We face V-Face in Stoneybatter

After an unpromising start in the first lockdown, the owner of V-Face tells Nimra Ahmed about surviving the pandemic, the unusual name and the vegan menu.  

“It’s all about the people, the faces – our customers create the journey and we provide the delish food,” explains Sarah Boland, the owner of vegan joint V-Face.  

It might sound like hype, but customers are involved in planning V-Face’s menu. “It is about the customers. We base our menu on what our customers want. We do this through polls on social media and daily interaction with them,” says Boland.   

Previously a familiar food truck, V-Face had a permanent base. If you stroll down Brunswick Street in Stoneybatter, the clean brick faced glass windows of the building will definitely attract your attention.   

The interior is cheerful and bright yellow and black accents tying in with the modern menu and minimalistic look.   

The story of V–Face started in Peru, says Boland. “I was both motivated and impressed by the ‘less is more’ theory of restaurants. I was inspired by the clean lines of restaurants in poverty-stricken areas.  

“We opened  our doors to the public in May 2020, during the first lockdown. It was not how we had originally envisioned it. But it all worked out great in the end. It was pretty busy so it allowed us a chance to ease into it, as they say,” says Boland laughingly.  

“I was both motivated and impressed by the ‘less is more’ theory of restaurants. I was inspired by the clean lines of restaurants in poverty-stricken areas.”

SARAH BOLAND, OWNER OF V-FACE

“We are lucky that the business model is suited to both eating in and take-out, so for us the Covid period was always busy with take-out burgers, thankfully. And now, that the dining area is back open, that’s filled up also,” she says.  

With more people becoming more conscious about their health, veganism has seen a rise in popularity. Most of of V-Face’s food is prepared on the premises.  

“We outsource the burger patties but we make all of our sauces, sausage rolls, Kimchi and cookies in-house,” says Boland.  

Kimchi is a traditional Korean side dish of salted and fermented vegetables, such as napa cabbage and Korean radish, made with a widely varying selection of seasonings, including gochugaru, spring onions, garlic, ginger, and jeotgal.  

The most popular dish? “Mad D Lad is our vegan version of the Big Mac only better! It is served on a charcoal bun,”  says Boland.  

“Like many other joints our busiest days are on Friday and Saturday nights,” says Boland.   

What are your plans? “Business is good, here’s to more V-Faces on the horizon,” says Boland.  

“It was a shaky start during the pandemic. But we never shut the doors once we opened. We kept going with take-away and built a hatch onto the kitchen where Deliveroo and Just Eat drivers could easily access the food,” says Boland.  

Now things seem to be going back to normal, so V-Face employees “wear a mask and gloves. Surfaces are sanitised regularly. We have a Covid check-in desk where QR codes are required to show customers have been vaccinated.”  

Keeping up with the times and the competition of vegan places springing up like mushrooms, Boland has embraced social-media marketing. 

“We often regularly do giveaways on Instagram. There is also a continuous promotion for student meals of a burger and fries for €10 or 10% off anything you like,” says Boland.   

There are many options besides burgers if this is not your cup of tea. The wings are a total surprise but highly delicious. They are made of mushrooms or cauliflower, and you cannot tell between the vegan version and the others.    

Their menu is available online.