Restaurants in London where you’ll forget meat is off the menu

The name is a bit of a giveaway, but it doesn’t feel like you’re only eating plants at Tofu Vegan

TOP THREE VEGAN restaurants IN LONDON

There are times I don’t like to hear it, such as mid-way through a mouthwatering jambon and truffle croquette or when a sizzlingly-roasted chicken is calling my name on a lazy Sunday, but an uncomfortable truth for many around the world is that eating large amounts of meat directly detriments our planet. 

Vegan diets are increasingly espoused for their health benefits, whether that’s to the planet or to people. Shifting to a plant-based diet, one study found, can lead to three quarters less warming emissions, water pollution and land use compared to diets consuming more than 100g of meat per day. The same study even found that the lowest-impact meat - organic pork - causes eight times more climate damage than the highest-impact plant, oilseed. In fact, if we all went vegan, the world’s carbon emissions would drop by almost 70% in the next 15 years.

So yes, we hear it loud and clear the positives of swapping more of our diets from one largely based on animals to that of vegetables are endless, yet our meat consumption habits are greater than ever before, with almost half of Earth’s land used for food-based agriculture and humans and livestock counting for an incredible 96% of mammal biomass. I understand this difficulty first-hand, having been vegan for four years at the beginning of my twenties and reintroducing meat and dairy into my diet more recently. So for those like me looking to cut back meat at least some of the time, here are my three top recommendations for eating plants in style in the big smoke. In fact by the time you start tucking into the grub at these spots, you’ll likely have forgotten you were forsaking your carnivorous habits anyway. 

Tofu Vegan, Islington 

Delightfully buoyant buns with fried ‘fish’

Walking down Upper Street you’d be forgiven for not being immediately taken aback by Tofu Vegan, with its understated exterior having the hallmarks of a mix between a fast food vegan chain and a late night Chinese in Soho. You wouldn’t be entirely wrong, apart from that without trying it you won’t realise how original, ebullient and jaw-droppingly tasty an experience at Tofu Vegan is. 

While the food takes its inspiration from the Sichuan regions of China - the breathtaking, mountainous home of giant pandas - it’s a leap as large as the Chinese bears away from the prawn toast, mild sweet and sour or deep fried spring rolls soaking in more oil than vegetables many Brits are accustomed to eating. Tofu Vegan is instead a distinguished ride of flavours many won’t have tasted before, and one which blew me - admittedly a meat eater - away.

With a dizzying array of choices on the over ten pages long menu and tantalising wafts swirling towards us from tables nearby, the ordering of food could be a little paralysing. Yet the worry of food envy is somewhat alleviated with a focus on sharing. While tofu is a big hit here, I recommend ordering the Chengdu dumplings, beautifully embedded in a spicy, sapid sauce. The vegetable-based ‘fish’, which sounds wildly risky, tasted impressively similar to the creatures of the sea and perched alongside delectable fluffy buns and a creamy aioli-resemblant sauce. If it weren’t for the waiters buzzing around in “we are saving the planet one step at a time…” it would certainly be easy to forget the menu is entirely plant-based.

Amrutha Lounge, Earlsfield 

Colourful, hearty platters at Amrutha Lounge

Since opening doors in 2018, Amrutha Lounge has stirred up quite the enthusiasm amongst locals, who keep returning for its inviting atmosphere in every sense, from the warm, kind-spirited owners to the food that promises to both nourish and excite. The restaurant’s hospitable nature is extended to the price tag, with the option of bringing your own booze with no corkage fee, an offer of free lunch to over 60s on Fridays and - not that it will matter much - a fair price policy where you can pay less if the meal failed to meet expectations. The owners - Clapham school friends Arvin Suntaramoophy and Shyam Kotecha - are so keen to create a community that leaves no one behind they even offer volunteering in their kitchen for anyone who can’t afford a meal.

The food draws on the friends’ Sri Lankan roots, creating a ‘Vegan Soul Food’ menu, that cooks everything from scratch, transforming simple, organic ingredients, to hearty plates that feed the soul. Expect crispy pakoras which bundle vegetables into a battered, punchy bite drizzled in satay and sweet chilli, an aromatic, creamy beetroot and coconut soup, and an uplifting red and green lentil coconut buddha dahl. Community-driven in its entirety, the kitchen sources from local, small business, meaning not only is the produce that ends up on your plate fresh and largely seasonal, but boosting independent suppliers too.

Club Mexicana, SOHO

Steak tacos are made with Redefine Meat’s innovative produce (Credit: Club Mexicana)

Club Mexicana is a restaurant slotting perfectly into the heart of Carnaby Street, with an electric energy that’s palpable as you step inside its colourful, neon lit space and hear (or feel) the thumping music. This isn’t a spot of pretensions, with a lassiez-faire table service and food brought promptly on trays, but what this Mexican joint does have is a twist - you guessed it - as all tacos, burritos and other delights associated with the Latin American country come from plants only. On the menu is the cheezeburger taco, ‘chorizo’ and cheeze empanadas and buffalo chick’n burrito to name a few.

Dishes and drinks are as bright and fun as the interiors, and the menu features special offerings throughout the week. Guests can enjoy ‘beef’ and cheese empanadas with crispy, shortcrust pastry, vegan queso, ‘beef’, salsa roja, and pink onions or barbecue short rib with jackfruit ribs, hickory smoked sauce, pico de gallo and mustard mayo. Hearty brunch on Sundays features huevos rancheros which swaps eggs for scrambled tofu, pan-fried tacos filled with braised ‘beef’ brisket, smoked queso, onion salsa & jalapeños, and chick’n & waffles topped with ‘bacon’ and chilli infused maple syrup. These can all be pleasantly washed down with a Michelada comprising Mexican lager, tomato juice, lime, Worcestershire sauce and spices or a Breakfast Margarita if you’re feeling extra punchy.

In its endeavour to faultlessly recreate the texture, taste and aroma of original animal fare, the kitchen sources from redefine meat who quite literally ‘print’ duplicates of the muscle and fat structures found in cuts of meat. Attaining the exact amounts of these elements, the company states, are essential to experience the same levels of pleasure as eating the real thing. 3D printing has only recently changed the game of the alternative meat industry, and celebrity chef Marco Pierre White called this the “cleverest" innovation he’s seen in his four and a half decades on the ever-changing food scene. The result of the steak was so reminiscent of a seared slab of meat cooked to perfection there’s the chance it could even put some particularly religious vegans off.

Spicy margs at Club Mexicana

So… whether you’re a meat-fanatic looking to have one night off or your plant munch could do with some fleshy awakening, these spots are here to help.