Living in London gives you unparalleled access to the hottest new street food pop ups and the I-was-a-street-food-pop-up-now-a-restaurant foodie dreams, and I reckon I could eat out every night for the rest of my life and still not run out of restaurants to visit.
With veganism still on the rise, and definitely becoming normalised across menus in London, the “dirty vegan” trend, i.e. Vegan Junk Food, is becoming more and more accessible. This is not your chickpea-quinoa-superfood-avocado-salads, but instead your greasy burgers and tantalising tacos… just not fuelled by the meat and dairy industry.
Two places I still haven’t visited myself yet, but definitely optimise this trend, are By Chloe in Covent Garden which has come over from LA and has such a delicious brunch and burger menu, in particular I really want to try their Guac Burger. The second is Rudy’s Dirty Vegan Diner which I came across the other day in Camden Market. Their chili-non-carne dirty fries definitely caught my eye and I will inevitably be back soon to dine.
A few weekends ago I visited Club Mexicana, which originated as a KERB food stall in Camden and has now become a restaurant in The Spread Eagle in Homerton. They offer delicious menus, packed with spice and flavour, but all 100% vegan. What I love about this, is that what they’re offering isn’t an alternative option to the flavourful main menu, but a menu that stands alone and is delicious no matter what diet you follow. I’ve been a firm believer for a long time that we need to squish the idea that vegan and veggie food can’t be as delicious as the meat option and these restaurants are proving that this is not only true, but we can go as far as offering great vegan junk food.
For the sweet-toothed vegans reading this post, I have always been a dessert fiend as you will see from my future posts, but my favourite ice-cream ever is still from Cookies & Scream bakery, also 100% vegan. If you ever stumble across it in Highbury and Islington (I have to admit, I haven’t been able to visit this branch yet, instead I walk through Camden Market and mourn its original location), but you have to try one of their cookie sandwiches, it’s my favourite guilty pleasure and even though it’s completely illogical, I always convince myself it’s healthier.
If you are in Camden Market looking for a treat, I recently discovered The Green Dough, which has vanilla, chocolate or peanut Butter Cookie Dough, which they mix with biscuits, oreos and fresh fruit for a deliciously soft cookie. I went for peanut butter cookie dough mixed with everything, it cost £2 and the guys who worked there were so lovely!
I spotted so many great vegan places in Camden Market I’m going to write a separate blog post about all the options there, so do pop back if you’re interested in discovering any more. Please let me know if the comments if there are any great “dirty vegan” restaurants you stumble across as I would love to check them out!
Kayleigh
