VEGAN FOOD

Fried “chicken”, to-fish tacos, chilli “non” carne… we’ve never had it so good when it comes to vegan grub. Discover the best vegan restaurants in London with our handy guide.

Want fried chicken just without the chicken part? There’s only one place to go and that’s Temple of Seitan. This “chicken” shop actually serves up seitan aka wheat gluten that’s been deep fried and seasoned, and it’s just like the real thing. Or what about vegan Mexican or vegan Chinese? Enter Club Mexicana and Facing Heaven. The former is spicing things up with Baja to-fish tacos and BBQ pulled jackfruit burritos while the latter is knocking out Chongqing cauliflower, dan dan noodles and MSG margs. And if burgers minus the meat are more your jam, you’re spoiled for choice in London because vegan burgers abound – our faves are The Vurger Co and Halo Burger.

The Gate is one of the OG veggie restaurants in London and even after 25 plus years, they’re still going strong Much of the menu is already vegan but they’re also happy to swap out ingredients on other plates to make them vegan. There’s no need for any substitutions at The Spread Eagle in Homerton, which is London’s first fully vegan pub and they go in hard with both their drinks and food offering. If you fancy some ‘cheese’ to go with your vegan wine then take a pew and order in the shamembert. We have one bit of advice here – do not miss out on the Sunday roast.

TENDRIL

After a series of successful residencies and pop-ups, including a 2021 tenure at The Sun & 13 Cantons in Soho and a 2022 summer pop-up in Mayfair that kept on getting extended due to demand, Rishm Sachdeva’s (mostly) vegan Tendril has officially become a permanent fixture. And rightly so because this is where you’ll find some of the best plant-first cooking in town – Rishim is a dab hand with spices and makes clever use of texture to make the veggies really sing. The Discovery tasting menu is excellent value at just £45 and you get a very generous spread, including dishes like a silky cauliflower parfait, crispy potato terrine with fennel remoulade, smoked beetroot with spicy hoisin and sesame, crispy leek fritter with curry leaf aioli, chipotle mushroom with mushroom croquette and Rishim’s signature white bean spread, sweetcorn with charred wakame, and burnt Basque cheesecake. To match the menu, there’s a (mostly) vegan wine list made up of bottles sourced from low-intervention, European producers and a couple of options on tap, and cocktails crafted with ingredients from the Tendril kitchen. 

PLANT CLUB

49 Green Lanes, Newington Green, London N16 9BU
OPENING HOURS
  • Monday: Closed
  • Tuesday: Closed
  • Wednesday: Closed
  • Thursday: 5:30 – 10:00 PM
  • Friday: 5:30 – 10:00 PM
  • Saturday: 1:00 – 4:00 PM, 5:30 – 10:00 PM
  • Sunday: 1:00 – 4:00 PM, 5:30 – 8:00 PM

If dietary requirements have you missing out on delish authentic Italian food, Plant Club is a restaurant to get on your list. Thanks to its owners’ Italian gluten-free and veggie backgrounds, Plant Club has crafted a menu of favourites from the cuisine that cater to intolerances while still tasting great – yes, it is possible. Their menu reads like a classic Italian trattoria, with arancini, pasta dishes such as gnocchi cacio e pepe, a range of pizzas with rice flour bases and the likes of tiramisù and gelato to finish. And, of course, there’s a list of organic wines to pair with your organic meal. Cin cin!

EDIT

Part of the booming scene of sustainable spots in the city, EDIT landed in Hackney with a plant-based, hyper-seasonal menu and carefully considered interiors. Named after the restaurant’s intention to cut out the overproduced, unnecessarily wasteful and single-use, EDIT aims to replace environmentally harmful practices with “the regenerative, the harmless, the natural and the wild”. To make up their daily changing menu, the EDIT team sources ingredients from small-scale farms, foragers and independent producers who use regenerative and minimal intervention methods with an emphasis on local produce. Expect a selection of modern British vegan dishes best paired with some of their low-intervention and local wines, beers and ciders.

FACING HEAVEN

1a Bayford St, London E8 3SE
OPENING HOURS
  • Monday: Closed
  • Tuesday: 6:00 – 11:00 PM
  • Wednesday: 6:00 – 11:00 PM
  • Thursday: 6:00 – 11:00 PM
  • Friday: 6:00 – 11:00 PM
  • Saturday: 6:00 – 11:00 PM
  • Sunday: Closed

Vegan Chinese spot Mao Chow has upped sticks and moved just around the corner – and become Facing Heaven in the process. And yes it’s still tiny, although at 28 covers, it’s double the size of the original spot. Despite the small size, it’s a fun vibe in there with brightly coloured yellow tables, black and white chequered floors, neon lights and a great soundtrack. Everything at Facing Heaven is still 100% vegan but founder Julian Denis has developed the menu to fuse Chinese dishes with his multicultural upbringing in LA, with Puerto-Rican, American and Portuguese twists shining through. Don’t miss the smacked cucumber, seaweed toast, dumplings in chilli oil made with ‘omnipork’,Chongqing cauliflower and the dan dan noods, and be sure to order a couple of MSG Margs to wash it all down with.

MALLOW

Borough Market has finally got a 100% plant-based restaurant thanks to the Mildreds team, who have opened new concept mallow. The menu for the all-day spot has been designed to be as low waste as possible, with many ingredients like vegan feta and labneh to garden pickles and jams made on-site, as well as vegan wines and cocktails on the drinks list. While you can go down the starter and main route, we reckon sharing everything is the best way to eat at mallow, mainly because the small plates section is so good – we’re talking dishes like cauliflower chaat with coriander yoghut; son dumplings with kimchi & gochujang dip; porcini truffle croquettes with ailoi; and charred hispi cabbage dressed with tahini and chilli bean oil. The market thai, with masala market vegetables, kiri hodi, red lentil dahl, pumpkin methi pickle, chana basmati and flatbread is also a winner, and save room for puddings too, especially the kumquat lemon meringue pie – you’d never know it was vegan!

THE SPREAD EAGLE

Being the OG 100% Vegan pub in London means the Spread Eagle have a lot to live up to. Thankfully, the food continues to be top notch and what’s decent is that they change their menu regularly in order to make the most of foraged and seasonal ingredients, with naughty veggie burgers being a menu mainstay from Head Chef Jamie Hetherington, who is at the helm of the vegan menu. Of course, their drinks (and interiors) are fully plant-based too and their rotating cocktail list is not one to miss. In warm weather they’ve got a space out back and one tip we’d give you is not to miss out on one of the best Sunday roasts in London, which you will find here, or you’ll regret it.

HALO BURGER

49 Brixton Station Rd, London SW9 8PQ

Halo Burger is the world’s first restaurant dedicated to the bleeding plant-based burger. They’ve taken the Beyond Burger and added their own secret seasoning, serving it up as a hamburger, cheeseburger, quarter pounder and Halo burger (two patties, onion, cheese and signature sauce), alongside a load of plant-based sides.

CLUB MEXICANA

Vegan Mexican? It’s happening at Club Mexicana, which you can find inside KERB Seven Dials and at their first proper restaurant in Kingly Court. The restaurant, inspired by the street-side joints in LA and Mexico City, features an open kitchen so you can see the vegan al paastor spit in all its sizzling glory, as well as a bar where you can sip on margs and palomas on tap, pickle juice-spiked Micheladas and Mexican beers. The menu features a range of plant-based tacos, small plates and some Club Mexicana classics including the beer-battered Tofish tacos, BBQ short ‘rib’ tacos, and corn & black bean salad with jalapeno lime dressing. OLE!

FARMACY

74- 76 Westbourne Grove, London W2 5SH

Clean eating can also be indulgent eating and that’s exactly what Farmacy is all about. There’s vegan and gluten free nachos with guac and refried beans; a millet, black bean and mushroom burger; a spelt sourdough pizza and Austrian Sacher cake with tigernut milk Nice Cream, proving you don’t always have to stick to salads.

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WULF & LAMB

243 Pavilion Road, London SW1X 0BP

From dairy-free, gluten-free and egg-free pastries at breakfast, salad bowls and wraps at lunch and larger plates like chili ‘non’ carne, ackee burrito and the Wulf burger made with a spicy bean and veggie patty topped with cashew aioli, Wulf & Lamb have you covered for vegan eats all day long. They’ve even got sweet stuff from Ruby’s of London so you can treat yourself too.

THE GATE

51 Queen Caroline Street, London W6 9QL

The Gate is one of the OG veggie restaurants in London and even after 25 plus years, they’re still going strong with sister sites in Islington and Marylebone. Much of the menu is already vegan but they’re also happy to swap out ingredients on other plates to make them vegan. And they’ve got some bangin’ vegan puds too.

222 VEGAN

222 North End Road, London W14 9NU

Going since 2004, 222 was doing vegan way before it was cool. Their all-you-can-eat lunchtime buffet comes in at £11.50 and they do an a la carte menu in the evening, featuring the likes of seitan stroganoff, pumpkin and pine-nut risotto, egusi, and apple crumble.

THE VURGER CO

Unit 9, Avant Garde, Richmix Square, London, E1 6LD

Afetr killing it on the festival and street food circuit, The Vurger Co finally went perm in Shoreditch in 2018. The restaurant serves up a full menu including the Tabasco Auburger, made from aubergines, chickpeas, red onion and vegan cheese, as well as the Classic, the Mexican and the MLT, packed full of baked mushrooms and rocket and topped with walnut and sundried tomato paste. Oh and there’s also the infamous mac’n’cheese and milkshakes.

TEMPLE OF SEITAN

5 Morning Lane, London E9 6NA

Vegan fried chicken. Yep – it’s a thing. The “chicken” is actually made from seitan, which is wheat gluten deep-fried and seasoned just like the real thing. You can get it as a chicken burger, a wrap, wings and as a two-piece with fries, and they even do gluten-free nuggets too. Trust us, vegan or not, this meatless joint is worth the visit.

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