Vegan Steakhouse In Wales Says It Will 'Never Go Back' To Serving Meat

An award-winning vegan steakhouse has pledged to “never go back” to serving meat.

In a statement, The Queen Inn – which is located in Cwmbran, Wales – responded to what it called a “growing trend” of restaurants and influencers going back to meat, and questions from customers asking if the vegan steakhouse might do the same.

“We’ve had a few people ask recently, so need to set the record straight,” said The Queen Inn in a Facebook post. “We’ll close before we put corpses back on the menu, and we won’t be closing any time soon.”

Later this month, Lancaster’s The Herbarium will reopen after a temporary closure. While the menu was previously all vegan, it will now feature select vegetarian options.

In 2024, Macclesfield’s Nomas Gastrobar added meat to its menu in an attempt to mitigate the cost-of-living crisis and stay open, inviting both sympathy and criticism. Meanwhile, in the US, LA’s Sage Regenerative Kitchen & Brewery also added meat and dairy to the menu in response to rising costs, but closed less than 12 months later.

In August, Eleven Madison Park (EMP) announced it would add select animal products to its menu. Head chef Daniel Humm said that EMP, previously the world’s only three Michelin-starred vegan restaurant, had experienced financial strain.

“Yes, times are tough and it’s never easy running a business that puts ethics before profit, but this is a promise that we’ll never break,” said The Queen Inn. “Our kitchen has been 100 percent plant-based for almost four years, and we’ll never go back.”

The ‘world’s first’ vegan steakhouse

Photo shows a platter of grilled plant-based meat, onion rings, mac and cheese, and other sides from the vegan steakhouse The Queen Inn — The Queen Inn The Queen Inn’s menu includes a range of “pub classics,” curries, and more

The Queen Inn adopted an entirely plant-based menu in 2022. Within two years, Happy Cow named it the best vegan restaurant in Europe and the fourth best in the world. The inn is a family-owned business first established in the 1800s and currently run by Gareth, Jane, and Ryan Edwards.

“The support we’ve received has been nothing short of incredible. After 17 years as a traditional pub, we thought we knew what community meant, but the response to our vegan menu has completely surpassed anything we’ve experienced before,” Ryan told Plant Based News (PBN). “We now welcome guests from across the UK (and beyond!), and it’s amazing to see them leaving with expectations exceeded.”

The Queen Inn serves hyper-realistic meat alternatives by brands such as Redefine Meat and Juicy Marbles. The large main menu features various “pub classics,” sandwiches, curries, “picky bits,” and more, as well as a dedicated Sunday roast section. The restaurant is just about to introduce its 2025 autumn menu, which includes several pies, sausage and mash, and the returning favorite “lamb” ragu. The Queen Inn also recently launched its festive menu, featuring a wide selection of plant-based spins on highly traditional – and some non-traditional – Christmas dishes.