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Well done for putting this together. What is disappointing is how few vegetarian restaurants there are! For such a large city you would expect a few more places

Well done for putting this together. What is disappointing is how few vegetarian restaurants there are! For such a large city you would expect a few more places on the map yet they are so few and far between. My default option when there is nothing veggie specific is to eat some place Indian. Plenty of Indian restaurants do understand that vegetarianism is the way even if they do have dead animal dishes on the menu for those encultured from an early age to eat 'meat'. It would be helpful if the best Indian restaurants were on the list too. One thing that does surprise me about the few vegetarian restaurants that are in London is the clientele. Places like Mildreds are packed night after night, and the punters seem that bit more vibrant, healthy, better looking, articulate and youthful than you would normally expect to find when eating out. More generally, I think that something has to change regarding vegetarianism in London, much like how things have changed regarding cycling in London. As a society we cannot go on eating variants of endangered species on toast for every meal, it is just not on or necessary. Meat eaters need to lighten up a bit and put some variety into their diet. Why can't the variety of vegetarian cuisine in London be a tourist attraction? Why can't house prices be that bit higher just because they are in an area where there is an excellent choice of vegetarian restaurants? (In the same way that being on a bicycle route adds to the value of a property.) Why can't we have some version of the 'Bake Off' on TV that is about vegetarian food, to celebrate it rather than be all preachy about how evil the meat industry is? Aside from Hitler, why is it that nobody knows of anyone famous for being vegetarian? This is particularly weird when so many celebrities, athletes, respected thinkers and others that people aspire to and respect are actually vegetarian. Where is the 'Boris' or 'Jamie Oliver' of the vegetarian cause? Going back to the cycling situation we have had a culture shift in cycling and attitudes towards it that has not pissed off motorists. Even if they don't cycle they don't get uppity about those that do. We need something along the same lines for vegetarianism in London. Anyway, I hope you too have ideas on how attitudes towards vegetarianism could change in London, it would be great if you could say so on your site.

creature 13y ago
Thanks for your comments; I'm glad you liked it. I'm adding places that I know & have eaten at, so the data is a little more sparse than it will be. I'm also going to add more "high street" places; I'd like it to be a resource that answers several questions: * Where can I go for a nice vegetarian/vegan meal? * Where can I go for a nice meal that doesn't exclude my veggie friend? * I'm at place X and I'm starving. Where can I get something vegan to eat nearby? Personally, I think that London is awesome for veggies & vegans. There's at least 10 specifically vegetarian restaurants that are really nice, and many other hole-in-the-wall places that aren't good for dates but are still serving good food. More and more high street chains are vegan-friendly. More and more places are specifically marking vegan-friendly dishes on their menu. (I also think that the reason that Mildred's has a young, vibrant clientele is because of its location in the heart of Soho, rather than because it's vegetarian.) My aim isn't to change attitudes towards veganism or vegetarianism; my aim is to make it more accessible. I want to help the newly-vegan person who doesn't know that they can get a quick snack from Wasabi. I want to help the manager who's got a vegetarian staff member and is trying to find somewhere nice for the Christmas meal. And I'm trying to help veggies throughout London find new places to eat, in areas of London that they're not going to be so familiar with.
- JulianMorrison 13y ago
  Wasabi's tofu curry and rice is to die for.
- willyt 13y ago
  You are missing quite a few vegetarian only restaurants. There are three I thought of immediately: The Gate in Hammersmith. or that place on Drummond St near Euston station (Diwani?) Rasa in Stoke Newington. All are well known enough to have had a write up in Time Out at some point.
  - creature 13y ago
    I'm missing The Gate in Hammersmith, and the one on Drummond Street, but Rasa's definitely on there: http://nopudding.com/london/rasa-stoke-newington-42 http://nopudding.com/london/rasa-stoke-newington-42 I'll try to add more places this weekend. Thanks for the reports!
    - joefarish 13y ago
      I find a good way of discovering more of a particular type of restaurant is to look it up on FourSquare and then take a look at the lists it appears on.
forktheif 13y ago
This post was brought to you by the vegetarianism propaganda society.
eyko 13y ago
Speculate on house prices just because there's a vegan restaurant round the corner? No thanks. I don't approve of that logic. There's a potential vegan kitchen in every home, it's not a luxury, it's not a commodity, it's just is. * edited to sound more polite, i think.
unwind 13y ago
This is probably the first time I've actually Godwinned a discussion, but still: Hitler is not primarily "known" for having been a vegetarian. He did some other more notable things, too.
- nawitus 13y ago
  And he probably wasn't a vegetarian.
- Falling3 13y ago
  That's because he wasn't one.
- deleted 13y ago
  [deleted]
- galaktor 13y ago
  technically, the parent post Godwinned itself.
- coldarchon 13y ago
  And I have no idea why only him should be a famous vegetarian, Gandhi doesn't count? Nietzsche, Kafka, Einstein? Leonardo da Vinci?
ig1 13y ago
I'm guessing because unlike many other cities, the vast majority of restaurants in London have vegetarian options.
bluedino 13y ago
>> My default option when there is nothing veggie specific is to eat some place Indian. Be very careful with this - most Indian dishes are made with ghee (butter), yoghurt or cream, paneer (cheese), etc. Some aren't, but make sure you ask or the restaurant specifically says that it's vegan and not just vegetarian.
- chimeracoder 13y ago
  On the flip side, to many Indians, "vegetarian" means egg-free, though oddly, it may include fish dishes. The special treatment of fish varies across parts of India, but the concept that eggs are non-vegetarian is fairly standard there (to a lesser extent abroad).
  - desigooner 13y ago
    That might be true for people who hail from certain coastal communities (like Bengal, Orissa, etc.) but more often than not, "Vegetarian" means No eggs, No Fish, No meat.
    - chimeracoder 13y ago
      > That might be true for people who hail from certain coastal communities (like Bengal, Orissa, etc.) Right, the fish part is mostly in areas where fish is already a staple of the diet. My point was that "vegetarian" for many Indians is similar to "vegan" in that it proscribes eggs (though not always dairy).
      - babysteps 13y ago
        I personally use the term 'pure vegetarian'.
- untog 13y ago
  To be fair, I don't think the OP uses the word 'vegan' anywhere in his post. My vegetarian friends often get irritated when people confuse them for vegans. "Yes, of course I eat eggs. Yes, of course I drink milk"
kroger 13y ago
There are 250+ vegetarian restaurants and stores in London: http://www.happycow.net/disp_results_address.php?distance=15&lat=51.5184&lon=-0.13699&list[]=vegan&list[]=vegetarian&list[]=store&sortby=0&kw= http://www.happycow.net/disp_results_address.php?distance=15... EDIT: London also has a vibrant vegetarian culture with many veggie groups. For instance, there's a very nice meetup group with almost 2000 people that convene regularly: http://www.meetup.com/vegetarian-419/ http://www.meetup.com/vegetarian-419/ And a vegan meetup group: http://www.meetup.com/londonvegan/ http://www.meetup.com/londonvegan/
kroger 13y ago
If you want famous vegetarians: http://vegan.wikia.com/wiki/Famous_Vegans_and_Vegetarians http://vegan.wikia.com/wiki/Famous_Vegans_and_Vegetarians http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_vegetarians http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_vegetarians EDIT: Wow, even Bill Clinton is vegan now: http://www.aarp.org/health/healthy-living/info-08-2013/bill-clinton-vegan.html http://www.aarp.org/health/healthy-living/info-08-2013/bill-...

creature 13y ago

Thanks for your comments; I'm glad you liked it. I'm adding places that I know & have eaten at, so the data is a little more sparse than it will be. I'm also going to add more "high street" places; I'd like it to be a resource that answers several questions: * Where can I go for a nice vegetarian/vegan meal? * Where can I go for a nice meal that doesn't exclude my veggie friend? * I'm at place X and I'm starving. Where can I get something vegan to eat nearby? Personally, I think that London is awesome for veggies & vegans. There's at least 10 specifically vegetarian restaurants that are really nice, and many other hole-in-the-wall places that aren't good for dates but are still serving good food. More and more high street chains are vegan-friendly. More and more places are specifically marking vegan-friendly dishes on their menu. (I also think that the reason that Mildred's has a young, vibrant clientele is because of its location in the heart of Soho, rather than because it's vegetarian.) My aim isn't to change attitudes towards veganism or vegetarianism; my aim is to make it more accessible. I want to help the newly-vegan person who doesn't know that they can get a quick snack from Wasabi. I want to help the manager who's got a vegetarian staff member and is trying to find somewhere nice for the Christmas meal. And I'm trying to help veggies throughout London find new places to eat, in areas of London that they're not going to be so familiar with.

JulianMorrison 13y ago
Wasabi's tofu curry and rice is to die for.
willyt 13y ago
You are missing quite a few vegetarian only restaurants. There are three I thought of immediately: The Gate in Hammersmith. or that place on Drummond St near Euston station (Diwani?) Rasa in Stoke Newington. All are well known enough to have had a write up in Time Out at some point.
- creature 13y ago
  I'm missing The Gate in Hammersmith, and the one on Drummond Street, but Rasa's definitely on there: http://nopudding.com/london/rasa-stoke-newington-42 http://nopudding.com/london/rasa-stoke-newington-42 I'll try to add more places this weekend. Thanks for the reports!
  - joefarish 13y ago
    I find a good way of discovering more of a particular type of restaurant is to look it up on FourSquare and then take a look at the lists it appears on.

forktheif 13y ago

This post was brought to you by the vegetarianism propaganda society.

eyko 13y ago

Speculate on house prices just because there's a vegan restaurant round the corner? No thanks. I don't approve of that logic. There's a potential vegan kitchen in every home, it's not a luxury, it's not a commodity, it's just is. * edited to sound more polite, i think.

unwind 13y ago

This is probably the first time I've actually Godwinned a discussion, but still: Hitler is not primarily "known" for having been a vegetarian. He did some other more notable things, too.

nawitus 13y ago
And he probably wasn't a vegetarian.
Falling3 13y ago
That's because he wasn't one.
deleted 13y ago
[deleted]
galaktor 13y ago
technically, the parent post Godwinned itself.
coldarchon 13y ago
And I have no idea why only him should be a famous vegetarian, Gandhi doesn't count? Nietzsche, Kafka, Einstein? Leonardo da Vinci?

ig1 13y ago

I'm guessing because unlike many other cities, the vast majority of restaurants in London have vegetarian options.

bluedino 13y ago

>> My default option when there is nothing veggie specific is to eat some place Indian. Be very careful with this - most Indian dishes are made with ghee (butter), yoghurt or cream, paneer (cheese), etc. Some aren't, but make sure you ask or the restaurant specifically says that it's vegan and not just vegetarian.

chimeracoder 13y ago
On the flip side, to many Indians, "vegetarian" means egg-free, though oddly, it may include fish dishes. The special treatment of fish varies across parts of India, but the concept that eggs are non-vegetarian is fairly standard there (to a lesser extent abroad).
- desigooner 13y ago
  That might be true for people who hail from certain coastal communities (like Bengal, Orissa, etc.) but more often than not, "Vegetarian" means No eggs, No Fish, No meat.
  - chimeracoder 13y ago
    > That might be true for people who hail from certain coastal communities (like Bengal, Orissa, etc.) Right, the fish part is mostly in areas where fish is already a staple of the diet. My point was that "vegetarian" for many Indians is similar to "vegan" in that it proscribes eggs (though not always dairy).
    - babysteps 13y ago
      I personally use the term 'pure vegetarian'.
untog 13y ago
To be fair, I don't think the OP uses the word 'vegan' anywhere in his post. My vegetarian friends often get irritated when people confuse them for vegans. "Yes, of course I eat eggs. Yes, of course I drink milk"

kroger 13y ago

There are 250+ vegetarian restaurants and stores in London: http://www.happycow.net/disp_results_address.php?distance=15&lat=51.5184&lon=-0.13699&list[]=vegan&list[]=vegetarian&list[]=store&sortby=0&kw= http://www.happycow.net/disp_results_address.php?distance=15... EDIT: London also has a vibrant vegetarian culture with many veggie groups. For instance, there's a very nice meetup group with almost 2000 people that convene regularly: http://www.meetup.com/vegetarian-419/ http://www.meetup.com/vegetarian-419/ And a vegan meetup group: http://www.meetup.com/londonvegan/ http://www.meetup.com/londonvegan/

kroger 13y ago

If you want famous vegetarians: http://vegan.wikia.com/wiki/Famous_Vegans_and_Vegetarians http://vegan.wikia.com/wiki/Famous_Vegans_and_Vegetarians http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_vegetarians http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_vegetarians EDIT: Wow, even Bill Clinton is vegan now: http://www.aarp.org/health/healthy-living/info-08-2013/bill-clinton-vegan.html http://www.aarp.org/health/healthy-living/info-08-2013/bill-...