London vegan news, reviews & events
Canary Wharf is one of those parts of London that feels like it only exists for people who work there. A sea of suits, glass towers, and the eerie quiet of a place that empties out after office hours.
It’s never really been a destination unless you have a reason to be there and for years, I’ve had precisely zero reasons.
But now, Yummzy has arrived, giving Canary Wharf a rare glimmer of interest for those of us who don’t clock in at a finance firm.
Fifteen years ago when I started this very blog, if you wanted to be social as a vegan in London you had to make it happen yourself. There were no vegan pubs and certainly no high street chains with dedicated plant-based menus.
This wilderness forced me to launch London Vegan Drinks, a monthly gathering where we carved out a space for ourselves in a world that barely acknowledged we existed. London Vegan Potluck was another community-driven event I curated, where people cooked and shared food because there weren’t many places to eat out.
Back then, if you wanted a vegan meal, you might get lucky at Pogo Café in Hackney (if they were open and serving something edible) or a measly number of eateries that weren’t always great. Other than that, it was whatever scraps you could cobble together from independent health food stores and Holland & Barrett. There were no vegan ready meals, hardly any supermarket own-brand plant milks, and certainly no Gregg’s vegan sausage rolls.
Then the independent vegan revolution happened. Slowly at first and then rapidly.
If you are familiar with the delicious vegan offerings of Mali Thai in Earls Court, you’ll be delighted to know this restaurant now has a companion outlet located south of the river.
Muan is a Thai street food restaurant located inside Brixton Village market, just a few minutes walk from Brixton Underground and Overground stations.
The eatery is a no-frills kind of vibe which makes for the perfect spot for a fast meal in a relaxed and comfortable setting.
Take a look below at the delights I ate during my recent visit!
Are you feeling romantic, London?
E3 Vegan, the sensational plant-based restaurant on Roman Road in Bow, is celebrating Valentine’s Day with an exclusive menu crafted by chef Marc Joseph.
If you hang around these parts often, you might have seen my post about the top tier Sunday roast being served regularly at E3 Vegan. Click here to play catch up if you missed it.
That Sunday feast is all well and good, but I’m here to encourage you to take your current romantic entanglements along for this one of a kind date night on Friday February 14th, 2025.
Check out the menu below!
There was a time, not that long ago, when I struggled to keep up with newly-opened vegan food businesses in London.
There was a green culinary boom taking place in the UK capital that was tough to track and I’d often find myself being the last to know about a new eatery.
Sadly, there now appears to be another new trend rapidly spreading around town which is equally as exhausting to document.
Vegan restaurant closures.
I’m not here to do a deep dive into why these businesses are closing (mostly because I’m too lazy for investigative journalism) but I did want to take this opportunity to give a shout out to a few locations that had been feeding the vegan and vegan-curious in London but which have now turned out the lights for good.
The huge (and hugely-popular) Club Mexicana on Commercial Street, Shoreditch recently closed quite abruptly. This loss came as a shock to the community as the restaurant had been promoting its offerings almost until the day it was shuttered.
Fans of the Mexican-inspired eatery can still enjoy their favourite menu items at two continuing locations, Soho and Mayfair. Click here to get more information and booking details. Use it or lose it people!
This listicle isn’t my favourite thing to do, but let me rush through these recent closures.
Hey London, are you looking for a new experience? Perhaps something off the beaten path?
You can join wild food enthusiast, Ken Greenway, for a foraging experience at the amazing award-winning Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park this February!
Ken will share his love and deep knowledge of foraging and will introduce you to the everyday plants you can eat, opening your eyes to a new world of possibilities and flavours. He will share his knowledge of seasonal wild foods as well as where and when to pick them.
These outdoor adventures in foraging happen semi-regularly throughout the year and are curated by food security charity Made In Hackney with the next date scheduled for Saturday February 15, 2025.
Let me tell you a little more information and show you where to book.
Big news!
Food security heroes Made In Hackney are finally dropping their first-ever cookbook, and it’s an absolute must-have.
We Cook Plants is more than just a recipe book. It’s a love letter to plant-based cooking, packed with 100 global recipes from the incredible Made In Hackney chefs curated by the charity’s founder, Sarah Bentley. And if that wasn’t exciting enough, the book features contributions from celebrity supporters like Andi Oliver, Sami Tamimi, Dr Rupy, and fermentation king Sandor Katz. Fancy, right?
I don’t know a lot about Scandinavian food.
As a person originating from outside the region known as Scandinavia, I’m not even sure how effective it is to use a coverall term such as Scandinavian to describe all the food developed across a handful of countries with diverse geographic landscapes and historic influences.
To develop an understanding of what really constitutes Scandinavian food, the best I can do as a non-Scandi living in London is to defer to a chef who is happy to use the term to describe the food they create.
And if this plate of deliciousness is the norm, sign me up as a Scandi fan!
As a long time vegan, I can recall the wilderness years when there wasn’t a decent Sunday dinner option in all of London. These were dark times of hearing other people rave about Yorkshire puddings drenched in gravy while us plant-munchers were left attempting to create our own versions at home.
I grew up in Australia which meant not being familiar with the concept of a roast dinner served in the middle of the day, so when I first moved to London in 1998 I was instantly intrigued by this concept.
And Sunday roasts are a tough thing to avoid in London. Pubs, carveries, and restaurants all shout about this very British meal which left me feeling a tiny bit isolated as a vegan.
Fast forward to 2025 and there is some stellar news for people interested in Sunday roast culture but who don’t want to hurt any animals in order to participate.
Say hello to this gorgeous plate of food being served weekly in east London.
If you sniff around these parts of the Internet often, you’ll undoubtedly be aware that I work with food security charity Made In Hackney.
Made In Hackney does a lot of work around food security, education, and access however it most well-known in London for the free community cooking classes hosted inside our Clapton Common kitchen.
These classes are designed to help empower the community to eat nutritious and delicious cuisine that is culturally relevant. Often the classes will have a wellbeing focus such as ‘cooking to combat diabetes’ or low cost recipes for people struggling with the cost of living.
These classes are open to anyone and are not income tested. Check out the image below to see some of the upcoming community classes.