Loving Hut, Camden

Restaurant review by Emily, Vegan Pledge Buddy 2012

The Camden branch of LovingHut is tiny and only seats around 12 people but don’t let that put you off! As with all Loving Hut restaurants, the menu is purely vegan so you can relax and order whatever you wish with a completely cruelty-free menu. There is a range of burgers, salads and desserts to choose from as well as an all-you-can-eat lunchtime buffet which is very reasonably priced at £5.50 per person. 

My favourite item on the set menu is the Ocean Burger, which is served with crispy chips, carrot fingers and a dipping sauce of egg-free mayo and ketchup. As well as soups and a selection of side dishes, the cheesecakes are to die for. As an added bonus, they have a loyalty card scheme where you can collect stamps for each visit. These can later be redeemed for free drinks or cake. Lastly, as a stockist of Vegusto cheese you can pick up some shopping to take home with you after a quick bite! 

For details, see: camden.lovinghut.co.uk.

The Karma Free Pizza Company, Rayner’s Lane

Restaurant review by Emily, Vegan Pledge Buddy 2012

Possibly the best vegan pizzas in London! The Karma Free Pizza Company is a relatively new restaurant that serves a 100% vegetarian menu. All pizzas can be made vegan by specifying that you would like ‘vegan cheese’. Gluten/wheat-free pizza bases are also available but you will need to telephone in advance if wanting one of these as they can take up to 30 minutes to prepare. 

"Possibly the best vegan pizzas in London!" Photo by Emily

The pizzas themselves are excellent value and very filling. There are a number of pizzas to choose from including those with (and without) fake meats or you can simply create your own pizza from an extensive list of toppings. Sides are also available (e.g., garlic bread, dough balls, wedges, samosas, a “super food” salad). My favourite pizza is the Higher Karma (asparagus, artichokes, roasted peppers, olives, tomatoes, spinach and pine kernels) but I haven’t been disappointed by any of the pizzas that I have tried here. 

Seating for 16 people only, but take-away is also an option. Follow this link for more info:  https://sites.google.com/site/karmafreepizza/ Great family-owned restaurant, worth going to. Be sure to specify that you are vegan at the time of ordering. 

Tibits - Restaurant Review

By Asa, Vegan Pledge Buddy 2012

One of my favourite restaurants in London is Tibits, off Regent Street. It is a great place to go for so many reasons:

• Good location – city centre (nearest tubes Oxford Circus / Piccadilly Circus)
• Very nice atmosphere – although I do like low key places, it is nice to see that it is possible for a veggie/vegan restaurant to look posh!



Photo © Copyright Ethical Eats - licensed for reuse
under this Creative Commons licence

• They have a buffet, so it’s quick and easy to get exactly what you want and you can have as little as you want too.
• It is a great place for lingering (well, apart from perhaps busy lunch times on weekends – less great then!); so if I’m waiting to see someone I’ll often pop into Tibits.
• The food is always reliably good.
• Meat eaters are often impressed with it – many have preconceptions that veggie places are in health food centres with rickety wooden chairs, so Tibits dispels this myth!
• They serve alcohol AND nice and innovative non-alcoholic drinks.

Photo © Copyright Ethical Eats - licensed for reuse 
under this Creative Commons licence

Since they’re not completely vegan, their vegan offer changes a bit, but I think they have improved their vegan dessert offer lately – sometimes there was only a fruit salad, but the last few times I’ve been there there’s also been at least one type of cake, a crumble and a chocolate/coconut mousse.

London Vegan Restaurants

By Cameron, London Vegan Pledge Buddy 2009, 2010, 2011; now mentor for the Vegan Easy Challenge back home in Australia. 

I'm an Antipodean vegan who has spent far too much time investigating London's vegan havens. Initially motivated by compassion, my veganism has extended over time from protest to celebration. 

London is one of the best cities in the world for vegan epicureans. With over 160 vegetarian restaurants, all of them with vegan options, you can go to a new one every week for three years, and by then a few more will have opened up.

The best online source to explore which vegan friendly restaurants are in your area is Vegan London, and for London and beyond there is the wonderful Happy Cow, though be warned it can sometimes get out of date so ring first. If you prefer a book you can read through and take with you, Vegetarian Guides are great too. You can also have a look at my review of the best Vegan Restaurants in London.

Diwana, Drummond Street © Copyright Stephen McKay;
licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence

London has so many vegan friendly restaurants, that I might classify my favourites into two categories. First is the day to day places, offering inexpensive good food. Beatroot in Soho, you fill up a box from the selection of tasty dishes and pay for the size of the box. Drummond St in Euston has three Indian all you can eat buffets, and having tried them all many times I couldn't decide if I like Diwana (above) or Ravi Shankar better. VitaO in Soho is great; you purchase a plate and then fill it as high as your engineering skills will allow. 222 in West Kensinton has an all you can eat buffet that is amazing value. I'll finish with Maoz falafel, the cheapest of all these and simply just fantastic falafel.

Saf cocktail

Now the more upper market places. Manna in Chalk Farm, London's oldest vegetarian restaurant, now fully vegan: just amazing. SAF above Wholefoods in South Kensington, again a must visit place. Itadaki Zen, organic Japanese in Kings Cross – what more do you need to know. Mildred's and Tibit's, both in the Soho area, are places you can take your most discerning friends.

Hope you enjoy checking out the great restaurants in London, and realise how lucky you are to live in one of the best places in the world to find delicious and interesting vegan food.

You can read more by Cameron on his website at camerongreen.org.

Ms. Cupcake, Brixton

By Emily, Pledge Buddy 2012

If you have a sweet tooth, Ms. Cupcake is a must visit. London’s first vegan cake shop, Ms. Cupcake is located 5 minutes from Brixton tube station. The company are endorsed by The Vegan Society sunflower trademark so you can be sure that all the treats you buy from here are completely animal-free. 

Counter-top spread at Ms Cupcake, Brixton:
"The naughtiest vegan cakes in town"

Treats are freshly baked on the premises each day. These include a number of cupcakes (over 120 flavours – see the website for details), sweet/savoury muffins, cookies, brownies and doughnuts. Gluten/wheat-free cupcakes are also available as are a selection of flapjacks and chocolate bars to go. Birthday and wedding cakes can be made to order for special occasions. See the website for more details: www.mscupcake.co.uk.

Loving Hut, Archway

Restaurant review by Emily, Vegan Pledge Buddy 2012

The Loving Hut in Archway is probably my favourite vegan restaurant in London. It is a part of a chain and there are many Loving Hut restaurants all around the world, all of which are 100% vegan. 

With other Loving Hut restaurants nearby in Camden and Edgware with slightly different menus, the Loving Hut in Archway serves excellent Chinese food. Dinner can be a la carte – either a set meal from £14 per person, or alternatively you can choose items from the extensive menu of around 100 different dishes. 

Many items on the menu contain tofu or soya imitation meats. Veggie Lemon Chicken is one of my favourites, along with Veggie King Prawn in Black Bean Sauce. Crispy Aromatic Veggie Duck (served with Pancakes) is also available as is fish & chips – again, vegan. 

For those who prefer not to try imitation meats, there is plenty on offer in the way of vegetable dishes, noodles, soups, rice, curries and tofu. No MSG is used and there is always a selection of vegan desserts including ice-creams and cheesecakes. 

This link will take you to the extensive menu on their website: http://archway.lovinghut.co.uk/uk-archway-en/menu/. Good prices and definitely worth a visit.