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Two Days London – Part 2 “The Food”

June 24, 2016

Time flies! The trip to London is already over two weeks ago but it was so fun that I still carry the memories around with me. The colorful houses, the morning atmosphere in Hyde Park, that amazing movie theatre in Notting Hill, the stroll over Camden flea market… though I already shared most of the impressions in my last blogpost, there is still a big part missing. The foood! Always important and deserving of its own blogpost. 😉 London has such a big vegan/vegetarian food scene, which makes it real fun to eat out. I really wish I could try it all, but for now I’m sharing all of the plant-based deliciousness that I was able to stuff my face with in two days. 😉

 

26 Grains London

 

26 Grains

Let’s start with breakfast! When I found out that there is a cafe in London that serves porridge only, in all kinds of sweet and savory variations, I knew I had to go. The idea of such a place makes me pretty excited. You know, wanting to wave-my-arms-in-the-rollercoaster-kinda excited. Everything on the menu of 26 Grains sounded so good and it was a tiny bit frustrating that I was only able to try one porridge. But boy did I go wild on the toppings to make up for that. So this is what I had: blueberry oat porridge with almond milk, almond butter, strawberries, cardamom granola, maple syrup and matcha ice cream. Oh my, this was so good and topping warm porridge with ice cream was one of the best inspirations I took from London. Yes to that! And also yes to the hot turmeric chocolate I drank there. Breakfast deluxe.

 

Itadaki Zen London

 

Itadaki Zen

Lately I’ve become more and more curious about Japanese cuisine. Veg-Sushi has been one of my favorite foods for a while but there is yet so much more to discover. I love how the Japanese prepare many small dishes that are all different in taste and consistency. You end up eating everything from sweet to tangy and soft to crunchy in just one meal. Everything is prepared mindfully and arranged beautifully. And on top, the Japanese cuisine is very healthy. Having said all that, you can imagine how curious I was to visit the Itadaki Zen – Europe’s first organic and vegan Japanese restaurant! Again, it was hard to choose from the menu, but I ended up with two kinds of Sushi, homemade kimchi (the best I ever had), marinated peanuts, tofu steaks, marinated seaweeds and pickled bean sprouts. What a delicious and special meal! For me this was definitely a highlight of the London trip. Even my mom, who is usually not that “adventurous” with foods, was amazed by the meal. It left both of us even more curious about Japanese food. I wish I had a place like this in my neighborhood.

 

Deliciously Ella Mae Deli

 

The Mae Deli

On the morning of our second day in London, we had breakfast at the wonderful Mae Deli, the newly opened cafe of the popular blogger and cookbook-author Ella Mills (aka Deliciously Ella). I had already seen some promising pictures on Instagram, but was even more charmed seeing the deli with my own eyes. It is such a pretty little place, from the brick wall, to the oriental tiles and cottage-style seating area. The interior alone was so cozy and inspiring that we enjoyed taking our time instead of rushing breakfast. I ordered the pancakes with berry & apple compote, maple syrup, coconut chips and a matcha latte with coconut milk. My mom had a toasted rye bread with avocado and we also shared a peanut butter fudge and a strawberry cake . It was all super delicious and I love that everything was not only plant-based but also refined sugar free. Another breakfast deluxe that I can highly recommend.

 

jamie oliver italian

 

Jamie’s Italian

On my last London trip in 2013, my friend and I accidentally stumbled over Jamie Oliver’s Italian restaurant and immediately felt like we were in food heaven. We couldn’t stop raving about how delicious it was. A week later we weren’t sure if it was because maybe we were blinded by the fact that we have a little Jamie crush, or because we were exhausted and starving after a whole day of walking around, or if it was in fact the food that was this amazing. The only way to find out was to revisit this place and so I did.

Jamie Oliver has over ten restaurants in London and they all look different, with great interior. He does have meat and fish on his menu but I was happily surprised to see that there are not only many vegetarian but also quite a few vegan options. This time around I tried this mouth-watering dish (as it reads on the menu): “Roasted aubergine topped with a ragù of lentils, tomatoes, raisins & smoked paprika with a garlicky almond yoghurt dressing, toasted pine nuts, lemony rocket & pomegranate”. And I had to get the funky chips, which I already knew from last time. It’s fries with parsley and big garlic pieces. So good! The result of my second visit was that the food actually is pretty darn good. Now my friend and I know for sure that we were not distracted from anything else but the food. 😀

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Summary
Vegan food in London
Article Name
Vegan food in London
Description
This is a blogpost about delicious vegan finds of London. Breakfast porridge at 26 grains, vegan japanese food at Itadaki Zen, breakfast at The Mae Deli (of Deliciously Ella) and an awesome lunch at Jamie's Italian.
Author
  • Reply
    Corinna
    June 26, 2016 at 7:59 am

    Oh Mann Franzi, deinen Blog darf man wirklich nicht mit hungrigem Magen öffnen. Das sieht einfach alls SO! GUT! aus 😀 Ahhh, möchte ich am liebsten auch alles gleich herbestellen, besonders das Frühstück! Im Jamie Oliver Restaurant war ich bei meinem letzten London Trip übrigens auch und fand es ganz köstlich – nur die Portionen waren mir persönlich etwas zu klein, ha! 😉
    Danke jedenfalls für die tollen Tipps; sind auf jeden Fall für den nächsten Aufenthalt gespeichert!
    Ganz liebe Grüße aus dem Süden,
    Corinna
    http://www.kissenundkarma.de

    • Reply
      Greenderella
      June 26, 2016 at 2:13 pm

      Hihi, manchmal müsste man Essen ausdrucken können oder? Ich hoffe die Zeiten erleben wir noch mit. 😛 Und ich bin froh, dass du das mit der Portionsgröße auch so siehst. Dachte schon ich bin einfach ein bißchen zu verfressen. Naja, das bin ich wohl so oder so! 😀 Freue mich, dass dir die Tips gefallen und schicke dir liebste Grüße zurück! :-*

  • Reply
    Liz
    June 26, 2016 at 7:07 pm

    Oh Gott sieht das gut aus! Bin immer wieder überrascht und erstaunt, wie wunderschön man Essen anrichten kann. 😉
    In London war ich erst im Februar, aber damals hatten wir leider weder Zeit noch Budget um uns gemütlich in einem Restaurant niederzulassen und so aßen wir mehr oder weniger nur im Vorbeigehen… Schade eigentlich, jetzt wo ich deine Foodtips lese! Muss ich mir unbedingt fürs nächste Mal merken und dann auch genügend Zeit dafür einplanen. 😉
    Liebst,
    Liz. http://lizinview.blogspot.co.at/

    • Reply
      Greenderella
      June 27, 2016 at 9:05 am

      Du warst auch in London? Wie toll! Ich kann mir aber vorstellen, dass man sogar im Vorbeigehen dauernd auf Köstlichkeiten stößt. Kulinarisch haben die ja echt viel zu bieten. Und ich muss dir zustimmen… war auch begeistert, wie schön das Essen angerichtet war. Da konnte man sich richtig Inspiration holen. 🙂 Liebe Grüße, Franzi

  • Reply
    Ruhrstyle
    June 27, 2016 at 6:01 am

    Das sind aber wirklich ganz zauberhafte Eindrücke. Ich habe in London bez. veganer Küche auch nur sehr gute Erfahrungen gemacht und ich bin immer wieder begeistert, was für ein wunderschönes Interior die meisten Restaurants/Cafes haben. Alles ist so liebevoll und mit viel Charme gestaltet, das finde ich toll.

    Viele Grüße
    Rebecca

    • Reply
      Greenderella
      June 27, 2016 at 9:07 am

      Hey Rebecca, danke fürs Vorbeischauen! Ich bin auch einfach begeistert jedes Mal wenn ich nach London gehe. Die Cafes sind wirklich super gemütlich und charmant. Falls du noch mehr Tips hast, dann musst du mir die mal bei Gelegenheit verraten. 🙂 Viele Grüße zurück!

  • Reply
    Carmen Albers
    June 27, 2016 at 2:55 pm

    Klingt sooooo lecker, ich freu mich schon auf meine Reise im August!!! Ich werde sicher was davon ausprobieren 🙂

    • Reply
      Greenderella
      June 27, 2016 at 4:02 pm

      Ah wie cool, bald geht\’s schon los!! Schlemm dich schön durch ganz London… das kann man da einfach zu gut! 😀

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