Look of love

Are you one of those people that likes to mark Valentine’s Day with a special meal and a bottle of wine? That task becomes all the more difficult when you throw being vegan into the mix, right?

You can stay home and challenge yourself to create a fancy meal or you can head into the wilds of London looking for a vegan dinner amongst a sea of carnivorous eating options.

Recently-closed Saf was set to host a gorgeous dinner on February 14th, but you clearly can’t count on that option. So let’s help each other out. Jump into the comments section below to sound off about the best London location for a romantic vegan meal this Friday.

I am half the world away in Mexico but I would like to get the ball rolling by suggesting tibits on Heddon Street in Mayfair. This vegetarian restaurant used to be home to London Vegan Drinks and is a favourite of vegans and their friends.

Sietta & tibits
Sietta & tibits

On Friday February 14th, tibits will be transforming their food boat (where all the food is held) into a vegan wonderland. They are removing all non-vegan items for the day so your romantic meal can be cruelty-free. People who like to drink will also be happy with a selection of vegan beers, wines and cocktails (make sure you ask for vegan wine options to be pointed out).

That’s my tip for Valentine’s Day 2014. Now I want to hear yours!

Saf set to close

I would like to offer you the choice of hearing the good news or the bad news first, but to be honest I only have devastating news.

I am decidedly depressed to break the news that Saf Restaurant & Bar located in Whole Foods Market Kensington is set to close forever.

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Make mine a mezze

Some things slip past me. I’m not infallible when it comes to knowing about all the vegan food in London. I try my best to eat everything on offer, but I am just one FGV.

Overlooking a vegan option would be excusable if we are talking about a tiny cafe tucked away in the backstreets of an outer suburb, but not when it comes to a chain of cafes with approximately 200 locations worldwide… with two locations within ten minutes of my front door!

The two Le Pain Quotidien outlets near my house somehow managed to escape my attention for a while, but I will definitely be popping in to try their vegan options often after my experience last week. I was casually strolling past the Notting Hill location of this global chain when a little carrot image at the bottom of their menu caught my eye.

Instead of the expected ‘suitable for vegetarians’, I was faced with ‘100% botanical/vegan’. I quickly hurried inside.

I’m not going to be hysterical and say these people are the saviours of high street vegan dining, but the few offerings were very well thought out. My trio of hummus mezze was fresh, tasty and difficult to finish due to size. The beetroot, green pea and chickpea varieties of hummus were nicely accompanied by fresh vegetables and bread.

Notting Hill location
Notting Hill location
They dangled a carrot in front of me
They dangled a carrot in front of me
Trio of hummus mezze
Trio of hummus mezze

The cafe proudly state on their menu they always have a selection of vegan muffins and the rotating monthly specials always seem to include a ‘botanical’ option.

You will need to dig a little deeper into your purse than some eateries require, but healthy and thoughtful eating for vegans has certainly got a good friend in Le Pain Quotidien.

Crepes in Brixton

My friend Wayne contacted me last week with news of a crêperie serving vegan crêpes and I couldn’t wait to share the news on here. Thanks Wayne for use of your photo and for this wonderful news. I am looking forward to trying!

Wayne wrote to me, “Senzala Creperie is in the labyrinth that is Brixton Market. I was wandering around the market today looking for somewhere to have lunch when I stumbled upon Senzala and was overjoyed to see their menu had a vegan section – only three options, but hey, that’s better than a lot of other eateries. My meal was very tasty and satisfying. They can do gluten free crepes too. Their website is under construction so no help there, but there are reviews if you google Senzala. This is my crepe with caramelised onions, mushrooms, asparagus and lots of protein-rich rocket.”

Vegan crepe!
Vegan crepe!

Chip shop glory

SEE UPDATE FROM THE CAFE IN THE COMMENTS

There is good news and there is great news. London, you just got some bloody fantastic news.

If you grew up in this country and you weren’t always vegan, chances are you frequented a fish and chip shop. As your personal understanding of animal cruelty grew, your trips to the local chip shop probably became further apart or they ended abruptly.

So, what would you say to being able to relive childhood memories of chip shop visits while upholding your current vegan beliefs?

If you like the sound of that offer, get down to Bethnal Green!

Wednesdays are now Chip Shop Wednesdays at The Gallery Café on Old Ford Road. The cafe will be selling a specially designed dish they are calling ‘tofish and chips’ once a week on Wednesday from 5pm (apart from the final Wednesday of each month which is a different event). The tasty-sounding meal comes with one side for £7.50.

I plan on getting my hands on some vegan fish and chips at The Gallery Café as soon as possible. Watch this space!

The Gallery Cafe on Old Ford Road
The Gallery Cafe on Old Ford Road

Italian afternoon tea

On Saturday February 1st, 2014 between 5pm and 8pm, my pal Sara is hosting an afternoon tea packed full of herbal tea, Italian coffee and sweet and savoury Italian finger foods with a British twist.

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You MUST check out the menu below:

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Reward for you

What’s better than a gorgeous vegan meal in a convenient central London location?  A 10% discount off your total bill at the end of your meal, that’s what!

I had the pleasure of working with Saf Restaurant & Bar to help deliver a memorable dinner party on New Year’s Eve and now I get the thrill of offering a special discount to all my readers.

Saf reached out to ask if my readers would like a discount to dine with them until February 28th, 2014 at a 10% discount. I said, “Of course!”.

The restaurant has an attractive menu featuring raw starters, hearty mains, irresistible desserts and an impressive selection of vegan drinks. I truly believe it is the leader of the pack in London at the moment for vegan dining.

How do you get the discount?

Gorgeous, unique dessert of white chocolate dumplings with vanilla ice cream in cinnamon broth
White chocolate dumplings with vanilla ice cream in cinnamon broth

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Burger

You know I adore Saf. I love them so much I even worked with them to host a New Year’s Eve dinner and now I have even another reason to be a fan. Their mouthwatering burger is now available for £4.50 as a bar snack. Perfect for a quick bite. Maybe you can even find the time to wash it down with a vegan beer or cocktail. I see a lot of these burgers in my future!

See this and other photos over on my Instagram account.

Don’t hold the cheese

One of the greatest fears for a lot of people looking to make the leap to a vegan lifestyle is the lack of pizza. Surely humans cannot exist without this crucial dish? Fortunately for wannabe vegans, Basilico make it possible for you to be able to consume pizza without hurting anyone.

The giant pizzas at Basilico are legendary. The first time we ordered an 18 inch delight, I squealed with joy. We have been enjoying the cheese-less margherita  on and off for a while now but had somehow overlooked the fact the pizza crafters also make a mouth watering roasted vegetable pizza with vegan cheese. Oh yes.

I apologise if you are hungry. These photos are going to be difficult to view. Put yourself out of your misery and order  an 18 inch vegan vegetarian pizza featuring Veganic grated cheese today. Basilico will even deliver it for you if you are local to one of their eight branches.

18 inches of delight
18 inches of delight
My fat, gay hand fades into insignificance next to this monster
My fat, gay hand fades into insignificance next to this monster
Up close & personal
Up close & personal

New Year’s Cheer

24 hours on, I am still a bit worn out from hosting my vegan New Year’s Eve dinner for 70 people at Saf Restaurant & Bar. It was a lot of hard work, but well worth it. Every single guest looked to be having a fantastic night out.

My pal Luke has kindly offered to stop by and give you his take on the evening. You can follow Luke on Twitter and check out his blog.

Tell us what you thought, Luke.

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