I love vegan food. I love vegan beer. I love roller derby. Cram these three things into a fun afternoon in London and I’m a fabulously-happy FGV.
A few weekends back, Josh and I went on a little journey to Bethnal Green in order to be part of a fantastic afternoon of roller derby hosted by the London Rockin’ Rollers. As the derby explosion grips the UK, the Rockin’ Rollers are busy carving their own chunk of the pie. In gorgeous York Hall on Old Ford Road, skaters battle it out on a wooden flat track as punters cheer on from the balcony seating or trackside. With vegan bottled beer on sale and a vegetarian eatery doors away, I could be forgiven for making a habit of this.
Just a few metres along Old Ford Road sits The Gallery Cafe. This vegetarian eatery serves meat-free dishes with many vegan options in a gorgeous building with patio seating and a picturesque garden. As we were rushing to the bout with little time to spare, Josh and I opted to snatch up a few of the cafe’s ready made sandwiches.
If you find yourself with more time than we had, make sure you investigate the rather comprehensive menu. There are many luscious-sounding dishes on offer including tofu stir fry, vegan burgers, pizza, sausage & mash, falafel wraps and most importantly a full English breakfast that is also served all day on weekends.
Once you are sitting pretty in the stands with a full belly, sit back and take a few well-deserved sips of cold vegan beer as you wait for the derby action to commence. During my visit, the York Hall bar was selling bottles of Grolsch for the reasonable sum of £3. I felt like a million bucks strolling around in my L.A. Derby Dolls tee (miss you, see you soon) and knocking back a few premium lagers while taking in the thrills and spills of the London Rockin’ Rollers as they bashed about the Leeds Roller Dolls and the Tiger Bay Brawlers.
For vegan treats and derby action, Bethnal Green is the place to be. Check out the London Rollin’ Rockers website for upcoming bouts. The next event is taking place on May 1, 2011 as the LRR welcome the Central City Roller Girls. Be there. Eat vegan. Drink vegan. Do it for the love of derby.
Derby crowds packing into York Hall
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Follow The Gallery Cafe on Twitter
I’ve been wanting to go to the Gallery Cafe for ages, they’re always posting delicious sounding things on Twitter!
I am keen to get a bit more involved with their menu. The sandwiches were delicious, put I think pizza will be my next move.