A vegan Burger King branch opened its doors today - and we visited the restaurant to test out its new range.
The revamped London Leicester Square restaurant is serving fully plant-based fare, including its well-reviewed meat-free Whopper and Royale alongside a 'cheeeze and bakon' burger.
The fast-food chain has told how it plans to serve a 50% meat-free menu by 2030 - but will customers be interested.
The Mirror visited the restaurant today, with one meat-eater and vegetarian in tow to review the limited menu, which is available until April 10.
The fast-food chain has even said it will be keeping an eye on the most popular items on the menu, with a view to making some of them nationally available in the future.
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Other options include the Vegan Nugget Burger, a Plant-based Double Cheeezeburger, as well as sides Vegan Chilli Cheeeze Bites.
Our review
Clearly, there's a massive demand for vegan products, as we rock up to find a queue of hungry customers snaking around busy Leicester Square on Monday afternoon.
Waiting patiently in line, Nicola Jones, from Chichester who turned vegan four years ago after 35-years as a vegetarian.
She told the Mirror: 'We came up to London for the weekend, saw this and knew that we had to try it.
"The fact it's all meat-free, that's really reassuring as you know it won't be contaminated. We were surprised to see it so thought we had to support it."
Meanwhile, Eleisha Kennedy, who has been a vegan for six years, said she was intrigued by the range on offer despite not being a self-professed fast food fan.
She said: "My friend told me it was happening so I thought I'd nip over from work out of curiosity. I think choices are so much better now, when I turned vegan, I'd have to be content with chips and salad.
"I don't eat a lot of fast food and I'm not too keen on those companies, but it's a little treat. It's mostly curiosity.
"I'm most excited about the nuggets, as who doesn't like a chicken nugget?"
Tourist Kathy Alvrez, who was visiting from California, said she was always intrigued to try the new vegan fare.
She said: "I wanted to support this launch, I've been vegan for ten years and menus have changed a lot.
"I'm keen to try a milkshake and chicken nuggets. I would like to try it all. It's nice not having to wonder if it's actually vegan.
"I'm pretty relaxed but it's good to know that it's all safe to eat."
Meat-eater Rosaleen Fenton and vegetarian Zahra Khaliq visited the new spot - and left seriously impressed
Chilli Cheeze Bites
Zahra: I can’t tell that the cheese is vegan, it melts beautifully and tastes just like the regular chilli cheese bites that you’ll find in regular chicken shops dotted around the UK. It has a slightly spicy kick and salty aftertaste.
Rosie: I am stunned by the revelation that vegan cheese can be melty, delicious and have a consistency that doesn't leave me wanting to vomit. These are a total triumph. The batter is lovely and thin, and it actually has a slightly spicy kick, unlike most high-street products with chilli in it.
Vegan Nuggets
Zahra: These are very convincing, and similar in style to the Quorn veggie nuggets and McDonald’s chicken nuggets. They have a crispy outer layer, texture and taste very similar to that of a regular chicken nugget, although they have a slight aftertaste of oil.
Rosie: The humble chicken nugget could happily disappear off the shelves forever, and I don't think most meat-eaters would notice. These are delicious, with a nice crispy batter. Perfect to pair with a nice spicy or sweet sauce for dipping.
Cheeze & Bakon Whopper
Zahra: The tastes just like beef, while the bacon is smoky and tastes very similar to real bacon. When you combine the salad, sauces, bacon and burger patty, it tastes just like a regular beef burger, the varying flavours and textures work very well together
Rosie: This was the burger I had the lowest expectations for, but actually it turned out to be my favourite. A total triumph. The 'bakon' had a nice smoky flavour, while the cheeze was distinctively cheese-like. I would happily return just to eat this burger. 10/10.
Katsu Chilli Whopper
Zahra: The blander option of the menu - could be better if it had more of a variety of flavours and textures like the cheese and bacon whopper. Lacks freshness (no herby/crunchy greens) and was a little burnt, with an aftertaste.
Rosie: This wasn't my favourite. Unlike a meat patty, the vegan burger didn't hold up that well to being chargrilled. The curry sauce is tasty, but I agree with Zahra, it is crying out for some herbs and crunchy greens, possibly in a zingy dressing. A little bit cloying.
Vegan Royale
Zahra: This is supposed to imitate the taste of chicken, the patty is quite flat and the texture is not overly similar to chicken, but overall it is still tasty!
Rosie: There are better fake chicken burgers out there, but this is pleasantly tasty, with a nice coating. Could perhaps do with something jazzier than mayonnaise in it, possibly a hot sauce? It feels a little flat, but the bread roll is surprisingly decent.
The full meat-free menu includes:
- Vegan Nugget Burger
- Vegan Royale
- Vegan Cheeeze & Bakon Royale
- Vegan Cheeeze Royale
- Vegan Katsu Royale
- Plant-based Katsu Chilli Whopper®
- Plant-based Whopper®
- Plant-based Cheeeze Whopper®
- Plant-based Cheeeze & Bakon Whopper®
- Plant-based Whopper Jr®
- Plant-based Cheeeze Whopper Jr®
- Plant-based Hamburger
- Plant-based Cheeezeburger
- Plant-based Double Cheeezeburger
- Plant-based Bakon Double Cheeezeburger
- Plant-based Bakon Double Cheeeze XL
- Plant-Based Double Whopper®
- Plant-based King Jr® Hamburger Meal
- Plant-based King Jr® Cheeezeburger Meal
- Vegan King Jr® Nugget Meal
- Vegan Fries
- Vegan Nuggets
- Vegan Chilli Cheeeze bites
- Plant-based Onion Rings
- Ben & Jerry's® Cookie on Cookie Dough Non-Dairy Ice Cream
Katie Evans, from Burger King UK said: "We’re incredibly proud of our new meat-free menu; it absolutely delivers on big taste with no compromises and reflects our ongoing commitment to serving our customers a diverse and innovative range of products.
"The limited-edition menu is a direct result of our focus on vegan and plant-based innovation and goes hand in hand with our target of a 50% meat-free menu by 2030, as well as our commitment to sustainability and responsible business. We can’t think of a more fitting way to re-launch our new-look flagship in Leicester Square.”
"The restaurant chain has committed to reducing emissions including those from purchased goods and services, capital distribution and waste generated in operations and franchises, with the new Leicester Square store being an example of this."
