London's best restaurants for vegetarian food
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By Guy Dimond and Natasha Polyviou
Posted: Tue May 13 2008
The top ten | Haute cuisine | East African | Indian | Thai | West End fast food
Injera bread under cover at Mosob (© Heloise Bergman) Best East African restaurants for vegetarian meals
The large numbers of Orthodox and Coptic Christians in Ethiopia and Eritrea, who observe meat-free fasting for a large part of the year, has resulted in some very impressive vegetarian and vegan dishes. Unfortunately London’s best Ethiopian restaurant, Tobia, recently closed, but the following places are all excellent value.
Asmara
A colourful, homely Eritrean place. A good tip is to go for the bebiainetu or messob meal so you can sample a variety of vegetarian dishes.
Asmara, 386 Coldharbour Lane, SW9 8LF (020 7737 4144) Brixton tube/rail. Open daily 5.30pm-12midnight. Meal for two with drinks and service: around £45.
Mosob
Mosob is a family-run affair, as are most Eritrean restaurants in London. Vegan dishes on offer include warmly spiced shiro (ground chickpeas), or selsi (onion and tomato stew).
Mosob, 339 Harrow Rd, W9 3RB (020 7266 2012) Westbourne Park tube. Open Mon-Fri 6-11.30pm, Sat, Sun 3pm-12midnight. Unlicensed. Meal for two with service: around £40.
The Queen of Sheba
You’ll get a warm welcome and unhurried service at this Kentish Town Ethiopian. The traditional coffee ceremony complete with incense is an unmissable end to the meal.
The Queen of Sheba, 12 Fortess Rd, NW5 2EU (020 7284 3947) Kentish Town tube/rail. Open Mon-Sat 5-11.30pm, Sun 1-10pm. Meal for two with drinks and service: around £40.
The top ten | Haute cuisine | East African | Indian | Thai | West End fast food
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6 comments
The reason i posted was I was new to london and had huge difficulties finding nice restaurants where I (veggie) could eat with by best friend (total carnivore). I was hoping to get suggestions of specific places, which I didn't make very clear, because I literally had no place to start.
To expand on this there is a pub in Forest Hill which delicious food and was great for both of us. Ironically i can't remember the name but will post it later. i just tend to find that very meat centric restaurants can be quite dull for veggie choices and I would not want to impose my vegetarianism on my best friend.
I agree that a focus on veggie dining pretty much means that you actually force people into a niche of eating only in designated spots rather than having nice veggie food available elsewhere and totally agree that an article on sustainable/ethical dining would be interesting.
Thanks for the suggestion of Wahaca. I love mexican food.
The reason i posted was I was new to london and had huge difficulties finding nice restaurants where I (veggie) could eat with by best friend (total carnivore). I was hoping to get suggestions of specific places, which I didn't make very clear, because I literally had no place to start.
To expand on this there is a pub in Forest Hill which delicious food and was great for both of us. Ironically i can't remember the name but will post it later. i just tend to find that very meat centric restaurants can be quite dull for veggie choices and I would not want to impose my vegetarianism on my best friend.
I agree that a focus on veggie dining pretty much means that you actually force people into a niche of eating only in designated spots rather than having nice veggie food available elsewhere and totally agree that an article on sustainable/ethical dining would be interesting.
Thanks for the suggestion of Wahaca. I love mexican food.
Sorry to be picky, I don't general have an issue with meat eaters eating meat while enjoy my veggie food, and I ate meat for years, but if you guys bother doing a feature on veggie fine dining, which is great, it might be good to also include some thought on animal welfare more generally, which for me includes not recommending a place that also serves foie gras - like the Morgan M.
Have you tried eating just at a vegetarian restaurant, maybe? Or are the non-veggies adamant that they must have meat at every meal? If so, Most Indian, Chinese and Thai places are your easiest bet, as they generally have the most non meat dishes as well as a large sleelction of meat ones.
Perhaps Wahaca near Trafalgar Square / Covent Garden?
do you have any reccommendations for restaurants where vegetarians and non vegetarians can both eat well and eat happily together?