Vegetarian or eating out with a vegetarian friend, date or client? Or do you just avoid meat when you don't know where it's come from? Forget a lifetime of mushroom risotto, goat's cheese and creamy pasta; an increasing number of London restaurants are doing great non-meat dishes. Here are some member favourites from our restaurant team, and please contact us with more places you recommend so we can add them to the list.
Restaurant Gordon Ramsay
68 Royal Hospital Road, London SW3 4HP
Chef Ramsay's relationship with vegetarians can best be described as ‘turbulent', and he rarely misses a chance to provoke the ire of those who abstain from eating meat. It's surprising, then, that his three Michelin-starred Chelsea restaurant has a special veggie tasting menu that matches the meat plates in both flavour and presentation, so you can enjoy fine dining without the foie gras.
Hereford Road
3 Hereford Road, Westbourne Grove, London W2 4AB
Hereford Road is as passionately inventive about courgettes and beans as it is about pigs' trotters. If you can bear sitting next to people eating eel you'll taste some of London's best vegetarian combinations.
Morgan M
489 Liverpool Road, Islington, London N7 8NS
This is a rare beast: a French restaurant with a special à la carte selection for vegetarians and a six-course veggie tasting menu. Members say it's 'inventive' and praise its 'quirky presentation'.
Scott's
20 Mount Street, London W1K 2HE
Fashionable Scott's is primarily a fish restaurant, but also has a good vegetarian and vegan selection. With its dramatic decor, complete with fish tank and chandelier, it has a formal, traditional atmosphere that inspires diners to dress up. This Mayfair venue takes bookings three months in advance, and the quality of the food means it's very popular. It can be a little tricky to get a table, so talk to us about booking, with as much notice as possible.
Kai
65 South Audley Street, London W1K 2QU
Chinese food is normally out of bounds for vegetarians but Kai, a lovely Mayfair restaurant, uses meat substitutes to make many standard Chinese dishes accessible to veggies. Our restaurant expert Hernan Castro Vidal says: ‘This is some of the best Chinese food I've ever tasted, and the meat-free dishes are an experience that may even convert a few carnivores.'
More ideas
Middle Eastern, Asian, Indian and Spanish restaurants are generally safe bets for vegetarians as they usually offer a wide choice of meat-free dishes. Member favourites in these categories include Asia de Cuba for its trendy, upbeat atmosphere and fusion food, and the Michelin-starred Amaya, which offers a tapas-style approach to modern Indian cooking. Momo Resto has a North African menu of couscous and tagine dishes while Providores' approach to global fusion cuisine has won many fans among both vegetarian and meat-eating members.
Asia de Cuba, 45 St Martin's Lane, London WC2N 4HX
Amaya, Halkin Arcade, 19 Motcomb Street, Knightsbridge, London SW1X 8JT
Momo, 25 Heddon Street, London W1B 4BH
Providores, 109 Marylebone High Street, London W1U 4RX
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