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Natalie Portman recently appeared on the Dish Podcast, where she spoke about her go-to vegan food options in Paris and her favorite plant-based restaurants in London.
Portman is an actor and activist who described going vegan as “basic empathy” earlier this year. The Dish Podcast is a food-focused, Waitrose-backed show hosted by presenter and author Nick Grimshaw and Michelin star chef and restaurant owner Angela Hartnett.
Grimshaw noted that the team received an email brief from Portman’s team ahead of her appearance that said “Natalie loves to eat,” and listed tacos, pasta, and Middle Eastern food as some of her favorites. It added that she “loves to go out and try new vegan dishes.”
Portman, who currently lives in Paris, also said that she tends to opt for non-French cuisine as it is more vegan-friendly. “A French restaurant is still challenging,” explained Portman. “But […] a lot of the newer, younger chefs are doing more vegetable-forward dishes.”
She also noted that there are “some leaders in that field,” including the Michelin-star chef Alain Passard, who has been working primarily with vegetarian ingredients since 2001.
“But really, my day-to-day if I go out is getting Moroccan food, or Lebanese food, or Thai food, or Indian food. There’s just more options for me in non-French restaurants,” said Portman.
Read more: The Top 10 Most Vegan-Friendly London Boroughs
Natalie Portman’s favorite vegan restaurants in London
When asked if she had tried Plates, the UK’s first Michelin-starred vegan restaurant, Portman said she had and described chef-patron Kirk Haworth’s food as “so delicious.” She told Grimshaw and Hartnett that she had been to Gauthier, which is also located in London, and described its seasonal, bistro-adjacent menu as “delicious, vegan, haute cuisine.”
“The thing that I have to say that’s incredible about Plates and Gauthier is that they’re both really delicious, filling, satisfying vegan food,” said Portman. “Both of those places have very rich, filling, delicious food, which is a delight.”
Later in the show, Portman said that she tried koshari, Egypt’s national dish, while filming her new movie, Fountain of Youth (2025), in Cairo. “It’s like pasta, and rice, and chickpeas put together. I think it has fried onions on top, but it is a vegan national dish.”
‘I feel like I’m a good intuitive cook’
Portman is also known for her vegan home cooking, and when asked to describe a “Natalie classic” dish, she said, “I love cooking. I’m not super skilled, technically, but I feel like I’m a good intuitive cook. I have been making green curry often recently, I love a veg green curry. I do a lot of Middle Eastern stuff too, I definitely go heavy on tahini, veggies, salads.”
To conclude the episode of Dish, Grimshaw and Hartnett give Portman a “fast food quiz: vegan edition.” Portman listed “very good falafel” as her favorite sandwich filling, French fries as her favorite form of potato, dill as her favorite herb, and fennel as her favorite salad ingredient. She also highlighted her Mum’s spiced, baked tofu, and chopped Middle Eastern salad.
Read more: ‘I Tried Natalie Portman’s Favorite Vegan Weekday Dish’
