The best vegan restaurants in London

A cheery hipster hangout in Hackney that really nails it with a short menu of terrific Sichuan dishes. Current hits range from smacked cucumber with black vinegar, sesame oil and crushed garlic to dan dan noodles topped with vegan mince made to a secret recipe. Prices are pay-packet-friendly.

The first vegan restaurant in the UK to be awarded a Michelin star, Plates is kind of a big deal. Head chef Kirk Haworth serves up perfectly arranged bowls of visionary veg in an eight-course tasting menu, that might include luminous, Kermit-green wild garlic soup, sour apple and buckwheat truffles, slow cooked leeks piled high with chestnut cream, then splattered with potent jalapeno and gooseberry dressing, or barbequed maitake mushrooms with black bean mole, kimchi and aioli. Good luck getting a table though - the current wait is months-long.

Mention this place to in-the-know vegans and their eyes will glaze over in blissed-out memory of the gorgeous dishes this Islington restaurant serves up. Its menu is packed with classic Chinese dishes crafted from mock meat, tofu, and beancurd galore, but somehow that description doesn't do justice to the exhilarating textures and flavours this joint serves up. Don't miss the twice-cooked 'fish', with its crisp batter coating and meltingly soft interior. 

Siblings Jordan and Chyna opened Jam Delish off the back of stints at Kerb and a well-received six-month residency at Soho’s Sun and 13 Cantons pub. Here, at their permanent spot in Angel, the kitchen is headed up by Bajan-Jamaican chef Nathan Collymore. Food here is a vegan, relatively unadorned amble through West Indian classics like jerk 'chicken', 'goat' curry, 'saltfish' tostones, 'beef' patties and so on, but Collymore is doing seriously alchemical things with seitan, tempeh, jackfruit and soy. Try the silken 'oxtail' stew, with a wildly flavourful liquor, studded with cassava dumplings and served with perfect rice and peas.

Holy Carrot is prim as a perfume shop, fronting a menu that is plant-forward, ‘root to peel’ and sustainable. It comes from Daniel Watkins, formerly of ACME Fire Cult in Dalston, who brings his ‘fire and ferment’ ethos across the capital from one neighbourhood of cool to another. It has plenty of his signature punch and cocktails come courtesy of Hackney’s uber cool A Bar With Shapes For a Name.

As well as spots at Brixton's Ritzy Cinema and in Peckham and Clapham, En Root have taken over the kitchen at this friendly Tulse Hill boozer. Their Indian-inspired comfort food includes the likes of crunchy plantain chaat, tandoori oyster mushroom wings, jerk dosas and pakora burgers. Our favourite? The Tulse Hill thali, with golden rice, dhal, saag aloo, jerk plantain mushroom mix, rainbow salad, pickled cabbage & plantain. Don't miss the piña colada pani puri for pud.

Part of the green wave of vegan restaurants that's currently breaking in Peckham, Naïfs is a family-run small plates spot tucked away on a quiet residential street. Chef Tom Heale used to be a sous chef at much-missed, much-garlanded veggie restaurant Vanilla Black. Now, he runs Naïfs with his brother Finn alongside him in the kitchen, serving up Middle Eastern-inspired small plates in a low-key but romantic setting.

The Black Heart, a dimly-lit Camden bar best known for its heavy music gigs, also operates as a front for some of London’s best vegan food. LD’s Kitchen at the Black Heart offers a menu of American comfort food delights – think wings, mac ’n’ cheese, dirty fries, that sort of stuff – as gorge-able as they are refined with scientific precision. Entirely made in-house, LD’s faux chicken will leave you sitting there thinking how, what; the ‘meat’ is juicy and tender, the ‘skin’ somehow remains crisp under thick, rich, potent sauce. Accompanied by homely sides and fabulous cocktails, LD’s Kitchen boasts as many thrills as any head-banging Black Heart band.

After beginnings at summer music festivals, pub pop-ups and Hackney supper clubs, Club Mexicana is in Soho, permanently packed with happily seitan-stuffed burrito fiends. The al pastor taco is still a must-order. But there are other highlights, like the ingenious tofish taco and jackfruit ‘ribs’. 

Sesame-speckled purple sweet potatoes, mouth-puckering ferments and lip-smacking tiramisu are all on the menu at Chef Rishim Sachdeva’s brilliant (mostly) vegan small-plates restaurant Tendril. This dimly-lit, gently romantic spot makes meat-free dining both relaxing and unquestionably delicious: you won't believe you're just minutes away from the madness of Oxford Circus. 

Fried potatoes, fresh houmous, pickled mango sauce - just a taste of what’s in store at this street-stall gone permanent. After a long wait, Pockets has opened its first restaurant due to the popularity gained from their infamously good falafel-stuffed pitta breads. These entirely plant-based pittas are known to attract extensively long queues - and who could resist these perfect parcels of massive flavour? With a simple but perfected menu, Pockets do falafel better than anyone in London. 

Alexis Gauthier is a vegan chef who practises what he preaches. His classy Soho townhouse restaurant satisfies plant-crazy evangelists as well as fans of Gallic gourmandising. The vegan line-up might run from golden glazed swede with citrus marmalade and miso-infused dressing to tempeh and corn with kaffir lime, popcorn and bean shoot salad. 

Japanese, vegan and organic? What’s not to love – and, rest assured, we do love this cool little miracle near King’s Cross station. Only the slurping of udon noodles disturbs the Zen-like tranquillity, as punters dip into a virtuously healthy menu that makes the most of a few key ingredients (expects lots of tofu and seaweed). Laid-back staff go with the flow.

The name means ‘purity’ and that’s what you get at this London outpost of the UK’s first vegan pizzeria. The setting is buzzy, modern and relaxed, while the terrific plant-based toppings involve everything from wood-smoked tofu and shaved seitan to rice-based mozzarella and beetroot carpaccio. You can also indulge in some good old-fashioned gluttony by ordering a wicked Oreo pizza for pud.

Come to this heavy metal-adjacent brewery by London Fields to experience London's first ever vegan smokehouse. Run by LD’s Kitchen, there's a full southern states-style menu here, with faux-meat brisket and ribs served alongside creamy (and equally plant-based) mac and cheese, corn, baked beans, slaw and more, as well as peach cobbler for pudding. 

London institution Mildred’s dates back to 1988, an era when vegetarians were shunned, reviled and closeted, which is perhaps why it wears the 100% plant-based nature of its offering so lightly: it’s just a classy, casual-ish restaurant with a diverse, international menu that happens to include no meat. You can expect the likes of Sri Lankan sweet potato curry, tempeh mushroom yaki udon, grilled artichoke caesar and a menu staple; sausage and mash. Their pan-global menu is always fun. Branches also in Camden, Soho, King’s Cross and Dalston.

Vegan chef King Senathit has been bouncing around Hackney for a few years now – since 2015 – serving up steaming bowls of curries and noodles; all dripping with crunchy fresh veg. His latest outlet is in Spitalfields. Drop by for a massive bowl of high grade; a sweet and sour BBQ dish with hemp seeds and oil that comes with vegan chicken or tofu. Fast food with soul. 

Run as a not-for-profit workers’ cooperative, this ethical vegan-only café and bookshop in Clapton is a top spot for budget plant-based food. The menu always features a beef-style seitan and soya-mince burger, a barbecue tofu sandwich, pancakes, curries and meatless lasagne, plus a host of seasonal salad plates involving kale, beetroot, quinoa, noodles and other hip favourites

The London outpost of a small chain that focuses on vegan dishes inspired by pan-Asian cuisine, Loving Hut in Archway professes to use organic vegetables and non-GMO products, with ingredients sourced locally where possible. You'll probably recognise much of the menu – including barbecue vegetable ribs and crispy aromatic ‘duck’, as well as a vegan cheesecake.

London’s first vegan chicken shop (yes, you heard right) was born out of Hackney’s Temple of Seitan street stall. It’s all about ‘meaty’ wheat gluten (aka seitan) here, whether you order peppery popcorn-style nuggets, battered strips or a burger. Add-ons such as zingy red slaw or vegan mac ’n’ cheese with smoky facon cubes are bang-on too. If you want indoor seating and a tad more comfort, try Temple’s sibling in Camden.

Mallow – an offshoot of longstanding London veggie spot Mildred's – has a menu that spans cuisine from all over: Middle Eastern, Italian, Indian, Malaysian – or just burger and chips. The small plates are by far what Mallow does best; shiitake miso croquettes, pea and mint tortelloni, and tasty sourdough. There's another branch in Borough Market. 

The name is an acronym for We Are Vegan Everything, and this trendy café fproves its point with a menu of brekky bowls, Bali bowls, mac ’n’ cheeze, mock-salmon bagels, innovative salads and mighty looking freakshakes. With its chic but cosy tropical-meets-Scandi decor, this is a strong shout for a vegan lunch in Hackney, especially if you stick to the savouries.