It’s Veganuary, so as you can imagine a lot of places are making changes to their menu – which makes it even easier to find yourself a nice vegan brunch. Whilst your first thought that goes with brunch might be booze, one that may have potentially come a little later down the line would be a vegan brunch. We should all be well past the point of thinking vegan means boring. In fact, if anything vegan food tends to have to be more innovative than its carnivorous counterpart simply due to having a stigma around it of limited choices. To help you find just the right dish, we’ve got this lovely list of eight vegan brunches you’re sure to love.
1. Pizza Pilgrims
Starting off strong we have the pizza maestro’s Pizza Pilgrims. Pizza might not be your first thought for a vegan brunch but in this case, it definitely works. They have the incredible Infinity Pizza offering which is exactly what it sounds like – you can have infinite slices of pizza. Not only that, it also comes with bottomless drinks. For Veganuary, you can sink your teeth into a trio of pizzas – Ve-Du-Ya, Pizz & Love or Vegan Margherita. Pizz & Love is a celebration of Italian veggies with wild broccoli, mushrooms, olives, red onion and artichoke hearts on a tomato base and topped off with a vegan basil pesto. The Vegan Margherita, is exactly what it sounds like – a vegan Margherita pizza made with housemade cashew based vegan ‘Notzarella’. The Ve-Du-Ya takes the Vegan Margherita base and adds a spicy vegan nduja. At a reasonable £37.50, this brunch is an absolute steal.
Don’t worry, if you’re going for a Vegan and Dry January, Pizza Pilgrims have you covered. Non-alcoholic bottomless drinks just for January include Shaken Peach Iced Tea, Amalfi Lemonade, and Cherry Soda. Or for those who want to have a tipple, you can choose from Prosecco, House White, Red, Rose Wine or Camden Beer.
2. Do Yuu Brunch at Yuu Kitchen
If Asian cuisine is more your speed, you’ll definitely want to try Yuu Kitchen’s vegan brunch. Now technically, they offer a vegetarian brunch menu but the reason we’d call it a vegan brunch is that almost every option available is vegan. Even better is that if you let them know on arrival that you’re vegan – they go the extra mile and can make amendments to dishes to make the menu completely vegan. So fear not, you’ll have just as much choice as anyone else and omnivores will also be totally satisfied as there is a separate non-vegan brunch menu available too. The sharing style brunch comes in at £30 for a two hour sitting, but you can opt to make it bottomless when you arrive at the restaurant for an additional charge. If you do go for the bottomless option you’ll be treated to beer & bubbles alongside the delectable selection of food.
3. Barrio
We should all love Barrio as residents or visitors of London. It’s an ever reliable spot with great deals from a variety of happy hour options, great sharing cocktails, and of course a bottomless brunch. Is Barrio going to give you fine dining style vegan dishes that’ll change your life? No. But that’s not what you’re there for. Barrio is the place for a fiesta. With vegan friendly options across their brunch menu and fantastic drinks, it’s sure to be exactly that. You can take your pick of Barrio location with each brunch having a slightly different theme and/or activity that comes alongside your brunch. Yet no matter which one you visit, you’re sure to have a blast.
Shoreditch – La Isla Bonita: 80s Bottomless Brunch & Musical Bingo
Brixton – The Notorious B.I.N.G.O. & Bottomless Brunch
Soho – Cardi B.runch Bottomless R&B Brunch
Covent Garden – La Bamba Musical Bingo & Bottomless Brunch
4. WAVE (We Are Vegan Everything)
WAVE should be a proverbial mainstay on your list when it comes to vegan food in general. Their name sets that out in no uncertain terms with WAVE being an acronym for We Are Vegan Everything. There are two WAVE locations, but in our opinion you’ll want to go for their original Hackney location if you’re looking for a great vegan brunch. This is because although their newly opened Stoke Newington branch does serve food, it’s a lot smaller and doesn’t offer the full WAVE food menu just yet. Whichever location you choose, you know you won’t have to ask yourself what you can or can’t have. So all that’s left is to then make the agonisingly tough decision on just what to have with such a varied and tempting menu that reimagines breakfast favourites, pastries and more.
Even better, for Veganuary there are 2 for 1 offers available at both sites. In Hackney, it’s 2 for 1 on their delightful and fluffy Apple Crumble Pancake stack. Over in Stoke Newington, there’s a location exclusive item in the form of WAVE Waffle Pops that are also 2 for 1. They are a take on Belgian waffles and have a variety of flavours to choose from including peanut butter, golden syrup and ‘La Vie’ bacon, or even a rose, quinoa & vanilla cheesecake number. These 2 for 1 offers are running from Monday to Friday throughout the month.
5. Mildreds
Another heavy hitter in the vegan food landscape is Mildreds. In fact, it might just be the name in London that’s most synonymous with vegan food. The 100% plant based restaurant has six London locations and really caters to all of your needs. They of course have a vegan brunch which we’ll get into a bit more shortly, but they also offer All Day, Kids, and Onion & Garlic free menus. So even the most particular diners should be satisfied. Their brunch (and whole menu to be honest) takes inspiration from around the globe to produce a menu that doesn’t really fit into one niche cuisine. Instead from dish to dish, continents and flavour profiles are flitted through – but each is handled delicately to deliver bold flavours true to their regional inspirations.
For Veganuary, there are also some special additions that have taken inspiration from the Vietnamese Lunar Year. There are three mouth watering new additions, available between January 2 -January 31 – these are Tempeh Rice Cracker Cups to share, Char Siu Mushroom Bánh Mì, and Lemongrass Chick’n Goi Ga. Alongside these are three mocktails a Kumquat Iced Tea, Ha Long Bay Spritz (ruby fermented vermouth, blood orange, bitters, cardamom soda), and Lost Paradise (koko kanu, cacao blanc, coconut juice, lime, agave, soda).
6. The Breakfast Club
The Breakfast Club might just be my favourite brunch spot in London. It’s consistent across locations, the portion sizes are great, and the vibe is always just right – whether you want a quiet chilled brunch or a boozy one. For Veganuary it’s ‘No Meat On Berwick Street‘ with their Soho branch going completely veggie and vegan, and at all locations two new specials have been added. The specials are The Works, a fry-up comprising of Redefine Meat sausages, La Vie bacon, tattie scones, homemade BC posh beans, scrambled tofu, mushrooms & roasted tomatoes & the Posh Sausage Sandwich made up of Redefine Meat sausages, vegan smoked applewood cheese & a tomato chutney sandwiched in ciabatta bread.
This is all part of a wider commitment to improving their vegan and vegetarian menu. Having finally found the right ingredients for them to feel like they can deliver their vegan and veggie vision, these are just the first steps The Breakfast Club is taking. Additionally some of their existing veggie and vegan options have also been updated this month. Don’t be surprised if once all of their new planned changes are implemented it gets even more difficult to get a table at The Breakfast Club.
7. Bill’s
Bill’s has partnered with THIS™ for a number of vegan specials available across Bill’s locations. The partnership sees Bill’s become the exclusive restaurant launch partner of the THIS™ Isn’t Streaky Bacon Rashers (only available at Bill’s). These rashers are front and centre in the THIS™ Plant Plate, which is a brunch option that replicates a Full English breakfast including scrambled OGGS® and THIS™ Isn’t Pork Sausage. So at least for this month, you won’t feel like you’re being short changed on your fry-up experience. There are also two additional All Day vegan dishes that have been added to the menu which are the THIS™ Chicken & Bacon Wellington and Bill’s X THIS™ Bacon Mac & Cheese. You can find out more and book a table here.
8. Boy Toy Bottomless Brunch!
If you like your brunch to come with a show, look no further than the Boy Toy Bottomless Brunch. Taking over Bar Salsa Temple, The Boy Toys Male Cabaret Variety Show brings four hours of fun including acrobats, butlers in the buff, and of course dancers. Hosting duties are handled by Miss Honey Foxx, the fabulous drag host-with-the-most, who will guide the afternoon’s spicy fun and entertainment. Whilst you’re there alongside your show you have one and a half hours of bottomless bubbles or mimosas (orange juice available on request) as well as two food courses.
Bonus: Gatsby’s Room, The Beaumont Hotel
Last but not least we have Gatsby’s Room, at The Beaumont Hotel. Now technically, this isn’t a vegan brunch. It’s Afternoon Tea, which we admit isn’t the same but it is quite close when you think about it – there’s dishes and/or drinks which could be had at breakfast or lunch time. And anyway who says there’s any strict rules around what is and isn’t brunch? The Vegan Afternoon Tea at The Beaumont is executive chef Ben Boeynaems’s transatlantic twist on the classic offering, offering vegan treats and sandwiches inspired by iconic staples from across the pond. There is a range of fresh bread and sweet treats that pair excellently with Gatsby’s extensive selection of JING teas, classic and rare teas, and herbal infusions.