Lydia Turkish Kitchen in Gainsborough Street, Sudbury, is breath of fresh air for vegetarians and vegans

Myself, a vegetarian, and my friend, a vegan, decided to branch out this week and try a new restaurant in our hometown of Sudbury.

Meals out can be tricky for those with dietary requirements - you never quite know what you’re going to get and meat-less options are often a bit hit or miss.

This is not the case at Lydia Turkish Kitchen, however, as we found out when we visited for an evening meal on Thursday.

The Gainsborough Street restaurant is in a prime location in the town centre. With an impressive façade and well-kept exterior, we knew as soon as we wandered up to the door that we were in for a treat.

Welcomed in the entrance we were shown to our seats towards the back of the room close to the kitchen. Inside, the restaurant was both cosy and classy, with paintings, ornaments and intricate cream and gold walls that instantly transported you to across the continent.

We were shocked by how many meat-free choices were on the menu and racked our brains trying to choose. Eventually, we ordered appetisers of falafel and hummus, garlic mushrooms and filo pastry with spinach and feta.

All three choices came promptly, and were piping hot upon arrival. The falafel and hummus was our favourite choice - the dish tasted fresh and flavoursome and we were especially impressed with the chunky yet creamy texture of the hummus. It was the real deal.

The garlic mushrooms were deliciously seasoned and, while I am not the biggest fan of mushrooms typically, I enjoyed the herby, garlicky taste of the dish.

I had the filo pastries to myself, since the feta ruled my vegan friend out of a taste, and although I couldn't manage all four, they were just the right mixture of crunchy shell and creamy inside.

The remaining hummus was mopped up with complementary pitta bread which was soft and fresh.

By this point we were already suitably full as portions are generous, but we soldiered on as we wanted to try some of the tasty-looking mains on offer.

I opted for the halloumi kebab, which came with a portion of bulgur, which I had never tried before but was pleasantly surprised by, and a portion of rice as well as a kebab style salad.

The halloumi was the perfect texture, crispy on the outside and deliciously cheesy in the middle, and matched up perfectly with the tasty seasoning of the salad and the bulgur.

Even the rice, which I was anticipating to taste slightly plain, was cooked to perfection, sticky and moreish with a buttery taste.

My friend chose the asparagus vegan, a vegetable casserole dish made with asparagus, celery, artichoke, courgette, red pepper, tomato and garlic.

It was presented beautifully and the flavoursome vegetables made for a filling and whole meal, something vegan options sometimes lack in.

This dish also came with sides of rice and bulgar, and an extra portion of salad.

Most notably, the waiting staff were friendly, attentive and diligent, chatting to their regulars and asking customers how they were finding their courses.

The atmosphere in the restaurant was homely and welcoming. Music played softly so it was never silent and by about 7.30pm, most of the tables were filled with guests.

They also had an impressive wine and alcohol list to complement the meals.

The dishes were reasonably priced with our starters priced at £4.90 each and our mains £11.90 and £13.90 respectively. Our meal of three starters, two mains and two soft drinks came to just £51.15.

We feel we really hit the jackpot with our trip to Lydia Turkish Kitchen and we will be making a return trip very soon to try some different options we didn't manage to on Thursday.

There is something for everyone, our meat-eating friends would most definitely enjoy the menu as much as we did and the attentive and friendly staff made the experience memorable.

Star rating: *****