The rise of meat-free junk food in London.

Veganism has shaken off its stereotypes. Where once the diet was characterised by lentil-loving health-food fans living on soup, salad and vitamin B12 supplements, an explosion in vegan fast-food restaurants in recent years has changed the face of plant-based eating. Opening in Shoreditch this month following a successful crowdfunding campaign, The Vurger Co is the latest addition, and cements east London’s status as a destination for vegans in search of a Friday night takeaway fix. Hearty patties, made from spiced pulses and topped with pickles and punchy sauces, will be served alongside oozy truffle mac‘n’cheese, fries and shakes. It’s a world away from hemp seeds and spirulina smoothies.

Hackney’s Temple Of Seitan was one of the first to tap into London’s appetite for plant-based junk food, and since it opened in 2015, the queue at London’s first vegan fried chicken shop has hardly subsided. The crisp-skinned chicken burgers and hot-sauce smothered wings are made with seitan, a protein-rich gluten flour with a meaty, elastic texture. “We don’t have a typical customer,” says co-founder Mr Pat O’Shea, who, alongside his partner Ms Rebecca McGuinness, started the business after moving to London from Melbourne, in a bid to recreate the vegan fast food they missed from back home. “We get everyone, from families to older people; meat-eaters and vegans.” The restaurant is proving hugely popular, with a second site now open in Camden, and further plans to expand this year. “It’s a myth that vegans are only into healthy eating,” says Mr O’Shea. “Vegans have always enjoyed junk food. It just wasn’t as visible before.”

The döner kebab, that much-loved late-night post-pub snack, has also undergone a plant-based reinvention. At What The Pitta!’s three London sites, chefs deftly stretch baked-to-order flatbreads and pile them with crisp-edged marinated soya pieces, dairy-free tzatziki, houmous and lip-numbing chilli sauce. Co-founder Mr Cem Yildiz believes the plant-based movement is here to stay. “Vegan fast food is just a gateway to more conscious eating habits,” he says. “Veganism has become trendy, but any trend with a solid moral base is likely to spread.”

Social media has played a crucial role in the vegan junk food revolution. Blogger Mr Sean O’Callaghan, aka Fat Gay Vegan, is a famous advocate: as well as sharing plant-based discoveries with his 56,000-strong Instagram following, he founded a vegan street-food market in Hackney. It’s here that vegan pie and mash shop Young Vegans – now a bricks-and-mortar restaurant in Camden – started out. “When we opened, vegan food was an afterthought on most menus – usually a bean burger,” says co-founder Mr Marco Casadei. The fillings in his golden-crusted pies, which wouldn’t look out of place in a traditional East End café, include steak and ale – with seitan pieces in a rich gravy – and all-day breakfast with tofu scramble and smoky beans. “Now we have legitimately game-changing food, it’s easier than ever to go vegan,” Mr Casadi adds.

Club Mexicana, whose website declares “if you’re looking for chickpeas and chia seeds, you’ve come to the wrong place”, is also challenging preconceptions of plant-based food. Founder Ms Meriel Armitage’s cooking is inspired by the flourishing vegan scene in Los Angeles and San Francisco, and her dishes sing with Californian sunshine: jackfruit tacos come smothered in zingy salsa verde and pico de gallo tomato salsa, and “chorizo” quesadillas hum with smoky chipotle chillies. Building on success at supper clubs and residencies, Club Mexicana recently teamed up with The Spread Eagle in Hackney to open the UK’s first vegan pub. As well as Mexican-inspired small plates, expect a vegan beer menu and indulgent bar snacks, such as deep-fried “cheeze” with hot sauce.

The trend shows no sign of slowing. US import by CHLOE.’s first UK outpost, just opened in Covent Garden with another to follow by Tower Bridge, already has a cult following for its tofu fish and chips; London chain Arancini Brothers recently announced its Old Street branch will now be vegan; even McDonald’s now serves a vegan burger. Going vegan doesn’t mean being virtuous, and adopting the diet no longer spells self-sacrifice and denial. Vegans can truly have their cake and eat it – and stop for a kebab on the way home.

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