London's 5 Best Vegetarian Restaurants

Who says meat-free food also has to be flavour-free? Certainly not anyone who has sampled these fantastic finds

Brighton may have the hippie cafés, LA the raw food, but for the full gamut of veggie choices, you can't beat London town. Here, I've picked the five best vegetarian restaurants to offer something for everyone.

Tania Ballantine is a London restaurant critic and awards judge. Her book, Eat Like a Londoner: an Insider's Guide to Dining Out

(£9.99, Frances Lincoln), is out on 1 October 2015 and available to pre-order now.

Facebook.com/Nama.Artisan.Raw.Foods

Thai curry at Nama

THE CUTTING-EDGE RAW VEGAN ONE: NAMA

Ready to take meat-free to the next level? Head to Nama. A hangout for Notting Hillbillies ever since its 2014 launch, not only is the food vegan (rather than simply vegetarian) it's also entirely 'raw'. That is, not a single morsel has been exposed to anything above 42 degrees centigrade. You might think this would amount to salad followed by salad, but no: it's more like Thai curry served with kohlrabi 'rice' ahead of fermented mocha cheesecake or a selection of probiotic cashew and macadamia cheeses with sprouted crackers, olives and balsamic figs. Don't just make it meat-free: make it heat-free.

Address: 110 Talbot Road, London W11 1JR
Telephone: +44 20 7313 4638
Website: www.namafoods.com
Also try: Tanya's Cafe, 35 Ixworth Place, London SW3 3QX

Mildred's  

THE OLD-SCHOOL ONE: MILDRED'S
When you want dinner party cooking but without all the washing up, you can count on Mildred's. This Soho stalwart has been dishing out homely meat-free fare for more than a quarter century, adopting a no-booking approach well before it became de rigueur. It's lovely at lunch, when you can sit under a large skylight at the back, or - if you're very lucky - snag one of the pair of tables outside, but especially popular for dinner, when the queue for the likes of stir-fried Asian veg or pumpkin and ricotta tortellini can stretch down Lexington Street.

Address: 45 Lexington Street, London W1F 9AN
Telephone: +44 207 494 1634
Website: www.mildreds.co.uk
Also try: Manna, 4 Erskine Road, London NW3 3AJ

Facebook.com/Vanilla-Black

Vanilla Black 

THE SPECIAL OCCASION ONE: VANILLA BLACK
Forget flowers (unless they're courgette flowers, that is) - if you've got a vegetarian to woo, take them to Vanilla Black. Not because the setting is especially romantic (the room is more tasteful than cosy), but because it's London's only exclusively vegetarian 'fine dining' restaurant. So instead of having to put up with yet another mushroom risotto, you can feast on inventive cooking, from yellow pea soup with Marmite dumplings and sweet onion purée, to the deservedly popular Ribblesdale pudding: a decadent double-baked cheese soufflé, beautifully teamed with a smoked potato croquette, poached hen egg and pineapple pickle.

Address: 17-18 Took's Court, London EC4A 1LB
Telephone: +44 20 7242 2622
Website: www.vanillablack.co.uk
Also try: The vegetarian tasting menu at (omnivorous) restaurant Lyle's, 56 Shoreditch High Street, London E1 6JJ

The Gate 

THE MUST-TRY ONE: THE GATE

No wonder the vegetarians of West London have always been so smug: not only do they have all those groovy cafés, they have the jewel in the crown: iconic Hammersmith restaurant The Gate. Stylish and airy, it boasts an exotic, seasonally-changing menu that has, over the years, attracted the cream of A-list veggies, from probiotic Madge (and Gwynnie) to Sir Macca himself. In 2012, it also spawned a North London sibling, offering the same à la carte but also a preposterously good value set lunch. When the West-enders find out, it'll be hemp bags at dawn.

Address: 56 Queen Caroline Street, London W6 9QL
Telephone: +44 20 8748 6932
Website: www.thegaterestaurants.com
Also try: The Gate, 370 St John Street, London EC1V 4NN

Tibits 

THE 'WEIGH AND PAY ONE': TIBITS

Tucked away off Regent Street, this boho-stylish Swiss veggie joint is ideal for pay-day lunches with groups of colleagues or for your more upscale shopping pit-stop. What allows you to keep your stay short and sweet is the more-exciting-than-it-sounds buffet system. Pile your plate with the multi-coloured seasonal ingredients and diverse dishes displayed, then take your haul up to the counter and pay up according to how much it weighs, adding an energising fruit shake or Chai tea while you're there. The coconut sweet potato curry and pumpkin quiche are particularly worth sticking your tofu-strong elbows out for, as are the gooey vegan chocolate ice cream and sticky toffee pudding. Love the food so much you wish you could have it at home? Check out their Insta-friendly online recipe library. 

By Becky Lucas

Address: 12-14 Heddon Street, London W1B 4DA
Telephone: +44 20 7758 4110
Website: www.tibits.ch
Also try: Ethos, 48 Eastcastle Street, London W1W 8DX

words by TANIA BALLANTINE, www.cntraveler.com