Buckhurst Hill, Vegan Restaurant Guide

2023 Review: “Delicious” plant-based versions of classic American comfort food – from burgers, seitan hot dogs and pastrami to milk-free shakes – cut the mustard at this pair of ‘dirty vegan diners’ in Camden Market and Islington. The Islington branch has a vegan butcher next door, touted as the world’s first, with a concession in Selfridges.

2023 Review: For a meat-free burger, this tiny brand (the first vegan restaurant in Europe to use ‘Beyond Meat’ in its patties) is well worth a try if you need a bite near the Old Street roundabout, or are down Pop Brixton way.

2023 Review: “A vegan delight”, say fans of this meat-free three-year-old near Barts Hospital: a crowdfunded spin-off from an acclaimed Cambridge venture. Results can be uneven (“maybe I chose badly…”; “some of the food missed but more was a hit…”), but they must be doing something right as a new Broadgate branch launches in September 2022.

2022 Review: Tom Kerridge’s involvement (in partnership with Mark Emms) made it 100% likely this summer 2021 opening, on the top of Buck Street Market, would attract attention. It’s ‘bad’ in that many dishes (e.g. beef brisket ‘taternator’) are not vegan! – anything with red packaging is for meat- eaters (leaf-eaters, green of course). In an early August 2021 review, Kate Samuelson of The Week was upbeat, branding it “a mightly alternative” to KFC and McDs. Then again, she also noted that: “our meal, which included three portions of food, two milkshakes and two beers, came to about £50” – so you’d kind of hope for a pretty major step up…

2023 Review: “Delicious” plant-based versions of classic American comfort food – from burgers, seitan hot dogs and pastrami to milk-free shakes – cut the mustard at this pair of ‘dirty vegan diners’ in Camden Market and Islington. The Islington branch has a vegan butcher next door, touted as the world’s first, with a concession in Selfridges.

2022 Review: “Great-tasting tacos… you don’t even realise the food is vegan!” – This meat-free Mexican has (after a series of pop-ups, and a big line in delivery) found a permanent home in a pink-painted unit (with outside seats too) at Soho’s Kingly Court, and is already winning high praise from reporters: “the meal totally sated us and the ‘fake meat’ was amazingly good”. They also have a stall in Covent Garden’s Seven Dials Market.

“Showing what can be done with plant-based ingredients. Bravo!” – Alexis Gauthier gave up meat personally in 2016 and professionally in 2021 at this “intimate” townhouse in Soho – a destination renowned before he took it over in 2010 (from Richard Corrigan when it traded as The Lindsay House) for its air of quirky romance, from the moment when you knock at the door for entry (“I love the many different rooms to eat in”). The French cuisine here remains, in essence, “fairly traditional”, but nowadays has “a superb meat-free ethos” resulting in “some of the most complicated and sophisticated vegetarian food around”. At least, that’s the majority view, although even a number of fans do “miss some of the old dishes from previous, pre-vegan visits” (and ratings, here, have somewhat trended down in recent years).

“Expect the unexpected!” at Rishim Sachdeva’s ‘mostly vegan’ (dairy making an occasional appearance) outfit in Mayfair, where “every dish is a jewel” – you’ll find “stunning food that really celebrates vegetables, not the meat substitutes which can put you off vegan restaurants”. “Lovely staff” are another tick in its favour; but the “very noisy room makes it hard to have a conversation”. Top Menu Tip – “I’m not a fan of aubergine, but their charred dish is excellent”.

A “very impressive all-plant-based menu” explains why this fashionable veggie pair in Chelsea and Marylebone are “always a bit too crowded and noisy” for some reporters. Their signature vegan burgers and mac’n’cheese make it “easy to forget the absence of meat”.

“The vegan sushi is wonderful, fresh and inventive” at this Mayfair outlet, which is a spin-off brand for plant-based evangelist chef Alex Gauthier, who runs the celebrated Gauthier (see also) in Soho. Following the closure of Fenwick’s department store – he has moved it to the tucked-away nearby site vacated by Native at Browns (which itself has moved out of London, to Worcestershire). 123V’s menu used to be wider than just sushi, but has narrowed its focus to the Japanese-inspired plates that were everybody’s fave – even among omnivores. Top Tip – the new site has a gorgeous courtyard, which comes into its own in the summer months.

2022 Review: Vegan and vegetarian neighbourhood bistro, set in a quiet street near Peckham Rye station. It was opened in autumn 2019 by ex-Vanilla Black chef Tom Heale (plus his two brothers and a business partner) and – though it’s a simple, cosy venue – it quickly attracted favourable press from The Torygraph and Marina O’Loughlin in The Sunday Times. Sharing is encouraged and drinks include biodynamic, organic and vegan, and numerous fancy teas.

“A funky little place” – this “excellent local” in Herne Hill is run by brothers Luca and Ollie Sechi, whose culinary aim is plant-based Italian cuisine (‘just like Mama used to make – only without the meat, dairy or egg!’). “Astonishingly popular with a loyal crowd, the ambience is always lively”. “I went with two reluctant carnivores who proclaimed it top-notch!”

“Authentic cooking from the open kitchen” elevates this Indian venue, easily missed amidst the anonymous units around Westfield Shepherd Bush’s Southern Terrace. It’s the London representative of a chain founded in 1972 in Bombay by JK Kapur (with 15 locations in India) and specialises in North Indian cuisine.

This local institution next to Queensbury station – towards the outer extremities of the Jubilee line – was founded in 1991 by accountant Navin Sharma and inspired by Asian community members’ clubs in Kenya. Now open to the public, it retains a clubby feel with dinner served at two sittings (6pm, 8pm), and excels for its “very friendly staff” (who are managed by head waiters known as ‘courier waiters’) and “great” Asian food with East African influences: “go for the grilled meats (the curries are good too)”. The well-stocked bar is “a great place for sports fans to watch matches”.

If you’re veggie, impecunious or both, this sweet, bargain-basement café of over twenty years’ standing is worth discovering, despite its trafficky location (by the gyratory where the Lillie Road and North End Road cross one another): all dishes are 100% vegan and clearly labelled for allergens too.

“A real treat for vegetarians”, this Hammersmith institution was “opened by Michael and Adrian Daniel in 1989 and has been at the top of its game for years” – “many’s the friend brought along here who hasn’t noticed there’s no meat on the menu, and that’s because the food is good, well cooked, and interesting”. (An intriguing space in the eves of a church – “the dining room is housed in what was the studio of artist Frank Brangwyn, and the name comes from the wrought-iron gate he made for the entrance”). Top Menu Tip – “lean into the mushroom dishes in autumn”… “leek and trompette tart with shortcrust pastry is simply delicious”.

2024 Review: Near London Fields, this ‘hyper-seasonal’ spot in Hackney (from Elly Ward and the team behind plant-based pioneer Super Nature) opened in spring 2023 and focuses on a low-waste philosophy. There’s a short array of meat-free, modern British dishes, accompanied by a selection of low-intervention wines, beers and ciders. Or, in the evenings, you can go for a five-course tasting menu with the option of a drinks pairing. No survey feedback as yet, but if you are avoiding meat, this is one of the more interesting-looking openings this year.

2023 Review: Owner Julian Denis previously ran the super-popular vegan Chinese Mao Chow just up the road. This new venture (named for the medium-hot pepper) is twice the size (although still only 28 seats) and promises ‘an evolution’ of the food there, incorporating flavours and techniques from Puerto Rican, Portuguese and American cuisines. No survey reports, but The Evening Standard’s Jimi Famurewa found, in his May 2022 review, the vibe of a “dangerously raucous east London house party circa 2009” matched with food that needed “a little more finesse, and… enough confidence… that they don’t reach for the chilli-and-umami hose at every juncture”. As of August 2022, the restaurant’s website shows no availability and says it’s currently closed for a refurb that should have ended in July 2022? So change may be afoot.

“High-quality freshly made fare” cooked with a lively touch makes it worth discovering this “tiny” year-old gaff on Hackney’s Broadway Market, self-described as ‘a female, queer-owned and run vegan/vegetarian neighbourhood restaurant’.