Tucked away next to Central St Martins, amidst the cranes and rising concrete of the revamped Kings Cross, is the Grain Store, a beautiful restaurant in a converted warehouse. Ravers who used to congregate here at Bagleys and the Cross would be struck at the change.

You might struggle to find this restaurant, but once inside you'll be glad you persevered. It is spacious, light and well-decorated, blending the industrial charm of the building with eclectic modern touches. It feels like somewhere for elaborate cocktails in expensive outfits, and there's a bar area at the front for just that.

We applaud the fact that their menu has at least one APF (Animal Product Free) starter, main course and dessert, which frankly is a rarity in London. If you're anything like us, and get swamped in indecision and want to order absolutely everything on the menu, then a barrier to choice anxiety is far from a bad thing.

Our criticism is that if you're going to try and appeal to vegans who are bored with bland, vegetarian mush, then you need to ensure that your dishes are carefully thought out and not simply vegetarian options with the dairy on the side. The main course of chilli with vegetables and wild rice was neither spicy nor that satisfying, for our £11.50. Its presentation was cute and the wild rice crunchy and salty but as it was the only APF option on the menu and advertised with sour cream, we expected something specifically APF rather than being told that the vegetarian parts came as side dishes, and so we could simply leave them on the side. Chill with rice and sour cream became vegetables and rice.

We hoped things might improve for dessert. The APF dessert option sounded innovative and tempting: kaffir lime and coconut tapioca. We could see kaffir lime being zingy and refreshing on a hot summer day, but perhaps it was the lack of London heatwave that left us feeling slightly let down.

We are however ever optimistic. The staff were helpful and happy, and the decor is a delightful change from the usual dour surroundings of a vegan cafe. Our veggie dining friends did have, so we were told, delicious main courses. So we just seemed like 'difficult, hard to please vegans' once again. *Sigh* Not our intention!

We'd love to come back, and will when there are some more APF options on offer which are specifically created as APF dishes rather than being afterthoughts.

We’ll come right out and say it at the start. We love the Gate, Islington. It doesn't always get a mention in other vegan guides, but that’s a shame. Maybe other reviewers baulk at the price (£12 to £15) for a main course, or maybe they’re out of their comfort zone when the food is beautifully presented, and vegetables are fresh and identifiable and not mushed together in a giant vegetable surprise bake. Whatever the reason, you are really missing out if you don’t get yourself to the Gate at least once.

If we had a criticism, it would be that the starters and desserts surpassed the main courses. The thali was, well, a thali (and didn’t beat anything that could be found in Drummond Street) and the confit of artichoke salad was primarily a pile of greens, with a hint of dressing...and at £12.50, we couldn't help but think: hmmm, should we have ordered something else? In that awful habit we all have when we feel restaurant food doesn’t quite meet expectations, our minds kept wondering how many store-bought salads could have been obtained for the same price.

Portions were a little on the minimal side, but a plate of hastily-ordered, delicious polenta fries rapidly stayed any hunger pangs. And what a joy those puddings were! If you’re a vegan who doesn’t cook, and is forced to scour the streets of London looking for your sugar fix, you’ll be well-familiar with the disappointed expectations induced by dry, brittle blocks masquerading as brownies and compacted, dense coagulations of soya margarine and sugar passing themselves off as fluffy Victoria sponges. You need to get yourself to the Gate, pronto!

Our desserts were sublime. So sublime they could compete in the non-vegan world. That ordinary world you thought you’d left behind forever when you promised your girlfriend you’d keep to her APF diet and became “Veganish”. Not a hint of carob, nor an aftertaste of tofu. If we had a favourite, it was the trifle. Rich and velvety, with strong fruit flavours. Great texture, but most of all that creamy taste that you yearn for when you think you’ve left behind dairy forever. We’ll stop before we feel compelled to jump on a No.38 to Islington for second helpings.