Shanti Café is a vegetarian café and bistro that is highly acclaimed for having ‘the best lentil dahl’. But this unique restaurant in Saltburn-by-the-Sea has so much more to offer than just vegetarian food.
Beginning as a street-food stall at their local farmers market, owners Julie Easley and Kathryn Shaw opened their doors in the newly renovated Earthbeat Centre in August 2015. Together they committed to feeding the public with fresh, wholesome food – and a promise to pride themselves on generous portions: “Going hungry is not an option!” With a mostly vegan menu (including wines and ales!) that varies from day to day, the food at Shanti is made fresh on site with local and organic ingredients.
‘Shanti’ translates to peace and tranquillity in the classical language of Sanskrit and Shanti Café has a wonderful community ethos; welcoming customers into a calming, child and dog-friendly atmosphere. Yet that’s not all, as Shanti is a respected arts and cultural venue for music events, poetry and art exhibitions in the region.
Beyond displaying local artists on their walls and continuing to host local musicians and poets since their first year, their events are becoming increasingly popular. They recently hosted international sound poet Jaap Blonk which was one of the only chances to see him outside of London.
Every other month the café holds a funded event called ‘DiVerse’ which exhibits exciting and thought-provoking performances via a ‘platform for other Voices; poets who are women, LGBT+, visibly and invisibly disabled, artists of colour or offer a perspective that differs from the mainstream.’
One of the audience members at a recent DiVerse event commented: “In the two years I’ve been doing this, I’ve done loads of gigs around the region at just about every venue. Last night was very special and easily one of the best. It’s a wonderful venue with a great community spirit.”
Speaking to one of the owners, Julie Easley, she emphasised how they had always wanted the café to be a hub for local talent: “For us, it is important to support local talent. Teesside has such a vibrant and thriving poetry/music scene and we hope to become an essential part of that. We want Shanti Café to be an essential venue where performers feel valued.”
You can find Shanti Café at the Earthbeat Centre in Saltburn-by-the-Sea on Marske Road.
For news, events and tickets, visit facebook.com/shantibistro.
To display art or perform at Shanti, contact jkshanti@outlook.com.
