London is one of the greatest places to be vegan in the UK, and new Vegan places are constantly popping up all over the capital. What makes these particular restaurants so good is that the food is not just for Vegans, but it’s delicious for meat-eaters too! Jenny Edwards takes us around some of the best vegan restaurants in London.

Temple of Seitan/Hackney

After having a successful food stall in Brick Lane, they now have their own little restaurant (with no seating) in Hackney… Which is even more popular! I visited on the second weekend, and arrived half an hour before opening time and there was already a queue forming. The best thing to get is the ‘chicken’ sub or the burger in my opinion, as the faux chicken (made from seitan – which is wheat gluten) tastes more realistic this way! Of course it’s slightly more expensive than your usual chicken shop, but I guess cruelty-free costs… It’s about £8 for a main with chips, and I promise you won’t be disappointed. Don’t worry if you can’t have gluten, as they also sell gluten-free nuggets too!

What The Pitta

London’s first Vegan Doner place, and it has definitely set the bar high for anyone else who wants to follow in their footsteps (which I’m sure they will). The cute food hut is at The Pump in the heart of Shoreditch and is surrounded by many other nice food stalls with lots of seating and is open until late. The kebab is slightly more expensive than your usual doner (£7.50), however, it’s HUGE and one of the most flavoursome foods I’ve tasted. It’s made up of freshly made bread, spiced soya chunks, salad, homemade tzatziki, chilli sauce and hummus. I think they will soon be moving to a more permanent position in Croydon Boxpark.

Loving Hut

My all-time favourite restaurant because there’s so much to choose from on the menu, and it’s all Vegan. Loving Hut is a worldwide chain, and there are two in London – Archway, and Edgware (and also two in Brighton). The two in London mainly sell Chinese dishes, but they also have a small menu of British options too, such as ‘fish’ and chips, ‘beef’ burgers, ‘chicken’ nuggets. Their imitation meat dishes are ridiculously accurate tasting; sweet and sour chicken was one of the things I missed most when going Vegan, but Loving Hut’s version is scarily similar.

Club Mexicana

For a while this was just a stall in Camden’s KERB food market, but now they have their own restaurant in Dalston. Out of Taco Bell, Tortilla, Chipotle and several other Mexican places I’ve been to, Club Mexicana 100% tastes the best and is the best quality to me – not greasy at all or unhealthy tasting at all. I first went here with my friend that eats meat, and she was so impressed with the nachos and was amazed at how the cheese sauce tasted so similar. I visited their food stall in Camden, as opposed to their new restaurant, but they seem to be going up against Temple of Hackney’s fried chicken by making their own (which looks equally as delicious).

Veg Bar

Situated roughly 10-15 minute walk from Brixton Tube Station, this is definitely my favourite all-Vegan fast food restaurant. It’s my favourite mainly because of their incredible Big Mac remake, called ‘The VegFather’. Although I used to love the Big Mac, it’s much better quality than any one of McDonalds’ burgers. Their sides are also unbelievable, including chicken style BBQ strips, the best vegan mac and cheese I’ve tasted, and tofish sticks (deep fried battered tofu – don’t knock it until you’ve tried it!). If you like healthier food, it also has options like falafel, salads, and soups.