vegan London

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

A post shared by Fat Gay Vegan (@fatgayvegan) on

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

A post shared by Fat Gay Vegan (@fatgayvegan) on

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

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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

A post shared by Fat Gay Vegan (@fatgayvegan) on

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

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Vegan recipe box hits UK

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Have you often felt as though the only thing missing in your life was a vegan recipe and ingredients box?

Well, you can sleep well tonight because you can now buy one. Like, today!

From today (3rd July, 2017) UK residents can order PlantCurious, the UK’s first exclusively plant-based recipe boxes, directly to their homes.

The boxes, which have been designed to make it easy for people to make delicious wholesome plant-based meals, have been curated by the innovative new plant-based business PlantCurious.

PlantCurious boxes are available to order throughout the UK and first 100 boxes are available at an introductory price of £35.

The first box includes ingredients and recipes to make a Sumurai Miso Ramen, Ruby Vurry and Loaded Sweet Pots.

PlantCurious Co-Founder Angela Gawor adds: “We kept trying recipe boxes and none of them got the the concept of plant-based. We became fed up of receiving recipe cards telling us to just leave out ingredients.”

“One supplier even sent us cheese and yogurt wrapped in sheep’s skin. Plant-based food isn’t about leaving stuff out it’s about embracing all the amazing vegetables out there and making them the centrepiece not the side dish.”

To start with, availability is limited, with 100 boxes available to order from 3rd July online (that’s today!).

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.

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.

New vegan cafe for London

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If you have been to many vegan events around London, you will undoubtedly know Vegan Sweet Tooth. This bakery business has been pleasing their fans for many years at street markets and their offerings always look stunning.

The big news for Vegan Sweet Tooth is their residency in south London for the entire summer!

The baking superstars have a semi-permanent location in a glorious garden setting behind the Earl Ferrers pub in Streatham. BIG YES to vegan bakeries in pubs!

Vegan Sweet Tooth is selling all of their much loved cakes as well as hot savoury food.

The hours you can pop along are each Wednesday until Friday between 10am and 5pm, plus weekends until 7pm. You can click here to see the exact location thanks to Google Maps.

Support independent vegan business this summer!

You should also follow Vegan Sweet Tooth on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Vegan get together with Fry’s

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You all know about Fry’s when it comes to amazing frozen vegan meat replacements in UK supermarkets and online stores. If you don’t, you should visit their website to get acquainted.

Now you are up to speed, you need to know about this big vegan event the superstar food brand is hosting in London at the end of July 2017.

Check out this event.

The Fry’s AGM is a showcase of food, activist information and international speakers. Money from ticket sales is being donated to the campaign by Animals Asia to care for bears rescued from bile farms.

My buddy Carl Donnelly is a stand up comedian who just happens to be vegan and he is the MC for this day long event taking place.

Speakers on the day include:

  • Tom Kuehnel from Grown Green
  • Heather Russell – dietitian from The Vegan Society
  • Tammy Fry of Fry’s

Food is included in the ticket price and it looks superb. The legendary Cook Daily will be providing a special Fry’s lunch bowl for the event and Bexfest is providing her pots for breakfast.

You can click here to book your ticket.

Super exclusive supper club

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Rarely does a food event come along of such exclusivity. You need to book a ticket for this pop up supper club IMMEDIATELY after reading this post. Tickets will not hang around.

On July 14, 2017 in Finsbury, London you have the opportunity to dine with two of the best vegan chefs in the UK. Jhenn of The Vegan Ronin and Kip of Messy Vegetarian Cook are joining forces to bring you an intimate Japanese/Thai fusion eating experience like no other.

First things first. Jhenn and Kip have both cooked for me and you will hard pushed to find finer food in the UK capital. Jhenn is an expert at recreating Japanese cuisine while Kip never fails to impress with her take on Thai. To add value to the event, both chefs are two of the most compassionate and kind people you could meet.

Are you ready to discover the incredible menu they have planned for their guests?

Menu

  • Welcome drinks and nibbles – Cocktails with tom yam popcorn & shiso popcorn
  • Miso Walnut Aubergine Larb – Yuzu, lime, mint, coriander, roasted chilli powder, toasted rice with sticky rice and crunchy salad
  • Thai-koyaki – Seasoned vegan fish paste Takoyaki with garlic, coriander stems, white pepper, twice fried tofu, Thai pickles, marinated shiitake, chilli tonkatsu sauce , homemade vegan mayo and fried shallots.
  • Nigiri sushi & Miso soup – Nam Prik Pao chilli jam aubergine nigiri with roasted aromatics, tamarind, palm sugar. Seared massaman nigiri with pickled ginger, cucumber chilli relish, toasted peanuts. Served with Thai vegetable miso soup and pickles.
  • Petit Fours & tea – A selection of Japanese and Thai sweets

That menu sounds absolutely amazing. Last time I checked, there were only 6 seats remaining for this exclusive supper club.

Click here to book now. Don’t miss out.

Follow The Vegan Ronin on Instagram.

Follow Messy Vegetarian Cook on Instagram.