It isn’t a big secret that this city is a metropolis of mouth-watering veggie goodies for both vegans and meat-eaters alike. It has been ranked in the “Top Vegan Cities” by PETA, Independent, and Happy Cow among others. As a heads up, almost every restaurant/fast food joint has vegetarian and vegan options as well. I must say that out of all the cities I’ve been to, the endless amount of options here are simply baffling! Since living here I got the chance to eat fried “chicken” again for the first time in 7 years, and had these doughnuts that made me forget all about the bikini bod I was trying to work on. So my apologies in advance for the long post, I simply couldn’t justify forgetting about any of these!
Club Mexicana
Vegan. Mexican. Food. Need I say more? This hip food stand doesn’t skip out on the spice! The burrito had me sniffling and crying tears of joy. They have so many different items on the menu (chick’n wings, loaded cheese fries, nachos, tacos) that will force you to come back for seconds… and thirds. They can be found at the Camden Market from 11AM-6PM 7 days a week, at Dinerama in Shoreditch from 12PM-late on Thur-Sun AND at Pamela in Dalston from 6PM-late on Tue-Sat. If you only have one day in London, then trust me and go get some vegan tacos. You won’t regret it!
Temple of Hackney
Everything on the menu is the perfect definition of fried comfort food. Whoever said vegans were healthy and could only eat fruits and veggies obviously hasn’t been to this temple yet! In the pictures above you can see my lovely other half, Luis, munching down on popcorn chicken and a vegan fried chicken burger with bacon. Just one tip, there isn’t too much seating and it can get pretty busy, so either be prepared to take it back home with you or go on a sunny (or at least dry) day so you can eat outside.
Dou Dou – Qing Buffet in Camden
I’m a sucker for Chinese buffets so when I found a vegan version it quickly made its way into my heart. I have no shame in the fact that we even went three times in the span of two weeks at one point! If you’re looking for a cheap and filling meal – which can be quite difficult to find in this expensive city – take my advice and visit this hidden gem. It’s only around 7 pounds for the buffet (not including drinks)! I don’t know how people manage to find Dou Dou, because as far as I can see they don’t have any website or Facebook page, but they are always packed to the max! It’s advertised as a vegetarian Chinese buffet but everything in the buffet is also 100% vegan.
Abokado
No one likes taking the time to pack their lunches, so just go here instead for lunch on your workdays. If you’re into fresh sushi take-away, I would recommend Abokado in a heartbeat! Their Clean & Green sushi comes with this ginger dressing that I would probably try to bathe in if I could. They also have breakfast bagels, rice dishes, and this courgette spaghetti salad which is great if you’re watching your waistline. Plus, if you can wait until dinner time to go get the sushi, they usually have a 25% sale on all their sushi after 17:00 (which means you can shamelessly buy two boxes for yourself for less than 10 pounds!).
Pret A Manger
I definitely couldn’t forget this chain that you can find on almost every street in London. Although I can’t say the food is my absolute favourite, they do have a lot of cheap, healthy vegan options. So if you’re out and about and feel like you can’t find any veg options, go here! I really like the Super Greens & Reds sandwich and the Mexican Avocado Flat Bread. But the one thing that makes me stop there several times a week on my way to work is their new Coconut Vanilla Latte. If you don’t care about drinking almost half your days’ worth of calories in your morning coffee, then please go try this! It’s the most addicting coffee I’ve ever had and I really can’t stop thinking about it ♥
Mildred’s
Their slogan says it all: “If you’re a vegetarian – go! If you’re a vegan – go! If you like food – go! Mildreds is like a home from home.” Not everything on the menu is vegan, so be careful when ordering. If you are trying to get the typical “British” experience, I highly recommend going for the wood roasted mushroom and ale pie. It was so delicious I was scraping my plate to get the last bit of the ragout! That being said, this restaurant has so many options (ranging from burgers to curries) that everyone will be able to find something they like.
CrossTown Doughnuts
CrossTown doughnuts recently released vegan doughnuts that are available at all their locations Friday – Sunday. I’m not sure if it’s the same at every location, but at the Kings Cross market stand they offer a different flavour every week. The three flavors they currently have are Chocolate Truffle, Vanilla Glazed, and Cinnamon Scroll. Like almost everything else in London, they are a bit pricey at 3.80 per donut, but trust me when I say your taste buds will be thanking you for splurging!
Tortilla
This has to be my guilty pleasure. It might be due to its convenience because there is one near my office, but boy do I love these burritos! The same goes for almost any burrito place in London (yeah, I really like burritos): you’re good to go as long as you order the veggie version without the cheese or sour cream. I’ve tried the burrito, the burrito bowl with rice, and the burrito bowl with lettuce – and they are honestly all just as scrumptious! What I love about Tortilla is that the hot sauce is actually decently spicy because some other places tend to lack on the kick.
Falafel Stand at Chapel Market in Islington
Unfortunately, I don’t have any pictures because I always inhale the wrap before thinking about a picture and I can’t find this stand anywhere on the internet, so if you find their website or Facebook page please let me know! There are a lot of falafel places in London – so many that you probably get pretty sick of even seeing them. But ignore that feeling and head to this market because it is WORTH IT!
This stand is at the Chapel Market in Islington Tuesdays-Fridays and oh my god are those falafels tasty. For 5 pounds you can get a large mixed wrap with everything in it that your little veggie heart desires. The falafels are homemade and all the ingredients are fresh and really tasty. Everything is 100% vegan at this stand (including the tahini sauce!!) so you don’t need to worry about a thing when ordering. I’m not lying when I say that I go here almost every Friday to treat myself because it is simply too good to resist.
Photo credit: Photos are directly from the social media pages and websites of the companies.
Links to the pages:
www.clubmexicana.com
www.facebook.com/templeofseitan
www.abokado.com
www.pret.co.uk/en-gb/our-menu/179-veggie-menu.aspx
www.mildreds.co.uk
www.crosstowndoughnuts.com
www.tortilla.co.uk