Bloomsbury

London restaurant closed

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Another day, another London restaurant closure.

Vegetarian’s Paradise has long been a favourite destination of London vegans, mostly thanks to their incredibly good value all-you-can-eat Indian buffet. While not a vegan restaurant, the majority of food on the buffet table was vegan.

I could never understand why they didn’t just make the switch to 100% vegan. They were so close.

Anyway, here is a photo of the windows papered over of the Marchmont Street premises.

Vegetarian Paradise closed

I’m not particularly sad to see this go, but Josh enjoyed it as a handy lunch option as he works nearby.

What do you think? Is this a sad loss or will Londoners not really care?

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Vegan chicken sandwich

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As a vegan in love with sandwiches, I do get a bit tired of my main option being hummus or some variation of hummus.

Thankfully, Alara Health Store is on the scene to liven up my Central London sandwich experience. Check it out!

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Even though this wrap has just five components, it is tasty and an absolute breath of fresh air on the sandwich landscape. More like this please, food-to-go producers.

My days of soggy carrot and hummus sandwiches are hopefully behind me!

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Mary again

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A little while back, Josh took over with a blog post about a vegetarian cafe in the heart of the Bloomsbury neighbourhood that serves up tasty meat-free meals during academic term time. Read about his love of the place here and then scroll down below for a shot of my tasty lunch there today.

The Mary Ward Centre Café is a long-standing favourite of students, staff and visitors to this learning complex, as well as visitors and staff from the nearby Great Ormond Street Hospital. The prices are maybe some of the lowest you will find for vegan options in central London.

Here is an Instagram snap I took of my lunch today. I thoroughly enjoyed the borlotti bean pie topped with creamy mash and the lentil stew with crispy potato wedges. Both plates of food just over £4 each.

So cheap and so nutritious.
Click here to see this photo on Instagram

The only thing that helps me pass the time away

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Josh has once again stepped in with a guest post, although I have a suspicion the only reason he volunteered to write for me was to make me jealous… he knows I ADORE potato!

Take it away, Josh.

For those of you with desk jobs, you probably know that feeling… it’s getting close to lunch time, it’s chilly and raining outside and the thought of a trek to the supermarket to battle it out with the lunchtime crowd just doesn’t appeal. I wanted something quick, cheap, tasty and filling. Sure, I am surrounded by great vegan options all just a short walk from where I work: Hummus Bros, The Vegetarian’s Paradise, Amico Bio etc. but none of them as convenient as the vegetarian cafe in The Mary Ward Centre on Queen Square, WC1.

This place is about a 50 second walk from my building so last week I grabbed my umbrella to shield me from the rain and grey skies and took the short walk up the street to this hidden gem.

The place is simple and inviting. You order and pay at the counter and there are about 20 small tables to sit around and take respite from the central London hustle and bustle. That day though, I just wanted to get back to the comfort of my desk so I got my lunch to takeaway.

The Mary Ward Centre
The Mary Ward Centre

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Seitan rejected my soul

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I love a good piece of meat… fake, that is and fake meat rarely comes better than a chunky slab of seitan. Seitan is a meat substitute made of wheat gluten originating from China and it is particularly chewy. It is perfect for cooking with sauces and marinades as it sucks up liquid and flavours expertly.

I don’t see a lot of quality seitan in the UK so it was with immense delight that I watched Josh produce a jar of the good stuff from his grocery bag recently. Lima seitan is a quality wheat meat that is easy to carve and is barely flavoured, making it perfect to absorb any sauce you throw at it.

It doesn’t appear to be available in many stores but the Lima website does have a list of suppliers and retail outlets. It is apparently available in countries as far spread as the Czech Republic, Bahrain, Croatia, Spain, Israel, Slovenia and Iceland. Their availability reads like the Eurovision finalist list! We didn’t have to travel that far to nab our jar as Josh made his purchase in Alara Health Store located on Marchmont Street in Bloomsbury.

So what did I make with this wonder product?

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