These restaurants prove that vegan food can be comforting too

Since Rose Johnstone went plant-based in 2016, she’s eaten plenty of warming vegan nosh

Do you really think that after a stressful day, or a big night out, we vegans think to ourselves: You know what I could really go for right now? A room-temperature ancient-grain salad washed down by a heady bottle of kombucha. Oh no, friends. We crave comfort food just like everyone else – and in the last five or so years, London has been delivering.

You’ll find plenty of plant-based versions of soul-warming faves in the capital: take Young Vegans in Camden, which does a vegan pie made from ‘steak’ marinated in rich, dark ale and slathered in gravy.  There’s also a form of vegan comfort food that existed long before the time of ‘plant-based alternatives’.

When I need to eat my feelings, the first thing I think of is a warm, fragrant bowl of laksa or ramen. Bermondsey’s Hakata makes a vegan ‘tonkotsu’ ramen (a creamier version of the noodle soup), with burnt garlic oil, that will have you emitting inappropriate sounds.

Need to turn up the fire levels? Order from the wide selection of vegan Sri Lankan curries at Everest Curry King in Lewisham. The aubergine curry (go on, eat those little green chillis) is the equivalent of wrapping yourself in a fluffy blanket. Plus, by eating vegan, you’re making the world a greener place. And isn’t that the most comforting feeling of all?

Feeling peckish? Here are some of London’s best vegan-friendly restaurants.