London Vegan Restaurants
With a Spring trip to one of my cities on the horizon, I started researching popular and/or acclaimed local vegan or vegan-friendly eateries in or near neighborhoods we may visit. My initial sources include a brilliant youtube video from So Vegan cycling 25 miles to eat at 10 restaurants in one day, a 2019 list of 20 restaurants from secretldn, and scanning google maps reviews.
Dishes / Cuisines / Notes
- Banana blossom fish and chips
- Literally the flower that grows at the end of a banana bunch, a new addition to the vegan meat replacement category.
- Restaurants serving it include Sutton and Sons and Kalifornia Kitchen.
- Bao – Kimchi Bao, Chick’n Bao, and Korean Tofu Bao from Eat Chay in Shoreditch.
- Indian food
- Mildreds – A staple of the London vegetarian / vegan scene serving British and international cuisine since 1988. Now four locations in London. Menu reminds me of Sage (in LA). Inviting dining area with excellent natural lighting.
- Burgers – We are probably not going to seek out any in London since we have so many great options in LA. However a couple of vegan burger places in Shoreditch (Mooshies and The Vurger Co) sound great.
- Coach and Horses vegetarian / vegan pub in Soho was a favorite of ours (pub food may not have the most exciting reputation but pub food without meat is a fun experience for vegetarian tourists) but has now been taken over by Fuller’s brewery. Their web site says the kitchen is closed for maintenance and will re-open soon (unclear if the menu will remain vegetarian).
- Sunday Roast – best vegan options is a research project for the near future.
Neighborhoods
- Bloomsbury
- Kalifornia Kitchen – Most interested in their banana blossom fish n chips
- Pied à Terre – Michelin starred French restaurant with a vegan 10 course tasting menu (for £94)
- Camden / King’s Cross
- Dishoom – Indian
- Mildreds – British and International (one in Camden and one in King’s Cross).
- Itadaki Zen – Vegan sushi
- Purezza – Vegan pizza with house-made sourdough crust and fermented Italian brown rice milk mozzarella.
- Temple of Seitan – Vegan wings, fried chicken, and burgers. Mainly interested in the hot wings.
- What The Pitta – Vegan döner and falaffel. Trendy – possibly a long line.
- Young Vegans Pie Shop – Vegan pies (both savory and sweet options)
- City of London
- Stem + Glory – Trendy new vegan restaurant with diverse dishes. “Full English” menu on the weekends.
- Covent Garden
- East London / Shoreditch
- Brick Lane – Sunday market for street food, shopping, and roaming
- Boxpark – Pop-up mall. Trendy street food, shopping, nightlife and events. Both Eat Chay and What the Pitta are here, as well as acai bowls, third wave coffee (Small Batch), donuts (Dum Dum Donutterie – baked instead of fried, unique flavors, suitable for vegetarians), and many other street food restaurants (unsure of additional vegan options)
- Biff’s Jack Shack – Famous for fried jackfruit. I could not find a menu online but looks like they make burgers and wings. Side note, their web site mentions, ”
It’s less vegan preachy, more Venice Beach-y.” - Dishoom – Indian
- Eat Chay – Try the trio of Kimchi Bao, Chick’n Bao, and Korean Tofu Bao
- Genesis – Vegan street food inspired by cuisines from all over the world.
- What The Pitta – Vegan döner and falaffel. Trendy – possibly a long line.
- Hackney
- Death by Pizza – Vegan pizzeria from the Young Vegans Pie Shop people.
- The Spread Eagle – Vegan pub with Mexican food
- Sutton and Sons – Fish n chips, not a vegan restaurant but they do have vegan banana blossom fish n chips.
- Temple of Seitan – Vegan wings, fried chicken, and burgers. Mainly interested in the hot wings.
- Islington
- Sutton and Sons – Fish n chips, not a vegan restaurant but they do have vegan banana blossom fish n chips.
- Kensignton
- Dishoom – Indian
- Soho
- Coach and Horses – vegetarian pub unless Fuller’s (the brewery / new owners) ruin it.
- South Bank
- Westminster