The cafe, established in 1979, specialises in vegan and vegetarian dishes Simon Lock

Rainbow Cafe, King’s Parade’s vegetarian and vegan restaurant, will close next week after more than thirty years of business.

In a Facebook post on Saturday morning, owners Sharon and Willem Meijland thanked customers, announcing that their last day of business would be Sunday 26th November.

The Rainbow Cafe, located on King’s Parade, was established in 1979 with the aim of being a restaurant “where there is not cruelty to animal or human”. The cafe was taken over by Sharon Meijland in 1988, and, since 1995, has been run by her and her husband Willem.

The cafe was re-named The Rainbow in the same year when it was refurbished, named after the song ‘Somewhere over the Rainbow’, composed by Harold Arlen.

Rainbow Cafe reached notoriety in 2016 when it was subject to national media scrutiny after refusing to accept the Bank of England’s new polymer £5 notes. Mrs Meijland refused the notes on the basis that they contained tallow, an animal by-product.


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Using locally sourced and sustainable ingredients, Rainbow Cafe has been nationally recognised for its popular vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free options, and its carrot cake has been endorsed by food writer Nigel Slater. The cafe also came runners-up in The Observer Food Monthly Awards each year between 2014 and 2017 in the category of ‘Best Ethical Restaurant’. 

In their post on the cafe’s Facebook page, Mr and Mrs Meijland explained that they had “searched for a long time” in an attempt to find someone to take over the business, but had been “tragically unsuccessful”.

They ended their post by thanking their customers and saying that “it has been an amazing experience making interesting Gluten Free Food to please everyone, but unfortunately All Good Things must have an end.”