I’ve covered a lot of ground in London when it comes to vegan restaurants or any restaurant that respects vegans and offers a decent menu to choose from. In this Best Vegan Restaurants for Veganuary guide I have added my latest conquests, and after a trip up north to my university town, I decided to share my favourite three in Leeds.
London
The Meet, Clapham
What they do best: Vegan comfort ”junk” food.
If you’re going to eat vegan comfort food then you may as well go all out and indulge at The Meet. The menu is genius and you are going to want to order at least half the quirky sounding dishes on there. Be warmed! Remember the saying ”your eyes are bigger than your belly”!. And make sure you leave some room for dessert and for one of their peanut butter and jelly milkshakes. They also do a pretty neat cocktail – try the rhubarb and custard martini.
This pop up restaurant is location under the industrial backdrop of railway arches in Clapham North. Chef Dominic Taylor, formerly Executive Chef of The Jam Tree has used creative cooking techniques to revamp popular millennial dishes into indulgent vegan alternatives. Dominic, who adheres to a plant- based diet draws verve from a lively blend of cultural influences to create nourishing and flavoursome plates.
They’re open every day and offer a selection of small sharing plates, burgers, late night bites as well serving a bottomless vegan brunch and Sunday roasts on the weekend. Read reviews.
15-16 Lendal Terrace
Clapham
London
SW4 7UX
020 3397 7475
hello@the-meet.co.uk
Circus
What they do best: Defy the laws of physics
Circus is a beautiful collision of cabaret restaurant and cocktail bar in Covent Garden. If you haven’t been there before it’s a unique and one of a kind experience where a performance takes place as you dine at your table. Dancers, acrobats and magicians put on a show which included fire breathers, a singing drag queen and hula hoopers on the night we dined there.
An impressive quartz ‘Stage’ table, seating up to 28 guests, dominates the room while smaller dining tables are scattered around if you prefer something more intimate. They offer a Pan Asian style vegan Tasting Menu! consisting of a four-course menu served to share and includes a glass of prosecco each (also vegan!). The waiting staff are super friendly and attentive too. Go here for a fun night out with a group. Read reviews.
27-29 Endell St
London
WC2H 9BA
020 7420 9300
info@circus-london.co.uk
Theo Randall
What they do best: Italian Fine Dining & wine pairing
Located inside the five star InterContinental London Park Lane, master chef Theo Randall serves up the best vegan Italian in town. There are few fine dining restaurants in London that do vegan food really well and this is one of them. You can view the menu here.
The restaurant itself is stunning with a buzzing atmosphere. You can choose to have wine pairing with the tasting menu which was fabulous. The red dessert wine at the end went down a treat. We even got to meet the main man himself in his kitchen. Everything was absolutely delicious, I only wish I could make pasta so good myself. A firm favourite with vegan celebrities the secret is now out! Read reviews.
InterContinental London Park Lane
1 Hamilton Place
London
W1J 7QY
+44 20 7318 8747
reservations@theorandall.com
Eat Genesis
What they do best: A little bit of everything
A new one to try in Shoreditch. I discovered it on Instagram after seeing some photos of a very pink Miami style diner with palm trees and neon signs. It’s counter service whereby you order your food first and are given a buzzer that lets’s you know when your food is ready. It’s spread over two floors and you can choose to sit at a table or in a cosy booth.
The food is as colourful as the decor. It’s hard to know what to choose. Genesis gives you a bit of everything (albeit all organic and vegan), with vibrant flavours from India, Mexico, the US, South East Asia and the Middle East on the menu. As I visited early on a spontaneous Saturday morning when it had just opened at 11am I just ordered the jack fruit taco. It looked good and tasted even better
There were so many other dishes on the menu that I made a mental note of for next time, including the mac & cheese as I have heard raving reviews about it. Food blogger couple Freya & Charlie have written a fabulous and in depth review which I would recommend you read as we didn’t get to try much of the menu during our first visit but will definitely be going back!. Read reviews.
144 Commercial St
London
E1 6NU
+44 20 7059 0138
info@eatgenesis.com
Mildreds
What they do best: Serve really good food continuously without fail
I don’t go to Mildred’s often enough. I have been just twice…arriving early to get a table the second time before the lunch time rush appeared. Mildreds has become a Soho institution for 30 years as a vegetarian restaurant and is always full with a queue of people outside down Lexington street. Expect to queue for up to an hour but once you’re in the service is friendly and quick.
Its ever lasting popularity is down to serving really good food continuously, without fail. Exclusively for Veganuary they have launched a new vegan brunch menu. Read reviews.
45 Lexington street
London
W1F 9AN
0207 494 1634
soho@mildreds.co.uk
Plum & Spilt Milk at the Great Northern Hotel
What they do best: A vegan spin on British classics
I got to try out the restaurant Plum & Spilt Milk when I stayed a night at the Great Northern Hotel. They have some great vegetarian options on the menu which the chef will personally make vegan for you. Mark Sargeant is the executive chef who was the launch chef at Gordon Ramsay at Claridge’s.
I absolutely loved the elegant decor and the ambience. There are one hundred and fifty hand-blown glass lamps suspended from the ceiling. The restaurant previously was won best interior design of the year from the European Hotel Design Awards. It’s pure eye candy.
There’s an extensive selection of wines too — including very many by the glass — plus champagnes and fabulous-sounding cocktails. There’s also healthy options on the breakfast menu including Choices quinoa porridge made with soya milk, blueberries and almonds, and a buckwheat crepe with strawberries, agave syrup and lemon balm. Read reviews.
Great Northern Hotel
St Pancras Station
Pancras Rd
London
N1C 4TB
+44 20 3388 0818
reservations@plumandspiltmilk.com
Texture
What they do best: Vegan Fine Dining
Located in Mayfair, Texture restaurant and champagne bar is housed in a beautifully restored Georgian building. The theme is set on emphasising the wonderful aspects of our local nature and this is evident in the white décor and bare white trees and striking floral/twig arrangements.
Their mission is to create meals that involve all of our senses while encouraging their guests to explore different textures of food and wines – at the centre of the dining experience.
The seven course vegan tasting menu focuses on contrasts and textures, with each ingredient carefully selected to create show-stopping dishes. Icelandic chef Aggi Sverrison’s believes in healthy cooking, and each dish was light, colourful and full of exciting flavours blended together. Read reviews.
34 Portman Street
Marylebone
W1H 7BY
Leeds
The Lost & Found
What they do best: Decadent cocktails
This is the place to go for a social night out with a group of friends, drink decadent cocktails and still be able to enjoy yourself and actually eat as a vegan. The restaurant and cocktail bar is located on Albion Place within a beautiful avant-garde Grade II listed building, previously home to the Leeds Club since 1849.
Each establishment under The Lost and Found banner is “overseen” by an imaginary professor for whom a signature cocktail is named on the menu. Benedict Pike, a respected scholar of chemistry is the looming figurehead of The Leeds Club
The cocktail menu is comprised of ‘Lost’ and ‘Found’ cocktails with ‘Lost’ drinks including twists on favourite serves from the Lavender Sour, with lavender-infused Absolute vodka, blossom bitters and egg white to the Storm Bronte, a combination of Havana Club 3YO rum, QuiQuiRiQui matalan mescal espadin and San Pellegrino blood orange.
‘Found’ cocktails include the Mountain Meadow with Zubrowka vodka, Briottet Crème de Bergamote, elderflower syrup and a dash of apple juice and the Bay of the Beast with Kraken black spiced rum, Cherry Heering liqueur and Amaretto, finished with a splash of cranberry juice, blackberries and raspberries. With such an impressive cocktail menu you may think that the food would be dull in comparison but I wasn’t disappointed and enjoyed a three course meal. There’s a second venue over on Greek St too. Read reviews.
3 Albion Place
Leeds
LS1 6JL
+44 113 493 1450
leeds@the-lostandfound.com
Harvey Nichols Fourth Floor Brasserie
What they do best: Sunday brunch and champagne
The friendliness of Yorkshire people and lack of pretentiousness is the best! As soon as I arrived with my guest for our vegan Sunday brunch we were warmly welcomed by the manager who had reserved one of the best tables by the window.
A few glasses of rose champagne were the perfect accompaniment to a three course vegan meal using the freshest of ingredients. The Fourth Floor Café and Bar has spectacular views over the city’s rooftops and is an award winning drinking and dining destination.
Sunday brunch is a popular choice and great value, priced at £22 per person for three courses – you can choose a non vegan or vegan option. I loved the atmosphere and the restaurant is filled with light which was lovely with the sun shining through the windows. It’s the kind of place you could spend all day at, chatting away and catching up with friends. For veganuary they have developed an exclusive menu including warm salad, pickled vegetables, beetroot jelly, apple crisps and artichokes to start, followed by yeast-roasted cauliflower, almonds and fried potatoes.
And you don’t need to skip dessert either with these guilt free sweet offerings such as textures of plums with candied pecan nuts or poached pear, blackberries and toasted oats. And of course you can wash it all down with a range of vegan wines or fizz. Read reviews.
Harvey Nichols Fourth Floor Brasserie
107-111 Briggate
Leeds
LS1 6AZ
Tel: +44 (0)113 204 8000
leeds.reservations@harveynichols.com
Dough In The City
It was such a pleasure to be invited to the opening night of the new Vice and Virtue – Dough In The City from the Vice Group, one of Leeds’ most notorious independents. Already consisting of Vice and Virtue, Aperitivo, Nineteen and Feed, ‘Dough In The City’, pays homage to their beginnings at Dough Bistro eleven years ago.
During the evening we were served a sample of their food and drink menu. As the only vegan in the room I had my own special dishes made for me along with vegan wines, beers and cocktails.
The chef and the management spoke with such passion and enthusiasm about their new establishment. The atmosphere they have created is the kind of place you don’t want to spend all night at and don’t want to leave.
This is a fine dining experience offering five, seven and ten course tasting menus along with wine and cocktail pairing. The menus have been developed by some of the most talked about chefs in Leeds, including executive chef Laura MacLeod. MacLeod obtained many awards and outstanding reviews when working as head chef at Dough Bistro and will certainly have Leeds foodies talking. Read reviews.
72 New Briggate
Leeds
LS1 6NU
Tel: +44 113 345 0202
hello@doughinthecity.co.uk
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