The best vegan restaurants London has to offer
How to embrace the vegan diet in London: plant-based dining that carnivores will love too
Over the past few years there has been a collective rallying of the conscience: veganism is no longer seen purely as a militant movement, and a creative wave of new restaurants has appeared to satisfy an increased appetite for conscientious plant-based cooking.
Why all the hype?
It's now hard to avoid the torrent of delectable plant-based dishes on Instagram. But with growing evidence of the skin-glowing, energy-boosting, planet-saving benefits of an animal- and dairy-free lifestyle, we think this is one trend that is more than worth paying attention to. To help you out, here is our list of top London spots that are making veganism interesting.
The pandemic effect
London’s vegan restaurant scene has been hit hard by the pandemic, with detox bar Redemption, the Made in Chelsea alumni-run restaurant Tell Your Friends and the relatively new Kalifornia Kitchen among a spate of notable closures. So, when better to head on out there and dip a toe into the vegan lifestyle than at a time when you'll be simultaneously supporting the hospitality sector?
VEGAN FINE DINING
Mallow
1 Cathedral Street, London SE1 9DE
From the team behind pioneering plant-based restaurant Mildred’s, which has been serving a vegan menu since the 1980s – long before the plant-based diet was cool, comes Mallow, a Borough Market outpost taking the comfort-food classics of its predecessor and elevating them. In the Roots Room, diners can peer into the open kitchen and see their chosen dishes created, while the Floret dining room offers a more formal set-up. Those after drinks and light bites, meanwhile, should head to the Petal Bar, where cocktails and small plates are the order of the day.
The menu has been created by Mildreds’ head of food development Sarah Wasserman, with star dishes including a plum plant chicken burger; banana blossom tacos; and kumquat lemon meringue pie.
Price: around £70 for two excluding drinks
Click here to book
Gauthier
21 Romilly Street, Soho, London W1D 5AF
Price: £140+ for dinner for two excluding drinks
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Wild Food Café
1st floor, 14 Neal's Yard, Covent Garden, London WC2H 9DP
Although not strictly vegan, Wild Food Café’s colourful, creative and mostly plant-based food is so joyful and uplifting, and served with such passion that we couldn't overlook it. The location overlooking lively, ultra-foodie Neal’s Yard is delightful too. Founded back in the 70s, the Café sources only from local, independent, ethical suppliers and uses plenty of wild foods (as the name suggests). Everything sounds appetising, from the barbecue jackfruit burger to the ‘forgotten ecstasy’ smoothie: cacao, dates, he-shou-wu, algarroba and salt.
Price: £60+ for dinner for two with drinks
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Itadaki Zen
139 King's Cross Road, London WC1X 9BJ
Europe’s first organic and vegan Japanese restaurant, Itadaki Zen is a quirky eatery serving classic dishes from spring rolls and sushi to tempura made with seaweed and hotpots that use plenty of fashion-forward fermented products.
Price: £40+ for dinner for two including drinks
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Manna
4 Erskine Road, Primrose Hill, London NW3 3AJ
Strewn with pretty fairy lights and gorgeous plant-inspired wallpaper, Manna looks like a recent addition to London’s vegan scene but it has in fact been around for 50 years – a real trailblazer. The most famous dish speaks for itself: 'fennel and pumpkin seed sausages on a bed of parsnip & carrot mash served with cavolo nero on a red wine, leek & thyme jus'. Salivating yet?
Price: £70+ for dinner for two including drinks
Click here to book
VEGAN COMFORT FOOD
V Honest
17 Garrick Street, London WC2E 9BL
Credit: Steve Ryan
Honest Burgers has already test-run a vegan offering on its customers, introducing a plant-based burger made with a Beyond Meat patty in 2019. It's clearly proved popular, because on 25 January 2022, the upmarket fast food chain is launching an entirely vegan branch, V Honest, in Covent Garden. Menu highlights include Buffalo fried chick'n with applewood vegan cheese; a chilli plant burger with Mexicana vegan cheese; and a teriyaki plant burger with pulled shiitake mushrooms.
Price: £30+ for dinner for two
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By Chloe.
Locations in Covent Garden, Tower Bridge, Oxford Circus and Greenwich
Everything about By Chloe. screams NYC cool, from the full stop in its name to the fact it was a pioneer of calling food ‘plant-based’ rather than simply ‘vegan’. But aside from that, there’s more than enough to draw in animal-loving punters – from its vegan mac and cheese to its quinoa taco salad.
On the entirely vegan menu, there’s also a guac burger, matcha kelp noodles and even a section dedicated to treats for your pooch, too. Desserts meanwhile, are largely of the cupcake and cookie variety.
The original London branch of the US chain in Covent Garden has since been joined by three more: in Tower Bridge, Oxford Circus and at the O2 in Greenwich.
Price: £20+ for lunch
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Cook Daily
Dalston Boxpark 8, 2-4 Bethnal Green Road, London E1 6GY
At Cook Daily, you can expect highly nutritious and delicious plant-based ‘bowls’ (served in recycled cardboard), each as colourful as a rainbow and rammed with vegetables that pack a punch. Order the full English with tofu scramble, mushrooms and non-bacon, or the jerk: vegan jerk ‘chicken’ stir-fry topped with coleslaw. This is top-grade rustic vegan food served in a shipping container, and one of the most satisfying and unpretentious places in town.
Price: £20 for two
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Mildred’s
Locations in Soho, King’s Cross, Camden and Dalston
While not strictly vegan, Mildred’s is a vegetarian restaurant with a simple, healthy and wide-ranging menu, with lots of choice for vegans. Taking inspiration from across the globe – dishes from Sri Lanka, Thailand, China and Mexico all feature, along with some modern British favourites – Mildred’s was ahead of the vegetarian game when it opened in 1988. Today, each of its four outlets are almost always busy with diners chasing the now popular plant-based diet.
Price: around £35 for three courses
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Wulf & Lamb
243 Pavilion Road, Chelsea, London SW1X 0BP
In the smart foodie enclave of Pavilion Road, sleek, buzzy Scandi-style Wulf & Lamb is setting new standards for plant-led comfort food.
Standout dishes include the well-spiced Thai green curry and the incredibly moreish vegan mac 'n' cheese made with cashew cream, turmeric and mustard. There are also burgers, open burritos and other guilt-free versions of comfort-food classics. Superb desserts include the coconut rum cake and warm peanut butter brownie with cashew-based honeycomb & toasted pine nut ice cream, dipped in coffee caramel. Heaven.
Price: £40+ for dinner for two including drinks
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Farmacy
74-76 Westbourne Grove, London W2 5SH
Farmacy in Westbourne Grove has proven a bit like Marmite since it opened: some love it, others deem it overpriced and pretentious. The ethos here is that the food we eat has the power to be transformational and, because of this, we should make a concerted effort to eat consciously. Whether or not you buy into its philosophy, Farmacy’s airy, foliage-adorned dining room – often populated with willowy, athleisure-wearing, yummy-mummy types – is the place to head for grainy salads, ‘earth bowls’ and a smattering of comfort-food classics (burgers, pad Thai and the chef’s special curry). Celebrating? You can follow up your juice with a cocktail from Farmacy’s extensive list.
Price: £70+ for dinner for two including drinks
Click here to book
VEGAN TAKEAWAYS
The Brook
The Brook started off as a pop-up in Hackney, recreating comfort food favourites, including quesadillas, skewers and deep-fried bites. It is now re-launching as a food box service, delivering frozen restaurant-quality meals to your door.
Price: Boxes from £4.80
Click here to read our full review and here to order a box
Temple of Seitan
Locations in Hackney and Camden
It's no surprise that vegans crave fast food too. Here to cater for their wants is Temple of Seitan in Hackney, a ‘vegan fried chicken shop’ (yes, really). The menu features typical end-of-night favourites, from burgers with all the toppings to ‘chicken’ pieces and chips, and popcorn bites. Sides of slaw and mac 'n' cheese also feature on the menu, completing the joint’s Southern vibe. The best bit? It really does look and taste like authentic fried chicken (especially after a few glasses of vegan wine). Proving a success with the local crowd of young, hip eco-warriors, Temple of Seitan has now opened a second outlet in Camden. The team certainly know where to find their market.
Price: Burgers from £4-£6; full meals for around £10
Click here to book
