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The 12 Best Places For Vegan Brunch

2018 was the year that London’s food scene really upped its game when it came to plant-based dining. From an avo-focused eatery in Covent Garden through to NYC’s hottest vegan export, here are 12 meat-free meccas that serve up some of the best brunches in town…

Farm Girl Cafe

With cafes in Chelsea, Notting Hill and Soho, Farm Girl offers a bright, casual spot for health-conscious breakfasts and smoothies. Kick things off with one of the team’s extensive selection of coffees (anyone for a ‘Liquid Gold Latte’?) and a fresh watermelon juice, before choosing between the likes of turmeric birchers (oats soaked with turmeric, honey, cinnamon, sesame seeds and almond milk topped with candied nuts and strawberries) or buckwheat pancakes with amber maple syrup, topped with mixed berries and coconut shavings.

59A Portobello Road, Notting Hill, W11 3DB; 1 Carnaby Street, Soho, W1F 9QG; and 9 Park Walk, Chelsea, SW10 0AJ

Visit TheFarmGirl.co.uk

Farmacy

Farmacy is located in Notting Hill and is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Run by Camilla Fayed, the restaurant offers an array of plant-based dishes in a stylish environment with a large bar and cosy booths. The menu is inspired by dishes from around the globe and supports both a vegan and vegetarian diet, free from dairy, refined sugars, additives and chemicals. Where possible, all ingredients are carefully sourced from local organic UK farms. Comfort food classics including the ‘Farmacy Burger’ come highly recommended, but when it comes to brunch, we’d opt for the truffles mac n’ cheese, Mexican earth bowl, chocolate chip waffles or Farmacy benedict: toasted seeded muffin with marinated portobello mushrooms and seasonal greens topped with guacamole and hollandaise.

74-76 Westbourne Grove, Notting Hill, W2 5SH

Visit FarmacyLondon.com

Avobar

Avobar is an all-day drinking and dining destination, serving wholesome and healthy dishes from breakfast through to dinner. Launched in 2018, Avobar serves an eclectic mix of fresh dishes, each with its own avocado twist. ‘Eggs Royale Toast’ comes with a homemade ‘avodaise’ (avocado-based hollandaise); matcha pancakes are served with homemade ‘avobutter’ and a sweet or savoury topping; and the signature ‘Avo Bun Burger’, a nutritious red lentil and sweet potato patty, is sandwiched together by two half avocados. When it comes to weekend sweet treat, the must-try is the ‘Avo Cheesecake’ made with vegan ‘white chocolate’ on a biscuit base. Importantly, the team makes sure that each avocado is ethically and sustainably sourced.

24 Henrietta Street, Covent Garden, WC2E 8ND

Visit Avobar.co.uk

Hemsley + Hemsley

Health food gurus Jasmine and Melissa Hemsley certainly know a thing or two about rustling up a wholesome, nourishing plate. The vegan dishes in their Hemsley + Hemsley café in Selfridges are no less inspiring, with each plate filled with goodness, free from gluten, grains, refined sugar and hydrogenated vegetable oils. Choose from the likes of buckwheat granola with stewed fruits (cinnamon, chia, coconut, mixed seeds, raisins, and stewed apples and pears, served with coconut yoghurt) and kimchi (spicy fermented shredded vegetables, chilli, garlic and ginger). We like to kick-start the day with a ‘Turmeric sunshine latte’: a lightly spiced hot drink with cinnamon, black pepper with your choice of almond milk or coconut milk.

400 Oxford Street, Marylebone, W1A 1AB

Visit HemsleyAndHemsley.com

Mildreds

This homely veggie and vegan hotspot feels as though you’re sitting in someone’s living room, which only adds to the ambience of Mildreds’ cosy laid-back dining experience. There’s so much to choose from on their extensive menu – from burritos and burgers to chillis and curries – you’ll be spoilt for choice when perusing their well-flavoured vegan-friendly options. Notable brunch and breakfast classics include pistachio and pecan nut granola, poached plums and black cherries, tahini yoghurt, pomegranate, apple, peach and mint; scrambled chick-free eggs, 'sausage', slow roasted tomato, oak smoked house beans, roasted tarragon mushroom and toasted sourdough; and the ‘Buffalo chick’n breakfast burger’: mock chick’n, ranch dressing, iceberg lettuce and a charcoal brioche bun. The flagship Soho branch is almost always packed, so if you can’t bag a spot here (the team exercises a strict no-bookings policy), you can head to the Dalston, Camden or Kings Cross venues instead.

Various locations

Visit Mildreds.co.uk

Club Mexicana

With a mouth-watering menu boasting some of the best tacos in London, Club Mexicana is a mainstay on the vegan food scene. You can find their delicious Mexican creations at KERB Camden, Streetfeast Shoreditch, and at its permanent site, the Spread Eagle in Hackney, London’s first ever all-vegan pub. The team’s Mexican morsels are bursting with flavour and zingy spice. Brunch options include the ‘Big brunch burrito’ (‘chorizo’, scrambled ‘eggs’, tempeh ‘bacon’, triple-fried potatoes, black beans, queso, guacamole, pink onions and hot sauce), and ‘Chick’n n’ waffles’: fried chick’n on waffles with streaky ‘bacon’ and chilli-infused maple syrup.

224 Homerton High Street, Homerton, E9 6AS

Visit TheSpreadEagleLondon.co.uk

Redemption Bar

Redemption Bar is the home of guilt-free indulgence. Its clever strapline: ‘spoil yourself without spoiling yourself’ means you can tuck into a collection of entirely vegan, sugar-free, and wheat-free offerings – think sweetcorn and red pepper pancakes; banana and walnut bread with yoghurt and creamy mushrooms on toast – and alcohol-free tipples, entirely guilt-free. Be sure to try the ‘Beet-O-Tini’ with beetroot, orange juice, lime and coconut water; ‘Lettuce Spray’ – a Japanese-inspired cocktail of iceberg lettuce, lime, cucumber, wasabi and aloe vera; and ‘Flu Fighters’ – a fiery combo of ginger chilli, aloe Vera, coconut water and citrus fruits. Perfect for this cold-catching time of year.

6 Chepstow Road, Notting Hill, W2 5BH and 320 Old Street, Shoreditch, EC1V 9DR

Visit RedemptionBar.co.uk

The Meet

Clapham newcomer The Meet offers indulgent plant-based comfort food and playful vegan cocktails, all within the urban backdrop of the railway arches in Clapham North. The menu offers a selection of dishes for committed vegans, experimental foodies and who are simply health-conscious. Using the latest in meat-free alternatives such as seitan and jackfruit, the kitchen transforms recognisable meaty dishes into unexpected vegan delights. Come weekends, dishes on offer include the rest of ‘…And The Winner Is’ (quinoa and oat coconut porridge with mango and papaya), ‘Cake Cake Cake’ (fluffy American-style pancakes with a choice of mixed berries with maple and pomegranate syrup or, ‘bacon’ and ‘sausage’ with maple syrup), and ‘The Middle Eastern’ (grilled ‘cheese’, braised Arabic beans, zaatar dusted ‘labneh’, hummus, pomegranate, tomato and cucumber fattoush-style salad and toasted flatbreads). On Saturdays and Sundays, the team offers unlimited vegan bubbles alongside its brunch dishes.

15-16 Lendal Terrace, Clapham, SW4 7UX

Visit The-Meet.co.uk

Wildflower

For a dose of wholesome goodness, hole up at Peckham Level’s latest healthy offering. Wildflower’s canteen-style eatery serves up a nutritious menu of brunch, lunch and dinner plates (all of which are vegetarian and vegan-friendly) inspired by Middle Eastern, European and Mediterranean cuisines. When it comes to brunch, look forward to delicious dishes including the likes of bull’s heart tomatoes on sourdough with basil; baked beans on toast; banana bread; and the vegan ‘Full English’: seitan sausage, roasted tomato, bubble & squeak, portobello mushroom, baked beans, scrambled tofu and sourdough toast.

Peckham Levels, Rye Lane, Peckham, SE15 4ST

Visit WildflowerPeckham.uk

Wild Food Café Islington

A stalwart on the health food scene, nutrient-rich delights don’t come much healthier than this. Try the Ayurvedic super salad: a heavenly meal made with lamb's lettuce, amaranth, spiralized courgette, hijiki seaweed, slices of artichoke hearts, avocado, cucumber, red pepper cubes, coriander and rocket with parsley pesto and mango salsa along with savory seeds (soaked to activate the germination process), flavoured with leafy greens and spices, and marinated shiitake mushrooms. New brunch dishes on the menu include Holy Granola with raw coconut yoghurt, mango, banana, avocado, goji, wild berry jam and nut butter; and wild avocado on toast with gluten-free buckwheat toast, wild leaf pesto, cashew aioli, pickled mooli, pomegranate, pumpkin seeds and chilli flakes.

269 - 270 Upper St, London N1 2UQ

Visit WildFoodCafé.com

Kin Café

Kin Café came into fruition out of a father and son’s desire to indulge in honest, fresh and healthy food in a comfortable and friendly atmosphere. To keep it interesting for regulars, there’s an ever-changing menu that focuses on vegetarian dishes, with strong vegan offerings and some gluten free and raw options too. Breakfast and brunch offerings combine warm and hearty autumnal and winter favourites with brunch-style made-to-order dishes (think cauliflower rosti with roasted cherry tomatoes, mushrooms and vegan mayo), alongside a selection of toasts and sandwiches, specialty coffees and organic juices. Sticking to the health-focused ethos, expect various seasonal pots containing superfoods, nuts and fruits, to give your day the perfect kickstart.

22 Foley Street, Fitzrovia, W1W 6DT

Visit KinCafe.co.uk

by CHLOE

New York’s hippest vegan restaurant launched in London in 2018 – bring brunch staples such as quinoa hash browns and smoothie bowls to this side of the pond. As part of Veganuary, by CHLOE has launched a twist on the Full English. Created in partnership with influencer and environmental activist Zanna Van Dijk, ‘The Full Brekkie’ offers a flavour-packed, plant-based option: maple carrot bacon, jack fruit sausage, scrambled tofu, smoky cowboy beans, roasted plum tomatoes and whole shiitake mushrooms, served with a toasted buttered vegan English muffin and house-made Beet Ketchup, alongside an English Breakfast tea or coffee of choice. A 50p donation for each dish ordered will be donated to the Veganuary charity. 

34-43 Russell Street, Covent Garden, WC2B 5HA; and One Tower Bridge, 6 Duchess Walk, London Bridge, SE1 2SD

Visit EatByChloe.com

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