vegan London

Club Mexicana opening in Soho London

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On Monday March 23, 2020 Club Mexicana, the home of  Mexican and Californian inspired street food, is opening the doors to its very first restaurant.

Five years on from their street food beginnings, following a successful Hackney residency and the launch of The Spread Eagle (London’s first 100% vegan pub), founder Meriel Armitage and her team are beginning an exciting new chapter amidst the hustle and bustle of Soho.

Inspired by the street side taquerias of Los Angeles and Mexico City, Club Mexicana will dedicate itself to a concise menu of expertly-made tacos and small plates, designed to be enjoyed with a margarita (or two) in hand.

Guests can watch the open kitchen hard at work, as Meriel and her team slice into the star of the show: a sizzling vegan al pastor trompo (or spit) made in-house from seitan, smothered in Meriel’s homemade marinade with tropical favours from the fresh pineapple that sits on top of the spike.

The menu will feature cult favourites such as the beer battered Tofish Taco and the Cheezeburger Taco loaded up with ‘beef’ burger, red pepper queso, dill pickle and annatto mayo. New dishes will see the Al Pastor taco with shawarma style ‘pork’ from the trompo with charred pineapple, salsa verde, onion and coriander, and punched potatoes with chipotle mayo, spring onions and sea salt.

For those looking to feast, Club Mexicana will be slinging nachos, tostadas and its new Queso Flameado – essentially a Mexican fondue of gooey melted vegan cheese topped with spicy ‘chorizo’, ready to be dipped into.

There’s also a line-up of Club Mexicana’s much-loved burritos, including the Jackfruit carnitas burrito loaded with salsa verde, pink onions, pico de gallo, sour cream, salsa negra and chipotle oil.

For something sweet, guests will be invited to take their pick from blood orange granita with a hint of margarita, rich chocolate mousse or a deep-fried ice cream sandwich from Happy Endings.

To counter the heat, the bar will shake up a curated menu of cocktails, wines, and Mexican beers. Guests can grab a stool for chilled margaritas from East London drinks company black-lines and grapefruit Palomas poured on tap, or opt for a true taste of Mexico with something spicier like the beer-led CM Chelada and pickle juice-spiked Michelada. Club Mexicana’s favourite frozen margaritas, a collaboration with Square Root Soda, can be ordered in classic sour lime, pink hibiscus, or juicy agua fresca.

Interiors will be decorated with Club Mexicana’s signature tropical neon pink signs and bold colour-pop artwork. The stool-lined bar is the perfect spot for a cocktail and a quick bite, while tables and chairs that have been sourced from young emerging London-based producers and craftpeople will invite diners to keep those tacos coming. When the days get warmer, guests can also grab one of the outdoor tables to soak up the sunshine with tacos and a few chilled Mexican beers.

Meriel says, “We’re so excited to open our very first restaurant in the heart of Soho. We’re looking forward to doing what Club Mexicana does best – great vibes, lots of tacos and banging cocktails. We’ll be dishing up more tacos than ever before, as well as our biggest street food hits and favourite dishes. It’s going to be a lot of fun!”

“We are delighted to welcome Club Mexicana to Carnaby’s food hub, Kingly Court. The Mexican-Californian inspired vegan street food restaurant will enhance Carnaby’s ever-increasing, global dining offering,” says Shelley Webb, Head of Group Residential & Kingly Court.

Club Mexicana at Kingly Court will open on Monday March 23, 2020.

You can see the exact location of Kingly Court online thanks to Google Maps.

You can follow Club Mexicana on Instagram.

What The Pitta win major award

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This is fabulous news.

Not only did London vegan restaurant What The Pitta win a major award last night, they have exclusively told me they are set to open their fifth location in Manchester this year!

Too much awesome news.

First things first.

The British Kebab Awards were announced last night in London and the much-adored What The Pitta won Best Takeaway.

I am so thrilled for Roj and Cem. Their food is some of the best on the planet and they have worked seriously hard to make their business a success.

The Mayor of London was also on hand to help them celebrate.

I asked Cem to give me a quick statement on how they are feeling afer their huge win. This is what he said:

To win at the Kebab Awards is a huge statement for veganism and just how far it has come. We were laughed at when we decided to create London’s first exclusively vegan kebab shop more than three years ago and now we’ve taken centre stage with our vegan spin on the British classic kebab. We can’t adequately thank our fans and everyone who voted and supported us from the start.

I’m so happy for this vegan business.

Congratulations are over, but you also came for the new location announcement. Keep reading below.

During our conversation about their win, Cem also let slip a little bit of exciting news.

The fifth location for What The Pitta is set to open in Manchester during May 2020.

Yes, Manchester!

This northern location will be in addition to their Shoreditch, Camden, Croydon, and Brighton spots. I’ll report further details as they become available.

It feels like nothing can stop these vegan food heroes. Let’s eat with them often and keep it that way!

Please follow What The Pitta on Instagram.

Vegan friendly bar in Twickenham and Surbiton

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London and southeast people, did you know you have a chain of vegan-friendly bars/cafes that are also extremely dog-friendly?

Wags & Tales are located in both Surbiton and Twickenham.

My mate Kay got along to the Twickenham location recently and she was raving about the vegan options and just the entire vibe of the place.

Both venues are like typical bars but they also have separate menus for dogs, dog areas and water bowls, lots of vegan food options, and a lot of people raving about them online.

You and your canine friends should get along for cocktails, comfort food, and a very welcoming environment for everyone, especially those in your party with four legs.

Visit Wags & Tales online for locations and full menus.

Follow Wags & Tales on Instagram.

Temple of Seitan opening in the heart of Camden

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Temple of Seitan just doesn’t quit with the news.

Recently we heard about how the legendary London comfort food business made a huge distribution deal with a chain of pubs (I was happy and sad – read about that online here).

Now we have news this week of Temple of Seitan opening a new location on Parkway, smack bang in the heart of Camden. Vegan fried chicken for the win in Camden!

The new location replaces the Camley Street outlet (which recently closed) and keeps their number of London restaurants at two when you count the original Hackney Central joint.

The new Camden Temple of Seitan is opening on Thursday February 20, 2020 in the old Purezza vegan pizza restaurant location.

Purezza recently relocated to the space next door (keep up, people!) which you can read about online here. It is now three times the size it used to be.

Yay for Temple of Seitan and their new Camden digs. You can see the exact location thanks to Google Maps.

You can follow Temple of Seitan on Instagram.

Vegan food hub opens in Kings Cross London

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Need evidence of how far vegan food has come?

I almost can’t believe it!

Plant Based Pit Stop is a retail hub featuring four different vegan food traders. Kinda cool, right?

Well, that is only half of it.

Plant Based Pit Stop is located directly in front of the Kings Cross Underground entrance!

The four businesses housed inside the hub are:

Vida Bakery – famous for tasty cakes and LOTS of colour. They are gluten free, too.

Mother.Works – coffee, juice, and grab and go food specialists.

Palm Greens – salads and healthy bowl experts.

Pipoca – this vegan crepes business rounds out the line up.

Isn’t this incredible? It is wonderful knowing that thousands and thousands of commuters and tourists will pass these vegan businesses every single day of the week.

Stay updated on Plant Based Pit Stop by following the hub on Instagram.

Vegan business nominated for UK award

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I love a success story, especially when it comes to vegan businesses.

What The Pitta is one of the true runaway success stories of the London vegan food scene.

Cem and Roj crash landed on the Shoreditch landscape a few years ago with their peerless doner kebabs and have gone from strength to strength ever since. The fast food heroes now have What The Pitta locations in Shoreditch, Camden, Croydon, and Brighton.

What The Pitta is one of the finest places on the planet if you are interested in vegan comfort food. Their kebabs and chip boxes are simply legendary.

And it isn’t just us vegans that think they deserve recognition.

What The Pitta have been nominated in the Best Takeaway in London category in the 2020 British Kebab Awards.

Yes!

The vegan chain is the ONLY vegan business nominated across a huge line up of possible winners.

We need to combine out vegan super powers and make sure they win their category. Click here to vote for What The Pitta.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B6vMI2UpYAB/

Visit What The Pitta online to see their menu and location details and be sure to follow them on Instagram.

Get cheap tickets for Vegan Life Live London

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What is Vegan Life Live?

Vegan Life Live in London is a huge annual celebration of everything vegan, hosted at Alexandra Palace across March 14 and 15 in 2020.

250 exhibitors will showcase food, clothing, accessories, campaign groups, personal care products, and cosmetics making it the perfect way to connect with every aspect of the vegan lifestyle.

There will be speakers including Earthling Ed and MackaB, talking top tips for your vegan journey.

There will be three kitchens with cooking demonstrations from leading vegan chefs and bloggers including Gaz Oakley, Chef Day Radley, Tomi Makanjuola and Niki Webster, all working hard to inspire you to take new ideas home to your own kitchens.

Vegan Life Live is sponsored by Viva!, The Vegan Society and Vivo Life to name just a few.​

Sounds great, right? Well, how about cheap tickets?

Click here to access the special two-for-one ticket offer being dangled in front of FGV readers.

Want to read more about the event and what you can expect to see? Click here to visit the Vegan Life Live website.

Exciting vegan brunch in London

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Hey, London. Where do you go for vegan brunch each weekend?

If you answered anywhere other than Arancini Brothers in Kentish Town, I’ve got news for you that might shake things up.

Arancini Brothers is the superstar fast food chain focussed on risotto balls, with locations in Old Street, Maltby Street, Dalston, Ely’s Yard, and Kentish Town.

In exciting news, the Kentish Town location is trying something new by opening only for brunch on the weekends.

And what a brunch it is!

Check out the photos below:

First of all, that fry up tray looks sensational. Furthermore, I say a big YES PLEASE to peanut butter jam toasties.

The rest of the brunch-only menu is stuffed with filled fococcia, salads, croissants, and sausage rolls.

Get along to Arancini Brothers Ketish Town every Saturday and Sunday between 10am and 4pm.

The restaurant is located at 115A Kentish Town Road. You can see the exact location thanks to Google Maps.

Follow Arancini Brothers on Instagram.

UK’s leading vegan pizza restaurant triples in size

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Multi-award winning vegan pizzeria Purezza extends its Camden venue using recycled and eco-friendly materials.

Purezza, the UK’s first vegan pizzeria, is extending its Camden branch. The new branch will be one of the biggest vegan restaurants in the UK, and is the first part of the restaurant’s expansion plans for 2020.

Purezza’s Camden branch first opened in March 2018. The company, which also has a branch in Brighton & Hove, went on to win National Pizza of the Year following its London opening.

The new restaurant is three times bigger than its previous Camden branch. It boasts a new sheltered garden area with live plants adorning the walls, making it perfect for alfresco-style dining no matter the weather. It also has a large extended bar, where diners can enjoy a range of drinks and cocktails along with light nibbles such as Purezza’s famed vegan Cheese Dough Balls.

Purezza’s focus on sustainability in its food has extended to the build and interior of the new restaurant. Furniture is from both Purezza’s previous restaurant, and discarded items from other restaurants. The plaster on the walls is made using sustainable hemp. Upholstered furniture uses vegan leathers and inner foams made with recycled plastic bottles. Mirrors and lighting were made with recycled and reclaimed materials using sustainable methods of production. Purezza even used the flooring from their previous Camden restaurant for seating booths, and doors were sourced from an old chapel.

The restaurant has seen steadily growing demand, which it credits to the combination of growing interest in plant-based food and innovation, and its unwavering commitment to quality.

Tim Barclay, co-founder and co-owner of Purezza said “our flagship London restaurant has been struggling to keep up with demand throughout 2019. The single biggest complaint we receive is that it’s almost impossible to get a table most nights. It’s a good problem to have, but providing exceptional customer experiences is one of our core tenets at Purezza, and by tripling the size of our Camden restaurant we’ll be able to meet the demand.”

The new Purezza opens on 3rd February in Camden at 45-47 Parkway, NW1 7PN. Click here to see the exact location thanks to Google Maps.

Follow Purezza on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. Book a table at the new Camden restaurant online here.

You can also buy Purezza’s first ever vegan cookbook. Click here to see it online.

Vegan cakes and treats in Stratford

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Do you ever ponder where the heck Chanel of legendary London vegan bakery Vegan Delice ended up?

Well, you can stop stressing over these unknown facts.

Chanel is serving full time inside Westfield Stratford, East London under her new business name, Cake Cult London.

Chanel was the superstar of Hackney Downs Vegan Market every week until it ended, so it is great news that her many fans can find her in a regular spot.

Cake Cult London is located on the lower ground floor of Westfield Stratford, right near the Great Eastern Market.

Be sure to visit early in the day if you can, because Chanel’s stuff is so fabulous it always depletes quickly. The Bakewell slices are heavenly and worth a trip to the bakery in their own right.

Follow Cake Cult London on Instagram.