As an autistic adult, I hate going out to eat. Dishes clattering, forks scraping, people chattering, kids screaming… restaurants are a sensory hell. For years now, I’ve been ordering takeaway food to avoid the ordeal.
But there is one restaurant that dares to be different. Five minutes away from Angel station, The Gate Islington is a plant-based restaurant with 35 years of history. It was awarded the UK’s first autism-friendly restaurant in 2016 by the National Autistic Society for its partnerships with local charities. Eight years on, however, I couldn’t help feeling suspicious – does it still live up to its reputation?
I booked a Sunday brunch with my boyfriend, hoping for some relaxed indulgence before a stressful week. The manager kindly reserved two seats in the upper section, which they said is more secluded and suitable for people with specific needs. All key staff are trained to help autistic people, too. Other than this, I couldn’t find much information online about why the restaurant is autism-friendly apart from a visiting guide page for autistic people, which had an error 404.
I wasn’t expecting to visit a museum, but I didn’t expect to be greeted by a noisy ballroom of people, upon arrival. The waitress almost forgot our reserved seats. As I squeezed through the disarray of tables, chairs, and jackets, I felt like I was in my high school’s cafeteria.
The upper section was no different – all tables were full. Sitting opposite my boyfriend and less than half a metre away, I couldn’t make out what he said without him shouting – at least we could see the business was really good.
The menu is mostly vegan with a few vegetarian choices. I ordered Huevos Rancheros – a wheat tortilla topped with salsa, refried beans, and eggs; my boyfriend ordered American-style pancakes with fruits and maple syrup and a cappuccino.
Our food arrived promptly. To start with the positives, the plating was great. Banana slices, berries, and pansy flowers danced around two fluffy pancakes stacked together, leaving a trail of jam behind. The only downside was the maple syrup, which was drizzled on a corner of the pancakes like someone’s last-minute afterthought.
My tortilla was stove-heated and golden with a hint of warm spices, melting in my mouth like savoury wafers. The two eggs were fried, crispy on the edges and not greasy, but I would have preferred the yolks to be runnier. Lacking the thick milk foam and topped with a disturbing amount of cocoa powder, the cappuccino was underwhelming.
People hate it when their food doesn’t match the description. For autistic people, the need for certainty is higher and we do interpret the menu literally. My boyfriend’s pancakes were topped with vegan cream that tasted like a condensed version of Alpro’s single soya – not bad, but I’d prefer it to be specified on the menu. The refried beans on the tortilla, to my disappointment, were replaced with whole black beans mixed with salsa. At this point, I had no idea why the restaurant was rated autism-friendly – maybe they had decided to move on.
We paid the bill and headed back out into the driving rain, which felt refreshing after an hour in a sea of indistinguishable chatter. The Gate Islington is still the best plant-based restaurant I’ve ever been to, but next time, I would crawl back to my studio apartment for a less nerve-wracking dining experience.
