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.

“If all vegan restaurants were this good, I’d never eat meat” – Since Alexis Gauthier went fully meat-free in 2021, his “lovely old Soho townhouse” has put “a vegan twist on French classics, served with charm and style”. It was an incredibly brave move for a conventional venue whose renown was built on classic Gallic cuisine: a beautiful and romantic old Georgian building on many levels, where you have to knock on the door to gain access. The result is an “exceptional foodie experience, with incredible flavours”. Where there are complaints from diners, they often relate to the use of flesh or cheese substitutes (“Gauthier, you really don’t need to make vegan food look like meat”). But for most diners, “the acid test of a vegan restaurant is whether the food is good enough to stop you thinking about veganism. And Gauthier wins this easily!” with “food of the highest quality, unusual at times and innovative, and never failing to impress”. Service here is particularly strong too: “helpful and thoughtful, never pushy”. Its ratings are still not quite back to the pre-2021 pinnacles here since he broke with meat and the audience is perhaps not quite as large as it was. Overall, though, it seems to be a decision that’s working out increasingly well.

“Rishim Sachdeva’s ‘mostly’ vegan food is consistently thrilling in its creativity, ingenuity and presentation” and long-time supporters welcome his graduation from a pop-up to this permanent site in July 2023 near Oxford Circus. Rishim “magically roams the globe drawing from many cuisines which somehow harmonise”. The “smart (for a vegan restaurant)” interior mostly pleases, but “can perhaps seem a little hard-edged at times”, but fans say “I would enjoy Rishim’s food on a bed of nails – it is brilliant!”

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.

“My find of the year… and I’m not vegetarian/vegan!” – former fashion model and producer Irina Linovich’s two-year-old plant-based debut venture was scheduled to move into new Notting Hill premises in late 2023 from its original perch in a wellness salon near Harrods (and a vintage Airstream caravan by Battersea Power Station). There’s a “really wide choice of imaginative food”, with dishes such as ‘Sexy Tofu’ (eat your heart out, Richard Caring) that “certainly change your perception of vegan living”.

“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!”

2022 Review: An unusual theme – it’s modelled after the Indian community’s members’ clubs in Kenya – sets the tone at this wood-panelled stalwart, which celebrated its thirtieth birthday in 2021. The culinary offering (ranging from grills to sharing plates and curries) continues to gain highly positive marks, though commentary this year was scant.

Chef Ben Asamani’s “lovely” long-running vegan café on busy North End Road in Fulham (by the crossroads with Lillie Road) celebrates its 21st anniversary this year – and nobody has a bad word to say about the place. Top Tip – the weekend lunch all-you-can-eat buffet is a steal at £18 a head.

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.

“Fantastic vegan Sichuan food” – “bursting with spices and tastes” – makes any one of this “deservedly popular” trio in Islington, Golders Green and Spitalfields Market (from the team behind omnivore Xi’an Impression) “a go-to place if you want to eat vegan with an Asian twist”. “Don’t go because it’s vegan, but because the food is just so good!”

“Light… surprising… confounding vegan food” wins little but praise for the original branch of this spin-off brand from the long-established Mildreds group: a large and “lovely space by Borough Market” that’s won renown for its “innovative and delicious plant-based cuisine, served in a lively atmosphere and feeling like decent value for money too”. The principal drawback is service that’s “not always on the ball” (“expect to wait a long, long time at busy periods”). In June 2023, they opened in Woods Wharf too – “a welcome addition to the Mallow family, where the regular menu is reliably great and the brunch is fun too”. Top Tip – the cooking is “at its best when not trying to mimic meat and fish, when it can veer off course. Small plates are the best of it and therefore it’s best to approach a meal mezze style”.