LDNGuide
The 18 Best Vegan Restaurants In London
Our favourite restaurants serving vegan food in London.
Because you’re vegan, lettuce is your staple, right? Fries are your messiah, no? You love leaving early to eat three boxes of Oreos after a complete stranger overhears “vegan” and asks you if you’re getting enough protein. Again.
We’ve made this guide so that you can eat out without having to utter the fateful words, “please can you leave the cheese off that”. These are the best places to eat in London if you’re vegan, plus the restaurants that do great vegan options as part of their regular menus.
Take a look at our top vegetarian restaurant recommendations too.
COMPLETELY VEGAN SPOTS
photo credit: Plants Of Roselyn
The only way you can be disappointed by Plants of Roselyn is if you don’t book. The buzzy restaurant has all the hallmarks of a Great Little Place, which makes it an ideal go-to after work around London Bridge. Calming oaty tones and dried flowers provide a pretty backdrop for fiery flavours and excellent plant-based Thai dishes. We come for the chilli-heavy aubergine gra pow and fragrant green curry, and stay for the charming service. That and the mango and chilli margaritas.
Jam Delish, a vibrant vegan Caribbean spot in Islington, has the kind of Good Times energy that will enable a round of colourful cocktails, even on a Tuesday night. You could make a meal from small plates like ‘fish’ tacos and whole jerk plantain with sharp pomegranate, but don’t miss mains like incredibly tender, warming ‘oxtail’ (jackfruit and mushroom) stew. That said, it’s really the buzz of the place, turned-up R&B playlist, and welcoming hospitality that’ll lift your spirits.
photo credit: Tofu Vegan
This all-vegan Chinese spot on Upper Street is heaving seven days a week, as everyone tucks into house-made silken tofu in Sichuan sauce, mock meats like Chongqing chicken, and dim sum like soupy xiao long bao stuffed with tofu and mushroom. And it’s all really, really good. The space is so big that it spills out onto the pavement, much like the sizzling fish-fragrant sauce that will likely fall from your greedy spoonfuls.
photo credit: Facing Heaven
Facing Heaven in Hackney is a cosy spot serving lip-tingling Chinese-inspired dishes: plump mock-pork dumplings drenched in chilli flake-infused oil, garlic-heavy stir-fried chrysanthemum and chunks of black pudding (tofu-based but you’ll second-guess it’s not meat), and bouncy cold XO noodles. The red and green lighting, single fake roses on tables, and disco ball in the bathroom add to the slightly chaotic but fun charm. Head here for date night, mates night, or just a solo bowl of noodles.
Andu Café, an Ethiopian spot in Dalston, is one of the easiest choices for a vegan meal in London for every good reason imaginable. Firstly, you can only order one thing: a six-dish platter with injera or rice. Secondly, it’s reasonably priced, especially given the generous portions. And thirdly, it’s BYOB.
Mildreds is a Soho institution that has been serving plant-based food since a time when the general public probably thought quinoa was a musical instrument. These days most of the wide-ranging menu is vegan-friendly, and as well as Nashville hot ‘chicken’ burgers there are dishes like grilled artichoke caesar, spinach gyoza, and pakora aubergine pockets. Plus, we really rate the nachos.
SPOTS WITH GOOD VEGAN OPTIONS
photo credit: Anton Rodriguez
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Searching for that holy grail ‘ve’ on a menu can get tiring, but Tendril has made it easy. The Mayfair restaurant is mostly vegan (bar a couple of cheesy dishes) and instead of fobbing you off with a suspicious lump described as ‘faux sausage’, it serves really great vegetable dishes. There are moreish purple potatoes in a sticky sesame glaze, and pak choi which comes in a shimmering massaman curry that we could drink by the jugful. The dining room is buzzy, even midweek, and it’s a pretty place to have a classy catch-up.
photo credit: Giulia Verdinelli
Nandine is a cafe and restaurant that serves Kurdish-inspired food from one long and tastefully Ikea-ish room in Camberwell. The menu is full of the kind of stuff that makes you go all lovey dovey for fresh and excellent ingredients. The vegan mezze bowls feature no less than 10 component parts, and these are what you should be coming here, and coming back here, for. Not just because they’re a steal, but because the aubergine is never not addictively smoky and the lentil falafels never not crunchy.
photo credit: Karolina Wiercigroch
The vegan dishes at Voodoo Ray’s are both pizzas, and there will obviously come a time in your life when you’re in east London and need pizza. It’s inevitable. The Queen Vegan is covered in artichoke, green olives, sun blush tomatoes, red onion, and their green sauce. Plus, you can either get it as a whole 12-inch pie, by the slice, or delivered. Lovely.
The menu at this Peruvian restaurant in Shoreditch is split into soil, sea, and land, which means that from the moment you sit down you can just direct your eyes to the soil section and know you’re in safe hands. There’s also a full vegan tasting menu that involves dishes like mushroom ceviche, caramelised aubergine, and chilli mayo. It’s a casual, cool place that’s perfect for a catch-up with friends over brunch, date night at the bar, or swinging by for a plate of brussels sprouts with wild rice after work.
There are Dishoom locations across London, all serving excellent Indian food. And importantly, Indian vegan food too. There’s everything from the vegan Bombay full breakfast, to small plates like chickpea curry, to vegan lassis, and a whole host of other options. Unless you’re rolling with a group of six or more, dinner at Dishoom operates on a walk-in basis, but the King’s Cross site is often your best bet for beating the queues.
Mr Bao is basically the David Attenborough of restaurants. If you don’t like it then you’re probably a bit weird, hate puppies, and have an online dating profile that’s full of pictures of you from 10 years ago. Between the cool and casual interiors and excellent Taiwanese food, it’s pretty much impossible to not like this little Peckham spot. On the vegan menu, you’ll find things like tofu bao, sweet potato chips with a vegan sriracha mayo, and our favourite thing here, the shiitake mushroom bao.
Much like if you were expecting a tale of a Tango Rolex from A Clockwork Orange, sometimes names are misleading. It’s understandable that you might not expect one of London’s best vegan burgers from a place named Meatliquor, but that’s exactly what you’ll find here. This loud and proud part-diner part-dive bar is just up from Oxford Circus and is open every night until 3am. So whether you need black bean chilli fries in the midst of shopping, or several rounds of Nashville spice-dusted nuggets after several rounds of drinks, this place has got you covered.
Along with misconceptions that being vegan means you’re exceptionally healthy all the time and that 90% of your paycheck goes on Linda McCartney sausages, is the idea that being vegan means you have to miss out on some of London’s best restaurants. Restaurants like Bubala. Luckily this Middle Eastern spot in Spitalfields isn’t only serving some of the best all-vegetarian food in London, but it has plenty of vegan options too. You’re in safe hands no matter what you order—but if you leave without getting the fried aubergine with date syrup you’re doing it wrong.
This shiny and slick restaurant off Carnaby Street serves food inspired by Istanbul. Which means the mezze, both hot and cold, is spectacular. Luscious muhammara, sweet with peppers and pomegranate, is made for scooping up with the crisp and warm wood-fired pide. Give us bread and a bucket of this and we're happy. A good portion of the mezze at Zahter is vegan which is the best part of a meal here anyway, so order a selection, get more pide that you can feasibly eat, and try one of the house cocktails while you’re at it.
photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch
With an upbeat dining room painted a cheerful pink, Chuku’s in Tottenham has the ability to create loud and proud unforgettable flavours and make it look oh-so easy. And the best part is that these are flavours for everyone: the meat is halal and the gluten-free options are endless, and over half of the small plates are vegan. The spot even provides a valiant service for anyone who is hungover or experiencing a brutal dose of the Sunday Scaries with its weekend brunches. So it’s the perfect option if one half of the party is vegan and the other half claims to be “allergic” to vegetables.
Lahpet’s original restaurant is in Shoreditch, but in our opinion, its Covent Garden spot is better. Downstairs there’s a buzzing open kitchen and big sharing tables that are perfect for anyone who’s on a solo mission to eat some excellent noodle soup. Upstairs, the lighting is a little moodier and there are lots of two-person tables that will suit a date night involving lentil chow chow, several small plates, and a round of Lahpet’s pickled tea take on a classic martini. Expect great vegan options, gluten-free numbers, and enough ginger to shock you out of your urban blues.
photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch
One of our favourite pizza places in London, this Spitalfields spot specialises in super-thick Detroit-style, marinara-heavy pizzas. Any of the vegetarian options can be made vegan on request, making it an excellent choice in the area. Hit this place up for the kind of meal that will have you needing a nap afterwards, or better yet pick up a box and take it straight home to eat in bed.
