Veganuary’s BACK! Check Out These Restaurants Going Vegan
Everyone’s least favourite portmanteau after Brexit is back again! The word may grate like fingernails on a blackboard, but otherwise there’s not much to dislike about Veganuary. Whether you’ve dedicated your January to telling people that you’ve ‘gone vegan’ or whether you’re wanting to dip in a toe and try a vegan meal, London’s the place to do it. So here are all the Veganuary hotspots…
Gillray’s Steakhouse & Bar
And why can’t one of London’s most renowned steakhouses get in on the Veganuary action? Yes, if you want a plate full of some of the most sumptuous animal parts, bleeding onto your plate and indelibly seared as one of the best meat-based meals in your memory, then Gillray’s is definitely the place to come. But for January the South Bank restaurant also needs to be on your list for vegan fine dining with their three-course vegan menu.
Where: Gillray's Steakhouse & Bar, Westminster Bridge Road, London, United Kingdom
Website: www.gillrays.com
Baglioni Hotel London
The spa at Baglioni specialises in Vegan and Cruelty-Free Massages (I could be in the market, my last massage was the definition of cruelty), and it’s their massage, using products by INSIUM, that has inspired the vegan menu at Brunello Bar and Restaurant. The fennel-heavy menu is best enjoyed with a bottle of Organic-Biodynamic Gavi Tenuta San Pietro wine to get the true Milanese feeling.
Where: 60 Hyde Park Gate, London, SW7 5BB
Website: www.baglionihotels.com
The Piano Works, West End and Studio 88
If all this chat about veganism has slightly freaked you out then why not ease your way in? And what better way than a meat-free cocktail? The Piano Works, West End (along with sister venue, Studio 88) have gone through their cocktail menu and given it a real plant-based makeover. Expect plenty of matcha, beetroot and coconut. Their vivid Matcha Martini is a blend of matcha tea, Bombay Sapphire gin, lime juice, chickpea water and fresh basil garnish, while their Golden Beat is a rich red cocktail made with Bacardi Carta Oro, beetroot juice, lemon juice, beetroot leaf and golden glitter garnish. The Espresso Martini has had a makeover, with Coco Espresso Martini being made from Belvedere vanilla vodka, coffee liqueur, espresso, coconut milk, coconut purée and dark chocolate flakes. Finally the Fig and Berry Sour is created from Bombay Sapphire, angostura bitters, lemon juice, chickpea water, fresh fig and raspberries.
Where: 47 Whitcomb Street, Off Wardour Street, Soho, WC2H 7DH / 113-117 Farringdon Road, Farringdon, EC1R 3BX
Website: www.thehouseofsong.co.uk
The Westbury Mayfair
Alyn Williams runs one of London’s best kitchens at The Westbury and his meals are always a treat. Genuinely, I can’t recommend enough! And Williams has turned his wizarding skills to Veganuary this month, which means he’ll be serving up a great selection of winter fruits and vegetables available. The Veganuary menu begins with an earthy beetroot tartare with radish, followed by roasted cauliflower steak and seaweed. After Hen of the Woods with a mushroom broth, move onto celeriac pasta with black truffle and roasted kohlrabi, hispi roll and a lemongrass velouté. Pudding is equally mouth-watering, with blood orange with jam and jelly and a combo of rhubarb and custard with marjoram.
Where: 37 Conduit Street, Mayfair, London W1S 2YF, UK
Website: www.westburymayfair.com
Kennington Tandoori
Kennington Tandoori, the upscale-ish South London Indian, are getting into the spirit of Veganuary with their own vegan offerings. They’re cooking sweetcorn and mushroom Tak-a-Tin (stir fried in a wok with onion and tomato), or Amritsar chickpea masala, cooked in Indian tea with onions and tomato. Alternatively tuck into spinach and fenugreek pakoras – lightly spiced crisp parcels of fresh fenugreek and spinach with a tamarind dressing. All of this can be washed down with generous helpings of vegan wine.
Where: 313 Kenninton Road, Kennington, SE11 4QE
Website: www.kenningtontandoori.com
Mews of Mayfair
Mews of Mayfair, one of our favourite cocktail and wine bars also boasts its own pizzeria. Pizza Co serve up some of Mayfair’s best pizzas and now they’ve gone vegan for the season with The Salute Menu (which means ‘healthy menu’ in Italian) and includes various Veganuary offerings, like globe artichoke, sprouting broccoli, black rice and walnut pesto. The menu, specially designed to promote foods with proven restorative properties should be pretty healthy too!
Where: 10 Lancashire Court New Bond Street W1S 1EY
Website: www.mewsofmayfair.com
Bone Daddies
Bone Daddies have launched their Veganuary specials across all their ramen bars throughout the month and if you like ramen, and you’re Veganuary-ing, then you’ll want to be involved. Spot ramens like their mushroom broth ramen for some of the best far-eastern Veganuary fodder this month.
Where: Various, accross London
Website: www.bonedaddies.com
