The Vegan Society

Posted on 02/25/2021 by Ingrid Haunold

Please note: This article was first published on The Vegan Tourist and last updated May 1, 2012.

I want to review a number of Websites on The Vegan Tourist, which I like or consider a good resource for vegans. The Vegan Society’s Website is the first I want to introduce to you.

This British charity is the world’s first vegan society. It was founded in November 1944, and November 1st has since been designated as World Vegan Day in honour of the society’s founding.

As it’s been around a while, they have amassed a vast knowledge about all things vegan. Whether you’re trying to become a vegan, would like to educate yourself or others about a number of issues related to ethical living, or are just looking for information about healthy nutrition, you’ll likely find what you’re looking for on this website.

I’ve been a vegetarian since 1982, but a vegan only since 2010. I found the information provided on this site incredibly helpful in making the transition to a vegan lifestyle.

Being vegan isn’t just about refusing to eat meat or fish. Food, clothing, cosmetics and many other products contain animal-derived substances or additives, or are produced with the help of animal-derived carriers. The Vegan Society lists many of those ingredients online and this list, which I printed out, has been very useful during countless shopping trips.

There’s information on the site about multivitamins and minerals, contraceptives, vaccines, photographic equipment and paper, footwear and clothing, medication, and drinks. Luckily for me, whisky seems to be a truly vegan product.

The Vegan Society also provides information about travelling and eating out (with a focus on the UK), and lists suppliers of vegan goods based in Britain (many ship internationally). You’ll find useful links to other websites, too.

The society provides background information about a number of vegan issues and produces countless educational materials, many of which are free (some can be downloaded from their website). I downloaded their booklet “Plant Based Nutrition,” which is also available in a few other languages, including German.

Vegans need to take B12 supplements and The Vegan Society has produced its own version, the “VEG 1” supplement, which contains the vitamins B2, B6, and B12; also folic acid, vitamin D2, iodine and selenium. I purchased it through their online shop in the past; Luckily, I have now found a shop in Vienna, Austria, which stocks “VEG 1,” so I can buy it locally.

I have also purchased a vegan cookbook through their online shop in the past as well as the society’s quarterly “Vegan” magazine.

The Vegan Society’s Trademark scheme “promotes vegan products and services throughout (its) widely recognized and trusted Sunflower symbol.” Many companies, which sell vegan products, have been granted the right to print the symbol on their products, and it is the only symbol I truly trust. When I see the symbol on a product, I know I don’t need to worry about hidden ingredients or animal testing. The products with the society’s Sunflower Trademark symbol are sold worldwide. I live in Austria, and many companies use this symbol on their vegan products.

The Vegan Society also publishes a shopping guide, the “Animal Free Shopper,” which I bought when I lived in London (many years ago). It’s a handy little guide, which I carried with me whenever I went shopping. However, this guide lists only products sold in the United Kingdom. If you live elsewhere, you might find the society’s online searchable database of vegan products more helpful, as many can be purchased through those companies’ Websites.

All in all, this is a brilliant Website and one of my favourite vegan online resources.

Website: http://www.vegansociety.com/

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Food for Thought (UK – London)

Posted on 02/25/2021 by Ingrid Haunold

Please note: This article was first published on The Vegan Tourist and last updated April 30, 2012.

Update May 25, 2019: This restaurant closed in 2015.

Original blog post:

Food for Thought is one of my favourite restaurants in London. I’ve had lunch there many times when I lived in London in the late nineties/early noughties, and I made sure to stop by when I vacationed in London last December.

© Ingrid Haunold

Food for Thought is a “vegetarian restaurant, take-away & catering service.” They’re located at Neal Street, around the corner from Covent Garden, a favourite tourist destination.

The restaurant is very popular with Londoners. As it’s quite small with only a few tables, patrons start to queue in front of it before it opens at noon every day. At Food for Thought, it’s counter service only, and you can’t book a table in advance. No credit cards, it’s cash only.

The menu changes daily, and it’s available online. There are pitchers with free tap water, if you’re thirsty and don’t want to order a drink. All the dishes are vegetarian and there are also always several vegan options, which are clearly labelled on the menu. Many of the dishes are free of wheat and gluten.

I ordered a “sweet potato and black bean Jamaican bake” (£4.90) and a slice of wholewheat bread (£0.30).

© Ingrid Haunold

At Food for Thought, you can even get vegan desserts, which is something that not all vegetarian restaurants offer.

If you like the food, you can buy their cookbook at the restaurant. It’s also available at Amazon through their Websites in the UK and the US (“New Food for Thought”).

Address: 31 Neal Street, Covent Garden, London WC2H 9PR

Opening hours: Monday to Saturday 12:00 noon – 8:30 PM, Sunday 12:00 – 5:30 PM; closed on December 24-26 and January 1st.

Phone: +44-(0)20-7836 0239

Website: no longer in service

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Starbucks Coffee Company

Posted on 02/25/2021 by Ingrid Haunold

Please note: This article was first published on The Vegan Tourist and last updated March 26, 2012.

It’s time to review a non-vegan restaurant/café, namely the Starbucks Coffee Company. I primarily want to promote vegetarian businesses on this website, but it’s not always possible to find a vegetarian restaurant or café, so compromises are necessary.

I find that Starbucks is actually a good example to show traditional (read: non-vegetarian) restaurants how they’re excluding vegans – probably unintentionally – and how easy it would be to change their business models to cater to us as well. It’s all about missed business opportunities, really. Vegans have money, too, and we want to spend it (but can’t).

During the last year, I visited Starbucks branches in Austria, Great Britain, and the United States of America, so this review is based on my experiences in those three countries.

Here are a few things I like about Starbucks: I can get soy milk with my coffee and smoking is not permitted in their cafés. There’s free WiFi, and there are wall sockets where you can plug in your laptop. Some branches (e.g. in London, UK) even have big communal desks. I recently went on a working vacation to London and got most of my writing done at those desks. I also love their big, comfy chairs. I’ve spent countless hours reading newspapers and books in those chairs.

However, there are several reasons why I’m not a more frequent customer:

I love that Starbucks offers soy milk as a choice for my coffee, but as far as I know the soy milk isn’t organic. As a vegan, this isn’t my first priority, but it matters. In Austria, where there’s a strong anti-GMO movement, I’m pretty sure that the soy milk is at least GMO-free. In the UK and in the US that’s probably not the case. Who wants to eat or drink genetically modified food? Not me. Yes, organic soy milk is more expensive; and no, I don’t care. I still want it and would be willing to pay a premium price for it.

Starbucks offers almost no food for vegans. That’s true for Austria, Great Britain, and the United States of America.

When I asked a staff member at a Starbucks branch in Manhattan (on Broadway and 103rd street), I lucked out. The barista was a vegan herself, and she told me that the oatmeal and two kinds of bagels (plain and multigrain) were vegan. I could also buy a banana or potato chips. Not a great choice, but I was grateful to the barista, as I felt that I could at least trust the information she was giving me. Starbucks doesn’t provide information about vegan products on their in-store menus, so there’s no way to know if something is vegan or not. You have to check the company’s website (which is annoying). Labeling all vegan products as such on their in-store menus would be a big improvement.

I purchased a plain bagel and a cup of coffee with soy milk. My total came to $2.91 including tax. I could have – and would have – spent a lot more money, if only there had been more vegan food options.

When I stopped by another branch a few days later (somewhere in mid-town Manhattan), I decided to check if the barista at this branch knew as much as the vegan staff member at the other branch. I asked her which foods at Starbucks were vegan. She gave me a puzzled look and then answered – rather hesitantly – “the banana?” (Yes, the answer was in form of a question.) I bought a cup of coffee ($1.75 plus tax) and left – I bought my food elsewhere. Again, this was a missed business opportunity for Starbucks.

Last December, I spent a week in London, England. I usually started my day at the Starbucks branch at 425 Oxford Street, as they open early (I think at 6:30 AM). That’s a big plus. I was able to get my first cup of coffee there, but alas, no breakfast. My only options were fruit and potato crisps. I can’t stomach either this early in the morning. I usually spent a couple of hours at this branch, drinking my £1.50 cup of coffee, then left to buy breakfast elsewhere. Just like in the USA, Starbucks UK doesn’t really seem to want my “vegan” money.

When I asked one of their staff members for vegan options, I was offered a cheese plate. (Seriously. A cheese plate.)

(Note to Starbucks: Please give your baristas a crash course in vegan nutrition and tell them that bananas are indeed vegan, but cheese is not. Thank you very much, it’s appreciated.)

At a different branch (where I stopped by at around noon), I was offered the Falafel Mezze bistro box. It says on the company’s website that this box can be veganised by removing the tzatziki (and throwing it away), and that’s exactly what the barista offered to do. This only shows that the company does not understand vegans. Throwing out animal-based food is not an option, it’s deplorable. If I bought this box, I would support the exploitation of animals, and that’s a big no-no for vegans.

Austria is worst. I went to one of the company’s Viennese branches recently, in Neubaugasse, and there was nothing to eat for vegans, not even fruit. (Maybe another ravenous vegan had bought all the fruit due to a lack of other options…?) I was so frustrated, I left without purchasing anything. On the Austrian Starbucks website, the company doesn’t even provide nutritional information about the food and drinks they sell.

So there you have it: Starbucks is a great place to buy a cup of coffee and to hang out at for a few hours, but if you’re a vegan and hungry, forget it.

By not offering vegans any food choices, the company misses out on an ever-growing segment of consumers and additional profits. I don’t think they do it on purpose. They are probably not even aware that they are excluding vegans. My guess would be that there aren’t any vegans among the top staff members at the company, which would explain the lack of sensibility about this subject and the lack of knowledge about what it means to be vegan. It all comes down to lack of awareness, which translates into missed business opportunities and missed profits for the company.

It’s sad really, because I actually quite like Starbucks. I wish they’d do a better job at taking my money.

Website: http://www.starbucks.com

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Hostelling International New York (USA – NY, NY)

Posted on 02/25/2021 by Ingrid Haunold

Please note: This article was first published on The Vegan Tourist and last updated March 25, 2012.

Hostelling International New York is surely the worst name for a hotel that I have ever encountered. You’d think they’d be able to come up with a name that’s a little catchier. But no, so Hostelling International New York it is.

The good news is that the name is the worst thing about this place, which is actually quite wonderful. It’s part of Hostelling International, a non-profit organization, which aims to provide cheap lodgings for travellers. I’ve stayed at hostels all over the world, and HI-NY is by far my favorite. I have a soft spot for it because I’ve been staying there for well over 20 years. I was one of their first guests when it opened way back in 1990. Back then, the building was still under renovation and everything smelled of fresh paint. It hadn’t even fully opened to the public yet and there were only a few travellers staying there with me at the time.

© Ingrid Haunold

The building itself is worth noting. The original red brick building is from the 1880s, an extension was added in 1907/08.

According to the hostel’s website, it was originally built by the Association for the Relief of Respectable Aged Indigent Females. “This association wanted to help widows of both the Revolutionary War and the war of 1812. They built this building as a residency for these widows.” It’s huge; the hostel has 672 beds.

© Ingrid Haunold

The hostel has changed considerably over the years. It used to have only a small kitchen with a few banged-up pots, but now it’s fully equipped (and clean!): there are several stoves and ovens and microwaves; coffee-machines, dishwashers; pots and pans, dishes and cutlery and everything else you might (or might not) need to prepare yourself a meal.

As most travellers who stay at hostels are strapped for cash and can’t afford to eat out every day, the kitchen at HI-NY is one of its best features. As a vegan, I appreciated it even more. I wasn’t able to find a restaurant in the area, which serves vegan breakfasts, so I bought coffee and soy milk, some fruit, oatmeal, and vegan yoghurts at the supermarket around the corner and was able to prepare myself a nice breakfast every morning.

© Ingrid Haunold

I ate in the small fifties-inspired dining room adjacent to the kitchen, where there’s also free WiFi (and electrical plugs for laptops).

I love the outdoor courtyard. It’s very peaceful and quiet there. The building’s brick walls block out all the traffic from Amsterdam Avenue.

© Ingrid Haunold

The hostel has a computer room, free WiFi, a theatre room, lounge, laundry room, rental lockers, and more. It’s very popular, so travellers are only allowed to stay there for two weeks each year. You also have to be a member of Hostelling International (or pay an additional $3.00 per night), but you can buy a membership card at the registration desk. Beds are $29.00 – $52.00 depending on the season and dorm rooms. Private rooms and family rooms are also available. As it’s a non-profit, no tax is added to the room rates. I always book a bed in a mid-sized dorm room, as this is the easiest way to meet lots of people. You can reach the hostel by taking the number 1 train to 103rd Street (it’s one block over on Amsterdam Avenue).

If you’ve never stayed at a hostel and are unsure if this is for you, here’s some additional information you might find helpful: don’t worry if you’re older. These days, everyone stays at hostels. I’m 44 years old, and I wasn’t the oldest one there by far. If you have little experience of travelling by yourself, hostels are good places to meet people. The staff organizes a number of events each week and you can simply join in. But you do need a relaxed attitude towards travelling, when you stay at a hostel: there are only communal bathrooms (with fierce competition for the shower stalls in the mornings) and people come and go at all times. Somebody is bound to turn on the lights in your dorm room and chat with another traveller when all you want to do is sleep.

As a vegan, I really only have one complaint: there’s a small café at the hostel, which doesn’t cater to vegans. You can’t get soy milk with your coffee and the only truly vegan food on offer is fruit. The vending machines at the hostel are useless, too. No vegan food except crisps. So make sure to stock up at Gristede’s, a small supermarket on Broadway and 103rd street; there’s also a Starbucks at that same corner (they have soy milk for your coffee, and their oatmeal and some of the bagels are vegan, too).

Address: 891 Amsterdam Avenue (at 103rd Street), 10025 NYC

Phone: +1–212–932-2300

Website: https://www.hiusa.org/find-hostels/newyork/new-york-891-amsterdam-ave

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Integral Yoga Natural Foods (USA – NY, NY)

Posted on 02/25/2021 by Ingrid Haunold

Please note: This article was first published on The Vegan Tourist and last updated March 24, 2012.

Update February 25, 2021: The shop’s website is no longer in service, I suspect Integral Yoga Natural Foods no longer exists.

Original blog post:

In Manhattan’s Greenwich Village, on West 13th Street, you’ll find one of the most interesting stores in the city (for vegans, anyway): a small (mostly) organic, 100% vegetarian grocery store. I’d read about it in The Vegan Guide to New York City and just had to seek it out. It’s the only vegetarian grocery store I’m aware of, there just aren’t that many around. I think we don’t have a single one in all of Austria, where I’m from.

Integral Yoga Natural Foods is a for-profit store owned and operated by the non-profit Integral Yoga Institute next door. They also operate a bookshop at the Yoga Institute, and the Natural Apothecary across the street, where all products are “suitable for a vegetarian lifestyle.”

I especially like the philosophy behind their Natural Foods store: they support local businesses, organic farmers, small businesses owners, and businesses owned by women. The Natural Apothecary won’t sell products that have been tested on animals and only carries products that are cruelty free. All those things are very important to me, and there aren’t many businesses that adhere to such a strict philosophy. It’s all connected to the spiritual teachings of Yoga, of course, but you don’t have to be religious or a spiritual person to care about the environment. I’m a die-hard atheist, and the least spiritual person you’ll ever meet, but living a cruelty-free life is still very important to me.

The grocery store sells a full range of products. You could do your weekly shopping at this store and not have to go anywhere else. In the back of the store there’s a hot-and-cold salad bar, where you can also buy freshly prepared organic fruit smoothies and juices. They have a small selection of vegan soups, raw snacks, pies and entrees. I bought a vegan burrito and a few vegan gummy bears, and sat down on the wooden bench in front of the store for an al fresco lunch. West 13th street is very peaceful: there are trees and there’s little traffic – very unusual for Manhattan. It was perfect.

There aren’t any major sights nearby, so as a tourist you probably won’t just stumble across the store. You’ll have to seek it out. But it’s right in the middle of Greenwich Village, which I think is one of the most interesting neighborhoods in Manhattan anyway and a tourist attraction in its own right.

Address: 229 West 13th Street, 10011 NYC. The Yoga Institute is next door, and the Natural Apothecary is across the street.

Opening hours: Monday to Friday 8:00 AM to 9:30 PM; Saturday open until 8:30 PM; Sunday 9:00 AM to 8:30 PM

Phone: +1–212–243-2642

Website: no longer in service

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Hummus Place (USA – NY, NY)

Posted on 02/25/2021 by Ingrid Haunold

Please note: This article was first published on The Vegan Tourist and last updated March 22, 2012.

It’s time to review Hummus Place, a small NCY restaurant chain, which serves Mediterranean vegetarian food. I had lunch at one of their restaurants way back in May 2011, but never got around to writing the review, which is a shame because I quite enjoyed my visit. There are four Hummus Place restaurants in Manhattan, I ate at one of their two locations on the Upper West Side, at 305 Amsterdam Avenue (at 74th street).

At Hummus Place it’s all about the hummus. A staple of vegan diets, hummus is made of water, chick peas, tahini, olive oil, and lemon. At Hummus Place it’s made fresh (as you’d expect) and tastes delicious.

I ordered one of their lunch specials for $ 7.95, and got a free appetizer with my entrée. I chose Tahini, a sesame seed paste, and the hummus mushrooms (hummus topped with sautéed mushrooms, onions, spices and olive oil). It was served with freshly baked, warm pita bread. I ordered homemade lemonade ($2.50) as a drink. The total bill came to $ 11.38 with tax.

I liked Hummus Place not just for the food, but I also enjoyed the ambiance. There’s lots of wood and brick walls, the restaurants are light and airy and clean – not a given in New York City. The staff also didn’t pressure me to eat up and get out (to make room for the next patron), which happens frequently in Manhattan (and is something that all Europeans hate). Good, cheap food in a clean environment, where you’re allowed to linger – that’s an unbeatable combination.

My one (admittedly minor) complaint about Hummus Place is that vegan dishes aren’t marked as such on the menu. Most of the ingredients are listed, with helps, but “spices” can mean anything. I didn’t order any dessert, as it was unclear if any of them were suitable for vegans. I didn’t order any wine either, as the wine list lacked information about suitability for vegans (most wines are clarified with the help of animal products). I was also unsure about the pita bread. Many kinds of breads are made with animal ingredients, and I’m no baker. I looked up recipes for pita bread online afterwards and was happy to see that pita bread is usually made without milk or eggs; but it would have helped me immensely if all the vegan dishes on the menu had been labeled properly.

When it comes to vegan food, details matter. I could have (and would have) spent considerably more money at Hummus Place, if the menu had been clearer about which dishes and drinks were suitable for vegans. So there’s a missed business opportunity for Hummus Place, due to lack of proper information. It’s a shame really, as this is a vegetarian restaurant chain and there aren’t many of those around. Nevertheless, I whole-heartedly recommend this restaurant. Go visit, you’ll enjoy it.

Address: There are currently four locations in Manhattan, I had lunch at 305 Amsterdam Avenue at 74th Street

Opening hours: opening hours are different for each branch. Check the website. The restaurant on Amsterdam Avenue is open daily 10:30 AM until midnight.

Phone: check the website for each branch’s number

Website: http://www.hummusplace.com

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Ayurveda Cafe (USA – NY, NY)

Posted on 02/25/2021 by Ingrid Haunold

Please note: This article was first published on The Vegan Tourist and last updated February 23, 2012.

The Ayurveda Cafe on Manhattan’s Amsterdam Avenue (on the Upper West Side) serves Indian (lacto-)vegetarian food. According to the teachings of Ayurveda, six tastes must be incorporated into every meal: sweet, sour, salty, bitter, astringent and pungent.

The Ayurveda Cafe adheres to these teachings and offers a pre-set meal (lunch or dinner) with ten items each: an appetizer, two vegetable entrees, bread, lentils, basmati or brown rice, salad, raita, dessert, and assorted chutneys.

The set meal is your only choice, and the menu changes daily.

I’d read about this restaurant in Rynn Berry’s The Vegan Guide to New York City, and hadn’t really planned on stopping by, as I am not a believer in the teachings of Ayurveda. I prefer restaurants, which offer a selection of dishes for me to choose from. But then I happened to walk by the restaurant one day just around lunchtime, and decided to give it a try.

I am not as enthusiastic about the place as Rynn Berry, who gave this restaurant a glowing review in his guidebook. The décor and ambience didn’t impress me. I think the place could do with a bit of remodeling.

I liked the food, at least the dishes which I actually could eat. When I told the waitress that I was a vegan, she kept taking dishes away without offering any replacements. Three of the ten dishes were not vegan. I ended up paying for a lot of food that I wasn’t able to eat.

The service was lousy. I ate at many restaurants during my ten-day trip to New York City last May, and the service at Ayurveda Cafe was definitely the worst. The waitress was inattentive; she kept bringing me dishes, which were not vegan, only to take them away again moments later.

I also didn’t get a receipt, even after I asked for it. All I got was the credit card slip (which is not enough for Austrian financial authorities. I need proper receipts, and that’s been a problem in NYC on several occasions.)

Lunch at Ayurveda Cafe is currently $9.95 (without drinks), plus tax and tips. Dinner is $13.95.

Address: 706 Amsterdam Avenue at 94th Street, 10025 NYC

Opening hours: daily 11:30 AM to 10:30 PM

Phone: +1–212–932-2400

Website: http://theayurvedacafe.com/

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Foyles (UK – London)

Posted on 02/25/2021 by Ingrid Haunold

Please note: This article was first published on The Vegan Tourist and last updated May 25, 2019.

Updated May 25, 2019:

Foyles is now located at 107 Charing Cross Road, London WC2H 0EB. They sold their flagship store and moved to this address in June 2014.

Original blog post:

When I arrived in London, England, for a week-long vacation last December, I headed straight over to Foyles right after I checked into the Piccadilly Backpackers Hostel. It’s one of my favorite places (to hang out and shop at) in London.

© Ingrid Haunold

Foyles is one of the world’s largest bookstores. At their flagship store on Charing Cross Road they sell over 200.000 books on five floors, plus CDs, DVDs, stationery, sheet music, magazines, journals, and gifts. They have a staff of 80 booksellers.

The café at Foyles sells a selection of vegan cakes, and they have soy milk for coffees and teas. I had a cup of tea (£ 1.80) and a slice of carrot cake (£ 3.00) and spent an hour just hanging out at the café. Be warned: it’s a bit draughty there – it’s an old building, Foyles has been selling books at this location for about a hundred years – as most old buildings in England are not well insulated; but that’s part of their charm. There are large wooden tables, if you want to use your laptop, and there’s free WiFi.

I don’t care much about many of the usual tourist attractions; feel free to stand in line at Madame Tussauds without me. As long as I can spend hour after hour browsing the shelves at Foyles and hanging out at the café afterwards, I’m happy.

The bookstore is really quite wonderful, and if you are planning a vacation in London, make sure to stop by. Foyles was founded in 1903, and it is a family-owned business. You can read about the business’s colourful history on their website.

I buy a lot of books on Amazon, but always also try to support family-owned businesses. Foyles’s Charing Cross store has a large selection of London guidebooks, and I bought a copy of Secret London there, which is truly a marvelous book (I’ll review it at another time). I bought a copy of Mark Twain’s A Tramp Abroad, and spent a good part of my vacation hanging out at various coffee shops around the city reading those books. I also purchased a copy of Fry’s English Delight, a BBC audiobook, on which Stephen Fry discusses puns, metaphors, quotations, and clichés of the English language. If you can’t make it to London, check out their website, you can buy all books and other items online, where they also sell e-books, second-hand and out-of-print books.

Yes, I love this store, and no, they are not paying me to promote it.

Address: several stores throughout Great Britain, their flagship store is at 113-119 Charing Cross Road, London WC2H 0EB

Opening hours, Charing Cross store: Monday – Saturday 09:30 AM – 09:00 PM, Sundays 11:300 AM (tills open at 12:00 noon) – 6:00 PM. Check the website for opening hours on public holidays.

Phone: +44–(0)20-7437 5660

Website: http://www.foyles.co.uk

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Book Review: Veggie & Organic London

Posted on 02/25/2021 by Ingrid Haunold

Please note: This article was first published on The Vegan Tourist and last updated January 21, 2012.

Veggie & Organic London is another good read for vegetarians who are planning a trip to London. I like it because it provides useful information not just about vegetarian restaurants and shops, but also about restaurants that use organic ingredients to prepare their food, and stores which sell organic products.

I generally prefer vegetarian guidebooks, which don’t include traditional restaurants, like The Vegan Guide to New York City. Unfortunately, most vegetarian guidebooks include restaurants that cater to omnivores, if those restaurants provide a good selection of vegetarian dishes.

I don’t find those kinds of guides quite as useful, but I like this one: all the traditional restaurants in this book use at least some organic ingredients to prepare their dishes. Organic farming is something I want to support, so I don’t mind eating at traditional restaurants, if I know that they use organic meat, fish, eggs, and milk products.

Just like Vegetarian London, this book is also divided into five sections – Central, North, West, South and East London – and the sections are further divided into smaller neighbourhoods.

This guidebook also provides additional information about shops, accommodation, caterers, animal welfare groups, farmers markets, cooking classes, and the like. It’s geared not just towards tourists, but also very useful for Londoners.

Veggie & Organic London was a good read, but in the end, I decided not to bring it with me. I found the information in Vegetarian London better suited to my needs. I’m first and foremost interested in vegetarian restaurants, and if I had to choose between a vegetarian and an organic restaurant, I’d always choose the vegetarian one.

Veggie & Organic London was published in 2009, and there doesn’t seem to be a website where information is updated on a regular basis. So expect this book to be somewhat out of date.

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Book Review: Vegetarian London

Posted on 02/25/2021 by Ingrid Haunold

Please note: This article was first published on The Vegan Tourist and last updated February 20, 2012.

Vegetarian London is the ultimate guide to all things vegetarian in London, England. The book does not only provide reviews of vegan and vegetarian restaurants, it also lists shops, veggie-friendly accommodations, caterers, local and national animal welfare groups, vegan festivals, and the like. It’s a comprehensive guidebook, and really the only one you’ll need.

The restaurant reviews are grouped into five sections (Central – East London – North London – South & Surrey – West & Middlesex) and those sections are further divided into smaller neighbourhoods. The book also contains maps for many individual neighbourhoods, so if you are looking for restaurants in Soho, you’re immediately able to see where they’re located.

At the front of the book, there’s a summary of all the vegan, vegetarian, and traditional restaurants, and all the shops in each neighbourhood. For example, in Soho there are eight vegan restaurants, eleven vegetarian restaurants, and 32 traditional restaurants (with good vegetarian options) reviewed in this guidebook, as well as 23 shops which might be of interest to ethical consumers.

At the back of the book, you’ll find a number of indexes: shops and restaurants are grouped into “vegan,” “organic,” “cheap eats,” “veggie breakfast,” and a few more. Very useful stuff.

I especially like that this book does not just list restaurants and shops, but also promotes businesses owned and operated by vegans (moving company, certified accountant, etc.).

One thing is immediately obvious: there is a need for more suitable, “vegan-friendly” accommodations in London. There are a few guest houses and B&Bs, and some very expensive hotels, which will provide vegan food upon request, but altogether the list is quite short. Demand exceeds supply.

I found this guidebook very useful, my only complaint is that it includes a large number of traditional restaurants in addition to vegan and vegetarian restaurants. Almost half the listings are for traditional restaurants. I’d prefer it if they weren’t included in this book.

The current, 6th edition is from 2008, and some of the listings are outdated. But there’s a website, which lists updates, so check it out before you travel to London.

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