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London vegans can enjoy decadent food from a plethora of vegan-friendly places.
From sushi, tortillas, pizza, and burgers – everything is possible in London town.
We rounded up ten of the best restaurants in the capital where you can enjoy vegan food.
1. Le Pain Quotidien
This Belgian chain has been popping up everywhere around London, and is playing into the healthy eating trend sweeping the capital.
It’s one of the best things that’s happened to veganism recently, in my opinion, as it’s established itself as mainstream “go-to” fairly quickly, where vegan options are the “base” of every dish, with an option to add animal products.
Not only are we getting a better price for being vegan, LPQ is also demonstrating how vegan food can be diverse and delicious to the sceptics. It’s always packed, especially in central London, so effective activism at its best. A great place to support and delicious food – I’ve been there a slight bit too much recently.
2. Mestizo
Mestizo is non-descript little restaurant on Euston Road that I’ve walked past a
million times without giving it a second thought. When I finally went there, it
became a fast favorite.
Firstly, it’s one of the most well stocked tequila
bars in all of London, with product coming straight from Mexico. If you think
Wahaca is good Mexican, go to Mestizo right now, because you have no idea.
The
menu is best described as “authentic”, with Cactus Salad and flour tortilla
coming in a cloth pouch to keep them warm.
Mestizo also has an exclusively vegan menu that you can ask for, no
hunting around for the “v” on a busy menu, then trying to figure out if you can
take the egg and cheese off. Brilliant!
Oh, and their Mango margaritas are
amazing!
3. Wasabi
The Asian chain known for its affordable-but-not-horrible sushi is
incredibly vegan friendly. Their “veg” sushi is all vegan, both the sets and
the individual sushi. They also seem to be coming out with more and more vegan
options sushi wise, that are tasty and creative. The hot meals all have tofu
equivalents and are vegan as well.
Obviously, the price point is affordable –
making vegan affordable and accessible is always a massive win.
Wasabi is
definitely a place to support, hopefully it will follow Prêt-à-Manger steps in
opening a veggie only restaurant.
4. Prêt-à-Manger
The healthy fast-food chain has quite a few vegan options, and a menu to
make even the most heterogeneous friend group happy. As with Wasabi, the price
point is great.
Both of these reasons are enough to recommend it, but I think
Prêt deserves our money because it is fast “veganizing” a lot of its popular
animal product options, making it easier for consumers to choose vegan without
feeling deprived.
Prêt also opened a Veggie Prêt in Soho, demonstrating to us
all that voting with our dollar actually works to make a difference. Since this
company has shown its consumers it reacts to what we buy, then it’s basically
activism to choose vegan food there. Get yourself a vegan sandwich now!
5. Chipotle/ Barburrito/ Tortilla
All these burrito chains that have been popping up around London have
got me really excited, because I love burritos – and, really, who doesn’t?
Most
importantly, they are making vegan accessible and cheap.
A lot of skeptics will
berate vegan food as lacking flavor a “meaty deliciousness”. Now these burrito
bars marinate everything in their blend of spices, so taking away the meat
isn’t even noticeable – I did go to these places before I started eating a
vegan diet, and I definitely didn’t notice a difference.
Added bonus, veggie
burritos often have free guacamole – a usually expensive condiment – which
perfectly balances the lack of dairy.
6. Banana Tree
This Indonesian fusion restaurant sells Westernized Asian food, that still
packs a real kick, great for people who actually love spice – and those who
actually don’t, as you can just request any dish without spice.
Banana Tree is
great because they do some of the best fake meats for their vegan options, and
offer most dishes to be “veganized” as well.
The menu is incredibly diverse,
with each dish type having at least one vegan option.
7. La Polentaria
This is a tiny restaurant in Soho, that only has a few tables, so
booking is recommended. This Italian place centres their menu around “polenta”
a naturally gluten-free grain.
The menu is succinct, but every type of dish has
a vegan option. I like that this independent restaurant has spontaneously added
vegan to their menu, without pressure from costumers, which is usually what
happens in large chains.
I would go here for the “polenta” first, as it’s a
completely different Italian dish, but to support them second, as this kind of
initiative deserves reward.
8. Franco Manca
This popular pizzeria chain has been taking the foodie capital by storm.
The Tottenham Court Road branch always has a queue coming out onto the
pavement, usually in the rain.
Their main selling point is the sourdough –
which is pretty amazing. They have one vegan option on their permanent menu,
where I usually add one or two toppings from their extensive list.
However, as
the chefs make every pizza from scratch, it’s pretty easy to ask that the
veggie option be made without cheese. The main event is the dough, so, in any
case, you’re getting what you came for.
9. Beni Shoga
A small Korean Asian fusion place in Fulham that offers a vegan option
for every dish “category” – noodles, bimbimbap, soup, etc.
The quality of service
and food is very high, and the setting – by the river, in a quiet residential
block, candlelit and quiet – is a great date place.
I would recommend the “Big
Veg Roll” – sweet potato sushi, need I say more – and veggie BimBimBap – make
sure to ask for no egg.
10. Slug and Lettuce
Perhaps the least vegan friendly place on this list, but I included it
because it’s a popular “pub food” option and often has a lot of great deals for
big groups.
There are a lot of vegetarian options, and it’s pretty easy to just
ask to hold the cheese – there’s a high incidence of lactose intolerance in the
UK, so most restaurants are very understanding.
There are a few vegan options,
but only one or two that aren’t salads. Still, because of it’ accessibility,
both price and location wise, it’s a nice suggestion to give when a group of
non-vegan people are looking for a place to eat. You know there will be food
for you, and sometimes, that’s the most important thing.
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