Looking for vegetarian restaurants in the UK? Want to find the best vegan restaurants in London? Read our expert foodie guide to the best plant based restaurants in the UK serving vegetarian and vegan menus. Starting with London's best vegetarian restaurants, moving on to the best from the UK, including The Allotment in Stockport, Root in Bristol and Forest Side in Cumbria.

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Best vegan and vegetarian restaurants in London

Click the link above for the best meat-free restaurants in the capital, with a few of our favourites highlighted below.

Bubala, London E1 (Spitalfields) – for Middle Eastern vegetarian small plates

A bowl of hummus with yogurt swirled on top and chickpeas on top

Chantelle Nicholson at Tredwell's (Covent Garden) – for vegan tasting menu

Tredwells Vegan Menu Chantelle Nicholson

Genesis, London E1 (Shoreditch) – for vegan fast food

Genesis Vegan Restaurant London Review

Best vegetarian and vegan restaurants in the UK

The Vurger Co, Manchester

The Created in 2016 after founders Rachel Hugh and Neil Potts took a life-changing trip to California – then the epicentre of a burgeoning plant-based food revolution – The Vurger Co has grown from a small market stall to four branches based in London, Brighton and Manchester. Along the journey, Rachel and Neil have worked with some of the meat-free industry’s sharpest minds – including chef Gaz Oakley, also know as the Avant-Garde Vegan – to help shape a brand that, in its spicy Auburger (£8.45) or Beyond Meat patty New York Melt (£9.95), promises “vegan fast food to feed your soul”. Plus, all of The Vurger Co’s packaging is also made from plants and fully compostable – Rachel and Neil are dedicated to waste management and guarantee that nothing goes to landfill.

thevurgerco.com

BBQ Pork Vurger-Meal at The Vurger Co.

Twelve Eatery, Bournemouth

Sustainability is at the heart of this plant-based Bournemouth eatery that exclusively uses organic and locally sourced ingredients to bring its vibrant vegan menu to life. Having visited on a cold winter's evening, we were delighted to be greeted with a bowl of the seasonal soup – a smooth, buttery truffle and celeriac with warm, crusty seeded sourdough on the side for dunking. This was quickly followed by cosy mains, including creamy cashew carbonara with tofu bacon and thick ribbons of tagliatelle, and succulent lentil, mushroom and squash wellington with a rich, smoky gravy and buttery potato purée – it was hard to believe it was vegan.

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A unique feature of Twelve Eatery is its fully organic bar, offering a diverse range of drinks that are free of refined sugars and made using environmentally conscious products. Cocktail highlights include the black dahlia with dark rum, coffee liqueur and chocolate bitters, and a frozen negroni for those who prefer bitter botanical notes.

twelveeatery.com

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No.Twelve, Notthingham

A family-run restaurant in the heart of Nottingham city centre, No.Twelve offers an elevated approach to plant-based cuisine, earning them accolades including the ‘best vegan restaurant in the UK 2020’. Situated in a stunning converted red brick mill in the iconic Eldon Chambers, the cosy restaurant gives you the sense of stumbling upon a hidden gem just barely tucked away from the busy city streets. Their menus are designed to be shared by the whole table, with a series of sharing plates, snacks and desserts on offer. The dishes, designed by head chef Ritchie Stainsby feel very luxurious, with items like the faux baked camembert, meat plate and parmentier potatoes not to be missed. Tasting menus can be booked in advance, offering seven courses of hand-crafted, original vegan recipes which can be wonderfully paired with a liquid partner of wine, beer, cocktails or liqueur – an experience not to be missed.

no12nottingham.co.uk

Five spice sweet potato cakes, fresh pear, mulled pear chutney and vegan brie

Acorn Vegetarian kitchen, Bath

I think plant-based food is so popular right now because some really talented people are suddenly making it attractive and tasty,” says Bath-based chef Richard Buckley. “After years of poorly made curries and bowls of mush, you can finally get fresh, delicious food in nearly every city and it just happens to be made from plants.”

Plant-based recipes take centre stage in Richard’s new vegetarian cookbook featuring recipes from his award winning Bath restaurant Acorn (check out our guide to some of the best places to eat and drink in Bath) – from roast Jerusalem artichoke with sunflower seed butter and pink grapefruit to cauliflower heart with almond beignet and white truffle. Richard believes that plants deserve to be given the royal treatment and to be served with the sophistication so often missing from plant-based cuisine.

“We believe plants are the most delicious and nutritious part of any meal,” says Richard. “We focus all of our creative energy on creating the most intelligent, lip-smacking, innovative plant-based dishes we can. We start with the plant and dig deep into its make-up to find interesting ways to serve it as a meal.”

acornvegetariankitchen.co.uk; Plants Taste Better by Richard Buckley is published in March (£25, Jacqui Small).

Acorn Vegetarian kitchen, Bath

Root, Bristol

Owned by chef Josh Eggleton, of Michelin-starred pub The Pony & Trap in Somerset, shipping-container restaurant Root puts 13 vegetable dishes at the forefront of its seasonal menu, with two meat and four fish options, almost as an aside. Head chef Rob Howells says: “The emphasis is no frills and simplicity, taking the key component and using as much as possible so there’s no waste at all or very little. With increasingly diet-conscious and food-aware diners, plant-led diets will become increasingly commonplace.”

eatdrinkbristolfashion.co.uk/root

(Read our full length restaurant review of Root restaurant in Bristol, here...)


Purezza, Brighton

Purezza opened in Brighton (read our foodie guide to the best places to eat in Brighton, here) in 2015 as the UK’s first vegan pizzeria and it has become so popular with vegans (and non-vegans), that owners Tim Barclay and Stefania Evangelista have recently opened a second site in Camden. The couple started Purezza simply because they couldn’t find decent Italian vegan food but they also identified the growing trend of people reducing their meat consumption and a greater awareness of where food is coming from. As well as meat-free pasta dishes and burgers, Purezza serves 15 different wood-fired pizzas made with hemp flour doughs and a low-fat mozzarella-style vegan cheese the owners developed using a blend of organic Italian brown rice, chickpeas and oil. purezza.co.uk

Purezza, Brighton

The Allotment, Stockport

“Our aim is to give people an extraordinary meal and experience using the finest local vegetables,” says Matthew Nutter, chef/owner of The Allotment, a vegan restaurant in Stockport’s Old Town. Bestsellers include a shiitake mushroom parfait with pickled red onion, and a confit aubergine with pomme purée, jus and oyster mushroom.

Matthew says: “For both dishes, I wanted to create a meaty nostalgia in the average meat eater. The shiitake parfait was developed over three years, using the techniques used to make a chicken liver parfait. The aubergine took two years to perfect, and again the idea was to provide customers with a peppered steak texture and taste while eating a plant-based main course.” allotmentvegan.co.uk

(Read our full length restaurant review of The Allotment restaurant in Stockport, here...)

The Allotment, Stockport

Stem and Glory, Cambridge

For the best plant-based food in Cambridge, make a detour down a residential road to reach Stem and Glory. The bright space dotted with white tables and plants gives a vibe as fresh as the food on offer. For something hearty order the Keralan curry with chunks of roasted cauliflower in a rich tomato and coconut sauce, served with sweet raw carrot and coriander ‘rice’.

Small sharing plates are spot on, from a warm salad of golden beets, charred baby gem and sweet orange and mint dressing, to smoky aubergine with fragrant quinoa tabbouleh.

Desserts are not to be missed, so order a slice of the raw blueberry and banana cheesecake packed with nuts and dates to takeaway, or dig into the well-balanced blood orange cake soaked generously in maple syrup and topped with toasted pumpkin seeds and creamy soy yogurt.

Book ahead for lunch on a Sunday when the restaurant buzzes with families tucking into their signature hazelnut and mushroom nut roast served with sweet maple roasted parsnips and spiced red cabbage.

stemandglory.uk


Forest Side, Grasmere, Cumbria

“Vegetables, herbs and fruits are the real stars of any dish – everything else on the plate has a role to play but they are only extras to the leading lights found growing in our kitchen garden, local hedgerows, coasts and forests.” That’s the cooking philosophy of Kevin Tickle, the head chef at Michelin-starred Forest Side on the road from Grasmere to Keswick.

Cumbrian-born Kevin’s food is clean, modern and precise, with the majority of vegetables travelling only a few steps from the hotel’s kitchen garden. “Plant-based cookery isn’t a fad for me, it is at the heart of my cooking,” says Kevin, who used to cook at nearby L’Enclume. Among the dishes on his vegetarian dinner menu at Forest Side are burnt kale, horseradish, kohlrabi and pickled green walnuts, and charred alliums, smoked potato custard and toasted oats. “Vegetables are always my starting point,” says Kevin. “Everything else is paired with them. Vegetables are the seasonal elements of any dish – their texture, taste and look can make or break a plate of food.” theforestside.com

(Read our full length restaurant review of Forest Side in Grasmere, Cumbria here...)

Forest Side, Grasmere, Cumbria

Mono, Glasgow

Award-winning Glasgow café/bar and music venue Mono celebrated its 15th birthday at the end of 2017, and the team was humbled by the attention the anniversary attracted, according to general manager Ian Crawford, who’s also head honcho of the El Rancho record label. With a menu including tofu ‘fish’ and chips, jerk-spiced jackfruit burritos and vegan mac ’n’ cheese, all food at Mono is free from animal produce, right down to the raw chocolate and avocado cheesecake.

“From day one, our ethos was, and still is, to promote an alternative choice to a meat and dairy diet without shouting about it or being exclusive,” says Ian. “With the rise in veganism around the world, and in particular in Glasgow (read our guide to the best places to eat in Glasgow, here), the choice and options for vegans is incredible and we believe that plant-based diets will continue to grow and ethical businesses will flourish.”monocafebar.com

Mono, Glasgow

Hendersons, Edinburgh

This legendary restaurant has been serving 100% vegan and vegetarian food since it opened in 1962. General manager Barrie Henderson has seen a huge growth in interest in vegan food, particularly over the past five years. He says: “Many people are switching to more sustainable food sources.”

His bestselling dishes include butternut squash stuffed with herbs and pearl barley, served with garlic-creamed spinach and sautéed cavolo nero, and a vegan Thai crêpe filled with red lentil pâté, bean sprouts, smoked tofu, sugar snap peas and baby corn. hendersonsofedinburgh.co.uk

(Read our guide to the best places to eat and drink in Edinburgh, here)...

Hendersons, Edinburgh

The Warehouse Café, Birmingham

On the first floor of a converted warehouse near Birmingham’s Moor Street railway station (here's our foodie guide to Birmingham), this eco-friendly café is also committed to sustainability and recycling – it even has a scheme using allotment produce gifted by customers. A not-for-profit social enterprise that serves vegan and vegetarian food, it has been a feature in Birmingham for 30 years and has recently moved to bigger premises in the same building due to its growing popularity. The Warehouse Café’s most popular dishes include halloumi ‘fish’ and chips, and a katsu curry of black sticky rice, shiitake mushrooms, roasted butternut squash and panko-battered tofu. thewarehousecafe.com


Anna Loka, Cardiff

In Sanskrit, Anna Loka means something like ‘food health’ and this vegan restaurant sticks to that mantra by sourcing ethical, cruelty-free ingredients and making everything in-house. Owner/chef Adam El Tagoury is a Hare Krishna monk whose beliefs extend to prioritising nutrition and flavour. As well as meat-free burgers and Buddha bowls, he also serves dishes such as beetroot carpaccio with celeriac remoulade and walnuts, and pan-fried seitan with mustard-seed mash, wilted greens and sage jus. anna-loka.com

Anna Loka, Cardiff

Paradise Palms, Edinburgh

A live music and leftfield cabaret lounge, a cocktail dive and record shop, this neon-lit space ploughs its own furrow. In food, too. As lifelong vegetarians, Paradise Palms’ owners, half-brothers Trystan O’Brien and Andrew Rennie, were determined to create a meat-free menu as indulgent as the filthiest ‘dude food’. “It’s close to our hearts, environmentally right, and we very much wanted to show that vegan and vegetarian food can be as naughty as anything,” says Trystan.

Hence their soul-food-inspired menu of BBQ pulled jackfruit subs, chipotle mac ‘n’ cheese and southern fried halloumi. “Soul food has its roots in a plant-based diet,” says Trystan. The drinks list is almost entirely vegan or vegetarian, too. Paradise only stocks two products that use isinglass, the fish product used to clear beers and wines: “We do an almond milk White Russian and no animals are harmed in the making of our Buckfast daiquiris.” theparadisepalms.com

Paradise Palms, Edinbrugh

Bundobust, Manchester

It has the same communal benches, bar-ordering and top craft beers, but Bundobust’s second site – a large basement with gritty atrium views of the surrounding city centre – differs from the Leeds original in more than just location. “We started as a bar that does food but, in Manchester, we’re definitely a restaurant,” says co-founder Mark Husak.

This emphasis on food is testament to the skill of head chef, Mayur Patel. His menu of Gujarati snacks and dishes is at another level. The chaat (samosa, chickpeas, potato and more, bound in a sweet ‘n’ sour tamarind chutney) or the Bundobust tarka daal, have such depth of flavour that Mark says, “Some meat-eaters don’t realise there’s no meat until they finish their meal.” bundobust.com

Bundobust, Manchester

Home, Belfast

Andy Rea is the culinary brains behind the Mourne Seafood Bar restaurants, but while Home, which he owns with Steve Haller, uses some meat, its vegetarian and vegan menus make it a flexitarian’s dream. “We wanted veggie dishes to be the star,” says Steve. The kitchen’s mantra is: “Source local and use global influences.”

Cheeses from County Tyrone’s Five Mile Town or Abernethy butter feed into dishes such as salt and chilli tofu with miso slaw or kale and quinoa tabbouleh with aubergine and mint yogurt. “Home embraces cultures where veggie food is the staple diet,” says Steve. homebelfast.co.uk

Home, Belfast

Quince & Medlar, Cockermouth

When Colin and Louisa Le Voi bought Quince & Medlar in 1989 it created a stir. “Everyone thought we were nuts to buy a vegetarian restaurant,” recalls Colin. But 28 years later, the restaurant is still here.

The Le Vois trained at legendary Lake District hotel Sharrow Bay, but were relative novices in vegetarian cooking when they took charge. “It’s been a wonderful meat-free adventure,” says Colin. Try his cheese and mushroom pâté soufflé or baked beets, borlotti and horseradish under a herby suet top with wasabi mooli halloumi. quinceandmedlar.co.uk

Quince and Medlar

Saramago, Glasgow

The first time olive ate at Saramago – an airy, fetching atrium café in Glasgow’s Centre for Contemporary Arts – it took several minutes of reading the menu to realise it is actually vegetarian. “We feel that good food is good food regardless of whether it’s animal-free or not,” says general manager Lisa Bolland.

Consequently, Saramago (named after the Portuguese communist writer José Saramago), doesn’t feel obliged to shout about its meat-free menu. It asks diners to judge it on the quality of its excellent, globally-inspired small plates such as roasted cauliflower with salsa verde or griddled leeks with romesco sauce. “Lots of vegetables are under-celebrated and classed as sides. Small plates allow us to showcase them in inventive ways,” says Lisa. cca-glasgow.com

Saramago, Glasgow

Planet India, Brighton & Hove

The Rupani family’s sensational vegetarian food is available at its original Brighton café – a comfortable, colourful bolthole full of trinkets and holiday snaps – and its grander, still quirky Hove restaurant. Go for the pea and paneer curry or the legendary dhai bhel puri. planetindia.co.uk


Koocha Mezze Bar, Bristol

Koocha Mezze Bar is a Persian, all-vegan cocktail and mezze bar with a contagiously sparky, easy-going spirit, in Bristol’s independent quarter. Run by long-time vegetarian turned vegan, Noda Marvani, Koocha’s bold, all-black exterior hints at the snug, stylish space within. There are also bright blue picnic tables on the patio outside for warmer days but Koocha’s brought the outdoors in, too; festoon lighting against a dark ceiling makes for an atmospheric, dining-under-the-stars feel. The menu’s short and sweet, with one page for mezze, mains, sides and desserts then another for drinks — including plenty of vegan cocktails and signature G&Ts. Menu highlights include the koopa – earthy rice balls, deep-fried and loaded with cinnamon and turmeric – and spiced, slow-roasted cauliflower teamed with saffron yogurt and pomegranate seeds. Almost everything here is made from scratch (including the seitan used in the kebabs) and what Koocha don’t make themselves they look to the Bristol community to supply. Desserts are brought in from Elspeth’s Kitchen — a vegan, gluten-free bakery down the road from the restaurant — and bread’s sourced from Bristol-based Abunoor Pitta Factory.

Kofta Tabrizi

Words by Mark Taylor, Tony Naylor and Ellie Edwards

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Photographs by Restaurants Brighton, Sarah Koury, Stephanie Gibson, Yoni Choi, Kim Lightbody, Gareth Sambidge

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