Ely’s Yard, 91 Brick Lane E1, open Friday – Sunday, 1-7pm
Vegan soft serve! Located in Ely’s Yard, just off Brick Lane, DÁPPA serves nut-based soft serve ice cream out of a food truck. The ice cream is made from almonds and cashews, and served in your choice of a cup, or a black ice cream cone. For an additional ￡1, you can choose from any of their three set toppings combinations, or pay 50p each for toppings of your own choosing. I had a cone with caramel drizzle, and Lotus Biscoff crumbles. It was deliciously creamy and perfectly sweet. I can see myself coming back again and again throughout the summer!
DÁPPA do frequent giveaways for free sundaes. Check out their Instagram page for more!
Inspired by Southern US fried chicken and casual food chains, Absurd Bird brings to the table a wide variety of vegan “chicken” and iconic American fast food dishes. I dined in at the Spitalfields location, to try the vegan vaffles and the vegan mac n cheese, and here are my thoughts:
Vegan Vaffles (￡11.85) – This dish consists of 3 crispy vegan fillets, and 4 waffle pieces, along with vegan gravy and maple syrup. The vegan gravy was tasty! It had a very similar taste to a meat-based gravy. Some of my fillets were a little bit too crispy, making it hard to cut them up and eat them, but they were delicious nonetheless. The waffles were also scrumptious, and not soggy! I would order this again, however, I do think the price for this item is a bit steep.
Vegan Mac & Cheese (￡5.80) – Now this was probably my favorite dish. The vegan mac ‘n cheese was unbelievably creamy. It also had an additional layer of melted cheese on top, adding some crisp to the texture. Although it is classed on the menu as a side, the serving size was big enough for 2 people to share. I would 100% go back for this!
Absurd Bird currently has 2 London locations, in Spitalfields and Soho. They are both open for dine-in, as well as click and collect and delivery.
Island Poké began on Kingly Street in Soho, in 2016, when founder James Porter noticed that there were no options in London to get a fresh, flavorful, and healthy lunch. From inventing Europe’s first “vegan poké” to collaborating with top London restaurant chains, Island Poké is taking the food industry by storm.
I visited Island Poké’s new location in Camden Market for their £1 house bowl promotion! I ordered the vegan tofu bowl, and substituted rice for the noodle slaw as a base. The slaw was topped with smoked tofu in a shiitake teriyaki marinade, pineapples, chilies, seaweed, spring onions, sesame seeds, and crispy shallots. The 0-calorie noodle slaw was delicious, and the marinated tofu was flavorsome. Overall, it was worth the hour long wait to get to the front of the line!
The grand opening celebrations continue! Island Poké will be offering a 40% off discount on Deliveroo for the next 2 weeks. Keep an eye on the restaurant’s Instagram page for future promotions.
49 Brixton Station Road SW9, open Monday – Wednesday 9am – 11pm, Thursday – Sunday 9am – 12am
Viet Box – Inspired by a blend of Vietnamese cuisine, Viet Box offers a variety of flexitarian food options. The restaurant was born out of the owners’ culinary adventures and their shared love of food. On this occasion, I decided to go for the Banh Mi Burger, which was served with a side of tiger fries (￡14). The burger itself was a beyond meat patty, served on a vegan brioche bun. I thought the patty was pretty dry, but the chef did a nice job covering it up with the delicious vegan spicy mayo and sriracha. The sauce did make the burger a little messy to eat, but it was worth it, in my opinion.
The tiger fries were basically Viet Box’s own version of loaded fries. They were topped with hoisin, sriracha, and vegan coconut mayo, fried shallots, and coriander. In addition to the burger + fries combo, I tried the vegan crispy dumplings (￡3), which ended up being my favorite part of the meal. They were topped with sriracha, sesame vegan mayo, vinegar, spring onions, and sesame seeds. In my opinion, they were perfection. I will be back to try the vegan bao!
Temple of Seitan continues to prove that you don’t have to sacrifice quality food for a quick, affordable meal. Temple of Seitan has some of the best meatless wings I’ve tasted, and is one of my favorite places to grab a burger. Burgers here cost￡6 to ￡7, whereas lots of other places charge upwards of ￡9! I visited the Camden location, and tried the BBQ Glazed Wings, Mac n Cheese, Popcorn Snack Pack, and the Buffalo Burger, and here are my thoughts:
BBQ Glazed Wings(￡5) – These were probably my favorite item that I ordered. The glaze had the perfect tang that you would expect from a BBQ sauce, and the texture of the “meat” was perfect in the sense that it didn’t just turn to mush when you bit into it. It had the texture of real meat.
Popcorn Snack Pack(￡5) – The popcorn “chicken” bites were crispy and flavorsome. I enjoyed these best dipped in ketchup.
Buffalo Burger (￡6.50) – This buffalo burger is probably one of my favorite vegan burgers I’ve had to date. Again, the texture and flavor of the Seitan were spot on. The sandwich consisted of a buffalo glazed fillet, topped with pickles, coleslaw, and ranch mayo.
Mac N Cheese (R￡3.50/L￡5) – This creamy mac is made with cashew parmesan, and topped with sour cream, Seitan bacon, and parsley. It wasn’t my favorite vegan mac, but I still enjoyed it!
16 Park Road, N8, open Monday through Sunday, 12pm – 12am
A new vegan fast food restaurant has opened in North London! I took a trip up to Crouch End to test out some of Ready Burger’s new, fully plant-based offerings. Ready Burger is making it more affordable to eat vegan, while focusing on sustainability and reducing their carbon footprint. The menu contains a typical variety of burgers and fast food sides, with an even more affordable “Saver Menu”. I tried the Big Ready meal with a side of 3 chicken fillets with the sweet curry dip, a chicken challenger, and a swirlee Oreo, and here are my thoughts:
Big Ready burger (￡3.59 for the sandwich, ￡5.49 for a meal, +40p to make it a large meal) – The burger consists of 2 patties, with cheese, lettuce, pickles, and Ready sauce, housed in a double cut seeded bun. I prepared myself for a sloppy burger that would fall apart as soon as I picked it up, but I was happy to find that it all stayed together in one piece while I ate it. I thought the burger could’ve done with a bit more of the tangy Ready sauce, but overall, the entire burger was a lot nicer than what I was expecting for such a low price!
Fries (R￡1.39, L ￡1.79) – I’m really picky when it comes to fries, as I am not much of a fries person. My fries were a bit soggy this time around, but nevertheless, they were delicious paired with the sweet curry dip.
Crispy Fillets (3-count ￡3.89, 5-count ￡4.79) – Now these were probably my favorite part of my order. RB’s crispy fillets are comparable to McDonald’s Chicken Selects The texture was exactly like real chicken, and Ready Burger has managed to keep the extra crispy texture on the breading of the fillets. I enjoyed these on their own without any dip!
Chicken Challenger (￡4.29) – Housed in an oval bun, this sandwich consists of 2 chicken fillets, black pepper mayonnaise, and lettuce. The sauce was one of the best “veganaises” I have tasted.
Swirlee Oreo (￡1.49) – This dessert was delicious! It had a coconut-ty taste, and was comparable to a McDonalds Oreo McFlurry. I scarfed this down, and it tasted better with every spoonful!
Ready Burger’s affordable “McDonald’s prices” are making it easier for plant-based consumers to enjoy fast food. Currently, the restaurant has no indoor seating, but there are a few tables outside. Priory Park is nearby, and a great place to sit and enjoy your food! A second location is set to open in Swiss Cottage summer of 2021.
Khanom Krok – Khanom Krok, or Kanom Krok, are little coconut pancakes, which are often prepared street-side by food vendors in Thailand. They are made from a rice flour base and filled with a creamy dough made from coconut milk and tapioca flour. I had the chance to try these delicious, bite-sized goodies in Borough Market Kitchen, and they were delicious. I almost had to go back for a second serving! ￡4
This stall is powered by husband and wife team Worowan and Michael, and is open at the Market Kitchen Wednesday through Saturday.
180-188 Camden High Street NW1 , open Tuesday – Sunday, 11am – 11pm
Rendang and Rice – I’m a huge fan of a good bao bun, so naturally, I had to stop by Masterchef UK 2019 quarterfinalist Jasmin Ayling’s stall at Buck Street Market. Ayling’s plant-based take on the traditional Indonesian rendang beef curry is made with pulled king oyster mushroom and lentils. It is available in a steamed bao bun, or on its own in a box. I thought the filling in the bun could’ve done with a bit more flavor, but I found the homemade spring rolls very tasty! ￡10.5
180 Camden High Street, London Borough of Camden, England, United Kingdom
