Wild Food Café (Islington)

A spin-off of the Covent Garden original, this Islington branch of the long-standing vegan café is bigger, brighter and actually bookable.

The light, airy space is colourful and slick: think plush pink velvet chairs, marble counters, potted plants and a large open-plan kitchen. Oh, and you get quadruple-filtered tap water. The wood-fired, gluten-free, holier-than-thou pizzas are made with quinoa flour, veggie mix and other gut-friendly ingredients that make for a base that holds up well against a traditional slice. Our ‘Italian’, topped with a creamy cashew cheese sauce, herb oil and pine nuts, was ace. The pasta substitute, on the other hand, fell flat: limp courgetti noodles just didn’t quite cut it.

Starters were equally mixed: the crispy vegan flatbread, covered in tangy wild-leaf pesto, was spot-on, but steer well clear of the polenta, which was murky and watery and dotted with too-soft squash and overly pungent truffle bits.

But there was a happy ending: the multi-coloured Raw Rainbow Cheesecake, layered with matcha and cashew creams, was as delicious as it was pretty. Smooth and zesty, but free of refined sugars, it was a perfect example of WFC’s ethos: transforming nourishing ingredients into something moreish and indulgent.