Once I first determined to provide this complete vegan factor a attempt practically 10 years in the past, plant-based meals was simply starting to tip into the mainstream within the UK. It wasn’t widespread by any means, however you may often discover a handful of vegan cheese choices, a couple of dairy-free milks, and the British vegetarian staple: Linda McCartney sausages, or on the very least, a packet of Quorn mince in most supermarkets.
The meals was accessible sufficient that going plant-based felt achievable. I might refill on a couple of staples at what we Brits affectionately name “huge Tesco” (it’s technically a Tesco Further, however nobody truly calls it that), then head to the small plant-based store I used to be fortunate sufficient to reside close to for extra thrilling meats and cheeses.
A decade on, issues have modified dramatically. The UK is now top-of-the-line locations on the earth to be vegan, with absolutely stocked supermarkets, fast-food choices, and thriving unbiased eating places. However it’s not all sunshine and rainbows. Listed below are 5 issues I like about being vegan within the UK, and the one factor I don’t.
Tesco
1 The UK excels at vegan groceries
The UK’s vegan growth took off within the late 2010s and accelerated into the early 2020s. The nation’s largest manufacturers and grocery store chains—Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda—leapt on the pattern. Quickly, cabinets have been full of the whole lot from plant-based meats and milks to cheeses, frozen pizzas, and chocolate.
I’m joyful to report that this abundance hasn’t disappeared. Once I first went vegan, I waved goodbye to my favourite lunch: a tuna sweetcorn sandwich drowned in mayonnaise. At the moment, I can decide up each vegan ingredient for a convincing alternative at my native Tesco.
However there’s a draw back to all this mainstream accessibility. That small plant-based retailer I as soon as relied on is now not open. I’m ashamed to confess my customized waned over time. Though I nonetheless tried to pop in often for a tofu rooster wrap or a bath of dietary yeast, the fact is that many unbiased vegan companies merely can’t compete on worth with main grocery store chains. And through a cost-of-living disaster, worth turns into a deciding issue for many consumers.
McDonald’s
2 The McPlant period
One key concern earlier than I went vegan? Lengthy drives. Or, extra particularly, what I used to be going to eat at a gasoline station to get me by hours on the street, whether or not I used to be heading off for a weekend away or a painfully early airport run.
Fortunately, the fast-food gods heard my prayers. And by “fast-food gods,” I imply soulless multinational firms, at all times desperate to money in on a rising pattern.
First got here the vegan sausage roll from Greggs. Launched in 2019, the common-or-garden plant-based pastry grew to become a full-blown cultural second. It dominated headlines, despatched prospects queueing out the door, and reportedly helped flip the bakery chain’s fortunes round. As a vegan—and a meals author—it was an undeniably thrilling time to be listening to the UK’s plant-based scene.
Greggs’ success opened the floodgates. KFC shocked everybody with a vegan rooster burger. Burger King rolled out a plant-based Whopper. Papa John’s critically upped its vegan pizza recreation. After which, in 2022, the McPlant lastly landed on McDonald’s menus throughout the UK.
Crucially, these weren’t limited-time novelties—they caught round. Which signifies that at present, an extended drive is now not powered by chips and remorse, however by a meaty burger and fries.
Jam Delish
3 London, Brighton, Bristol: the holy vegan trinity
I reside in Portsmouth, a coastal metropolis south of London. There are a few vegan eateries right here, which I’m eternally grateful for, but it surely’s not precisely what you’d name a vegan paradise.
Luckily, England is a small nation, and only a few hours on the prepare can take me to London, Brighton, or Bristol—three bustling cities full of unbiased vegan eating places. In reality, every has been topped the “vegan capital of the UK” at one level or one other. In 2022, Brighton even claimed the title of “vegan capital of the world,” in accordance with Chef’s Pencil.
A couple of private favorites? Jam Delish, a family-run Caribbean spot in North London, for oyster mushroom “rooster” with Jamaican gravy; Purezza for out-of-this-world vegan pizza; and Bristol’s Koocha Mezze Bar for a mountain of seitan döner.
I’m a southerner, so entry to those three vegan utopias comes pretty simply. However the plant-based love isn’t restricted to the south. Up north, Manchester and Sheffield each ship on the vegan entrance, and in Scotland, you gained’t be dissatisfied by Glasgow or Edinburgh.
PizzaExpress
4 Consuming out with out the side-salad spiral
Typically, I eat at non-vegan eating places. That’s partly as a result of I reside in a metropolis with restricted vegan-only choices, and partly as a result of not all of my family and friends are vegan. However in recent times, most eating places—whether or not unbiased spots or nationwide chains—have stepped as much as cater to plant-based diners.
It’s not at all times assured, however for essentially the most half, I can now stroll right into a restaurant with out checking the menu prematurely, assured there will probably be at the very least one vegan major on provide. This hasn’t at all times been the case. Once I first went plant-based, eating out usually meant counting on the failsafe mixture of facet salad and fries. Fortunately, these days are largely behind us, and the overwhelming majority of eateries now make a real effort to accommodate vegans.
As for one of the best chain eating places for vegans within the UK, it will be remiss to not point out Wagamama. Whereas its vegan choices are always altering—usually simply after you’ve discovered a brand new favourite—there are at all times a number of plant-based dishes on the menu. Different dependable mentions embrace Pho, PizzaExpress, Invoice’s, Thaikhun, and Banana Tree.
The Roundhill Pub
5 The standard Sunday nut roast
The Sunday roast is a British establishment. Fortunately, it was by no means a significant concern for me once I went vegan, as a result of alongside the normal meat choices, the nut roast has lengthy been a pub staple. And, reassuringly, that’s nonetheless very a lot the case.
Whereas the dish would possibly look meat-centric at first look, a lot of a very good Sunday roast truly revolves across the supporting solid: crispy roast potatoes, tender greens like carrots and parsnips, and beneficiant piles of pink cabbage. Vegan gravy is now straightforward to come back by, and stuffing is simply as satisfying when made plant-based. The nut roast merely slides into place.
For the easiest vegan Sunday roast experiences, although, you may’t beat a totally vegan pub. London’s The Unfold Eagle and Brighton’s The Roundhill Pub are each extremely rated.
Subway
The one factor I don’t love? Mainstream vegan meals has stopped taking dangers
Pay attention, I do know I’m fortunate. I’m a vegan dwelling within the south of the UK, with easy accessibility to London and Brighton in 2026. It’s precisely the type of future the OG vegans of the Nineteen Seventies have been dreaming about.
However the UK’s vegan scene isn’t excellent. Just like the US, we’ve seen a wave of vegan restaurant closures in recent times—a casualty of wider issues within the hospitality business and an ongoing cost-of-living disaster. Unbiased spots, usually essentially the most artistic ones, have been hit particularly arduous.
Getty, IKEA, Subway | Photograph illustration by Richard Bowie
Mainstream vegan meals doesn’t appear to be going anyplace, however its sense of journey feels prefer it’s dwindling. Falafel has change into the default possibility (ahem, Subway), changing a interval when manufacturers and eating places have been genuinely experimenting. Vegan dishes are nonetheless showing on menus, however they’re being simplified, pared again, and performed secure. Even giants like McDonald’s have slimmed down their vegetarian choices, quietly axing a lot of the vary whereas retaining the McPlant in place.
That mentioned, there’s proof to counsel the vegan motion is solely going by a pure reset after an explosive interval of development. And truthfully, I purchase it. Ten years in the past, I couldn’t have imagined the UK now we have at present. So I’m optimistic about the place we’ll be in 2036.
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Charlotte is a VegNews editor and author primarily based in sunny Southsea on England’s southern coast.
