London’s best restaurants for vegetarian food

Middle Eastern food has always been good for veggies, but this spot takes it to the next level. You'll find exhilaratingly rich brown-butter topped humous, meaty mushroom kebabs, and deep-fried latkes that are full of heft and crunch. Go with friends and work your way through as much of the all-winner menu as you can.

Located opposite Sadler’s Wells, this branch of veggie innovator The Gate puts on a breezy modern face with pendant lights, bare black tables and bare wooden floors. Share a meze platter (salty feta fritters, mushroom ceviche, featherlight artichoke tempura) or plunder the global carte for aubergine schnitzel, raw pad Thai or wild mushroom risotto cake. Outlets also in Marylebone and Hammersmith.

With its distinctive pink livery and dedication to Keralan vegetarian cooking, the original Stokey branch of Rasa broke the anglicised curry-house mould in 1997 – and it’s still going strong. Get stuck into the chilli and onion rava dosa, the beetroot and spinach achadi or the wonderful moru kachiathu (a turmeric-infused, sweet-sour yoghurt-based dish involving mango and green banana). Outstanding value.

With its offer of pleasantly retro veggie and vegan cooking served in quiet, soothing surrounds on Foley Street, Kin certainly has plenty to recommend it. Come here for pick-me-up breakfasts, coffee and cake in the afternoon or working lunches on the go – think salads, sandwiches, stews, quiches. In the evening, you can bag gourmet burgers and pick from the short list of classic cocktails.

Forget leaden brown food and stone-age bread, Mildred’s is all about creative meat-free cookery – an idea it’s been peddling in Soho since 1988. Gyoza, black-bean burgers and Sri Lankan sweet potato curry get the juices flowing, with takeaways at the salad bar adding some extra healthy thrills. You won’t mind queueing for good stuff like this. Branches also in Camden, King’s Cross and Dalston.

A Scandi-chic veggie café serving a creative global menu and Climpson’s coffee in serene surroundings, Bühler + Co is primarily a brunch spot, serving gingerbread French toast, bulgur cakes and meatless fry-ups. There are specials and a lunchtime counter too, plus more ambitious small plates for supper (Thu-Sat) – think purple potatoes with dukkah and Penang sauce. A slice of the good life in Walthamstow.

An Ealing Road landmark, this huge canteen-style outfit is a real hit with local Asian vegetarians – and other streetwise punters. Gujarati and South Indian dishes abound, but top choices include vegan pani puris, masala dosas, punchy chilli paneer, Indo-Chinese hakka noodles and zesty sambar. There are loads of chutneys and salads too, while desserts such as creamy shrikhand finish things off nicely.

This colourful, crowded and charmingly bonkers café is a favoured haunt for Peckham local veggies. Meze and wraps form the bedrock, but the menu plunders Iran, the Levant and North Africa for inspiration (adding some local tweaks along the way). To finish, go for the hot paklava meltdown or the divine Turkish delight sundae with Afghan green tea on the side.   

Owned by well-connected glamour-puss Camilla Al-Fayed (of Harrods fame), Farmacy sells ‘clean indulgence’ to an eager audience of moneyed Notting Hillbillies and aspirational hedge-fund wives. It’s a happy, joyful, free-from kind of place (no dairy, no sugars, no additives), with plant-based treats ranging from clean curries to macro earth bowls. Even the most virtuous dishes taste luxurious, especially when eaten in such chic surroundings.

Popular with students and aficionados of South Indian vegetarian cuisine, Sagar has gained renown for its keenly priced, homely cooking, with four outlets now running across the capital. The King Street original is an attractive, smart-looking venue serving a please-all regional menu spanning everything from steamed idli dumplings and bhel puris to dosas galore, uthappams (lentil pizzas) and assorted veggie curries.