It depends which sources of research you look at, but London is either the most vegan city in the UK (by search terms and amount of availability), but if measured by number of vegans per square mile, Norwich, Edinburgh and Glasgow come out top. Scotland leading the way for progressiveness again!
The last few months in London have seen Subway launch a massive campaign on buses and billboards with the word VEGAN in bold caps to promote their offering, every single major chain restaurant has sought to grow their offering, iconic vegan landmarks in London such as Vantra Longevity have only grown in business and even the mainstream and new burger joints are making sure their offering reflects the will of the nation and the growing hard line when it comes to non violent consumption.
This week, I was invited to test out the vegan burger offering at Wahlburgers which is in partnership with Moving Mountains in the UK, and Impossible Burger in the USA. Let me start with the experience at the establishment. In case you didn’t know (tbh, I didn’t until someone specified), Wahlburger’s is owned by movie actor, producer and multi disciplinary human Mark Wahlberg and it feels that way! The ceiling was my favourite element of the interior design with Mark Wahlberg’s IMDB list emblazoned movie by movie as conceptual art. The staff were also super friendly and accommodating, I guess it is not that usual for vegans to set foot in a burger joint of this nature, but because of the movement growing exponentially, the staff took it on as a challenge to create a really delicious meal. The great thing is you can adjust any of the burgers to become vegan, so it’s not just the one burger that is listed on the menu! Ben, who was managing the place seemed super cool and said his girlfriend was veggie or vegan, so this challenge wasn’t the first time.
As far as the taste goes, it was great. Super delicious, nicely seasoned and presented with a 100% plant-based sticker. The fries were also amazing, not greasy at all and the salad was cute.
If it seems odd that I am banging on about a burger joint, I just want to make it clear that I want to support restaurants that are making the effort to be more conscious. For us to shift this space towards non violence, we still have to be present in the mainstream space and having these conversations. If you are with non vegan friends and family and want to try our a central London burger joint that is making an effort, Wahlburgers is for you.
I was also at the Europe CBD Expo this weekend and although the overall offering was incredible(!), I was disappointed to see how few gummies and edibles were vegan, it felt like another round of capitalism forgetting that the cannabis plant is a vessel of peace and that including parts of dead pigs in a gummy that is designed to heal is a massive contradiction karmically. In time, we will get there together!
If you’re looking for exclusively vegan restaurants in London, definitely try Pied a Terre, 222, Mildred’s, Andu Cafe, Wulf & Lamb, the incredible Cafe Van Gogh in Brixton, Young Vegan’s Pie Shop in Camden and Eat of Eden.