Most vegan-friendly location in London

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I get asked a lot of questions as a vegan blogger based in London. People want to know where they can get a fry up, which beers are vegan and who sells the biggest range of plant-based products.

I am usually able to assist but there has always been a question  for which I have struggled to determine an answer. People want to know the most vegan-friendly suburb/location/area in the UK capital.

The problem with London is the vast distances you must travel to find vegan food. Catch the Tube to Edgware for one of the best Loving Huts on the planet to understand what I mean. Vegan business are spread far and wide, making it difficult to name the number one spot for plant eaters.

However, there certainly are hotspots popping up around London where a vegan would have no problem eating their fill. Take Brixton, for example.

Following is a collection of vegan food I stumbled across this weekend as I strolled around the iconic London neighbourhood. From make-shift market stalls to one of the most well-known vegan bakeries in the world, Brixton is certainly not short of cruelty-free food options.

The collection below doesn’t even cover everything on offer in Brixton. There is a raw juice bar, a vegan-friendly pizza restaurant, a falafel stall and much more.

Check out the mouthwatering photos and then let me know in the comments your pick for London’s most vegan-friendly neighbourhood!

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Oreo milkshake & cotton candy cupcake from Ms. Cupcake vegan bakery

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Friends reunited

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London can be a beating.

Living in such a huge city of course has its advantages, but you can also get swallowed up in the sheer scale of things. I have friends who live on the other side of the city and I can get through an entire calendar year without seeing them. Everyone is busy and it can take hours to get across town.

One victim of London’s gigantism is Saf. This 100% vegan restaurant is one of the finest places for plant eaters to dine out in the capital, but I rarely make it along. One of the last times I visited was for this blog post from April 2011. That is far too long between visits.

This week I decided to bridge the gap between myself and Saf. I slipped in on my own for a quick lunch and my choice of main was exquisite. I adored my Summer Risotto featuring  organic Arborio rice with a miso cream, fresh broad beans, grilled courgettes, roasted garlic and saffron all topped with a shaved fennel salad.

£11 is a fair chunk to pay for a main meal but the quality and freshness of my meal warranted the price tag. It was delicious and felt as though someone had really considered the combination of ingredients.

Risotto at Saf
Risotto at Saf

I am so glad I have reconnected with Saf. I promise I won’t let London come between us ever again.

Visit Saf online

What’s your bag?

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If you missed out on attending London Vegan Beer Fest, it doesn’t mean you have to miss out on holding a small piece of it in your hand.

I have an extremely limited run of tote bags left from the event and I am offering them for sale right here. For £6 (or £7 outside the UK) you will get a limited edition, hand printed, organic cotton London Vegan Beer Fest tote bag posted through your letterbox.

But that is not all.

Because I am a kind and loving FGV, every buyer will also get a super cool ‘DRINK VEGAN BEER’ pin/badge and a copy of the beer fest programme.

These London Vegan Beer Fest bundles are a lovely memento of a superb community event. Once these are gone they will not be reprinted, so grab a little piece of vegan history while they last!

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Click the button above for the bundle if you are in the UK (£6)

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Click the button above for the bundle if you are outside the UK (£7)

 

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Vegan feast in a Royal park

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London, get ready to experience Mexican food like you have never experienced it before.

I am proudly partnering with esteemed restaurant group Peyton & Byrne to present a Mexican inspired vegan supper club held in the gorgeous surrounds of St. James’s Park.

On Thursday August 8th, 2013, food enthusiasts will have the rare chance to be immersed in a 100% plant-based Mexican meal on the covered balcony of Inn The Park. I am working alongside the staff of this Oliver Peyton-owned eatery to deliver a sumptuous and exotic range of dishes inspired by the hustle and bustle of the streets of Mexico City.

Booking details at bottom of page.

Inn The Park (1)

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Whole lotta love

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If you like a good party with plenty of vegan refreshments, wonderful people and plant-based food options, you would have been in your element last night as London Vegan Drinks made its debut in Whole Foods Market High Street Kensington.

Almost 150 vegans and vegan-friendlies converged on the gorgeous Kensington High Street mega-store on Thursday July 18th, 2013 for what is now one of the biggest monthly vegan events on the planet.

We felt so loved!
We felt so loved!

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I go ahead and Smile

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You know when you go to a small town or city and you find nothing to eat? What a sinking feeling, right?

This did not happen to me during my recent trip to Southsea.

Earlier this week I posted about my wondrous experience at Coco Chocolate Boutique (read about it here) and it just so happens you can also get a pretty decent vegan savoury meal on the very same street in Southsea.

Smile Cafe is as amiable an establishment as you can get. Every person working in the place was friendly, down to Earth and helpful. Their menu features vegan options clearly marked, which is highly unusual in this small cafe/diner style set up in the UK. Even though Smile is an omni eatery, I felt completely at home.

Smile of Southsea
Smile of Southsea

Check out what Josh and I enjoyed.

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Loco for Coco

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You don’t find yourself in the position of being a fat, gay vegan without knowing your way around a drop of chocolate or two. I love bars, coated sweets and anything containing vegan chocolate. It’s part of the territory when you are a FGV.

Imagine my delight a few weeks ago when I found myself standing in a cute-as-a-chocolate-button store in Southsea, surrounded by vegan chocolates. I was in heaven!

Coco Chocolate Boutique is a gorgeous specialist store crammed full of decadent, handmade delicacies just minutes from the seafront. Even though they aren’t exclusively vegan, the Coco shelves and cases hold an impressive array of animal-free fare.

Coco Chocolate Boutique of Southsea
Coco Chocolate Boutique of Southsea

There are vegan fondants, cherries oozing in brandy, dark chocolate shards in several flavours, chocolate covered Turkish delight and even solid dark chocolate skulls.

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Best-in-Show at LVBF 2013

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The sun burned bright. The beers flowed liberally. People adored the BBQ. Karaoke raised money for Sea Shepherd. That’s right, people. London Vegan Beer Fest was a raging success enjoyed by almost 300 people on Saturday July 13th, 2013.

I have much to share with you all (including photos), but I have taken time out of my LVBF comedown to share some important information with you. Beer lovers, I present the audience favourite beverage as voted by the attendees of London Vegan Beer Fest.

Drum roll.

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Get ready to be happy

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Hey. You. Yes, you.

You sitting comfortably in your front room, eating baked beans on toast or a bag of salted crisps and feeling quite smug with yourself. You might be a fussy vegan but there you are eating tasty treats normally assigned to ‘the normals’ of the world. You can eat whatever you like because there are vegan options for most things now. You are such an accomplished eater and you don’t even have to think about it anymore. It’s so easy, right?

Well, hold onto your hemp hats. I make no apologies for blowing your tiny, vegan world apart with this next announcement.

Comfortably-numb plant eaters of the UK, I give you The Mighty Fork. Eating just became interesting again.

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The Mighty Fork is the brainchild of hot dog hero Rita Fontes and she is certainly going to make UK vegans more appreciative of their food choices.

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