Plymouth restaurant closes after just a year

A Plymouth vegan restaurant has closed after just a year - blaming rising costs. The Veg Patch was described as “a vegan haven in the heart of Mutley”.

It only opened in October last year, but has now shut with its owner saying it had become too difficult to keep his “dream” business operating. In a post on Facebook, Ash Hough said: “Unfortunately I come here with sad news today. I have made the tough decision to close the doors of The Veg Patch with immediate effect.

“It has been an incredible journey with some amazing moments along the way but over the last few months it has become difficult to manage and continue each day with overheads always growing. Thank you to everyone who has supported me and visited over the last year and a bit, I really appreciate every person who came in and helped realise this dream.”

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The plant-based eatery opened in Mutley Plain in a unit that was once a Costa after Mr Hough expanded from a smaller operation in Plymouth Market. He had opened The Vegan Lunch Co in the autumn of 2022 but saw it grow out of its small unit in the market and into much larger premises on the high street.

In October 2023 he told PlymouthLive the Veg Patch was “a dream come true”. The business got off to a good start. It started hosting musical evenings from artists such as Luke Middleton, Jon Fazal and Cat Rose, and Jamie Yost.

It served coffee and cakes, as well as meals, offering breakfasts, small plates, burgers, pastas, salads, loaded fries and other mains such as peanut butter pad thai and mushroom and red wine Bourgignon, plus desserts. As recently as September, the Veg Patch was advertising a Christmas menu, offering mains of roasted and stuffed butternut squash, lentil and mushroom stew and roasted cauliflower.

There was also a range of artwork on display at the restaurant, from Plymouth artists such as Jeff Hibbert and Agnieszka Zajac, with many of the works being for sale.

Prior to starting his own business, Mr Hough worked at Plymouth’s Pier One and Pier Masters House. He had been vegetarian, for environmental reasons but switched to vegan after just six months when he found he was eating too much dairy.

In March 2023, the Seed Sip vegan restaurant, which opened in Plymouth’s Grade II listed former mortuary, closed after just six months. The business, at Bretonside, shut after being hit with rising costs and a reduction in trade.

But other vegan eateries continue to thrive. Cosmic Kitchen, the family-run vegan eatery in the Thomas Mission Hall in Palace Street,originally opened in Stonehouse in 2019 before relocating. It went on to be named one of the best vegan restaurants in the world by Tripadvisor.

Dimpsy’s Diner opened in June 2023 in Mayflower Steet. It has a 1960s Americana theme serving plant-based food including burgers, hotdogs, milkshakes, deep fried Oreos, Coke floats, American pies and more.

The team behind the award-winning Hedgerow Hound found a permanent home when the family-run operation opened the Hedgerow Cafe in Plymouth Market - in the unit vacated when Mr Hough expanded. The plant-based business put down roots after moving between locations and popping up at festivals and events.

And the Almanac Cafe, in Batter Street, began trading a year ago above the Jar Zero Waste shop. Helen Hubbard and her sister Caroline said they aimed “to showcase just how tasty simple, seasonal, plant-based dishes can be”.

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