London can you wait?

Vegan menu one day only

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If you need another convincing reason to come along to London Vegan Beer Fest this Saturday (July 15, 2017), the fact that we have a gorgeous restaurant on site serving ONLY those attending the event should do the trick. No outsiders!

Autumn Yard is the permanent on site restaurant for Hackney Downs Studios and they have agreed to turn 100% vegan for the day of the beer fest as they become one of our three exclusive spaces for the day.

And it’s not just food they will be offering up. They will be hosting an exclusive beer tap takeover by locals 40FT  Brewery, a vegan wine bar, and of course their regular café serving coffee and tea. All vegan and all just for London Vegan Beer Fest attendees!

Let’s break down the info a little into smaller chunks as we explore what is happening inside Autumn Yard this Saturday.

The food menu

  • Chilli Burger, with Slaw & Sweet Potato fries and a beer of your choice 13.95
  • Cheese Burger, with Slaw & Sweet Potato fries and a beer of your choice 13.95
  • Chargrill Butternut Squash, Promegrante, Turmeric & beetroot Hummus. 8.95
  • Baked flat bread bowl with a Tomato, Black Lentil Tabbouleh. 7.95
  • Mixed Colour Quinoa Grain Bowl, with Tender Stem Broccoli, Sweet Potato, Tahini & Soy Dressing 6.95
  • Brownie & Ice Cream 4.95
  • Chocolate Pot 2.95

The Wine Bar

White

  • Il Meridione Grillo, IGT Terre Siciliane Italy 2016
  • False Bay Wild Yeast Chenin Blanc, Coastal Region South Africa 2016
  • Les Mains Noires, Côtes du Roussillon Villages, Vallée de l’Agly France 2015
  • Etnico Sauvignon Blanc [organic] Chile 2016
  • K-Naia Verdejo Spain 2015
  • Sepp Grüner Veltliner [organic] Austria 2016

Red

  • Ca’ di Ponti Nero d’Avola, IGT Terre Siciliane Italy 2015
  • Pedrera Monastrell Spain 2015
  • Conviviale Primitivo, IGT Salento Italy 2015
  • Adobe Reserva Malbec, Rapel Valley (organic) Chile 2016
  • Savoir-Faire d’Autrefois Mourvèdre, Pays d’Oc France 2013
  • Amauta Absoluto Tannat Argentina 2016

Rosé

  • Ancora Rosato, Monferrato Chiaretto Italy 2016
  • Circumstance Cape Coral Mourvèdre Rosé (biodynamic) South Africa 2016

Sparkling

  • Durello Spumante Brut ‘Palladiano’ Italy
  • Le Dolci Colline Prosecco Spumante Brut Italy
  • Emiliana Organic Sparkling Wine Chile

The Beer Tap Takeover

  • Larger 4.8% ABV: A hoppy version of the German style Kölsch, but unfiltered. Similar to a lager but larger in flavour. Brewed with a new hop from the States called Lemon Drop.
  • Päle 4.1% ABV: A hoppy American style Pale Ale with the flavour of Summer with a mix of UK and US hops.
  • Street Weiss 5.2% ABV: A hefeweizen with banana and melon notes.
  • Disco Pils 4.8% ABV: Crisp Pale Ale inspired by a German Pils. Brewed with Hüll Melon only, to give it a fruity hoppy aroma.

Wow! All of this goodness is available exclusively for London Vegan Beer Fest so do not show up at Autumn Yard without a ticket this Saturday.

In addition to this glorious sit down restaurant space with wine, beer and cocktails, we also have a giant indoor beer hall powered by Brass Castle Brewery and an outdoor market featuring seven breweries from around the country (including cider!) and multiple vegan street food vendors. You can see the full list of breweries and food vendors here.

You can take time out from all this drinking and eating in our exclusive karaoke parlour.

Access all of this for just £5 plus tiny booking fee if you buy your ticket in advance online.

Click here to book.

If we don’t sell out in advance, tickets are £9 on the door.

You can RSVP to the London Vegan Beer Fest Facebook event page.

Extra special note: on the day after London Vegan Beer Fest, anyone still wearing their event wristband can enjoy 15% off their food bill at Autumn Yard. Perfect recovery value! Don’t take off your wristband and save on hangover lunch.

Visit Autumn Yard online.


Get discount at vegan places

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How about saving 10% off your bill at a handful of vegan places around London on Sunday July 16, 2017?

This is a simple little special offer that will have you grinning.

As you know (because I harass you daily about it) London Vegan Beer Fest is taking place this week on Saturday. It’s set to be a beer, cider, wine and street food extravaganza that you will adore.

Read about the brewery and food line up here.

But what about the discount of which I spoke?

A handful of vegan businesses around London are taking part in LVBF Hangover Special the day after London Vegan Beer Fest.

How does it work? On Sunday July 16, 2017 anyone still wearing their London Vegan Beer Fest entry wristband will receive a 10% discount off their bill at the following businesses:

  • Ms Cupcake – the absolutely legendary Brixton bakery is the place to get sweet treats such as cupcakes and tray bakes as you try to get back on track for the week ahead. Follow Ms Cupcake on Instagram.
  • What the Pitta! – is their a better hangover food than a vegan doner kebab? This Shoreditch eatery will be your best friend after a day of drinking. Follow What the Pitta! on Instagram.
  • GreenBay Supermarket – this fabulous vegan grocery store in west London has everything you need to make your own hangover meal including bacon, chocolate and ice cream! Follow GreenBay on Instagram.
  • Picky Wops – just a few minutes walking from GreenBay, this gourmet pizza outlet could possibly be the place that saves you after too much partying. Follow Picky Wops on Instagram.
  • Vx – this old school legendary King’s Cross vegan grocery store, hot food outlet, and boutique has EVERYTHING you need to recover from London Vegan Beer Fest. Get a hot sandwich from the deli, supplies to make your own meal, and a cool t-shirt so you look good as you get refreshed. Follow Vx on Instagram.
  • Black Cat Café – this is one of the finest places to et vegan food in London and just happens to be walking distance from the London Vegan Beer Fest venue. Follow Black Cat on Instagram.
  • Temple of Hackney – the instantly legendary vegan fried chicken shop in Hackney Central is joining the LVBF Hangover Special. Is there anything more perfect for your recovery? Follow Temple of Seitan on Instagram.

Show up, order a bunch of stuff, and shake your wristband at your server for a 10% discount. This is a great way to save a little bit of money while supporting independent vegan businesses. Everyone wins as you recover from your London Vegan Beer Fest hangover.

Yay for vegan savings!

To get a wristband to use on Sunday for discounts, you of course first need come to London Vegan Beer Fest this Saturday.

Click here to buy your tickets now and RSVP to the Facebook event page.

FED by Water still amazing

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I visited vegan Italian restaurant FED by Water for the first time today in over six months and I’m delighted to report back that the food is still as incredible as ever.

Josh and I were blown away the pizza and bread basket. The portions are mammoth and we really struggled to fit it all in… but we did, of course!

It was also a lovely surprise to see the pizza named after me still on the menu.

Follow FED by Water on Instagram and then check out photos from my experience earlier today.

Sitting outside at @fedbywater waiting on some #vegan Italian food! #London

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TFW you see a pizza named after you in a #vegan restaurant. Get into @fedbywater for a taste of Fat Gay Vegan.

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Ridiculously tasty pizza and salad combination at @fedbywater in London. #vegan

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Beer and food line up

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Huge announcement for attendees of London Vegan Beer Fest on July 15, 2017.

Say hello to you brewery line up. It is mammoth.

Moor Beer Co – Bristol’s finest crash landing at our event!

Brass Castle Brewery – the one and only superstar brewery coming out of Yorkshire

Clarkshaws Brewing – get a taste of south London

Three Hills Brewing – small batch brewing out of Northamptonshire

40FT Brewery – getting local with these brewers from Dalston doing a tap takeover in the restaurant

Beerblefish Brewing – north London beer producers with taste big enough for the entire city

Twisted Barrel Ale – handcrafted in the heart of Coventry

Moncada Brewery – west London producers who are seasoned LVBF participants

BumbleBee Cider – vegans without cider is not right so this South Oxfordshire producer is coming on board

Full drinks list to be published in the coming days.

Also, we are not just about beer and cider. We pay as much attention to what you are eating. Look at this fabulous vegan food selection.

Lazy Boy Kitchen – Mac n cheese with bacon bits | chilli cheese fries | mac n cheese spring rolls

Club Mexicana – BBQ pulled jackfruit burritos (GF option) | tofish tacos (GF option) | deep fried cheeze fries

Arancini Brothers – One Tasty Vegan burger | risotto balls (GF)

Young Vegans – Seitan & ale pie | Sweet potato pie (GF) | Curry pie | All day breakfast pie | Peanut butter mud pie brownie (GF)

Battered – Vegan fish | Battered Pie | Battered sausage | Mushy peas | Pickled onion | Pickled gherkins | Tartare sauce

Peanut Butter Bakery – Fried donuts

Vegan Delice – Tray bakes | Cupcakes

Autumn Yard – Sit down restaurant service | Wine bar | Cocktails

This is seriously the vegan party of the year with the drink and food menus to match.

London Vegan Beer Fest has three massive spaces to explore:

  1. Indoor beer hall run by superstar vegan brewery Brass Castle of Yorkshire plus a karaoke parlour ALL DAY!
  2. Outdoor beer market with vegan street food
  3. Indoor sit down restaurant with wine and cocktail bar… plus more beer options

Every single item served on the day is vegan. OF COURSE.

You can buy a cheap early bird ticket now. We have already sold a whole bunch but if you are quick, you can get yours for just £5 plus a small booking fee. Once these are gone, second release tickets are £7 plus fee. If we have any tickets remaining on the day, they will be £9 on the gate.

Book your tickets now!

Don’t hate me if you leave it to the last minute and the event sells out. We do have a capacity and we will likely reach it.

If you use Facebook, take the time to RSVP to the event page and use the invite button to alert your friends and enemies. A cheeky little share on your timeline would also be greatly appreciated.

You can follow Vegan Beer Fest UK accounts on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter to stay updated.

See you at London Vegan Beer Fest!

Extra note: tickets are also selling strongly for the first ever Sheffield Vegan Beer Fest on July 29, 2017. RSVP here and book tickets.

Vegan fried chicken

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Even though I first reported the opening of vegan fried chicken shop Temple of Hackney back at the beginning of the year, I only got to eat with the business for the first time a few days ago.

This isn’t so much a review as it is a love letter.

Temple of Hackney is the food business of my dreams. What they are doing is the definition of groundbreaking and there is nobody on the planet doing what they do to this level.

The menu is outstanding and irresistible.

Crispy chips. Juicy seitan with crunchy coating. Gravy pots. Vegan chicken poppers. Burgers.

Every single item is world class and Temple of Hackney is one of the finest vegan food outlets on the planet. No debate.

Follow them on Instagram and eat with them as soon and as often as you can.

Want to be happy? Get the mac n cheese from @templeofseitan in Hackney. #vegan

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Get a fried #vegan chicken burger from @templeofseitan and your life will improve.

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Vegan night market and roller disco

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London, events rarely come along like this.

Join me for a massive party this Thursday night (July 6, 2017) from 6pm as Hackney Downs Studios throws open its doors for the annual Open Studios event. This is going to be so much fun.

Hackney Downs Studios is known as the home of Hackney Downs Vegan Market and the upcoming London Vegan Beer Fest, but what a lot of people don’t realise is it is also home to a lot of artists, workshops, stores and artisan producers.

Yes, the studios are real studios!

For one night a year, Hackney Downs Studios lets you get behind the scenes by touring all of the spaces and getting up close and personal with all the artist spaces. You can even get hands on with artists, makers, illustrators, designers, potters, record labels, gin distillers, architects, video makers and more.

Try your hand at live screen printing or get crafty with weaving workshops. There will be roaming theatre performances, live painting, exclusive sample sales, installations and music, food, drinks and dancing.

But what’s in it for vegan food lovers?

Food on the evening comes in the form of a vegan mini night market. Buy and devour food from this wonderful collection of vegan traders:

Need more to entice you down this Thursday?

There is a FREE roller disco taking place inside Hackney Showroom with a DJ and after party going on until midnight. Yes, a freakin’ roller disco that won’t cost you any money and they have skates to use on site!

It’s all sounds too good to be true. Hang out with artists behind the scenes, buy vegan street food, and get disco fever on roller skates. And it’s all for free!

You need to register for a free ticket online here so they know how many people are coming along. You can also RSVP/invite friends on the Facebook event page.

Extra note: Hackney Downs Studios is the site for the 5th annual London Vegan Beer Fest taking place on July 15, 2017. More info online here.

South London café turns vegan

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With chef’s hailing from Brazil, Portugal & the Caribbean, the team at Café Van Gogh are on a mission to bring original, authentic, home-cooked, 100% vegan dishes to customers. Their Sunday roast has already been featured in Metro’s best places for vegan Sunday roasts while profits from the café are reinvested into employability training, work experience programmes and food workshops for marginalised members of the local community. Café Van Gogh’s unpretentious, welcoming atmosphere paired with good value, hearty cuisine is attracting foodies from far and wide.

Café Van Gogh’s founder Steve Clarke is keen to democratise access to healthier options for all. After leaving a career in in social care, Clarke intentionally set up shop in an ethnically diverse and densely populated low-income area of south London, making fresh, affordable, plant-based meals accessible to surrounding locals as well as hardcore vegan converts.

Consumer demand for healthier vegan options is undeniable; but so is the demand for great taste. Café Van Gogh’s new summer menu wins on both counts featuring:

  • Sticky seitan ribs, with potato and pickled onion salad, grilled corn, “bacon” butter.
  • Sri-Lankan jackfruit and aubergine stuffed chapatti, served with dhal, pineapple chutney & a selection of salads.
  • Jerk plantain served with smoky beans, brown rice, mango salsa.

Steve said:

We can’t wait to share our new dishes with food lovers in London & beyond. Going 100% vegan is close to my heart and a lifestyle choice I believe in wholeheartedly, but this this isn’t just a personal decision; more and more customers have been asking for it. It’s just plain common sense to serve this demand. For me, the best bit is being proud of a menu that’s so full of real flavour. It seems to hook everyone, regardless of your diet choice.

The sentiment is shared by the café’s loyal customers across social media:

“I’m coming to my sticky seitan ribs today! So thrilled to have such a wonderful, tasty, vibey vegan place on my doorstep. – Jasmine Pender, local resident & customer

As a social enterprise, Café Van Gogh invests the profits made from café sales into dedicated food workshops, training and employability opportunities for marginalised members of the local community in Brixton.

To date social impact activities have included:

  • Providing chef and kitchen staff apprenticeships to NEETs
  • Welcoming field trips from the local primary schools, hosting experiential workshops where the kids taste and explore how raw nutritious ingredients transform into the deliciously diverse menu.
  • Offering a work experience programme to teenagers with learning difficulties from Highshore School putting them on the front line of food prep & customer service.

Café Van Gogh is supported by Big Issue Invest which supports a number of social enterprise organisations tackling poverty and disadvantage.

Café Van Gogh wants to say thank you to the loyal customers that have supported the café over the last year.

To celebrate going 100% vegan and the new summer menu, Café Van Gogh will be rewarding weekly surprise gifts to customers that post about the restaurant or snap their favourite dishes from the menu across Facebook, Twitter & Instagram using the hashtag #CafeVanGoghLDN from 1st – 31st July. More info can be found here.

You can visit Van Gogh Café online. Follow the café on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

The closest Underground station is Oval. You can see the exact location of the café here thanks to Google Maps.

Vegan cakes for LGBT charity

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Pride news from superstar vegan bakery, Ms Cupcake.

In the past we have supported larger LGBT rights organisations and charities for Pride, but this year we wanted to help a smaller project in the hope that our donations could make a bigger difference – as well as giving the project some exposure so people could see the great work that was happening there.

This year the bakery is supporting Mosaic LGBT Youth Centre which is based in London – a registered non-profit organisation.

Who are Mosaic then?

“Mosaic LGBT Youth Centre is a London-based registered non-profit organisation, which is specifically designed for young lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT+) people, as well of those who are questioning their sexuality and/or gender identity, aged thirteen to nineteen. We have three central aims – to support, educate, and inspire our young person.”

To help the charity, Ms Cupcake has created a special, one-off cupcake that they will sell across the whole of Pride festival at their Brixton shop (they are available to buy now). Proceeds from each cupcake will be donated to Mosaic.

The cupcake is a Red Velvet and Vanilla sponge mix, with rainbow coloured icing swirl, rolled in multi-coloured sprinkles, with glitter sprinkled on top.

Follow Ms Cupcake on Instagram.

New vegan burger bar for London

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London. You are on a roll.

A brand new vegan burger business is set to open on July 1, 2017 (this Saturday!) in Camden Market and the food sounds and looks lovely.

VBurger is the brainchild of north Londoners Reuven Cohen and Amir Wayman, who have teamed up with chef Yossi Edri to open their first vegan burger bar in Camden Market.

The pair state that this is only the first of several VBurger outlets they plan to open, so it definitely feels as though London has some special to look forward to.

The menu being launched in Camden includes a beetroot burger, a falafel burger and a seitan cutlet burger. You can dress your burger up with vegan cheese or avocado and make a complete meal with skin-on fries, sweet potato wedges, coleslaw and decadent brownies.

Even better news involves the menu expanding some time after opening to include another five burgers.

This is fabulous news for vegan Londoners. We get a fast food burger joint from this Saturday and it looks like it is going to be a big deal. Get along 7 days a week between 10am and 7pm.

Follow VBurger on Facebook and Instagram.

Superstar vegan meats in London

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This is HUGE news for Sgaia Vegan Meats.

The superstar food company has impressed people all over the UK (and the world with shipments heading to New Zealand recently) so it was only a matter of time before a big name store wanted in on the action.

Whole Foods Market stores around the UK are now stocking the Scotland-based vegan meat range. This is huge news for a completely independent vegan business that started so small just a little while ago.

If you are in London, the news gets better for you this weekend.

Sgaia will be at Whole Foods Market Piccadilly Circus all weekend handing out samples. You can visit them on Saturday (June 24) or Sunday (June 25) between midday and 3pm and 4pm until 7pm and try some of their plant based Mheats.

Get along and celebrate with this very deserving vegan business.

Follow Sgaia on Instagram.