Vegetarian and Vegan Restaurants in Hampstead

The question of which restaurant in Hampstead is the best is, needless to say, a difficult one. There are a wealth of eating establishments in Hampstead, covering a range of cuisines and tastes. However, if you are vegetarian or vegan, choosing a restaurant can be difficult. Here are some suggestions to make that choice easier.

    On type of food that seems to be rather accessible to vegetarians is Indian. In the heart of Hampstead, you'll find Woodlands Vegetarian Indian Restaurant. An excellent restaurant that has a marvelous selection of not only vegetarian food (as you'd expect from the name), but also an entire vegan menu which comes highly recommended. If you want to venture out of the safety for Hampstead Villiage however, then head down to Camden down the road and check out Manna Vegetarian Restaurant which has also received numerous good reviews and is in a similar vein to Woodlands.

    It does seem that eastern food seems to accommodate vegetarians more so than western. We seem to have a slight obsession in Europe with eating meat, with many a person refusing to even entertain the concept of eating food without something that was once living on their plate. Beside the point a little maybe, but only emphasized by the fact that the only 'western' vegetarian restaurant (that I know of anyway!) is down in Camden in the form of Inspiral Lounge. Great food, and a lovely atmosphere, but don't always expect to get a seat, it's pretty popular!

    Back up in Hampstead, eastern is the way to go. Needless to say, Chinese and Japanese restaurants can be a good bet. I've been to Dim T a few times with vegetarians and generally order the vegetarian options myself, though there's no guarantee of vegan dishes, though it's a better bet than most places! Japanese however is probably an even better bet. Sushi is always a good shout for vegans (though always double-check in each restaurant as some will use fish-based sauces) but maybe avoid the stereotypical Hi Sushi and venture to rather highly rated Taro.

    So there you go, some suggestions for all of you vegetarians and vegans out there! If anyone else has somewhere that we've not clocked yet, please share it with us! 

Photo courtesy of FotooVanRobin