Oops. I stopped updating this blog in December 2018. Life got a little hectic, but now I want to get back to regular (or at least semi-regular) posts here.
One of the biggest things to have happened in the past seven months is that I took my second-ever trip outside of North America – to Europe! For a big milestone birthday, I decided to spend my actual birthday in London, and then visited Munich, Salzburg, Linz, and Prague. (I had visited Prague last year in my Budapest-Vienna-Linz-Prague trip, and there was so much that I didn’t get around to that I HAD to come back.)
Amazingly, all the cities I visited are VERY vegan-friendly! Most people think of countries like Germany, Austria, and the Czech Republic as heavy meat-eating locales, and to an extent, that is true. BUT, they are also very vegan-friendly and the percentage of people following a vegan way of eating in many of those cities are rapidly growing!
Friday, June 7
Vantra Loungevity
I landed in London from a red-eye flight on Friday. Knowing I was seeing Les Misérables that night, I forced myself to take a nap at my Airbnb shortly after arriving there. After zonking out for a few hours, I was hungry and trekked out in the rain in search of dinner before the show.
Not too far from the Queen’s Theatre, just off of Leicester Square, is Vantra Loungevity. It is a pay-by-weight buffet where everything (yes, EVERYTHING) is vegan and gluten-free! They prepare their dishes either raw or steamed, Halal and Kosher, no peanuts, no garlic, no vinegar, and pretty much no salt. But if you need/want salt and other seasonings, there is a condiment bar for you to add whatever seasonings you like. Honestly, pretty much everything was amazing without added seasoning.
During my first visit there, I got some of the Roots Curry, Aubergine & Mushrooms, Vegan Stroganoff, and Chickpea Curry. There are so many herbs and spices already used in the dishes that I didn’t miss the salt at all! And it was so filling, too.
For dessert, I got their adzuki beans served hot with either almond milk or coconut milk … I don’t remember exactly. It reminds me of some red bean desserts I grew up eating in Chinese cuisine.
After all that, I was all set to cry my eyes out for three hours seeing Les Misérables. Happy birthday to me!
Saturday, June 8
Portobello Road Market, Quinoa Food, Wild Food Cafe
Multiple people recommended a visit to the Portobello Road Market if I was going to be in the London area on a Saturday, and I am so glad that I did. There are hundreds of antique and specialist shops and stalls, and tons of street food stalls as well! Shopping wasn’t what I was there for, though. I was looking for some good vegan eats, and there were so many to choose from! I almost couldn’t choose!
Eventually, I decided on a Quinoa Arepa from Quinoa Food. There are meat options, but I (of course) went for the vegan option! I’ve had arepas before, but they are traditionally made of just corn flour. These are quinoa and corn, giving them a bit of a nuttier taste. These have avocado, plantains, more quinoa, kale, spinach, red onion, and black beans. The perfect meal!
Walking around the market some more, I stumbled upon the stall for Morish Jems, which had lots of baked goods that were vegan, gluten-free, or BOTH vegan AND gluten-free. Without too much hesitation, I bought a peanut butter brownie because I am such a sucker for peanut butter and chocolate. (Well, peanut butter and ANYTHING, really.)
I made my way back to the Central London area to see 9 to 5 The Musical, which was a show I’d seen a bunch of times pre-Broadway and on Broadway. It was interesting to see the re-worked production for the West End!
Then after the show, I walked along the Victoria Embankment, then walked across the Hungerford and Golden Jubilee Bridges to South Bank, where I stumbled upon Real Food Market at Southbank Centre.
There were so many stalls with many different kinds of foods (crepes, tacos, dosas, Indian, Ethiopian, bruschetta, coffee, and lots of baked goods) that I literally circled the area three or four times trying to decide on what to eat. Finally, I couldn’t make a decision on actual dinner, so I got vegan & gluten-free Peanut Butter Blondie (see what I mean about peanut butter?) from Galeta, and walked back across the bridges.
Then I decided to head up to the Covent Garden area and went to Wild Food Cafe for a light dinner. It was crowded and there was a wait list for parties bigger than two, but since I was solo, I was able to share a table with some other people. Everything at Wild Food Cafe is vegan/plant-based and most (if not all?) of the food is raw. I don’t really ever seek out raw food, but I don’t mind it if the food is good, flavorful, and filling.
I got the Trio of Dips, which had dulse & hemp taramasalata, golden za’atar hummus, and olive tapanade, served with veggies and crackers that were made from kale stalks! Intriguing! And a great idea for reducing food waste! It perhaps didn’t look like a lot of food, but I was very much satisfied afterward. The dips were tasty and all very different in flavor profiles.
For the evening, I went to see Come From Away, which is one of my favorite shows running on Broadway right now. I’d gotten up relatively early to get in line to wait for day seats. It was a pretty chilly and VERY windy morning, but it was worth it!
Sunday, June 9
Pret A Manger, Vantra Loungevity (again!)
Sunday was another two-show theatre day. TKTS had decently priced tickets to The Play That Goes Wrong and The Comedy About a Bank Robbery – both of which are Mischief Theatre Company shows. I’d seen The Play That Goes Wrong on Broadway shortly before they closed to move Off-Broadway, and it was so much fun. I wanted to see it again, with a different cast of actors. And I figured their other show running on the West End had to have been good, too, so why not make it a Mischief day?
I also visited Flying Fantastic and took an aerial hoop/Lyra class in the early afternoon. Challenging and painful, but I had a lot of fun and learned some new transitions!
Shortly before The Play That Goes Wrong, I stopped in at one of the many Pret A Manger locations and got their avocado toast on their new gluten-free bread. It is one of their few vegan and gluten-free options and it made for the perfect lunch.
After the show and probably burning off a lot of calories from laughing, I had a hard time deciding where to go for dinner. It was starting to rain a bit, so I didn’t want to walk too far, and I wanted to be close to where Bank Robbery was. First, I tried to go to The Coach And Horses, but it appeared that they were closed in preparation for an event that night. So, I decided to go back to Vantra Loungevity.
I tried a few different items from their buffet, including their Spicy Scrambled Tofu, Lentil Dal, Chickpea Curry, Spinach & Seaweed, and again the Vegan Stroganoff (because MUSHROOMS!). As before, it was delicious and very filling.
Then, it was a short walk to see The Comedy About a Bank Robbery. As with its sister show, a riotous good time!
Monday, June 10
Deliciously Ella, Yorica!, by Chloe
The forecast was rain, rain, and more rain. Until this day, the rain had been sporadic and light, where I didn’t mind walking short distances to go here and there. But Monday was a steady rain that was just heavy enough that I wanted to minimize being outside as much as possible.
While traversing the subway, where I had wifi because I bought a week’s worth of wifi access while in the Underground system, I decided to snag a ticket to Waitress. I hadn’t planned on seeing it while in London, but it was an indoor activity, and I was curious how the show set in a small southern American town would play to a British audience with mostly British actors.
High on my list of restaurants to go to, though, was Deliciously Ella. I arrived at the Mayfair area around lunchtime, and the line was long to order food. Also because of the rain, people probably wanted to eat inside. So I think I was lucky to find a seat in their small dining area after I ordered some much-needed coffee (with oat milk) and their Sweet Potato, Chickpea, and Pumpkin Curry. I opted for some roasted coconut chips as a garnish on top, and it added a wonderful crunch to an already super delicious curry with brown rice. (I’m also a sucker for curries.)
While eating, I contemplated what to do for the afternoon while it rained and kept raining. I decided to spend a few hours inside St. Paul’s Cathedral. So, after I scraped my bowl clean, I made my way back to the Underground station a few blocks away and found my way to St. Paul’s.
Despite being an atheist pretty much my entire life, I love old cathedrals. In particular, I like learning about the history of a cathedral and its role in the culture of the city around it. The architecture, art, and design in such cathedrals are also fascinating to me as well. So, I had no problem spending a good several hours inside St. Paul, listening to most of the audio tracks on the audio guide that came with admission.
After I’d covered as much of the cathedral as I could, I hopped back on the Tube and went to Yorica!. I knew from my research that there would be vegan ice cream, but I had no idea that the entire restaurant was not just vegan, but also free of the top 14 common allergens. So, it was also entirely gluten-free. AND in addition to ice cream, they also had waffles and crepes to have with your ice cream. What began as just a quick stop for a snack became an indulgence that would essentially make two scoops of ice cream and three mini waffles my dinner. The combo I got was: Gooey Vanilla Cookie ice cream, Cookies & Cream ice cream, three mini waffles, and maple syrup drizzle over it all. Why do we not have this amazingness in New York City?!
I took my time to finish it (I wasn’t going to waste my money by throwing away any of that deliciousness!), and then had to walk some of it off. I was quite full. After wandering around for a while in the general direction of the Adelphi Theatre (where Waitress was), I decided I needed to have some vegetables at least before the night was over. I found by Chloe a few blocks from the Adelphi and ordered one of their vegetable sides.
I’ve been to by Chloe a few times in New York, so I’ve had many of their menu items before, though there are some London-specific items, too. Too bad I couldn’t eat a whole entree then, so a small side of veggies would have to do. Their Market Veggie side was a chilled ratatouille with roasted eggplant, zucchini, yellow squash, yellow bell pepper, onion, tomato sauce, and fresh basil. It was super light and just what I needed.
Then over to the diner at Waitress.
Tuesday, June 11
by Chloe, Pilpel, Tibits
Tuesday was a jam-packed day with two aerial hoop/Lyra classes at Flying Fantastic, with a tour of the Tower of London in between. It was my only non-theatre day during my London trip!
After the first morning class, I walked from London Bridge over to the Tower Bridge. The views from South Bank are beautiful, and the view of Tower Bridge is quite spectacular.
Before crossing Tower Bridge, though, I stopped at by Chloe’s location near the Tower Bridge. I just wanted something small, so I got their Kale Artichoke Dip with tortilla chips. Being vegan, I rarely have any kind of artichoke dip (yes, I know there are plenty of vegan variations out there). So, this was quite delightful. And just the right amount of food.
Then, I walked over the Tower Bridge and made my way over to the entrance for the Tower of London. I bought my ticket and spent the next few hours wandering around the giant fortress with parts dating back to the 11th century. The castle played a significant role over many parts of London’s history, and I took my time absorbing it in. (Thank goodness I almost always carry protein bars with me, because I got hungry a couple of hours in and I didn’t want to leave to find food.)
When it came close to closing time, I exited and made my way to Pilpel, a falafel/Mediterranean restaurant. One of their falafel combinations had aubergines (eggplant), and given my love of eggplant, that is without hesitation what I got. The lady taking my order omitted any of the gluten-containing items but gave me everything else that could come with it (minus the pepperoncini because my spiciness tolerance seems to have gone down lately). I didn’t expect to get eight falafel balls with my platter! I was expecting maybe four or five. And man, those are probably some of the best falafel I’ve had in my life. Crunchy on the outside, soft on the inside. Yummmmmmmm …
Then I made my way back over to the vicinity of Flying Fantastic for my second aerial hoop/Lyra class, but because I was early and had plenty of time to kill, I wandered over to Tibits, a vegetarian- and vegan-friendly restaurant. There were only a couple of vegan and gluten-free dessert items, so I got a small container of their cocoa bars, some vanilla cream, and a few pieces of fruit to go. I ate some of it on the way back over to Flying Fantastic, and the combination of chocolate and fruit was a perfect dessert.
Wednesday, June 12
Leggero, Yorica! (again), Kalifornia Kitchen
Wednesday was my last full day in London. I managed to cram in a quick but thorough visit to Westminster Abbey, then back over to SoHo. A last-minute change of plans led me to Leggero, a 100% gluten-free Italian restaurant with lots of vegan options. So many menu items sounded great, but I went with two appetizers: the Arancine alla norma (stuffed rice ball coated with breadcrumbs and deep-fried) and the Mediterranean Roll (a lettuce leaf roll filled with rice, beans, and pesto). Delicious!
I saw Come From Away again for the matinee. Because that show is that good.
Then I ventured over to Yorica! again because it was nearby. I intended on trying out their crepes, but they were unfortunately out of crepes. So, I got just a single ice cream scoop instead – the Cookies & Cream again, with an Oreo cookie (or whatever the gluten-free version is) on top. A delightful snack.
I walked around a bit, but it was another steadily rainy day, so not too much wandering around. Then I found my way up to Kalifornia Kitchen, a vegan restaurant with lots of gluten-free options. They have some breakfast options, too, that they serve until 6pm and I had just barely made it under the wire to order breakfast. For whatever reason, the breakfast burrito called to me. Inside had scrambled tofu, pickled cabbage, aioli, kale and crispy onion, and served with a side of kale chips. I mean, how much more “typical vegan” can you get? But it was absolutely delicious and filling. Especially those kale chips … I could have eaten those all day long.
Then for the evening, I saw Six The Musical, a musical about the six wives of Henry VIII. Super fun!
Thursday, June 13
Leon (at Heathrow Airport)
There are Leon locations all over London, but it wasn’t until I was at Heathrow Airport that I had a chance to try their food, and now I’m sad I didn’t try it sooner. They have several vegan “Hot Box” dishes, a couple of salads, and some sides and snacks that were also gluten-free.
In particular, they have Vegan Jack Wings – made of jackfruit! They’re more like hush puppies than wings, but they were nonetheless amazingly delicious.
I also got the Caribbean Plantain Curry, which had sweet potato, plantains, and kale in a curry sauce over brown rice. Have I already mentioned how much I love curries? Of all kinds. Yum.
There’s More?!
I barely even scratched the surface of the long list of vegan-friendly places I had bookmarked for London. Clearly, London is jam-packed with lots of places to eat if you are vegan. I can’t wait to go back to try some more!
Tune in for my next posts where I highlight vegan eats from Munich, Salzburg, Linz, and Prague!
Thank you ever so for you article. Much thanks again. Karena Kendell Guild