PLANT POWER
The vogue for veganism has rendered London’s streets fertile soil for launching plant-based eating establishments. Leading the pack in the interiors stakes is the uber-minimalist, all-white Essence ( 4), designed by Swedish architects Bozarthfornell. The dishes on its vegan menu – think raw Pad Thai with kelp seaweed instead of noodles – provide the venue’s only pop of colour (essence-cuisine.com).
New York favourite By Chloe ( 1) has opened in Covent Garden and Tower Bridge, serving vegan versions of British comfort food, such as shepherd’s pie in airy, succulentgarnished spaces (eatbychloe.com).
Seamlessly mixing traditional and trendy, The Spread Eagle ( 3) in Homerton is London’s first 100 per cent vegan pub, where tacos by street food specialists Club Mexicana are served alongside hearty vegan ales (thespreadeaglelondon.co.uk). Nearby, Rehab’s ( 5) ethos of sustainability means upcycled industrial lighting and seasonal, meat-free dishes made from British ingredients (rehabhackney.com).
West Londoners should order the ‘chillinon-carne’ in Wulf & Lamb’s ( 2) olive-tree filled garden (wulfandlamb.com) or Sardinian artichokes at Farm Girl ( 6), the vegetablebased foodie brand’s first full-size restaurant, with an interior by young British creative Beata Heuman (thefarmgirl.co.uk).