Vegan friendly

There are masses and masses of vegan restaurants, bar, cafes, shops and even B&Bs in and around London!  I’ve listed a few of the ones I’ve been to and my thoughts on them.  For a much more comprehensive guide then head to Vegan London where they have built a fantastically detailed and helpful website.  You will be amazed at the array of options there are now available.  You no longer have to stay at home in your hemp slippers soaking mung beans!

Food Shops:

Goodness Direct – online store who can cater to your every vegan, wheat free, lactose free, gluten free needs and desires!

Planet Organic  – Food porn for vegans – they sell everything you could ever need for this lifestyle!

Wholefoods – Ditto…

Holland and Barrett

As Nature Intended – quite big high street health shop with stores in Chiswick, Ealing, Balham and Westfield.

Dandelion – great little health food shop on Northcote Road in Clapham

Apples and Bees – lovely little health food shop on Battersea Park Road

Restaurants

Wild Food Café 1st Floor, 14 Neal’s Yard, Covent Graden, London WC2H 9DP 020 7419 2014 Really cosy, atmospheric, vibrant café in the heart of Covent Garden.  Raw-centric food.  Amazing flavours and really creative dishes.  Take your most committed carnivore mates there and they’ll love it!  Gets very busy so be prepared to cosy up with other people around a communal table…

 

MILDREDS 45 Lexington Street, London W1F 9AN Tel: 020 7494 1634  www.mildreds.co.uk/  Hugely popular vegetarian restaurant in Soho. They don’t take bookings,  so arrive early.  Masses of delicious vegan options.  Always rammed and has a great atmosphere.  Highly recommend a trip here.   

                

AMICO BIO 43 New Oxford Street WC1A 1BH  Tel: 020 7836 7509  www.amicobio.co.uk/  Fabulous Italian vegetarian restaurant.  Ed took me for my birthday last year and we had a really romantic and cosy night.  Great food, amazing breads, lots of vegan options

SAF Restaurant – Kensington branch 1st Floor, Whole Foods Market, The Barkers Building 63-97 Kensington High StreetLondon,W8 5SE
Tel: 020 7368 4555 www.safrestaurant.co.uk Gourmet vegan restaurant above Wholefoods on High St Ken. Absolutely amazing food.  Incredible presentation – wish I’d taken camera.  Quite pricey though and perfect for special occasion.  Spectacular food and if you have any friends who doubt vegan food can be tasty then take them here! 

Vanilla Black,  17- 18 Tooks Court, London, EC4A 1LB   020 7242  2622   info@vanillablack.co.uk  Michelin-recommended, it’s by far the most expensive vegan meal I’ve had.  The restaurant is very minimal and you find yourself whispering a fair bit.  Really creative food and beautifully presented.  Def a special occasion treat experience!

 

Manna 4 Erskine Rd, Chalk Farm, London NW3 3AJ. Tel 020 7722 8028. www.mannav.com  Possibly the oldest vegetarian restaurant in London. Vegan and organic wines and beers served. Beautiful food.  A real treat.  Cosy, romantic, def recommend. 

BONNINGTON CAFE 11 Vauxhall Grove, Vauxhall SW8 1TD  http://www.bonningtoncafe.co.uk/  – a co-operatively run  vegetarian and vegan restaurant in the Bonnington Square Community Centre in the heart of Vauxhall.  One of South London’s best-kept secrets tucked amidst the beautiful community gardens of the square, the Café has been open since the early 80’s when it was started as a squat Café to provide a good cheap meal for the community.  We’ve had two really great evenings here with super friendly folk, delicious food, ridiculously good value (£3 a starter or pud and £8 a main).  Huge portions!  Great atmosphere.  Really low key, laid back, friendly, warm and inviting.  Please go!  (Vegan Night is Thursdays)

                

MS CUPCAKe 408 Coldharbour Lane Brixton SW9 8LF Tel:0207 733 9438   www.mscupcake.co.uk  London’s first vegan cake shop. Cupcakes, muffins, vegan sandwiches and more. Highly recommend!

MAOZ FALAFEL CAFE 43 Old Compton Street, London W1D 6HG   Great little vegetarian cafe specialising in falafel. Always busy and vibrant.  Eat in or take away.

                                    

Inspiral Café in Camden 250 Camden High Street Camden Lock London NW1 8QS

 

100% vegan food menu, masses of delicious raw options, really fun buzzy atmosphere.  Was heaving when we went to be prepared to nestle in and get cosy!

Cookbooks

There are masses to choose from but these are the ones that I have so can personally recommend:

The Vibrant Table by Anya Kassoff

All her recipes are vegetarian, most are vegan and some are raw.  Ed got me this for Christmas and I love it.  She has introduced me to lots of new ingredients and cooking methods already. 

Ms Cupcake The Naughtiest Vegan Cakes in Town

Incredibly decadent recipes and not remotely healthy but full of great show stopping recipes!

—–>> We told Indigo she could choose which birthday cake she wanted from this cookbook.  She naturally chose the triple decker monster!  It looked a bit like it should… but more sludge coloured…. tasted great though and she didn’t seem to mind!

Prashad by Kaushy Patel

 My gorgeous brother and sister-in-law gave me this for Christmas and it’s fantastic.  It’s a vegetarian Indian cookbook but masses of vegan dishes and all easily adaptable.  Thanks Kate and Sven!

Veganomicon The Ultimate Vegan Cookbook by Moskowitz Romero

 The first thing my wonderful sister did when I told her we were going to give this veganism a shot was rush out and buy us this.  Now that’s a supportive sister – I love you, thank you!  This is my go to bible (which helped me get my ehad around scary vegan things such as seitan and tofu!)  and although the pictures are a bit dated the recipes are great and there’s a lot of information in here.

Plenty by Yotam Ottolenghi

  There are so many dishes in here that are vegan or easily adaptable that I cook a lot out of here.  I love his style of cooking and the dishes always work really well.

 

500 vegan Dishes by Deborah Gray

  This has been incredibly useful for quick week night suppers when you just want some inspiration for quick simple suppers.  Really handy.

Honestly Healthy by Natasha Corrett, Vicki Edgson, Lisa Linder

I bought this for my mother-in-law for Christmas and then spent hours pawing over it and taking photos of every page on my phone!   It’s not a vegan recipe book but there are masses of vegan dishes and ridiculously gorgeous photos which make you want to cook every single dish immediately.

Veggiestan:  A Vegetable Lover’s Tour of the Middle East by Sally Butcher

 

—->  I bought this for Helen. a vegan friend of mine, and she says that it’s amazing and she’s a massive foodie so I trust her recommendation entirely!

Clothing & Accessories:

The Third Estate – the most heavenly independent shop in Kentish Town run by the nicest couple in the world. Honestly.  Well worth a trip.  They stock some gorgeous ethically minded fashion brands and all their shoes are vegan.  They are really passionate about what they do and it’s just the nicest shopping experience possible!  27 Brecknock Rd, N7 0BT / 020 3620 2361

 

Beyond Skin Really good range of women’s shoes, boots and flats – all 100%  vegan and all produced in the UK.

 

Macbeth – sells footwear, apparel and accessories.  Ed and I get nearly all our shoes here.  They’re really affordable, well made and a great array of designs to pick from.