Here’s some great news for compassionate London foodies looking for a new adventure.
Plant-based Gecko coffeehouse in Shoreditch is set to launch night time service with a intriguing and exciting menu.
Read more below.
vegan shoreditch
Vegan Cookie Shop Chain in London
The After School Cookie Club means business. Sweet business.
This growing chain has already set up shop in Shoreditch, Borough, Victoria, Mayfair, and Kings Cross. At every one of these locations you’ll find an entirely vegan and gluten free menu. Can you believe it?
Read more below.
Sanctuary Supper Club
Something extremely tasty (and compassionate) is heading your way!
I’m thrilled to announce that I’ll be hosting a brand-new monthly event at the iconic Unity Diner in London, kicking off on Monday 1st September 2025. The event is called Sanctuary Supper Club and it is exactly what it says on the tin. A gorgeous evening of eating incredible vegan food while raising vital funds for the animals living at Surge Sanctuary.
Read more below.
Why Unity Diner Is More Than Just a Place to Eat
I just hosted a special fundraising dinner at Unity Diner and it inspired me to share some thoughts with you.
There are restaurants, and then there are restaurants with a purpose. Unity Diner falls firmly into the second category.
Tucked away on Wentworth Street near Brick Lane, Unity Diner isn’t just serving up burgers and cocktails. It’s serving a mission. Every bite, every sip, every pudding forked up at the end of the night contributes to a bigger picture.
And it is how business should be in 2025.
Read more below.
The profits from Unity Diner go directly to Surge Sanctuary, giving rescued animals a chance to live out their days in safety, not suffering. While most hospitality venues are worrying about squeezing the highest possible margin out of your plate of chips, Unity is thinking about how they can create a fairer, kinder world. It’s a business model that puts impact first.
And it works.
The venue is packed, the energy is buzzing, and the food is good. Like, really good. But more than that, it’s a space that holds a radical kind of hope. The kind that says: business can be different. It doesn’t have to come at the expense of people, animals or planet. It can stand for something.
Unity Diner supports social justice movements, gives space to community events, and brings together activists and everyday diners who just want to eat without compromise. It proves that ethical business is not a fantasy or a fringe idea. It’s here, and it’s thriving.
What Unity does is remind us that hospitality can be about hospitality. Not extraction. Not exploitation. Just people feeding people, in a way that uplifts everyone involved.
This is how business should be. Fighting injustice.
Follow Unity Diner on Instagram.
If you appreciate these blog posts and the work I do to support vegan business, please consider making a one time small donation of a couple of quid online here. You might also be in the position to sponsor my work on an regular basis via Patreon.
You can order my book ‘Fat Gay Vegan: Eat, Drink and Live Like You Give a Sh!t’ online now. It has been out a while now but is still a good read. You can also listen to the Audiobook read by me!
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Veganism Is About the Animals But It’s Also About Everything Else
I have never believed that being vegan should stop at just avoiding animal products.
Don’t get me wrong. I love animals and won’t eat or wear them for the rest of my life. But if we’re going to build a better world for animals, we need to take a serious look at the systems that hurt people too.
Read more below.
Is This The Area With The Most Vegan Restaurants In The UK
We are definitely seeing more and more vegan businesses popping up, even if I do write the occasional moaning post abut all the places we have lost.
The trend is definitely more plant-based, more often, and in more places.
And while vegan restaurants are appearing all over the UK, there is one (roughly) square mile of London that appears to be the actual vegan capital of the country.
Read more below.
Unity Diner Is Back And Still Doing Good
In case you missed the news, award-winning vegan restaurant Unity Diner has re-opened on Wentworth Street, just a short walk from Spitalfields Market.
The beloved eatery and bar had a glow up and continues to serve customer favourites as well as a few new surprises.
One of the updates to the menu is the donation they are making to a local charity.
Read more below.
Vegan pizza restaurant to open on Brick Lane
London. Do you need more vegan pizza in your life?
Superstar vegan pizza makers, Picky Wops, have just announced they are opening a restaurant on Brick Lane in East London. Huge news!
Picky Wops have been wowing people around London with their gourmet take on pizzas for a few years now.
A recent kitchen takeover at a pub in Brixton has been a runaway success, as have all their appearances at outdoor markets and events around the capital. People can’t get enough of their unique flour mixes, gourmet toppings, and good vibes.
If you aren’t familiar with what Picky Wops do, read on.
Picky Wops pizza bases are all fully customisable and each dough has a different colour, texture and flavour. Available bases include burnt wheat and turmeric. Pizzas can be served cheeseless or with vegan cheese, and a mouthwatering variety of toppings are available.
If pizza isn’t your thing (really?!), classic Italian sides such as garlic bread, dough balls, and a variety of vegan pasta dishes are also featured on the menu. A firm favourite is their carbonara which comes complete with meat free bacon bits. Carb loving Londoners will also appreciate the innovative loaded fries, topped with Italian inspired sauces such as pesto and bolognese.
Ingredients used by Picky Wops are high quality and plant-based, while all dishes are made from scratch. Founders Cristiano Vitelli and Andrea Moro are both trained in the art of pizza making in their home country of Italy, meaning their food remains authentic.
Enough chit chat. Where is the new Picky Wops location?
You will be able to find the restaurant at 53 Brick Lane from their opening date of Friday December 13, 2019. You can see the exact location thanks to Google Maps.
For December only, visitors can sample a festive white pizza aptly called The White Christmas. This special is topped with spiced sweet potato mash, roasted brussel sprouts and walnuts, seasoned soya, sweet cranberry jam, vegan mozzarella and a light sprinkling of parmesan.
Be sure to follow Picky Wops on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.
Photos in this post were taken by the talented Martina De Santis.
Veganism and feminism event in London
Here is some last minute news for people in London.
Essential Vegan is a fabulous vegan eatery in Shoreditch that is celebrating being open for one year. Congrats!
To celebrate Essential Vegan‘s first anniversary, a conversation about feminism and veganism is taking place in their café between 6pm and 8pm on Wednesday October 17, 2018.
Heloisa Righetto, co-founder of Conexão Feminista, will make a presentation about contemporary feminism and its key concepts. Afterwards, there will be a conversation with Essential Vegan chef and founder Vanessa in which these concepts will be expanded to understand the intersection between feminism and veganism.
You don’t need to buy a ticket but you do need to book a table in advance via their website!
You can also invite friends via the Facebook event page.
Please follow Essential Vegan on Instagram.
London vegan superstar chef announces book deal
If you are one of the hundreds of people (maybe thousands) who have turned to me for London eating advice over the past few years, you would have been told to eat at CookDaily.
King of CookDaily has been busy serving up some of the tastiest vegan food on the planet for a while now and his Shoreditch restaurant is nothing short of legendary.
Noodle and soup bowls absolutely burst with flavour and the food is so incredibly popular, you’ll often find yourself caught short if you leave a visit too close to closing time.
In huge news, King reached out to me today to announce that he has finally signed his very first book deal.
This recipe book is surely to be one of the most anticipated book releases for vegans in recent times.
Follow King on Instagram to keep updated and make time to get reacquainted with the CookDaily menu ahead of the book launch.
