If you’ve made it through almost two weeks of Veganuary and you’re itching for something with a bit more of a bite than your usual meal prepped salads, we’ve got you covered. This month, there are a host of restaurants across the city offering innovative, creative and exciting Veganuary menus worth trying. From Max La Manna’s fine-dining offering to The Aubrey’s tasty mushroom menus, read on to get inspired about dining vegan in London this January.
London’s special vegan menus to sample this Veganuary
Norma x Max La Manna
Italian favourite, Norma, has teamed up with planet-conscious chef and cookbook author, Max La Manna, for an exciting experience centred around sustainable and low-waste dining.
Running until the end of January, the tasting menu features a mix of Sicilian-inspired dishes celebrating sustainability. Priced at £65 per person, you’ll be tucking into the likes of Julienne Bruno burrata with n’duja, carrot top gremolata, fried basil and toasted walnuts; roasted carrot raviolo with beetroot cream, pangrattato and crispy capers; and courgette involtini with almond ricotta, winter tomato and basil dusted ‘parmesan’ crisps. You’ll finish with a coconut panna cotta with citrus sorbet, spiced pangrattato and aquafaba meringue.
8 Charlotte Street, Fitzrovia, W1T 2LS
Decimo
Located inside The Standard you’ll find Decimo, the stylish Spanish-meets-Mexican restaurant headed up by Michelin-starred chef Peter Sanchez-Iglesias. This January, the team has launched a dedicated vegan set menu, featuring plant-based sharing dishes.
Priced at £50 per person, look forward to the likes of marinated red peppers’ sweet potato tacos; sand carrots; artichokes with pardina lentils; and seasonal sorbet.
The Standard, 10 Argyle Street, WC1H 8EG
Acme Fire Cult
Dalston’s popular wood-flamed restaurant, Acme Fire Cult, has always celebrated the humble vegetable, creating flavour-packed dishes where the seasonal ingredients are highlighted. Their Veganuary menu is no different, with a fully vegan five-course feast on offer.
Priced at £32 per person, expect the menu to centre around the restaurant’s outdoor grill with its signature coal roast leeks with pistachio romesco taking centre stage. Other highlights include the smoked beetroot with pine nuts, raisins, black garlic and vegan creme fraiche; fermented squash hummus with macadamia nuts; and chocolate ganache with boozy prune and vegan creme fraiche.
Abbot Street, E8 3DP
Mildreds
A long-time London favourite, Mildreds has paved the way for vegan and vegetarian dining for over 35 years. Now with five locations across the city, this Veganuary’s celebration is something special. The team has crafted a special Caribbean-inspired menu celebrating the traditional spices and flavours from five Caribbean islands – Cuba, Haiti, Jamaica, Trinidad & Tobago and Puerto Rico.
The ‘Caribbean Edit’ includes the likes of plantain tostones with sos pwa nwa, lime sour cream and mango chow; brown stew marinated chick’n skewers with green seasoning, coconut mango slaw, and rice and peas; and coquito tres leche with a pistachio crumb.
Various locations
Tendril
Helping Londoners eat plant-based goodness year-round is Tendril, the (almost) vegan restaurant near Oxford Circus. Taking a step back from processed fake-style meats, the ethos behind this establishment is to put a spotlight on vegetables. This January, the restaurant goes fully vegan, offering an exciting mix of flavours and ingredients you won’t find anywhere else.
Opt for à la carte and enjoy leek fritters with potato salad and curry lead aioli; roasted squash with potato crumb and gunpowder spice; and chipotle mushroom with potato crisps and grilled leek.
5 Princes Street, W1B 2LQ
The Aubrey
Award-winning Japanese restaurant, The Aubrey, is proving that fine dining establishments can do vegan too. Throughout January, the team has created a striking menu centred around the diverse mushroom family.
Using a range of different varieties from shiitake to king oyster, the menu is packed with intriguing combinations and umami flavours. Menu highlights include the mushroom gyoza with shiitake, king oyster, enoki and shimeji; the mushroom sando with portobello and mushroom duxelles; mushroom fried rice with shiitake, portobello and king oyster; and the intriguing dessert – erengi niwa, a mix of chocolate, black truffle umeshu, black sesame paste, green apple purée, matcha powder and cocoa butter.
66 Knightsbridge, SW1X 7LA
Indigo
A haven for gluten and dairy-free Londoners, Indigo is a popular Covent Garden spot and rightly so. Headed up by Dominic Teague, the restaurant offers a bespoke vegan tasting menu, perfect for special occasions or for levelling up your Veganuary experience.
Look forward to dishes such as confit potato with heritage carrot, miso and sea aster; celeriac and wild mushroom wellington with truffle glaze and pickled blackberries; and Cornish chocolate mousse with banana and toasted walnut.
1 Aldwych, WC2B 4BZ
Sanderson Hotel
If you’re a lover of afternoon tea but haven’t found the perfect veganised option out there, let us introduce you to Sanderson Hotel’s Mad Hatters afternoon tea experience. You’re invited to tumble down the rabbit hole and discover a wonderful world centred around Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland.
Perfect for all, the vegan option included ‘waldorf forest double decker’ sandwiches with chickpea coronation on spinach bread; ‘caterpillar swirl’ sandwiches with tofu mayonnaise tartare, fine herbs, truffle on charcoal bread; ‘eat me, shrink me, bring me back’ strawberry and Amalfi lemon curd tart with gold leaf; and ‘red knight army soul’ green tea and passionfruit mousse heart with coconut crunch.
50 Berners Street, Fitzrovia, W1T 2NG
Hutong
Two special vegan additions have made their way to Hutong’s menu this January. Dine sky high at this Northern Chinese restaurant and look forward to the rich sliced king oyster mushrooms marinated with spicy chilli oil.
Enjoy alongside existing favourites like the mushroom and spinach dumplings; mapo tofu; and wok fried kai-lan with ginger sauce.
33 St Thomas Street, SE1 9RY
Sloane Place Restaurant
For a plant-powered fusion filled with flavours of Asian and European cuisines, Sloane Place Restaurant boasts an exciting array of vegan options this month. Begin your evening with the oven-roasted cauliflower and chickpea salad, before making your way to the mains.
Choose between the grilled tempeh with green harissa, wakame, glass noodles and vegetable salad; pumpkin and sage tortellini with ginger sauce and toasted pine nuts; or the aromatic tikka masala with poppadoms and steamed Jasmine rice. Save room for the sticky chocolate pudding that’s silky molten in the middle and served with caramel ice cream – yum.
62 Lower Sloane Street, SW1W 8BP
The Perception Bar
Helping to reshape our thoughts about vegan dining this January is The Perception Bar’s indulgent specials. Kick off your dinner with their grilled gochujang spiced tofu skewers with coriander chilli pesto and coconut yoghurt, before diving into the zero waste stuffed courgette flower packed with aubergine, quinoa, chickpea ragu and sauce vierge.
No meal is complete without a sweet treat and their ‘not an apple’ pud is interesting, featuring an apple-shaped ice-cream filled with apple purée on a bed of crumble.
W, Leicester Square, 10 Wardour Street, W1D 6QF
German Gymnasium
Home to one of Europe’s largest vegetarian and vegan populations, Germany boasts a host of exciting, innovative dishes that can be enjoyed year-round. This Veganuary, Grand Café at German Gymnasium is celebrating with a meat-free menu packed with flavour.
Head for breakfast and delight on the heidelberg, a spinach, quinoa, tomato and avocado-fuelled fiesta with hot sauce on dark rye, or head down for lunch to try their take on a vegan schnitzel, made with courgette on top of cauliflower purée and tangy tomato concasse.
1 King’s Blvd, N1C 4BU
Eataly
London’s finest Italian destination is celebrating Veganuary with a tasty few specials that are sure to get your tastebuds excited.
Over at Pasta Fresca, you’ll be able to tuck into a fresh pesto trapanese sauce with busiate pasta, sun dried tomatoes, datterino tomatoes, toasted almond and basil. Meanwhile, Terra is offering a rich risotto with radicchio, red wine reduction and walnuts, the perfect hearty dish for winter.
135 Bishopsgate, EC2M 3YD
The Rubens at the Palace
Enjoy a traditional afternoon tea experience, veganised, courtesy of The Rubens at the Palace’s offerings. The team is happy to accommodate any special dietary requests you and your friends may have.
The vegan offering includes the likes of spiced vegan Welsh lamb sausage rolls with spicy mayonnaise; baba ganoush sandwiches; fruity fresh scones with homemade jam and clotted cream; and cherry chocolate cake.
39 Buckingham Palace Road, SW1W 0PS
Fawsley Hall
If you’re in the mood for exquisite vegan food and a luxury staycation in Northamptonshire’s picturesque countryside, Fawsley Hall Luxury Hotel & Spa is just the ticket.
Recently appointed new Head Chef Joe Gould has carefully crafted a lavish, three course menu that exudes innovation. Starters include confit celeriac with apple and rosemary jam and heritage beetroot with whipped vegan ricotta cannelloni. The real star of the show is Joe’s innovative paella quinoa with roquito pepper, avocado, spiced kale, basil and vegan mozzarella. Round out this gastronomic journey on a sweet note with a chocolate torte with kirsch cherries and miso ice cream, or a blackberry ‘cheese’ cake.
Fawsley, Northamptonshire, NN11 3BA
