Top 10: Unexpected Vegan Dishes in London + Where to Eat ThemBy Alicia Grimshaw
Looking for the best vegan places in London? Discover London’s best vegan restaurants and fast food in our latest guide. Forget boring salads and limp sides, vegan food never looked so good:
1. For a Vegan Kebab: What the Pitta
Order: Vegan Doner Kebab – soy meat, salad and chilli sauce.
The Run-Down: What the Pitta has been spawning like rabbits across London. And for good reason. Where else can you get your mits on a warmed tortilla crammed full of spiced soy chunks, shredded salad, hummus, homemade tzatziki and chilli sauce. Since setting up at The Pump last year, word about What The Pitta travelled like hot non-meat products, and the gang now have a stand at Boxpark Shoreditch and Croydon. One of the best vegan places in London when you need something quick, delicious and filling.
Where: Locations here
2. For Vegan Fried ‘Chicken’: Temple of Hackney
Order: Two fried pieces with chips
The Run-Down: Street food stalwarts, Temple of Seitan are behind Temple of Hackney, London’s first vegan ‘chicken’ shop. Their bricks and mortar site opened this year, and London lapped it up like a moth to a flame. Forget the KFC mascot Colonel Sanders, the team are the real meat-free heroes; providing hungry punters somer of the best vegan eats in the capital. As the name suggests, Temple of Seitan specialise in one product: seitan. If you’re not familiar with seitan, it’s derived from the protein portion of wheat. Take a bite of their crispy, fried seitan doused in house dressing and nestle in a fluffy bap, and tell us that it doesn’t taste good. One of our favourite vegan places in London, for sure.
Where: 10 Morning Lane, London E9 6NA
Vegan Places in London: Unexpected Delights
3. For Vegan Pie and Mash: Young Vegans
Order: Pie and mash
The Run-Down: Pie and mash: a British teatime staple, a well-loved pre footie feed, and one of the most comforting food dishes around. Alright, pie and mash may not been seen as ‘fast food’, but Young Vegans are totally smashing it out the park with their flaky, buttery pies packed full of wholesome ingredients. One of our favourite vegan places in London when you really fancy something different. Pies on offer include the spiced chickpea curry pie, and everyone’s favourite, the almighty shepherd’s pie – with no sheep and more veggies. The mash is a silky, smooth blanket of potato heaven, and swamped with rich, gravy. Pukka Pie ain’t got nothing on these guys.
Where: Locations here
4. For a Vegan Burger: Mooshies London
Order: What’s your beef?
The Run-Down: We feel your struggle; you mates want to grab a burger, but any sort of vegan bite on the menu is a dry falafel monstrosity that no amount of added condiments can even save. Enter Mooshies London, a 100% vegan burger bar that has four plant-based burgers on the menu, all of which are stacked high, and taste absurdly delicious. Their Brick Lane branch bang out some of the finest vegan creations in the capital, including the AT team favourite – the fillet-0m-phish featuring battered aubergine, homemade tartare sauce, nori seaweed, vegan cheese and lettuce. They’re open till 11pm on Saturday – an ideal spot before sinking a few bevvies in East London.
Where: 104 Brick Ln, London E1 6RL
5. For Vegan Burritos: Club Mexicana
Order: Jackfruit Burrito
The Run-Down: Club Mexicana are the trailblazers on the London vegan street food scene. Co-Founder Meriel Armitage left her job and retired from the world of advertising to jump into the kitchen and set about changing the perception of vegan food in London; alongside her partner Lois, Club Mexicana was born. One of the best vegan places in London, inspired by the diverse food scene in cities including LA, New York and San Francisco, Meriel set out to capture the vibrancy of Mexican food. And boy, the food they serve is legendary. The jackfruit burrito has become a Club Mexicana icon – hunky, hearty and totally moreish.
Where: Locations here
Vegan Places in London: Beyond the Salad
6. For Vegan Chinese: Loving Hut
Order: Crispy aromatic veggie ‘duck’
The Run-Down: Loving Hut is an international chain of vegan food restaurants inspired by Supreme Master, Ching Hai. The Chinese restaurant has the kitch oriental decor down to a tee – think plastic flowers, fake decorations and other wall hangings. Look past the decor, and feast on their all you can eat lunch time buffet boasting trays of wok fried noodles, veggies and meat alternatives. One of the best vegan places in London when you’re on a budget, the food here is so inexpensive, you definitely get more spring rolls for your British buck.
Where: 669 Holloway Rd, Archway, London N19 5SE
7. For Vegan Pizza: FED by Water
Order: Madtre Natura – pizza with beetroot cream, cashew cheese, aubergine, artichokes, pepper, courgette, portobello mushrooms and cherry tomatoes.
The Run-Down: Italian food is a vegan nightmare; cheesy garlic bread, boards of meaty antipasti, and creamy pasta sauces, but the team at FED by Water rustle up vegan Italian bites that would make your Grandma Norma dig in for seconds. The restaurant focuses on an alkaline Mediterranean plant based diet that encourages healthy living, and they totally overhauled their menu last year to a fully vegan offering. One of the best vegan places in London for Italian food; there’s everything from bruschetta to pizza, pasta and delicious sharing starters.
Where: Dalston Cross Shopping Centre, 64 Kingsland High St, London E8 2LX, UK
8. For Vegan Hotdogs: The Waiting Room
Order: New Yorker Hot Dog – vegan sausage, ketchup, mustard and crispy onions.
The Run-Down: The Waiting Room in Deptford is a vegan mecca. We first fell in love with this South London hangout when we inhaled one of their vegan sausage rolls. Tasting is believing. Seriously. Their menu is a meat-free dream – snack on their seitan fried wings before delving into their oh-my-days-I-can’t-believe-these-are-vegan hot dogs. And we know that coffee and hot dogs is a bizarre combo, but the Waiting room’s caffeine beauties are too good to miss.
Where: 142 Deptford High St, London SE8 3PQ
Photo Credit: Mindful Consumption
Vegan Places in London: Our Favourites
9. For Vegan Doughnuts: Peanut Butter Bakery
Order: Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich Doughnut
The Run-Down: There are doughnuts. And then there’s Peanut Butter Bakery’s doughnuts. This small-batch donutterie are turning the sweet treat game on its head thanks to their vegan brioche doughnuts. It’s an absolute flavour explosion, and a far cry from your simple iced ring variety. One of the best vegan places in London for sweet treats; the maple pecan, chai spiced, peanut butter and jelly sandwich are just a few delights on offer.
Where: Locations here
10. For More Vegan Burgers: Big V
Order: Spicy Chickpea Burger
The Run-Down: Oh boy, oh boy. The Big V are the burger maestros, dishing up some of the finest vegan patties across the capital. You’ll find them at various London markets – just look out for the queue. People can’t get enough of their plant powered bites. It’s hard to replicate a sloppy, beef burger that needs a fistful of napkins to dap away the meaty juices, but Big V creations come pretty close. The spicy sweet potato and chickpea burger is topped with a punchy tahini dressing, raw onions, pickles and crispy green leaves. It’s a godsend.
Where: Locations here
