London vegan news, reviews & events
What do you get when you couple a moving musical experience from a musical hero with a dull, overpriced meal in a tiny restaurant in a suffocatingly upper-middle class town? Read on if you think you can deal with the dizzying highs and tedious lows of my recent trip to Cambridge.
Remember how I went on and on about Vegusto vegan cheese? You don’t? Surely you recall when I announced it to be amongst the finest in the world. No? Take a quick trip back in time to refresh your memory here and then hold onto your fedora with a faux feather because I have some exciting news for you.
Josh has taken on guest reviewer duties once again following a recent trip to Glasgow. Take it away…
I am seriously impressed by Glasgow and it’s hard to know where to start.
When I found out that my job was taking me to Glasgow for four days, I immediately looked to HappyCow and was delighted to see that there was not one, not two… but FOUR completely vegan eateries located in the city plus several vegetarian places. How could I possibly fit them all in? Apologies in advance for the dodgy phone-photos.
If you follow me on Twitter, you will already know I am eating and drinking myself into oblivion in Los Angeles. I am having a fab time in my favourite city and have eaten in some of the best vegan establishments in the world.
Vegan life in London has kept trundling along while I have been living it up in SoCal, specifically the annual London Vegan Festival. I am a bit down about missing out on all the cruelty-free action but I do still get a small insight into the proceedings as Josh very kindly collected some photos of the event and has even written a few words about what went down.
Let’s get straight into it. Thanks, Josh!
The London Vegan Potluck is becoming something of a phenomenon. On the first Wednesday of each month, London food enthusiasts are coming together en masse to create one of the best vegan social events in the UK.
This FGV is incredibly proud that what started as a simple idea has blossomed into a thriving monthly night. I am even prouder to know the event this month was just as big a success as the first three potlucks even though I was busy eating the vegan treats of Barcelona and couldn’t be there.
Kip of the fabulous, must-read The Messy Vegetarian Cook blog has kindly written a review of the potluck. Much love and thanks for doing this in my absence, Kip. In addition, devoted potluck attendees Linda and Andrea helped run the evening with Andrea managing to capture a few images of the mouth-watering food on offer. Thank you!
I’m sorry to have missed this event, but nothing will keep the FGV from the next potluck scheduled for September 7. Take it away, Kip!
If you haven’t been investigating the in-house range of beauty products and toiletries at UK high street mega-retailer Superdrug, then you have been missing out on a staggeringly-comprehensive range of cruelty-free items.
You would think gifting the world with Morrissey is enough but no, Manchester just can’t stop giving. This time it isn’t a whip-smart, whimsical lyricist being served up by this generous Northern city but vegetarian and vegan delights in a stunning setting.
Something has been troubling me and I had no other choice than to bring in a guest. Many months ago Josh and I dined in a West London vegetarian restaurant. I was underwhelmed by the Indian food and have not been inspired to write a review about our experience.
Although much time has passed, Josh kindly agreed to write his first ever blog entry and has recounted our night at Sagar in Hammersmith as a FGV guest contributor. Take it away, Josh.
How much would you pay for a meal? When dining out in a fancy restaurant, do you set yourself a budget or do you sometimes allow yourself to splurge on fine food?
If you don’t mind distributing your wealth now and again, I have some advice for you. Think twice before distributing it to The Gate Restaurant, a vegetarian eatery located in Hammersmith, London. I am going to be blunt and brief. I found it to be over-priced, over-dependent on dairy and severely lacking in vegan options.
The restaurant itself is rather pleasant, if a bit grubby. My seat afforded me a lovely view across the restaurant to the massive feature window. Unfortunately I was also next to a wall that was riddled with bizarre scuff marks and scratches. I’m not above eating in a venue with a bad paint job, but after viewing the prices on the menu I would expect The Gate Restaurant to splash out on a lick of paint now and again.
Speaking of prices, I have never paid so much money for such unexciting, unadventurous and downright dull food.
There is no big mystery here. I love Ms. Cupcake and I love all of her delicious treats and temptations. I have eaten every imaginable variety of mini cake from the bakery but today I got served. That means I was taught a lesson. A lesson where the learning intention was the tastiness of the watermelon cupcake I devoured.
Delicious. Moist. Super sweet. Frosting outweighing sponge.