Editor’s Picks: 3 Vegans Menus You Need to Try in London This WeekBy Alicia Grimshaw
If you’re vegan, taking part in Veganuary or just fancy switching up your meat-eating ways – here’s 3 vegan menus you need to try in London this week. Happy munching, chums:
What: Veganuary has swept London into a meat-free frenzy, and there’s plenty of restaurants that are now banging out plant-based menus. But it’s not just the capital that are embracing this newfound move towards a more meat-free lifestyle; chain restaurants up and down the country are leading the way by offering a number of vegan dishes, and the kitchen wizards at Ask Italian have done just that.
Eat and Drink: Not just a few token dishes, Ask Italian’s vegan menu features a variety of pastas, pizzas and starters. The bruschetta needed some added umph, so we pimped it up a healthy glug of balsamic vinegar and olive oil. As you’d expect from dough balls, the freshly baked spheres were bread-y and delicious. The vegan fetuccine con verdure with courgettes, oven-roasted tomatoes and spinach, seasoned with chilli and garlic, and topped with olive tapenade could’ve been so much better with the addition of a rich tomato sauce – but the lack of sauce made us sad. If it’s pasta you’re after, we say, order the fetuccine con melanzane featuring grilled aubergines in a tomato, garlic and basil sauce – the dish made our tastebuds sing. And as vegan pizzas go, Ask Italian’s was a riot of flavours. At £9.95 you get plenty of dough for your great British buck.
Where: Locations here
2. For a Middle Eastern Feast: Comptoir Libanais
What: Middle Eastern food lends its self quite well to a vegan diet (just swerve the koftes and yogurt dips and you’ll be grand). But Comptoir Libanais have gone one better with their vegan offering, as the team have created a special plant-based banquet all for the bargain price of £19.95 for two people. You couldn’t even get a decent meal in Nando’s for that price, they’re practically giving it away.
Eat and Drink: There’s four starters to share, and they’re all ruddy tasty. The baba ghnoush with aubergine, tahina and lemon juice was wonderfully smokey, and the beetroot hummus, again, was an eerily airy, silky delight. Let’s be honest, you can’t really go wrong with hummus. There was also falafel – fried balls of chickpea and broad bean greatness, and a freekeh salad featuring smoked green wheat, wild rocket, vine tomato, spring onion, apple vinegar and mint dressing And plenty, and we mean plenty, of bread to mop up all the dips. The sharing continues with the main courses. The aubergine tagine with a warming rich tomato and chickpea sauce stole the show. And the generous portion of quinoa and pumpkin salad was hearty and nicely spiced. For under twenty quid, you really can’t go wrong.
3. For a Vegan Breakfast: Delicously Ella Deli
What: Deliciously Ella has three outposts in the capital, with the trendy Weighhouse Deli behind Bond Street Station our go-to. All of the menu is vegan friendly, gluten-free and contains no nasties or additives. Just honest, wholesome food. Vegan or not, you should definitely check this place out.
Eat and Drink: The new breakfast menu features an updated avocado on toast number with mixed seeds, chilli and rocket. And as we’re self-obsessed avo addicts, this one ticked all the boxes. For a quick breakfast, their build-your-own breakfasts are a weekday favourite – simply choose a granola, yoghurt, chia pudding if you wish, and add toppings. Go wild on the fruit compote, nuts, coconut chips and nut butter selection. It’s a brilliant idea, and one that we never get bored of. The homemade beans are excellent: rich, filling and a little bit fiery (perfect with the sweetcorn fritters). If you fancy something sweet, their homemade banana bread with apple and berry compote, and coconut yoghurt is pretty damn great, too.
Where: Locations here
