Andreea Carlan
You might come one day and try our “all you can eat” buffet full of goodies; you might come a week later and try the same buffet with either less dishes or more but still the same fresh taste. If you are lucky enough you’ll get a vegan “cakegasm” with one of our signature cakes. This is Mon Way Bistro & Cocktail Bar, on Mill Lane in West Hampstead, London. We cook our way or no way.
Mon Way Bistro & Cocktail Bar is a team of 5 “Picasso”es, each one wearing what I like to call Mon Way Stamp, a stamp of quality, fun and good vibes. From the beginning we refused to be too boring to cook meat and we went for vegan & vegetarian food. It is funnier to play with vegetables, seasonings and colours. In the end we guarantee you’ll be healthier, well fed and looking like A. Jolie & G. Clooney. The idea behind Mon Way is more of an experience: I would like that all my guests to feel the way I feel at home: cosy, nice fresh food, tasty drinks and a big and welcoming smile from those providing it.
I am Eastern European. We survived on agriculture. We used to be Europe’s no. 1 wheat supplier.
Our ancestor used to walk miles for the harvest; harvest that would have fed the cattle during winter time. I don’t remember my grandma having a barbecue for lunch. She was having cottage cheese with cream cheese & polenta made an evening before. For dessert she used to have apples & pears from “next door”orchards. This was lunch for a day out working the fields. She was walking 2 hours and mowing 4; she couldn’t afford to waste energy on carrying food.
I am from a Christian – orthodox family. We used to fasten 16 to 20 weeks a year, which means almost half of the year depending on when Easter was each year. We survived without any animals on our tables; we were healthier and skinnier and this is how we grew: healthy & organic and absolutely no one died on starvation. We only ate as much as we needed.
Starting Mon Way Bistro & Cocktail Bar made me go back to my roots, bring them back on the table and add a bit of a personal myself.
