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
Rasa (© Rob Greig) Best Indian restaurants for vegetarian meals
Vegetarianism is an intrinsic part of the Hindu faith, observed at festivals and, for some castes, permanently. South India and Gujarat have many vegetarians, but other states also have significant numbers.
Ram’s
A number of small, budget Gujarati cafés pepper north-west London, but we think Ram’s is the pick of them, and it commands a loyal following among the local Gujarati community. Begin your meal with khandvi, a popular snack made of steamed gram flour flattened into a thin film then rolled into a delectable, taut spiral and garnished with vagar (a fried concoction of mustard seeds, grated coconut and coriander leaves). Khichdi (steamed rice-flour dumplings infused with chillies, oil and lemon) are soft and moist, and not something you see on non-Gujarati menus.
Ram’s, 203 Kenton Rd, Harrow, Middx HA3 0HD (020 8907 2022) Kenton tube/rail. Open daily 12noon-2.45pm, 6-11pm. Meal for two with drinks and service: around £35.
Rasa
Rasa introduced an entire vegetarian cuisine to London – the cooking of the Nair caste of Kerala. Delicately spiced vegetable stir-fries (called thorans), yoghurt dishes, and aromatic lemon rice are just a few of the dishes you now find in all five of Rasa’s restaurants, but we think the Stoke Newington original is still the best.
Rasa , 55 Stoke Newington Church St, N16 0AR (020 7249 0344) Stoke Newington rail. Open Mon-Thur 6-10.45pm; Fri 6-11pm; Sat 12noon-3pm, 6-11pm; Sun 12noon-3pm, 6-10.45pm. Meal for two with drinks and service: around £40.
Tamarind
Although not a vegetarian restaurant, this glamorous Mayfair joint has veggie-friendly menus. A separate multi-choice vegetarian menu (costing £52 per head, excluding service) includes dishes such as grilled broccoli marinated in honey, nigella seeds, chilli and lemon, as well as more commonplace dishes such as bhel poori, dahls and smoked aubergine dishes. At £26.50, the vegetarian Sunday lunch menu is similar. Tamarind, 20-22 Queen St, W1J 5PR (020 7629 3561/www.tamarindrestaurant.com) Green Park tube. Open Mon-Fri 12noon-2.45pm, 6-11.15pm; Sat 6-11.15pm; Sun 12noon-2.45pm,6-10.30pm. Meal for two with wine and service: around £150.
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?