You might be putting the flex into flexitarian for Veganuary but why would you want to eat somewhere that only bothers to put vegan dishes on the menu once a year? We’ve got a selection of casual dining gems that put plant-based cooking at the centre of their menu and send out banging vegan dishes all year long.
Mr Bao
All the regular vegetarian dishes at Mr Bao are either already vegan or can be made vegan on request. Add to this their Veganuary specials, plus their regular tofu bao with ginger-braised tofu, house kimchi and crispy onions.
Locations: Peckham, Tooting, Westfield
Fat Hippo
If you’re a burger fan, Fat Hippo has a good selection of three vegan burgers on their regular menu using plant-based patties and vegan cheese. They’re worth ordering just for their strong pun game: anyone fancy a Five Lies, Harlem Fake or Notorious VFC 2.0?
All three include a free side of hand-cut chips, fries or slaw, although you might want to upgrade to the vegan dirty fries with ‘fakon’ bits and Fat Hippo sauce.
Locations: Shoreditch, Soho
Honest Burgers
The Bacon Plant 2.0 Special is the new and improved Bacon Plant burger, first introduced to the Honest Burgers menu in January 2019 and back better than ever after more than 600 burger fans petitioned for its return. Made up of shoestring fries sprinkled with vegan bacon dust, Applewood vegan cheese, and a Beyond Meat patty, the Bacon Plant 2.0 is topped with La Vie’s plant-based bacon.
It comes with a side of your choice; that choice should be the rosemary salted chips. Thank us later.
We like: The Bacon Plant 2.0: £15.90, including those chipsLocations: Over 30 around London
Wahaca
Half of the Mexican-inspired street food at Wahaca is already meat-free, including fully vegan set meals for one or two, but they have a moreish-sounding new special that’s perfect for anyone embarking on Veganuary: the mushroom carnitas tostada. This version replaces the meat with pulled king oyster and chestnut mushrooms served with a velvety cashew cream on corn tortillas.
On the subject of vegan tostadas, the beet tartare which Wahaca brought out for their Day of the Dead celebrations is sticking around for Veganuary: two tortillas topped with Riverford Organic beetroot, salsa macha, freshly-grated horseradish and avocado cream.
We like: the mushroom carnitas for £7.50Locations: Canary Wharf, Covent Garden, Islington, Oxford Circus, Shoreditch, Southbank, Stratford, Waterloo, White City, Wimbledon
Wagamama
Wagamama is known for its inventive Veganuary specials; previous dishes include the world’s first vegan egg, watermelon tuna, vegan fish and chips and last year’s vegan steak bulgogi. This year they are teaming up with Alfie Steiner, aka hugely popular plant-based food influencer Alfie Cooks, for their Plant Based Firecracker Chicken Ramen. The dish includes crispy vegan chick’n, roasted aubergine and rice noodles in a spicy gochujang broth.
Locations: 39 locations across London
Fatto a Mano
With new sites in Covent Garden and now also in Bethnal Green, you don’t have to trek out to King’s Cross to bag one of Fatto a Mano‘s fabulous Neapolitan pizzas; and if you are looking for a vegan-friendly slice, you don’t have to miss out on flavour. Bring on the Vegan ‘nduja pizza – tomato, vegan ‘nduja, fried aubergine, red onions, black olives, chilli, vegan mozzarella & basil – and the Truffle, butternut squash and Fatto cashew vegan parmesan with truffle and mushroom cream. (Note menus vary slightly between sites.)
Locations: King’s Cross, Covent Garden, Bethnal Green
Crust Bros
Crust Bros focus on wood-fired Neapolitan pizza that you can customise with your own choice of 30 ingredients, making them a great choice for Veganuary. They have three vegan pizzas on their regular menu, a Veganuary special plus ten vegan ingredient options for build-your-own.
Locations: Waterloo, Earl’s Court
The Real Greek
If you’re in the mood for a meze then head over to The Real Greek, where dishes such as the flatbread, houmous, falafel and chickpea filo parcels are all naturally vegan.
Locations: Bankside, Covent Garden, Dulwich Village, Marylebone, Soho, Spitalfields, St Martin’s Lane, Strand, Tower Bridge, Westfield
Ramen Yokocho
If you’re looking at Veganuary as a relief from recent indulgence then Ramen Yokocho is the place for you. A cool retro Tokyo ramen bar showcasing regional ramen from all over Japan, it has vegan options throughout the menu including miso ramen with spicy piri piri sauce, tofu, bamboo shoots, kikurage mushrooms, tenderstem broccoli and nori seaweed; vegan sushi rolls and yuzu sorbet.
Locations: Heddon Street, Panton Street
