A Vegetarian's Guide to London Eats
- Taylor Torok
- Jun 9, 2017
- 3 min read
While traveling and eating out in a new city, it can be tough to know exactly what is in the food you are eating. Luckily, London is a city full of completely vegan and vegetarian restaurants, and most places are extremely accommodating. In general, the best kinds of restaurants in London for vegetarians include Indian, Thai, Middle Eastern and Lebanese restaurants as well as organic cafés. The following are examples of the types of meals you can have while in the city.
Indian
A typical mixed veggie curry with rice.
When in doubt in London, go for Indian food. Indian is actually the most common type of restaurant in London, and most of the time they will have a full vegan/vegetarian section on their menu. So not only will you have lots of options to chose from, but the food will also be stellar. Indian food is typically heavy on spices, so if you aren’t a huge fan of spicy food, ask for everything to be mild.
Thai
A noodle pad thai with veggies and tofu.
If you get tired of Indian, or it’s not your style, Thai is another great option in London. Like Indian, a lot of the food is vegetarian, or it can be made vegetarian. From noodle dishes to veggie curry, Thai flavors are different enough from Indian that you can have one for lunch and one for dinner.
Middle Eastern
Magic Falafel is a fully vegan food stall at Camden Market.
A signature dish at Magic Falafel is the Magic Box (pictured here), which is a salad with falafel balls and lots of hummus and tahini dressing.
One food that you will see around London a lot is falafel, which is great for vegans and vegetarians alike. Falafel is basically a fried ball made of chickpeas, and it is usually served in a pita or on a salad. Magic Falafel, which can be found at Camden Market, is a fully vegan falafel restaurant. It is a little stand with not many options, but everything is fresh and undoubtedly vegan.
Lebanese
This is the Comptoir Libanais in Chelsea, London.
This Lebanese dish is perfect for vegetarians. It is basically a cheese pizza with a white sauce and spices instead of marinara.
Lebanese food may not be very prevalent around the world, but one Lebanese restaurant chain is relatively common in London. Comptoir Libanais can be found in various locations throughout the city. Their authentic Lebanese cuisine and unique drinks, including a frozen mint lemonade, is a must-try. For vegetarians, there are a number of bread-based dishes similar to pizza available as well as falafel.
Organic Cafés
Pictured here is the Guac N Roll from Squirrel, which includes rice, beans, spinach, corn, tomatoes, sweet potatoes (instead of chicken) and guacamole.
There are tons of healthy, organic cafes around London that sell anything from soups and salads to rice and bean bowls. One of the most accommodating to different diets is called Squirrel. Along with vegan and gluten-free salads and bowls, they also sell smoothies, juices and even cakes and cookies that are mostly vegan. Squirrel is also extremely customizable, so you can pretty much ask them to make anything you would like, as long as it is feasible with their ingredients.
What about dessert?
This vegan and gluten-free cookie dough stand is located at the entrance of Camden Market.
The cookie dough is topped with fresh fruit and coconut.
Besides sorbet and dark chocolate gelato, the best vegan dessert I found in London was at Camden Market at a little cookie dough stand that was fully vegan and homemade. Along with a great dessert, the guys serving up the cookie dough are an absolute delight to chat with, and they will even tell you their life story if you stay long enough! The stand is located at the entrance to the market on the left. You can’t miss it!
As you can see, eating out in London as a vegetarian isn’t too hard. With numerous options at all types of restaurants, you are sure to find something you like. And don’t be afraid to be a little adventurous and try something new- London is a great place to do this.
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