London vegan news, reviews & events
Sit back, relax and enjoy a brief review of one restaurant I will probably never eat in again.
Josh and I were on our way to the West Midlands Vegan Festival when hunger struck. A bit of vegan keyword searching, followed by a touch of Google mapping, and we were standing inside a vegetarian restaurant located in the town of West Bromwich. The name of the establishment? Jalapeños.
Whenever you eat vegan food in a non-vegan establishment, you really are at the mercy of the place. I recently found out that one of my favourite non-vegan vegan food suppliers was maybe not taking my food choices as seriously as I was.
Does this story have a happy ending? Read on…
A few whispers have been floating around the vegan London scene for a short while and I jumped into the action today to discover the truth for myself.
Are the pita pockets at Maoz in Old Compton Street vegan? I found out…
Josh is taking the virtual reins for this post by reflecting on a fabulous prehispanic vegan cafe we visited during our trip to Mexico earlier this year.
Sorry to do this to you, but you will be green with jealousy.
Take it away, Josh.
I am a bad vegan. In all of my time in London, I have never made the effort to drag my ample frame to Manna in Primrose Hill.
What? You don’t know what Manna is?! It’s a good thing my friend Julie Hamill took a recent excursion to this world-famous vegan restaurant and has dropped by to tell you all about it. You would have been waiting an awfully-long time if you were depending on me getting there.
Visit Julie online to read some of here fabulous Morrissey-related interviews and of course follow her on Twitter where she runs the weekly MozArmy quiz… that’s right, a weekly Twitter quiz about Morrissey.
Tell us about Manna, Julie.
My recent trip to the gorgeous Mexican city of Xalapa was downright sensational. I enjoyed a long hike through coffee and banana farms, I took in the sights of the glorious Teocelo waterfall and I swam during a torrential tropical rainstorm.
Oh, I almost forgot. I ate a lot of vegan food, too.
The city of Xalapa in the state of Veracruz won’t win any awards for being vegan-friendly. Heck, I even passed a restaurant that proudly proclaimed ‘NO VEGETARIANO’ on its front sign. Yes, it can be difficult to eat plant-based in Xalapa but the addition of a Loving Hut to the landscape has certainly brightened the outlook.
Loving Hut outlets are seemingly popping up everywhere and it is making vegan travel easier. After our gruelling day of hiking and sightseeing, Josh and I were desperately in need of some recharging. Loving Hut Xalapa came to the rescue in a big way.
Mexico City is turning up some vegan surprises, that’s for sure.
I have purchased chocolate soya milk in grocery stores, enjoyed massive jars of tofu/olive paté and let’s not forget about the wonderful vegan cupcakes made right here in Distrito Federal. Oh no, I haven’t been going hungry.
Amongst this cornucopia of hidden vegan delights is one of the loveliest food outlets anywhere in the world. Vegans and vegan-curious, please let me introduce you to Falafelito.
Do you often fly coach/economy? Then you will be acutely aware of how lousy airline food can be.
Requesting a vegan meal on a plane is even more of minefield. I was once served a lamb curry for my special meal request. Another adventure involved nothing but a few blocks of cheese and water crackers. And of course we all know the anguish of having nothing to eat except a bowl of under-ripe melon. I have enjoyed the occasional vegan meal on a flight and the memory will always be cherished of being served a vegan donut with chocolate soy milk on a United Airlines flight.
I am keen to share my latest experience of vegan flying food with you, but before I do I want to ask a question. What is the best vegan food you have been served inflight? What is the least memorable? What is the most unbelievably bad? I know that is more than one question, but I am just that curious!
Here is the vegan meal I was served on British Airways a week ago on my way to Mexico City. Overall I was impressed by the quality and the thought that had gone into my meal. The vegan dishes were actually vegan as far as I could tell. It was definitely one of the most satisfying vegan meals I have experienced on a flight during the last few years. How does this rate with your experiences?
Para los hispanohablantes hay una versión en español al final de esta página.
I traveled 11 hours by plane to the other side of the world and what did I discover? If you guessed delicious vegan cupcakes, give yourself a pat on the back!
Mexico City is not known internationally as a haven for vegans. Walking through any street market in the metropolis would lead you to believe the concept of plant-based fare is completely unknown. All sorts of dead animals are fried, boiled and seared before your very eyes and it is confronting and often gruesome.
But not all is lost. A new wave of vegan options is taking over Distrito Federal and I am extremely proud to say a dear friend of mine is part of the movement by making sure he offers cruelty-free treats as part of his new baking endeavour.
One thing that is awesome about being a self-confessed, overeating vegan is that I get to support a lot of fabulous independent businesses. And believe me when I giddily-proclaim there are few more fabulous than Cookies And Scream of Camden.
