After shoving photos of food in everyone’s faces on Instagram and other fine social media channels, it seems only right that I actually put together a blog post about all the delicious, ridiculous vegan food I ate while I was away in London a couple of weeks ago.
It’s safe to say I showed approximately no self control, and ate pretty much All The Things. Here are some vegan food highlights from around the capital city.
Cook Daily – Shoreditch Boxpark – All Vegan
Everything at Cook Daily is vegan, but this ain’t no salad bar. The menu features all manner of hearty Asian-inspired offerings, as well as some African and European dishes. Whether you fancy a Pad Thai, chick’n and mushroom pie or spicy yam and plantains, Cook Daily are ready for ya.
I went for the ‘Full English’ rice bowl (feat. vegan sausage, tofu scramble, stir-fry veg and homemade BBQ sauce) and left the venue stuffed full and happy.
Vegan Garden – Greenwich Market – All Vegan
I spent most of my time in London eating deep fried seitan, so I had to balance it out at some point with like, actual vegetables. Vegan Garden is one of a bundle of food stands in Greenwich Market that cater to vegans, but it’s the only one (I think) that is 100% animal-product-free. You can throw together a meal deal featuring a main, side and two salads for £6 and as far as we could tell, you can’t pick a bad dish.
The eggless ‘quiche’ / tart made with broccoli and spinach was to die for, and the spicy rainbow veg was so satisfying I could probably eat it all day long. Get on this when you’ve eaten so much vegan junk food you think you might implode, and you will be just as full and satisfied, but without any of the guilt.
Club Mexicana – Various Locations – All Vegan
I’ve eaten at the Club Mexicana stand in Camden a few times and never been disappointed with their vegan takes on huge burritos, loaded nachos and other Mexican treats – but this time around we made a special trip to their Dinerama stand in Shoreditch. This is where the cheez fries live.
As well as some top-notch chick’n ceasar-style burrito wraps (which I’m salivating just thinking about) the cheez fries were totally worth the journey for an indulgent treat, and as vegan ‘cheese’ goes, they were spectacularly convincing.
I Will Kill Again @ Dark Arts Coffee – Hackney – Omnivorous venue
The only brunch destination you need. I Will Kill Again hides under a railway arch on Ponsford Street, but you’ll find it pretty easily thanks to the crowd of cool kids eating insane food on the benches outside throughout opening hours.
This popular spot serves up food for all dietary tastes, but their vegan offerings are what lured us in – and they’re what’s kept us coming back! The breakfast muffin has always been a highlight, along with the Bollywood Melt, but this time around I went for the most ludicrous hotdog I’ve ever seen – and obviously enjoyed every mouthful.
Temple of Seitan – Hackney – All Vegan
Anywhere that calls itself Temple of Seitan is fine by me. It was around our meal here that I reached peak fullness and thought it might all be over, but bravely soldiered on like the gluttonous pig I am. The chick’n/cheez/’bacon’ burger was exactly what you want from a place that sells fried carbohydrates by the bucketload, but it’s the mac&cheez that you cannot miss.
I’ve eaten a lot of good vegan burgers in the last year and a bit since going plant-based, but mac&cheese is something that’s just quite hard to fake. Well not anymore. The smoky cheese sauce these guys cook up must be made using actual witchcraft, it’s that good. 10/10 mac&cheesing, 10/10 would mac&cheese here again.
The FUll Nelson – Deptford – ALl Veggie
This one was recommended to us by none other than Instagram’s @uglyvegan herself, and damn I’m glad because we’d never have taken ourselves for a walk down Deptford Broadway otherwise. The Full Nelson is TINY so be prepared to squeeze in with a drink and wait for a table, but everything on offer here is worth the wait.
Aside from the killer cocktail menu, all the dishes can be made vegan – we worked our way through the Fonz and Colonel burgers, pulled dork fries, a corndog and a deep fried, battered Oreo with icecream. It’s a hard life, but somebody has to. This is a rad little punk-esque venue with great vibes, and definitely worth a visit.
Yorica – Soho – All Vegan, Gluten-free, nut-free
Well isn’t this just a delight. That little doggo is begging for good reason, because this food is the b.o.m.b. As well as a full range of completely egg, dairy, gluten and nut-free icecreams and froyo, Yorica also make freakin’ VEGAN WAFFLES AND PANCAKES. With the exception of two icecreams, everything is soy-free too, so it’s a good place to go if you’re allergic to everything.
I wasn’t sure what a vegan crepe was realistically going to be like, but lemme tell ya, it was no different whatsoever to a regular crepe. The double chocolate and salted caramel icecreams were pretty damn top notch too. There were loads of amazing toppings to go for, but I decided if I put fruit on mine it was basically a salad and thus, not another indulgence. Probably.
It’s a little pricey for dessert (this came to something like £8) but as a once-in-a-while treat you can’t go wrong.
And a Special mention to:
Mooshie’s Vegan Burgers – Brick lane – All vegan
Website – Instagram
I was too busy being hungry to get a photo from Mooshie’s that wasn’t blurry, but trust me, they make good food. The What’s Your Beef? burger, made with black beans and quinoa, was 1000x better than a Big Mac could ever be, and the venue has a chilled-out, friendly feel to it that’s exactly what you need when you’re tucking into a big ol’ tub of cheezy sweet potato fries.