World Vegan Day comes but once a year (on November 1), but that doesn’t mean you can’t celebrate the plant-first way of life all year round. This city is stacked with excellent options for a meat-free meal, with loads of great vegan restaurants across the capital.
If you want to go all-in for the special day though, why not try out one of London’s newest vegan restaurants. All the spots below have opened this year, from Shoreditch’s rather oversubscribed Plates to Notting Hill’s Holy Carrot, LD’s Kitchen at Saint Monday Brewery, and Café Petiole at Somerset House.
1. Café Petiole, Somerset House
Rishim Sachdeva of Tendril opened this café in Somerset House back in the spring. Like Tendril before it, Cafe Petiole isn’t totally vegan (there may be a touch of goat’s cheese here and there), but anything that’s not fully plant-based is signposted. Come for all-day dining, with brekkie and lunch options of toasted banana bread with agave, baked courgette, feta & honey swirls, blue corn tostadas with smoked artichoke and lime puree and mushroom focaccia with daikon pickle.
South Wing, Somerset House, The Strand, WC2R 1LA
2. Holy Carrot, Notting Hill
With a menu from ACME Fire Cult co-founder Daniel Watkins, Holy Carrot has a similar lust for open-fire cookery and all sorts of fermented things. A supper club since 2020, Holy Carrot’s forever home opened on Portobello Road over the summer. Its meat-free menu includes the likes of asparagus with citrus & coconut butter, sweet potato hummus with bhel puri and seeded crackers and smoked beetroot with hazelnut crema. Cocktails are made in collaboration with Shoreditch’s A Bar With Shapes For A Name.
156 Portobello Road, W11 2EB
3. Plates, Shoreditch
The first vegan chef to compete on BBC’s Great British Menu and 2024 Champion of Champions, Kirk Haworth (and his sister Keeley) officially opened their plant-based restaurant in July. It’s impressively booked out until next year, but if you managed to score a seat at one of the hottest tables in town you’ll be eating from his winning GBM appearance, with grandly named dishes such as ‘Feast of Farah’ (a mung and urid bean lasagna, with charcoal, miso and chive sauce) and ‘A Taste of Unity’ (raw cacao gateaux with sour cherry and coconut blossom ice cream).
320 Old St, EC1V 9DR
4. LD’s Kitchen at Saint Monday, London Fields
Come to this heavy metal-adjacent brewery by London Fields to experience London's first ever vegan smokehouse. Run by LD’s Kitchen – who also does the food at Camden’s Black Heart rock pub – there’s a full southern states-style menu here, with faux-meat brisket and ribs served alongside creamy (and equally plant-based) mac and cheese, corn, baked beans, slaw and more, as well as peach cobbler for pudding.
4 Warburton Rd, E8 3RR
Get the latest and greatest from the Big Smoke – from news and reviews to events and trends. Just follow our Time Out London WhatsApp channel.
Stay in the loop: sign up to our free Time Out London newsletter for the best of the city, straight to your inbox.
0 Comments