All posts tagged: London

#174 Sandwiches and wraps from Pret a Manger, London

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restaurant review #174 – Pret a Manger is a ‘healthy’ fastfood chain with several restos around the world (UK, US, France, and now also one in the Netherlands in Utrecht). One can easily recognise the restaurants with the distinguishable red logo. Pret A Manger offers light breakfast and lunch options, like soup, salads, baguettes and wraps, and has several items suitable for vegans. Some of their locations are also vegetarian (veggie prets, with vegan options) and have a characteristic green design. We have visited several Pret a Manger in London. Technically, this is not really a restaurant review, as we did not have our meals on site, but simply bought take away. But I wanted to post some photos of the food we bought at Pret a Manger during our last trip to London. All in all: good value for money, a good and freshly prepared snack. The amount of plastic packaging is a real pity though. The website mentions that Pret a Manger wants to have 100% recycable, reusable or compostable plastic, and eliminate all unnecessary …

#171 Vegan donuts at Dough Society, London

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restaurant review #171 – Dough Society is a vegan donut cafe in the far East of London, in Hackney. It is located in a side alley of Mare Street. — Update – see below Standard donuts are £3, specialties  (labelled with *) are £3,5. I have no idea whether that is considered cheap or expensive (no experience in donuts 😉 ) but it seemed fair value to us. We ordered two donuts, one with peanut butter and banana, and one with peanut butter and pretzel (both £3,5). And a latte (£2,8). The donuts were very nice! And they were rather big, we could have easily just shared one (seeing that this was meant to be just an in between snack). Although there was a wall with some plants at the back of the cafe, the atmosphere felt kind of cold and not so cosy. Not so comfortable hard wooden chairs and barstools (some cushions would be nice). Everything at Dough Society is at ground level, with a no-stepp access. Forgot to take a photo of …

#152 All you can eat vegan buffet at 222 Veggie Vegan, London

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restaurant review #152 – 222 Veggie Vegan is a vegan restaurant on the West side of London (West-Kensington). The 222 refers to the street number of the place (for some this might seem obvious, but it wasn’t at first to us 😉 ). It is just next to vegan shop Greenbay, so this is a nice combination to visit. 222 Veggie Vegan offers a vegan buffet for lunch. Dinner is a la carte. The buffet is all you can eat, and at £9,50 is very cheap, especially considering other prices in London. The buffet isn’t that elaborate, but certainly enough different options to fill a varied plate. There’s also the option to fill a tray from the buffet and take your lunch home with you. This was my lunch: The restaurant itself was really busy and we just managed to get a spot at the long communal table in the middle. Seats were pretty close to each other and it felt really busy and crowded. Not really that comfortable. Also sometimes quite a queue at the …

#149 Lovely dinner in Primrose Hill: vegan resto Manna, London

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restaurant review #149 – Manna is a vegan restaurant in London and has recently celebrated it’s 50th anniversary! It is located just north of Primrose Hill, where one has a lovely view over the city (see photos below). After a steep walk uphill (in my case a roll, which went much better downhill than up 😉 ),  we went for some drinks to a nearby pub, and then had dinner at Manna. It is actually also very close to Camden, so it could easily be combined with a trip to Camden market. We had some drinks. All wines were said to be vegan (also mentioned on the menu card). This is what we had for dinner: basil ceshew cheeze croquettes (£8) vegetable tempura (£8) bangers and mash (£14) chef’s special: nut roast (£14) mezze dessert: cheesecake, sticky coffee pudding, raw timbal tart, and sorbets and icecream (£23 for two) Although we were quite stuffed, we didn’t want to miss out on dessert and ordered the mezze dessert (shared platter for two). We got this. OMG! …

Bombed, shot, shell shocked and killed. Animals in War Memorial, London

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On our last city trip to London last Summer, we visited the Animals in War Memorial. It is located on the upper East side of Hyde Park at the Brook Gate.  On our previous visit to London (for the Intersectionality conference at VegfestUK, Nov 2016) we barely got a glimpse of the monument as we passed by with a cab on busy Park Lane, but a large truck in the lane next to us was unfortunately blocking our view on the Memorial. The memorial was designed by English sculptor David Backhouse to commemorate “all the animals that served, suffered and died alongside the British, Commonwealth and Allied forces in the wars and conflicts of the 20th century” (quote from Animals in War Memorial). It was unveiled in November 2004*. I have very mixed feelings about memorials and monuments dedicated to animals who have ‘served’ for law enforcement, as soldiers, as bomb sniffers or protection guards. One the one hand, it is heartwarming to see so many people care about the animal victims of war, and commemorate them …

Take a look inside vegan shop Greenbay, London

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shop review #41 – Greenbay is a vegan shop in London. It is located on the west side of town (West Kensington, West Brompton). Quite a bit away from the ‘centre’ of London. We visited the shop when we were in London for a couple of days this Summer. Practically next door is vegan restaurant 222 VeggieVegan, which we visited for lunch (review will follow). We also stopped at nearby Brompton cemetary, which was quite impressive – see pic. It is not really a ‘supermarket’ (as it says on their website), but a rather small store, with two aisles. Packed with vegan goodies though! From cosmetcis and body and care products, to vegan wines, vegan cheezes, candy, ice cream,  and other food items. We always find it so relaxing and reassuring to look around in a vegan shop. No sudden confrontation with freezers full of dead animal parts. And not having to check labels and just being able to choose whatever you want is so comforting. Although we saw a lot of products that we were …

#142 Light lunch at vegan resto Redemption, London

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restaurant review #142 – Redemption is a vegan restaurant in London, on the upper east side of Hyde Park. We had visited the Museum of Brands and Packaging that morning, which is not so well known, but very worthwhile (see pic below)! Everyday products and packages from 19th century life till present day. Really fascinating! After a stroll down Portobello Road in Notting Hill where the famous (and very touristic) Portobello market is (too crowded, too much noise) we headed towards Redemption. Redemption is a bright space with large windows and lots of light coming in. Nicely renovated (modern, but still classic and sober). Tables are not so closely placed together, so one can enjoy lunch or dinner in a relaxed atmosphere. There’s also a terrace in front, but the restaurant is located at a busy bus stop, so it did not seem very enjoyable to have our lunch outside with busses driving on and off. Redemption also offers take away. Everything is not only vegan, but also wheat free, sugar free and the restaurant …

#139 Hustle and bustle in Soho. Dinner at Mildreds, London

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Restaurant review #139 – Mildreds is a vegetarian restaurant in London, and has four locations: Soho, Camden, Kings Cross and Dalston. We went to the one in Soho during our short trip to London this Summer. It is in the south side of Soho, near the very busy Piccadilly Circus. We could not make a reservation, as the restaurant has a no booking policy (which we do find quite annoying, and has left us avoiding certain places in the past). But we had no other dinner plans for that first evening in London, and the restaurant was not too far from out hotel, so we headed there early hoping to get a spot. We arrived a bit before 6PM, and luckily, there was still space. Vegan options are clearly indicated on the menu and the wine list also clearly indicates the vegan wines (I think they were all vegan). We were served free water, which was nice! Glass of wine was £5,5. This what we had for dinner: Gyoza dumplings, £6 Hummus, £6 Wood roasted …

#136 Gastronomic dining at The Gate, London

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restaurant review #136 – The Gate is vegetarian restaurant in London. It has three locations: one in Islington, one in Hammersmith, and one in Marylebone, which is the one we went to. View this post on Instagram Very nice dinner at The Gate! #london Vegetarian restaurant with vegan options. Review will follow on 🌿🌿 brugesvegan.com 🌿🌿 #veganlondon #london #gastronomic #vegansofig #vegansofbelgium #gastronomical #culinairy #seymourplace #restaurant #vegan #vegetarianrestaurant #thegatelondon @gaterestaurant A post shared by trudi_brugesvegan (@trudi_brugesvegan) on Aug 13, 2017 at 2:01am PDT The Gate in Marylebone is located in a calm street, quite a contrast with the hustle and bustle of nearby Oxford Street. It has a large terrace in front, and two restaurants rooms (one on ground floor, and one in basement). It is a more fancy, ‘restaurant like’ place, with gastronomic creations. Vegan options are clearly indicated on the menu. The winelist also mentions which drinks are vegan. This is what we had for dinner: Artichoke terrine, £8, truffle & hazelnut infused artichoke, homemade sundried tomato & basil salsa, crispy bread  Tofu Tikka, …

Take a look around! Adding travel snapshots to reviews

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A couple of weeks ago, I decided to add snapshots of the surroundings to blogposts. So whenever I publish a post with a review of a shop or restaurant, there are now not only photos of the restaurant, but also one or two photos, or even a short video, of the area. A city view, a particular monument, or a spectacular landscape. It gives you an idea of the surroundings (albeit just a glimp), and some of the things we have spotted during our visit to that city or area. And for me it’s also a way of documenting some memories from that particular city trip or visit! Here are some of the pics that were included in recent reviews. Some link to Instagram. View this post on Instagram Biking around Louvain #tandem #castle 🚴🚴🚴🚴🚴 #biking #cycling #louvain #leuven #vegancyclist #whatvegansdo #whatspooniesdo #kasteel #castle #kasteelvanarenberg #multicycle #multicycletandem #tandembike #fietsen #duobike A post shared by trudi_brugesvegan (@trudi_brugesvegan) on Sep 5, 2017 at 11:15am PDT View this post on Instagram Biking in Paris 🗼 #paris #tandem #tandembike …