Want to veg out? Here are the best places to feel at home, meat‑free.
Glasgow: Shawlands
The spiritual home of the battered sausage is now a veritable vegan utopia, with Shawlands the suburban hotspot. Ranjit’s Kitchen and MalaCarne (smoky chickpeas on sourdough, £6.95) are popular veggie restaurants. Get your vegan haggis fix at Hooked or check out Brooklyn Cafe for a variety of plant-based delights. Vegan Connections and the Scotland Vegan Festival mean locals won’t get bored.
Bath
The veggie fine-dining restaurant Acorn recently went vegan (try the whole cauliflower “cooked in various ways”), but plant-eating residents were already sitting pretty. Other “vg”-friendly eateries serving up an array of treats include Beyond the Kale, Cascara, Nourish, Sky Blue Cafe and Roots & Shoots. The launch of the citywide Herbitour means no one will go hungry, Ecojam champions all things green, and Bath Vegetarians and Vegans organise regular events.
Bristol: Stokes Croft
Bristol has long been a hotbed of veganism — it’s the home of the animal-rights group Viva!, there’s a website dedicated to plant-based businesses, and three of its four MPs are vegetarian or vegan. Boho Stokes Croft is our pick: Koocha Mezze, Flow and Suncraft are recommended, and the vegan non-profit cafe and community space Cafe Kino is the place to talk tofu.
Glossop, Derbyshire
The vegan life is not just an urban philosophy. This Peak District market town has a fully plant-based pub (the Globe, where a bowl of vegan chilli costs £3.40), two veggie cafes (Pepino Deli and Shepley’s) and a vegan shop to (non-leather) boot. The cheery community spirit and extensive range at Glossop Wholefoods draws visitors from far afield.
Leeds: Headingley
Another university town makes the vegan cut. While the centre has the best options for eating out (Bundobust, Cantina), Headingley is the place to live. The Natural Food Store, a co-operative with more than 200 members, helps to unite the plant-based community, and Mardin, a vegan-friendly Turkish joint, has been joined by the fully vegan Vital Cafe. Ecco Pizzeria does a delicious slice.
London: Brixton
The capital is teeming with veggie offerings, with vegan markets in Clapham, Soho, Notting Hill and Walthamstow, and active groups from Wood Green to Worcester Park. Best place of all is Brixton, which has a market, countless restaurants, a specialist cupcake shop and La Fauxmagerie, Britain’s first vegan cheesemonger, which has been selling dairy-free feta and cheddar-style “Farmhouse” since February.
Sheffield: Abbeydale Road
Vegan menus are booming in the steel city, with the Incredible Nutshell, the Heartcure Collective social centre and a vegan festival that’s in its fourth year. Abbeydale Road has Red Haus cafe, a veggie deli, That There, Ajanta’s Vegetarian and the fully vegan World Peace Cafe.
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