupt and rude.

I’ve been to pretty much every written about vegan restaurant in London and this is by far the best vegan meal I’ve had. Hidden gem.

I recently dined at The Gate restaurant after not having been back for 10+ years, and I was thoroughly impressed by the quality of food and presentation. They've definitely maintained their high standards. I visited with a group of friends to celebrate a double birthday, and it was wonderful. The dishes were very tasty! The staff were polite and attentive, providing excellent service. I highly recommend a visit, we all loved the vegan food and dining experience.

The restaurant is beautiful, very well decorated, has a pleasant outdoor area for when the weather is nice, organized and clean bathroom, friendly and efficient service, orders delivered quickly, great ambient music (they even played Brazilian music!). The price is London standard and I found it fair for the quality of service and products presented. We ordered some starters to try. We found the starters much more interesting than the main dishes and ended up doing a tasting menu just for starters. 😀 To accompany, a delicious rose wine. This restaurant is really worth visiting.

The food was excellent and we also did not drink so got to experience their excellent mocktails. I was a BIG fan of the Apple Mojito. A lovely setting to catch up with friends.

I liked this restaurant more when it was vegetarian. Some dishes lack flavour. Some dishes are just vegan approximations of classic dishes

Good food. Great service, warm staff and welcoming staff Peni is definitely a star was quick attentive and friendly. Overall good experience.

Incredible experience, the food and presentation could well be deserving of a Michelin star.

We had a Virgin Mary (great taste) and an Elderflower Spritz (which barely tasted like Elderflower), the Chipotle Mushrooms and the Chickpea Tagine (both were excellent) plus a Rhubarb Cheesecake which was stunningly good. We have been to The Gate more than once and every time we are pleasantly reminded that this is top notch cusine.

Delicious chickpea tagine, followed by rhubarb cheesecake with ginger purée. Very, very nice

The Gate is back on song. Having not been for a while following a so-so meal a couple of years ago we had a pre-theatre supper there this evening. The Gate is really convenient for Riverside Studios as it’s literally a two minute stroll away. Everything we ordered was delicious! Service was polite and quick. And the ambience was lovely in this hot weather. We sat in the courtyard which we’d not done before and by the time we left just after 7pm all the tables were full - the good word has clearly spread…so book in advance!

Delicious food-really lovely flavours for vegans but the meat eaters enjoyed it as well. Great coffee. The only thing is the tables for 2 people are too small and even though restaurant was empty with just 4 tables they kept putting people on the small tables.

This would be 4.5 stars of Google allowed it. Very nice interior design. Quick service. Lovely wine and great food. Had a great time for my girlfriend’s birthday.

5 star for this establishment. I came here 10 years ago and my great experience then was matched, if not better this time round. Staff are very warm and friendly. Food is so delicious. I had a vegan tagine option. I left feeling very good.

Like an old friend that I hadn't seen for ages! The joy of being able to choose from a whole menu of tasty sounding veggie dishes- very reasonably priced and varied lunch menu. Lovely airy room, food delicious and the chilled rose was lovely.

Fantastic vegetarian food, great service. Hidden away in the courtyard of a listed building near the Apollo Hammersmith, well worth hunting out, absolute gem of a restaurant. Highly recommend.

staff kept forgetting our food and drinks and we didn’t even get half the things we ordered, even when we asked again for them. severely understaffed place, always waiting ages. the food was only ok - the gnocchi wasn’t actually gnocchi. it’s also not super clear that things are vegan as it just says plant based some places and vegan others but still says cheese and cream on the menu? portions very small for the cost too.

Waitress was surprised to see us arrive and we were the only patrons. Lunch menu had 4 items - very boring selection of a beetroot burger, a katsu curry, cold Asian noodles and a tagine. Absolutely no imagination or originality in sight. Side of sweet potato wedges I had were burnt yet cold. Side of roasted cauliflower wasn’t roasted and had what looked like 1000 island dressing on it but was completely tasteless. Green leaf salad was actually a mixed salad with little gem lettuce, tomatoes and cucumber with a cloying mustard dressing. No green leaves in sight. Beetroot burger was strangely served on a black napkin, bun wasn’t fresh. Burger tasted ok. The Gate has fallen so far that it should be renamed The Gate to Hell. It’s such a pity to see an institution like this serving up this rubbish and not even being able to apologise when it’s pointed out to them.

Fantastic food and value. Menu is contemporary and diverse and the food is executed with attention to detail and great taste. Definitely be back.

Flawless. We have been coming here for the past 25 years and having not visited for a little while am pleased to say that it is still excellent. Had the beetroot burger with polenta fries and a cheesecake for dessert. Highly recommended.

Not only super tasty vegan food but also sophisticated/rare to find dishes. Plus homemade with natural ingredients. Service is great too. Anytime again!!

I can't believe I went to a vegetarian restaurant and enjoyed the food without wishing I had a meat of fish option.

Wow as others have noted what a hidden vegan/ vegetarian gem. The food was so fresh and tasty. Excellent menu ( brunch menu on Saturday). A nice light filled restaurant with some outdoor tables if the weather is good in a courtyard at the front. The polenta chips were big and well cooked. As a vegan this place will now become a favourite of mine. Cannot wait to return.

Atmosphere was great and the staff were lovely when you were able to get their attention. There was, unfortunately, no outside seating on a 25 degree day and the service was incredibly slow. The food was presented amazingly however was tasteless and overpriced. The burger was almost £20 with no fries or salad and the seitan shawarma was bland with a serving no bigger than a palm sized bowl. The cost wouldn’t have been an issue if not the food having been so poor in taste.

Highly recommended - friendly staff, super tasty vegan food. Will visit them again in my next visit to London.

Simply superb 🏆 Amazingly good vegan food. Wonderful premises and atmosphere. And last but not least, lovely staff. Just close your eyes and pick something, anything from the imaginative and concise menu. And rest assured it will be delicious. That’s how good the food is. One word of advice, be sure to try the vegan tiramisu. It’s yummy 😋

Terrible service, poor communication. Food was dire ie fruit crumble uncooked, the fruit that is, too sugary and the oats cold, sharp, uncooked. Terrible value for money and pretentious.

Delicious food in a lovely space.

I will start honestly, in stating that I don't usually go to places of this price range to eat! However, I was absolutely stunned by how GOOD the food was! The flavours had been incredibly well thought out and the presentation was beautiful too, I really can't fault it. It was so hard to choose a dish too because everything sounded so so yummy!! I went for the moussaka because it's one of my all time favourites and it exceeded my expectations and finished it off with a sticky toffee pudding- which was equally good! The space itself was sooo pretty so much natural sunlight streaming though. It was a lovely environment to sit in.

Very tasty vegetarian food. Service a bit slow but they were pretty busy when we arrived.. The lighting was verging on horrible - easy fix surely? Music was annoying - again - an easy fix but both of these things did have a negative effect for me on the whole experience.

Great to visit a restaurant which has been paving the way in vegan cooking for decades! The starters were divine (10/10) and the sales and polenta chips were amazing! The shawarma was slightly disappointing for the price. The flatbread seemed like a shop brought pitta and spices were not quite rights. However, the cauliflower setan had a great texture!

Wow this place is a gem! I am visiting from the US and for a non-vegetarian, I really enjoyed their high quality fresh dinner. It exceeded all my expectations and highly recommend to try it. The staff were wonderful and super friendly. The atmosphere was perfectly cozy and you will not be disappointed.

A vegetarian delight hidden snuggly in Hammersmith. The food is MVP. Most vegetarian pleasures you can imagine! Everything tastes fresh, delish and nutritious. The miso aubergine is a winner and polenta chips disappeared before a pic could be clicked. The high ceilings and centric windows to the sky add to a lovely ambience during the day. This place deserves all the plaudits and recognition for keeping it 💚.

This has been on my list of eateries to visit when I come to London for several years...always keen try inventive cooking. I came for lunch and from the limited menu chose the Shawarma in Pitta...nothing to write home about. Oh, how I miss Gaby's in Leicester Square.

Interesting and up-market vegetarian and vegan food at a price.

Absolutely perfect! I highly recommend, especially for vegans and vegetarians :)

Really lovely 40th birthday meal for my sister, attentive staff, quiet relaxed atmosphere and great vegetarian food. Would highly recommend.

Great food, great cocktails, love the decor and setting and great service - what's not to like!

This was our first time back in a year and an enjoyable evening. Food is good, tasty and a good choice on offer. We asked which puddings were made in house and were advised that all were- however we remain unconvinced that the cheesecake we had was made anywhere near the restaurant! Service is ok

First time at The Gate and loved it. The food is amazing, nice service too. Will definitely return

The service is absolutely brilliant. The food is lovely. Will 100% be back. Even got a lovely surprise for the birthday girl.

A lovely place. Hidden in a quiet street in Hammersmith. Staff were very friendly and accomodating. The food was lovely and beautifully presented. If going to the Apollo theatre this is the perfect place to eat before going to the theatre.

I never do restaurant reviews - I am doing it because I want to see more people eating at THE GATE. There were four of us, we all loved our food. My wild mushrooms were delicious, the four different desserts were all yummy. The service was excellent. I have been eating at THE GATE for years, it was always quite good, then it disappeared during COVID and now it’s better than ever. It was half empty last night (yes, Tuesday evening) - how is it possible that so many mediocre restaurants in Hammersmith and Chiswick are full and THE GATE is not?

Food was really nice couldn’t fault it.. However staff (2 guys) Were very nice but totally lacked skills in hospitality,we literally had to ask for drinks, ask for butter,ask for black pepper… When our drinks were empty they never came to ask us if we want anymore,I mean seriously a 3 course meal and 1 drink! They brought starters that wasn’t ours up to our table… Come on Gate restaurant look at all these reviews and train your staff..

Food took an hour to arrive and card machine was broken at the time of my visit. Staff was very apologetic. Decent vegetarian food for regular meat eaters

This Hammersmith stalwart has stood the test of time. I highly recommend going whether plant based food is your thing or not. You can be assured of fresh, tasty inspiring food and will leave feeling great. Verdict: ★★★★★ Type: VEGAN Recommend: YES Price Point: $$ Ambiance: CONVIVIAL Vegetarian Options: ALL VEGAN Vegan Options: 100% VEGAN Need to book? YES Will I return? YES

Only go to this place if you don’t mind breaking the bank. While the ambience and waitress was extremely pleasant and nice, the food was really small portions and subpar at best. On top of that, the prices were very overpriced for the portions. I was even charged £4.50 for water and £6 for a small side of broccoli ! Not sure if I would visit again alone - way too expensive for my taste. I was sorely disappointed - not sure what all the hype is about.

Though I’m not vegan/vegetarian I really enjoyed my meat-free meal here. Starters were tasty as were the mains! Friendly staff.

The original restaurant. I've been to their other branches but first visit to Hammersmith. The food, service and atmosphere couldn't be faulted. This is vegetarian dining done properly. Highly recommend.

Excellent food! We had a delightful experience here- way above our expectations. Exquisite food and fantastic service and prices.

Revisit to this lovely restaurant food is superb, setting and atmos great. Staff friendly and helpful . Can't wait to go again.

Ein überwiegend veganes Restaurant - mit gutem Preis - Leistungsverhältnis

Excellent service and good food. Everything is vegan and the menu is small and well selected. Definitely worth a visit!

Starters were great and my girlfriend enjoyed her main although I found a hair in my food and subsequently couldn’t finished the rest of my meal. Found it quite hard to get the attention of someone to inform them of the hair, when I did so very lack lustre apology and nothing else offered. Left hungry and disappointed.

The food was tasty enough but the service was poor. Disinterested, surly staff who act like they’re doing you a favour by serving you. Other reviews have said similar, please sort it out!

Food was good. Service was mediocre. Atmosphere not much to talk about. Same song or songs on repeat. I can easily get the same meals at the same or better quality for less than half the exorbitant prices they charge here. I won't be returning.

My second time eating at The Gate and my experience was much the same as before. The atmosphere and service were nothing to write home about and, like other reviewers, I found the 12.5% service charge undeserved. The staff were courteous but not warm. As a solo diner I felt quite uncomfortable being placed on a table for 2, all of which were lined up down the middle of the restaurant, especially when the place was almost empty. The food was delicious although I felt the starter was seriously overpriced for something so small. They also need to ditch the crumbling, dusty dried flower. Currently undecided about whether or not to return which is a real shame.

The food was very fresh and tasty. The presentation was amazing. One of my friend's is a non vegetarian so was skeptical to have dinner, but completely changed the thought that also vegetarian food is delicious. Hoping to dine with family in the future

I’m not vegan but my husband is. I’m hard pressed to go to fully vegan places with him normally but thought we’d give it a go. Had a lovely date night here a week ago. The starter of crispy courgette flowers and the main of chipotle mushrooms were well worth the cost and were sublime. Really enjoyed our night out here, and would happily have another. I love how vibrant and plentiful the vegan scene has become in London, so many great places to try out of which this, I hope, is the first!

I'm really sad to write this review but hope it will be read by the Managers and staff so they can make the necessary changes to return this restaurant to its historic high standard. The staff are not engaging, it felt more like catching their attention. There was no interaction about the food. The menu seemed much shorter than in the last 15 years I've been going to this restaurant. The bread and the olives were lovely. My starter was a tart which was disappointing but ok. I ordered the Beetroot burger because I've had it before. They were worlds apart ! This one was dry, tasteless, and served on a very nasty bread roll that looked like it had been brought at the last minute in a corner shop. Previous experiences were amazing the burger was succulent, full of flavour and served with cheese and tasty chutney with amazing flavour. When I complained and showed them the picture of the previous burger I'd had there, the waiter said "We've changed the recipe"! You can see from the pictures below just how different these were. In fairness they replaced the meal with a moussaka, however that wasn't really what I wanted and there wasn't a lot of choice. Please sort this out because I always think of you as the best vegetarian restaurant in London !

Lovely little place with superb food, just a shame about the staff who could hardly raise a smile and were either extremely unknowledgeable or just completely disinteressted in their clientele, particularly the waitress.

The food was great! They even let me change my scrambled eggs for scrambled tofu. Amazing quality and lovely coffee as well. Atmosphere was okay not special, service was great though. Very friendly.

I originally came to this place knowing that they are autism friendly (through national autistic society autism friendly restaurant) and my experience with them has exceeded my expectations. Not only is the food great quality, but the atmosphere is spot on! On top of these, their service is exceptional and the server with the blonde hair and glasses is the absolute best! 🙂

A wonderful experience! The food, the wine and the service was quite excellent. Vegetarian and vegan heaven ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Rude wait staff, missing ingredients to make drinks and when the drink was delivered, no apology or discount offered. Tables not well spaced. Food was very hot and miss. Overly processed mock meats were sub par.

Food nothing like as good as it used to be and cashless because of covid? That's ridiculous now and very inconvenient.

Starter was fine, the main was not hot. An Aubergine, potatoes with other 'stuff' - very middle of the road for the Gate. Average presentation and bit bland. My husband had the Cordon Blue, which had overcooked broccoli and a sort of breadcrumbed vegan steak with tofu. Tasted ok but not Gate standard. When did the Gate start serving over cooked broccoli!. For dessert I had rhubarb tart, which was a pastry case with some goop in it , stewed rhubarb and wierd gellified rhubarb sauce around it. Reminded me of something my granny would cook up in the 70's.I couldn't eat it. To add the service was very average. I felt disappointed, we've been going to.the Gate for 20 years, haven't been for a year. I get the financial constraints restaurants are under but I'm still left disappointed by this experience. Not sure if we'll go back. Quite expensive as well.

Lovely vegetarian food and good service.

The food was excellent as ever and the service was very good.

We were in this part of town for a 9.00 pm event at the Hammersmith Apollo, just next door. While the show was great, perhaps even more memorable was the food at this restaurant. My wife and I agreed that this was one of the best vegetarian meals we’d ever tasted. And in such a beautiful, bright, and airy venue. Service was also terrific: friendly, helpful, and genuine. Well worth giving this a try, particularly if you happen to be going to the Apollo.

Really amazing plant-based restaurant in Hammersmith. We had excellent service so not sure why some past reviews had negative experiences. Our waitress was really lovely and engaging! Great find!

A superb vegetarian-vegan jewel near the river in West London with a courtyard garden and a very friendly atmosphere. One of the oldest and best vegetarian restaurants in town, yet to be discovered by many. The founders still own and run it and keep the menu at reasonable price. The recipes are inspiring and the owners’ imaginative vegetarian cook books are excellent souvenirs. A little known London favourite.

One amazing experience! Totally worthy every penny. The food was delicious and I can say is the best vegetarian I have tried in the uk. Every plate is exquisite and enjoyable. The atmosphere is really nice and the people working are really patient and friendly. Highly recommend!!

Great vegetarian spot in Hammersmith! Variety of options and very flavourful, they also have a lovely terrace which is nice in the warmer months or when UK weather decides to cooperate

So we returned to this restaurant, has been a while, we did visit the gate in Marylebone just before it closed. New menu for us, I tried the artichoke tart, which was lovely, i followed with the Cordon Blue, I was a little disappointed, it was nice but not great, probably chose the most boring main on the menu. Dessert was a chocolate moose which was excellent. Restaurant was quiet for a Friday night but then its the first Friday of the summer holidays.

Hammersmith can be a bit too urban sometimes- after all, its centre is a shopping centre in a roundabout- but the Gate is an oasis set in a relic of old Hammersmith. You enter through a garden at the side of a church. The house of a famous painter overlooks. Upstairs, the restaurant has a beautiful artist’s studio window in a high ceiling room- the vibe is very like Glasgow’s Ubiquitous Chip. The vegetarian food is high quality, thoughtful and beautifully presented, with a special call out to the desserts, always in my experience a great asset in top notch vegetarian restaurants, and so it proves here. Short, well chosen mid priced wine list. The staff were friendly, got us to out show on time, and the ambiance calm and grownup. Will return.

Been a while since I have been to The Gate but when I knew I needed a special place for lunch in Hammersmith there wasn't a hesitation in booking. Does not sisappint. Brilliant, thank you.

Lovely food and nice service, we sat outside and felt that atmosphere was a little low, needed music playing! We found ourselves talking quietly as to not disturb other tables, food was delicious and came out very quickly! 5* for that. I thoroughly enjoyed the beetroot burger and my partner enjoyed the Mexican plate. Still would recommend and would return!

I’ve given 4 for the food. The main and vegan tiramisu dessert were delicious and beautifully presented. The only negative is the staff - in that they don’t engage with you at all, the female staff never smiling. This stuff matters - you only realise it does when it’s not there! Good luck the Gate, your food is lovely and outdoor space is great (tho Be fab to add loadsa flowers and more plants and turn into a true oasis.)

The food quality is up to the price, really good. Service was great.

Fantastic food. Dessert let it down a bit but otherwise lovely.

What a pity I did not think to read some of the negative reviews expressed accurately by others. I regret having to be so critical as the hidden (actually easy to overlook) Hammersmith location should be idyllic and the menu has some tasty options, the service was truly the most forgettable experience I have endured at any restaurant in London. And I live in W6 so I truly wanted to love this place! The staff simply have no sense of urgency, no interest in engaging customers and no appreciation of the most basic standards of service. By the time our meal was coming to a very welcome conclusion, there were merely a handful of tables still occupied but our main courses still took an eternity to arrive. We had to ask repeatedly for simple things like bread - and our courses. Rather than attend to us and the few remaining customers, the staff seemed more interested in cleaning up to close for the night. I wish for the sake of others that some enterprising person might read this and shake things up, but given the zombie outfit I witnessed, I have little hope anyone will care. At least save yourself and your savings by eating at home. Or alternatively try any number of fabulous Asian options along Kings in W6 as they are chock full of vegetarian dishes on their menus and the staff are there to welcome and serve you.

Had a lovely evening, service and ambience were great. We ordered practically all the starters (except for bread and olives)- the food was lovely. The only reason I have taken one star away on food is because of the wedges which is the only side we ordered, they were a bit overdone and just generally clunky, didn’t feel like as much thought had gone into them.

We visited here before a show at the Apollo so were a bit tight for time but found the staff here to be detached and slow. Food was good but I was also not happy with the hidden charges of a mandatory service fee for this poor service and £5 for water so I'm afraid I could not recommend it.

Some of the food was really phenomenal (smoked artichoke tarte <3)… some tasted like nothing (Tiramisu). Service was kind of Mixed: very friendly and helpful to us, while not cleaning the tables around us for nearly an hour. Alltogether we would defintly come back.

This is the fifth time I ate at the Gate Vegetarian Restaurant in Hammersmith. It never disappoints. I had the vegan schnitzel and vegan tiermisu for desert. One of my friends had the beetroot burger

The staff need training. We were not welcomed, we were not asked whether we enjoyed our food, it almost appeared as if it was a chore to serve their customers. The food was nice but you can have the best product in the world but if your customer service sucks it will ruin the experience. We won’t be coming back.

Amazing vegan food - we sat in the courtyard which was lovely and cool and peaceful. Wonderful service. Will come back.

The food never disappoints at The Gate. I had king oyster mushrooms to start and moussaka for main and they were both delicious. Our friends had the crispy courgette flower, smoked artichoke tart and the Mexican plate and all were faultless. We were lucky that it was a beautiful evening and had a table outside which was lovely. The only element which let our experience down was the service. We had a 615 sitting so early and not super busy but service was incredibly slow, so much so that we had to skip dessert. Such a shame.

Used to love this restaurant and have been many times. We went again about 18 months ago and had a shocking overall experience - rude staff, small table for five, limited food and no Prosecco (therefore no cocktails!). Decided to give it another (last) chance three days ago. Again awful. Poor food, no ambience, surly staff - our waitress didn’t welcome us or crack a smile all evening. Also v overpriced. Shan’t be going back

Absolutely one of the best dining experiences we’ve had; the selection was superb with perfectly complemented flavours and textures through each dish. We loved it so much we went for 3 courses and yea and coffee. Expensive but we’ll worth every penny. It’s hard to prepare vegan and veggie dishes to such a high standard. It takes a real talent to nail it like this.

Super decent vegetarian and vegan food. The staff are cool and the restaurant has school hall vibes. Good people, good food.

Staff is amazing, really welcoming, the environment is really nice. They have a beautiful garden and for winter days they have heaters. We ordered Hirata Bun but it was just one bun for £9 so this was a bit unexpected. American pancakes are really delicious except there was too much maple syrup. You might want to ask it on the side.

Sorry to say but dinner was a bit of a disappointment. I probably visit a couple of times a year over last 15 years and consistently good. But this week, main courses were dull and stodgy - veg wellington had doughy pastry, lump of mash potato and was just boring. We left food on our plates which really shouldn't happen here. Cheesecake for pudding another let down - the top layer of fruit was as hard as if it had been 'gelatined' and was totally tasteless. Had to send it back. Overall, didn't feel food was 'loved'. Shame. Will of course try again, but want some zing next time!