I’ve been visiting London for years and always love exploring new areas and finding new things to eat. On my my Dec 2022 / Jan 2023 trip I didn’t have a lot of intense time-sensitive plans, which left me with lots of time to enjoy a long meal or take a reservation at an odd time to fit in more snacks.

The only restaurant you wont see below is Silo, which deserved it’s own dedicated post because of how amazing it was. That is definitely a must-do experience, but for everything else see below for my favorites!

My #1 Favorite Spot: Farmacy

Tucked away in the Notting Hill / Portobello road area north of Hyde Park, this gem of a restaurant was so good I went twice during my time in London. I loved the décor, and the different menu options (dinner vs brunch, etc.). What can I say: feed me delicious vegan food in a gorgeous setting, paired with good service and I’m there. For my veggie friends visiting London, add this to the top of the list.

My #2 Favorite Spot: Wulf & Lamb (Chelsea Location)

This restaurant is tucked mostly upstairs on a cute small street near Sloan Square. My lentil jackfruit dish + sides were lovely, the service was kind and un-rushed, and the overall ambiance was very relaxed and calming (partially due to the fact that I went kind of early and it wasn’t busy yet). I think this would be a lovely spot for a nice date night full of long conversations.

Some Honorable Mentions

Group Dinner: Dishoom (Carnaby Location)

I went to Dishoom in SoHo / Mayfair with a group of about 20 people. We had pre-booked so it was a lovely raucous affair. They had a special vegan menu that they used for me that I super appreciated it.
Definitely check them out at any of their locations, but the main one in Carnaby is best.
I had a great meal, but since it was in a big group / part of a set course meal I can’t really comment on the regular menu or typical experience. Everything was delicious but I’ll have to go back in the future to get the “regular” dining experience.

Burger: Veggie Jimmy’s

On my last night in town I needed a quick meal and had earmarked Veggie Jimmy’s for a solid looking burger. They did NOT disappoint. Sometimes you just need a burger.

THe Mixed Reaction: Holy Carrot

EDIT - Location Note: I went to the Knightsbridge location but as of the end of May 2023, that location is closing. They are moving to a new home in Noting Hill (Opening Autumn 2023). See their website for more info.

Overall: food was good but the service was…. bad. Short version is that I enjoyed the food & décor, but had service that was downright negligent. I hate being negative about an otherwise lovely meal, but the service really put me off and I hope they were just having a bad / busy night & that they train their people better as they open the new location. If you don’t want to read the whole rant below… just see if they do take-out and try that because the food was very good but the bad service was not worth the time.

Now for the more long-winded story time: I had a reservation for 7pm, I was seated on time, I ordered a cocktail from the host that sat me. The host brought me my cocktail and a waiter appeared so I could order three apps (below pic on the left) and an entrée (the mushroom dish in the right pic below). The apps came out a while later via servers from the kitchen, but an actual waiter for my table was barely evident. I then got my entrée at 8pm. During that hour between sitting down and receiving my main entrée, I was never asked if I’d like another cocktail and I barely saw my waiter after they took my order. I even had to flag down one of the kitchen servers to get water. Overall I got the feeling that the kitchen was backed up and they may have been low on servers that night. It happens, I had a book and good food, I wouldn’t have minded. But DAMN the service that first hour+ was… practically negligent in how little I interacted with ANYONE working there who wasn’t someone physically handing me a dish and then running away.

Then the weirdest part happened. So at this point it’s about 8:20/25-ish, not even a full 1.5 hours after my seating time yet. I’ve managed to wrangle a set of to-go boxes from yet another of the harried kitchen servers (seriously where was my actual waiter?) and was sitting at my table, food boxed up, cleaned off plates neatly stacked, just looking around for anyone to bring me a bill so I could leave. Instead, the host (who had delivered me my first and only drink but who had otherwise not been part of my meal after that) came over. Before I could even ask for a bill, he asked if I would please move to the bar if I wanted to have another cocktail.

I don’t know if he was particularly unobservant or just had another reservation breathing down his neck ready to sit down right at 8:30, but after receiving practically no service, being served somewhat delayed food, and then not seeing anyone to even flag down to ask for a bill…. his request was a bit jarring. I responded that I had been sitting here, just waiting for a server to bring me a bill so I could leave. That seemed to confuse him slightly so he finally looked down and realized my table was clear and I had my coat on… so he went off to find my waiter. They finally appeared and I was able to pay and leave.

For a restaurant in a nice area of London, and at that price point… I was shocked at both the rush at the end of my meal and the fact that I was neglected / downright ignored by the wait staff during it. Very odd, very surprising. I know there are are only a handful of nice / higher-end vegan restaurants in any city. But to have one of the “nicer” ones have service this bad just made me sad.

Final verdict: If you want to try the vegan food goodness and can get take out or maybe go at a super not-busy time, do that. But do NOT go at a busy time because it was…. not great.