Long gone are the days when a herbivore could go hungry in London. Vegetarians and vegans alike are well served now, with a growing number of restaurants boasting not just the odd token dish, but plant-based menus — even, at some places, an exclusively plant-based offering.
While much of the veggie-centric scene has sprung up over the past few years, its innovators are institutions in their own right: Soho-born Mildred’s has five outposts; Sagar serves South Indian vegetarian and vegan cuisine from Harrow to Covent Garden; and The Gate in Hammersmith, one of the very first vegetarian restaurants to open in London, has an Islington outlet. But The Gate shows something else interesting too: where once there were four Gates, the loss of two perhaps is an indication that exclusively vegetarian spots are somewhat on the wane — not because they aren’t up to scratch, but because the competition is stiffer from more mainstream spots. The welcome upshot of all this is that groups that are mixed between those eating meat and those avoiding it are better served than ever.
