Vegan London, part 1

[jackxattack]

not in china town but there is a VEGAN chinese all u can eat off oxford street *tries to remember where* :confused:

There are a couple. The one I go to is near Tottenham Ct Rd/Old Compton St (I think that's it's name?- the street with a number of gay clubs on it). A fiver for all you can eat. :)

[the_marmite_kid]

my favourite eateries are the tai chinese chain except for the one in st martins lane which is microwaved as its not cooked on site. i always make a pig of myself at thier buffets, the food is all so nice and theres something like 20 dishes and you want to taste them all.

govinda's do a nice meal and most of the dishes are vegan but its a little more expensive than other places, very nice though. you get dhal, choice of rice, a bean dish and two curries, bread, popadom, chutneys and salad for 6 pounds.

maoz on old compton street flippin rocks, a pitta with salad and falafel and pile as much as you want on from the salad bar for 3 pounds. or you can get chips, falafel and a drink for under a fiver.

vegetarian paradise opposite alara is better than has been reported. i always leave there with a full belly and the staff are really helpful, telling you what is in the dishes, which are vegan and which are not, very tasty not too spicey and i always get my moneys worth, it being a fiver for as much as you can eat.

red veg is tasty but not so wholesome, it is surprisingly like mcdonalds which im not sure is a good or bad thing but most of what they offer can be made as vegan

RIP neals yard bakery

[Mr Flibble]

my favourite eateries are the tai chinese chain except for the one in st martins lane which is microwaved as its not cooked on site.

Do any of the restuarants cook properly onsite? I was under the impression that it was all supplied centrally and reheated on site. The chain has gotten pretty big in recent years, they're popping up all over zones 1/2 and the food is pretty much identical in each

[harpy]

Just wondered if anyone had tried a raw food restaurant in Britain? I have read about 2, Little Earth in North London and The Food Clinic in Brighton, but not been to either.

I'm not that worried about some of my food being cooked but these are presumably vegan or vegan-friendly places, and I have read some enthusiastic reviews of Little Earth. It's a bit of a hike from here though (wrong side of the river ;) )

[Lilac Hamster]

I know there is another very raw-friendly vegan restaurant in London, called Vita-Organic, I've been there once when they were at Finchley Road, it looks like they have moved to somewhere more central now though. They have raw and non-raw, certainly one worth visiting, I heard London Vegans go there regularly too,
http://www.vitaorganic.co.uk/

Lesley

[harpy]

Thank you Lesley, that looks an interesting one, and a bit more accessible for me than the other two!

[Blueshark]

Has anybody been to Manna (http://www.manna-veg.com) in Primrose Hill (London)?

Thinking of checking it out - looks quite good but the site is down atm.

It is a 'vegetarian resturant using organic fruits and vegtables'

[Gorilla]

a friend of mine has been there, but i can't remember whether she said it was good or bad, sorry :p :o

[harpy]

I went to Manna a few years ago with a group of veggies, and the others weren't too impressed - the main problem was that the kitchen or waiting staff couldn't cope with a largeish group so some of us had finished before the others had got their food etc. I quite liked the actual food though, and they have had plenty of time since then to mend their ways :D

[Blueshark]

a friend of mine has been there, but i can't remember whether she said it was good or bad, sorry :p :o

Thanks lol!

[Gorilla]

Has anybody been to Manna (http://www.manna-veg.com) in Primrose Hill (London)?

Thinking of checking it out - looks quite good but the site is down atm.

It is a 'vegetarian resturant using organic fruits and vegtables'
i checked with my friend, she said the food's good, but the place itself is a bit snooty and very expensive.

[VeganJohn]

i checked with my friend, she said the food's good, but the place itself is a bit snooty and very expensive.

The menu looks excellent and it is expensive, but I am sure it will be fine dining, something that I particularly enjoy :)

[Tiggerwoo]

Another place to go is Govinda's Vegetarian Restaurant in London, nr Soho. Its run by Hare Krishnas so the majority is vegan (all veggie) and all the deserts are vegan. You can pick up an all you can eat Thali which is really filling for £4.95 and the price drops further after 7pm and there is an excellent choice on the menu.

[LittleMissVegan]

Mr Flibble or Twinkle- What was that place called in London where we went for the ice-cream after the Christmas without Cruelty Fair? I can't remeber where it was or the name but I wanna go back as it was fab!!!

[Mr Flibble]

It was in Neals Yard in Covent Garden. Can't remember the name

[LittleMissVegan]

It was in Neals Yard in Covent Garden. Can't remember the name

Thanks hun!

[Lilac Hamster]

Gertvegan, you seem to know about vegan beers so do you happen to know about Peroni beer, if it is vegan?

It's a beer that is served in Pizza Express, Italian of course.

I'm asking on behalf of my husband. He emailed Peroni quite a while back, he also asked PE themselves but has never been able to get an answer on this.

Not sure if it is because we could not ask in Italian so they did not understand us, but Peroni have never replied and PE were not very helpful either, although always helpful on the food side of things.

Lesley

[gertvegan]

Sorry, I've never been to a PE before, I should get out more. They also sell it at Riverside Vegetaria (http://www.rsveg.plus.com), so maybe email them or ask next time you're in there.:)

[suzieyoga]

Hi Everyone, I'm new to the forum and hope you can help me out. My husband and I will be chunneling to London from Paris in December,2006 only for 4 nights. Last year we were in Paris for the same number of nights and found that buying food from the supermarket was our best bet and more satisfying than any of the restaurants. I know that London is far more vegan friendly, so please can you recommend an area to stay (and maybe a nice hotel for less than $300 USD a night) in the same area. Thanks, Suzieyoga

[Mr Flibble]

If you're looking to eat out, really staying within striking distance of the centre (zone 1) is your best bet. There's a fairly high concentration of vegan friendly places from fast food to pretentious sit down meal type eating within a few miles. Anywhere on a tube line within zones 1-3 should be fine, although of course some areas are nicer than Brixton, I mean, others.

[Lilac Hamster]

Have your checked out this page?

http://www.veganlondon.co.uk/stay.htm

I don't know any of the hotels personally but North London seems very well-served for veggie places to stay.

Also:
http://www.veganlondon.co.uk/eat/index.htm

Again North London and central London are very well served as far out as Harrow, and my husband and I also highly recommend a visit to the Riverside Vegetaria in Kingston to the south west of London.

The Vegan London site is an excellent resource and what is more if you contact Julie and Brian, the site owners, nearer the time of your stay they can also tell you if there is anything happening with London Vegans while you are here, in case you want to go and meet some other vegans while you are here.

Lesley

[harpy]

Where to stay depends a bit on your preferences - the transport is (usually) reasonable here so you could stay somewhere further out if you wanted and commute into town.

Some American friends used to stay in this hotel, The Forum in Gloucester Road, which seems to be a Holiday Inn now. The building is not very characterful but it's a convenient location and it still seems to be getting good reviews on Tripadvisor.

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g186338-d193133-Reviews-Holiday_Inn_London_Kensington_Forum-London_England.html



This site is good for giving you an idea of the range or restaurants that there are here:
http://www.veganlondon.co.uk/

Sadly there isn't a vegan quarter - how convenient that would be :D - but as Mr Flibble says there are quite a few vegan-friendly places in central London.

Edited to add: ...oops, sorry Lesley, you posted while I was writing. And again to say that the Forum is not a vegan hotel, it's just a hotel.

[Lilac Hamster]

Great minds think alike eh! I don't think I posted anything that was not mentioned earlier on in the thread anyway!

Lesley

[suzieyoga]

Dear Mr. Fribble, Harpy and Lilac Hamster,
You guys are great! Yes, of course, I've surfed through many if not all of the UK veg sites.

I'm a bit confused about the zones 1-3 as I don't have a map showing those zones. My friend (not veg) strongly suggested the Mayfair area, but we tend to have different interests.

We want really good access to restaurants or health food stores or markets. We will be using the tube or buses. We hope to get to a few shows and especially want to get to the Old Vic Theatre.

We've never been to England and will only be there for such a short time. All suggestions are welcome.

Again we are taking the eurostar into London and back to Paris.

[Mr Flibble]

I'm a bit confused about the zones 1-3 as I don't have a map showing those zones. My friend (not veg) strongly suggested the Mayfair area, but we tend to have different interests.

Is your friend stinking rich by chance? Mayfair is lovely, as is Kensington, but depends on your budget ;)

A zone map can be found on: http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tfl/tube_map.shtml

You'll want to use tube instead of buses where possible for most journeys. The buses are highly useful when you know London a bit better than first visit, but tube is generally better if you can afford the difference in price.

The best stuff vegan wise (healthfood stores and resturants) is in the centre of zone 1, particularly around Soho/covent garden.


We want really good access to restaurants or health food stores or markets. We will be using the tube or buses. We hope to get to a few shows and especially want to get to the Old Vic Theatre.

The Old Vic is on the same road as the waterloo eurostar station. If you go out to the exit with the elephant statue then the old vic is across the road on your right.