Saving broccoli stems and sad herbs all around the world.

2 cups herbs (we used basil, parsley and mint)

This recipe uses up the unsung ingredient hero that tends to get tossed - broccoli stems! But the stuff is actually sweeter than the florets and makes a great base for pestos and soups. Keep reading for this delicious and extremely versatile pesto recipe (which, also uses up any sad herbs you have laying around in your fridge). 

Add your broccoli stems, herbs and walnuts to a food processor. Blend until broken down. 

Add your salt and lemon juice and pulse until combined.

Whilst the food processor is running, drizzle in your olive oil. Taste for salt and lemon juice, and adjust to preference. 

Winter Pesto Pasta w/ Cheesy Sunflower Crumb

For something that bit more special, you can always check out our Michelin guide. Otherwise, read on for our top 13 restaurants in London. Afterwards, you’ll find our guide for where to find the best: brunch options; burgers; fish and chips; Indian food; junk food; pies; pizza; best Sunday roast and best sushi.

Whatever the occasion, we’ve got you covered.

There is always a huge range of dishes to choose from at Ethos, and it’s beautifully decorated (with trees), which all adds to the experience. They offer self-serve, pay-by-weight lunch, dinner and Sunday brunch menus as well as an individually priced breakfast menu and a £25.00 afternoon tea too. They pride themselves on their zero waste policy and use of locally sourced ingredients, and we agree that those are pretty great. Our favourite dishes: the cassava fritters (well, all the fritters, actually) and the pesto pasta with turmeric tofu.

In the heart of Notting Hill, Farmacy does what it says on the tin: provides a menu that is free from dairy, refined sugars, additives and chemicals, but not lacking in the flavour department. Another option for any time of the day, their menus are pretty unique. Everything is built around nourishment — think chickpea flour protein “omelettes” and sprouted grains galore — but with lashings of decadence too — waffles and sticky toffee pudding. They offer high tea as well as medicinal CBD truffles and drinks. We love their Middle Eastern bowl and their popcorn cauliflower is delish.

A great option if you’re looking for something a little different and/ or eating with people at various stages of their plant-powered journeys. Friends of Ours has something for everyone but their seasonal vegan options are always particularly delightful. Their winter menu offers up mango porridge, charred broccoli steak, a Japanese buddha bowl and — our favourite — Dashi (which includes vegan bacon, kimchi, bok choi, oyster & chestnut mushrooms and soba noodles). We can’t wait to see what Spring brings.

Gauthier’s founder and award-winning chef, Alexis Gauthier, has been a trailblazer in bringing plant power to fine dining by moving towards a plant-focused menu way back in 1997. There is something for everyone and the vegan options — like: salsify & Brittany seaweed served with sautéed wild mushrooms and toasted Chestnuts; stuffed Hispi cabbage and Mango & Malibu Soufflé — are inventive and intriguing. Exactly what you’d expect from such a highly-praised, and Michelin-starred, establishment.

One of the oldest vegetarian restaurants in London, Manna has been serving a plant-forward menu for over 47 years. Their basic menu is pretty constant but their daily specials depend on whatever’s fresh and in season at the local Farmer’s Market. They do a mean Sunday roast and their sausage and mash isn’t just any sausage and mash: the organic fennel and pumpkin seed sausages are incredible and the garlic potato, dill and carrot mash is complemented perfectly by the leek & thyme jus. Their dessert menu alone is also worth a trip.

Mexican food in London isn’t always the greatest, and that’s why we were so pleased to find Mestizo: not only is the food super authentic, Mestizo’s also a Tequila bar so that’s a win in our eyes. Their vegan menu is extensive and definitely not an afterthought. As well as the usual offerings of guacamole, tacos and enchiladas, there is a huge range of less well-known treats to try. We love the sope de tortilla and the Chile rellenos de flor de calabaza (or poblano pepper stuffed with courgette flower, sauteed in a tomato broth).

Voted the best restaurant in Cambridge, Stem and Glory opened their London restaurant in January this year and it’s proved a hit. Again, offering up breakfast, brunch, lunch and dinner menus, it’s a great option for any time of day. Catering for a paleo diets too, the food is varied, vibrant and influenced by a range of global cuisines. Their cauliflower gratin is about as creamy and comforting as anything and (surprise surprise!) we adore the kimchi pancakes too.

The seasonal menu at Stokey Veg Vegan is built around the idea of sharing platters, kind of like posh tapas. 85% of the menu is plant-based and they source what they can locally and ethically. The menu is inspired by Italian, European and Asian influences and changes often. Currently, you’ll find the likes of nasturtium roots tempura, risotto-style barley and eryngii mushroom chips in and amongst the pestos and reductions. Our favourite dishes are the roasted fennel and ravioli.

The Gate, W1H/ EC1V/ W6 9QL (coming soon: NW8 )

Something of an institution, The Gate first opened in 1989 and now has three restaurants across London with a fourth due to open in April this year. The Marylebone branch is home to a secret vegan supper club (5 courses with wine pairing for £49.50 per person) while in Hammersmith and Islington you can get an incredible Sunday roast. The vegetarian A La Carte menu serves up a range of predominantly European dishes, many of which are plant-based, including an artichoke terrine and a wild mushroom risotto cake.

Another veggie London institution, Vanilla Black serves up some really innovative plant-based nosh. Their 5-course tasting menu is £55.00 per person (with an additional £32.00 for wine pairing) and boasts delights such as a Cauliflower Croquette served with endive, cocoa, pickled cauliflower and purée. The A La Carte menu doesn’t disappoint either, the dishes are adventurous, beautifully presented and — most importantly — taste divine. Try their fried shiitake, pine nut purée and crispy Enoki with marsala and pine salt and the liquorice panna cotta with bergamot curd and fennel pollen for dessert.

Sadly, plant-based breakfasts can often be a little on the disappointing side, especially if you’re looking for something a bit more decadent than avocado on toast. If none of the options above appeal, be sure you’re getting something delicious by trying one of the following:

Let’s be honest, anything with kimchi on the menu is great in our books, although perhaps not for breakfast… While Miranda Cafe’s lunch menu is incredible, it’s their breakfasts we’re really into: they serve vegan eggs after all. Our favourite is their Latin American Breakfast (cornbread arepas, latin style beans, scrambled vegan eggs, fried plantain and guacamole served with salad) although their Vegan Eggs Rancheros comes a close second.

My Old Dutch is a bit of an anomaly on the vegan breakfast scene but it’s not one to be overlooked: the menu is mainly non-vegan but their plant-based options are incredible. They use a gluten-free pancake mix and replace cow’s milk with soy milk, offering both sweet and savoury options including vegan cheese (cheddar and mozzarella) and vegan ice cream (vanilla or chocolate and coconut). We loved the Vegan Volcano and followed up with the apple and cinnamon for pudding (we were not disappointed).

The brainchild of Made in Chelsea’s Lucy Watson, Tell Your Friends has a simple but delicious menu of completely plant-based dishes. The main meals are hearty and nutritious, ranging from buddha bowls to burgers. But we put it here because we love the brunches the most. The pancakes (chocolate spread and banana) and the scrambled ackee are enough to make even the most cynical believe they’re not eating plants.

Burgers were definitely the most divisive food topic in the allplants office. Here are our top three so you can make up your own mind (because we couldn’t):

Hailed as the first plant-based burger to bleed (don’t worry, just beetroot blood) The Beyond Meat ® burger is still only available in limited locations across the UK and is, therefore, highly covetable. We’ve done the dirty work and wolfed it down in Honest Burgers (served with smoked vegan gouda, chipotle mayo mustard and salad) and All Bar One (also with vegan cheese, mayo and salad) and it’s good. But don’t take our word for it, go forth and conquer.

Nestled amongst the curry houses in the middle of Brick Lane you’ll find Mooshies; we dare you to be disappointed. Their sides (think loaded nachos and cheese sticks) are worth the trip on their own and the Pulled Mooshie burger (BBQ jackfruit) is about as satisfyingly tasty and messy as a burger can be. Our favourite though? The (limited edition) Magic Mushroom burger: spicy panko fried oyster mushrooms, hash brown, salad and sriracha. Yum.

If you’re looking for a veggie burger (as opposed to a meat-replacement burger) The Vurger Co. is a great choice. They offer 4 plant-based patties (black bean, chargrilled red pepper, chickpea and corn; aubergine, chickpea, red onion and Tabasco chipotle; roasted mushroom, borlotti bean and parsley; and a spicy corn fritter) and extras like slaw, house burger sauce and vegan cheese. Their range of shakes is pretty fabulous too; we always have one with our burger and it’s normally the Biscoff one.

Fish alternatives took a bit longer in the making than plant-based meats but now they’re here, they just keep getting better and better.

One of the oldest pubs in East London, The Spread Eagle bucked tradition and went completely vegan in January 2018. Their kitchen is currently run by Club Mexicana and is absolutely more than just vegan fish, for example: Carnitas, Mexican fried “chicken”, Pozole (a Mexican-style soup), the list goes on. However, it’s included here because we love their tofish — both the Baja and beer-battered versions — and we love accompanying said tofish with triple fried potatoes. So that’s technically fish and chips. Right?

For a more traditional take, Sutton and Sons (Hackney branch) is London’s first and only (to date) completely vegan fish and chip shop. It’s also the bomb. They offer vegan versions of everything you would expect to find at your local chippy: prawn cocktails; fish cakes; scampi; battered sausage; burgers; and steak and ale pie; not to mention the usual curry sauce/ pickled onion trimmings. Their banana blossom fried fish is our go-to, though. It flakes just like a fish fillet and, because it’s marinated in seaweed and samphire, it tastes pretty fishy too. In a good way.

Whenever you walk past Dishoom, there is a queue; this is due to the fact that they don’t take bookings for less than 6 people for their evening service. However, the wait is absolutely worth it. Alongside their main menu, they offer dairy-free, gluten-free and fully vegan menus. We love the okra fries, the gunpowder potatoes and the Chole Puri (because puris are not something you get at your average Indian restaurant) and we always have a vegan lassi too. But, if you don’t fancy waiting for dinner... Why not pop along for lunch, or even breakfast: when there’s plant-based black pudding on the menu, why would you not?

Sagar is a vegetarian South Indian restaurant who serve up the best dosas in the city (and f you don’t know what a dosa is, you’re absolutely missing out: pay them a visit and find out). Alongside said dosas and their uthappam (lentil pizzas, don’t knock them till you’ve tried them) you’ll find a huge range of veggie curries, breads and rice and — we promise — you won’t even notice the lack of meat.

A relative newcomer to the London curry scene, SpiceBox is fast becoming a firm favourite of ours. Providing “veg with edge”, their brunch menu offers traditional brunch options with an Asian twist: dosa waffles (aka doffles) served with chai-spiced bananas or ‘Keralan Fried Chick’n’. Dinner is a little more traditional, but not completely: the loaded onion bhaji and jackfruit jalfrezi do indeed give their veg some edge. We loved the korma, which was satisfyingly sweet and creamy, and the garlic naan too.

Here at allplants we’re huge advocates of a whole food diet — 95% percent of the time. The rest of the time, we eat this:

Temple of Seitan caused quite a stir when the first branch opened in Hackney back in January 2017: London had its very own vegan fried chicken shop. And now we have two (the second — Camden — branch opened the following year). Their vegan answer to KFC remains pretty high up our list (along with their mac and cheese. A controversial opinion but we think it’s the best in London...) But, actually, it’s the ¼ pounders that really get our juices flowing: they taste just like a Big Mac.

Situated in Boxpark (in Shoreditch and Croydon) as well as Camden, What the Pitta! is there solely to offer up the best kebabs you’ll ever eat. No biggy. They do a great falafel wrap but, let’s face it, we’re not really there for falafel. Their Vegan Döner (plant-based döner meat served up in fresh bread with mixed salad, soy tzatziki homemade hummus and lashings of chilli sauce) is life but our favourite is the Dönor & Chips Box: all of the above but with chips instead of bread, (nothing against bread, we just love dipping chips in hummus).

There isn’t too much competition where vegan pies are concerned but that doesn’t mean we’re settling; we created this category specifically so we could include Young Vegans on the list. Situated in Camden Market, they’re a great on-the-go option and the pies are absolutely delicious. Choose from: steak and ale, chicken parmigiana, chicken katsu curry, all day breakfast and cheeseburger. Yes, that’s a cheeseburger pie. Also available, but online only, is their mac and cheese pie. We’ll try anything once.

Purezza is basically the plant-based version of Pizza Express and, well, everything on the menu is pretty darn good. They have meaty pizzas, spicy pizzas, plain pizzas and pizzas topped with everything but the kitchen sink. Except pineapple, actually, so it’s pretty clear to see where they land on the, “Does pineapple belong on a pizza?” debate… The garlic bread is perfect and our favourite sourdough pizza, the Season.4 Pizza.1, has beetroot carpaccio and micro herbs on it.

A number of the options already listed do great Sunday lunch menus but our favourite plant-based roast is The Dove on Broadway Market. And, if you want to try a plant-based option but don’t fancy a roast, you’re in luck. Also on offer: plant-based satay chicken, beer battered ‘fish’ and chips, a roasted portobello mushroom burger and a Guiness mushroom and mixed bean pot pie. Spoiled for choice.

The only completely plant-based sushi restaurant in London, Itadaki Zen is a tiny, beautifully-decorated gem of a place. The ethos is based in the Far Eastern tradition of food as medicine and this is reflected in the name itself: Itadaki is loosely translated as ‘to receive’ (specifically food) and is likened to saying grace before a meal and Zen means ‘to mend’. Their menu is pretty much everything you’d expect from a traditional sushi place: miso soup; spring rolls; noodles; tempura; and, of course, just about every type of sushi roll you can imagine. They offer a range of set menus and bento boxes as well as individual dishes, like bibimbap. We love their policy on waste too: they encourage you to eat up and take what you can’t finish home with you.

allplants’ guide to finding the best plant-based spots in the capital. If you’re trying to eat more, mostly or all plants, you might not know where to start. How do you find a restaurant that doesn’t compromise on flavour and gives you the standard of dining you are used to?

Blog Post: The best vegan restaurants in london

If you’re trying to eat more, mostly or all plants, you might not know where to start. How do you find a restaurant that doesn’t compromise on flavour and gives you the standard of dining you are used to?

So, if you’re wondering about some practical ways to reduce your carbon footprint to help the UK government achieve its ambitious, but necessary, target of going carbon neutral by 2050 (or even better, before) then here’s where to start.

Everyday things (that really make an impact)

Our diet can add up to a whopping 20% of our entire carbon footprint, and the UK population currently contributes about 170 million tonnes of carbon dioxide a year to the earth’s atmosphere each year through what we eat alone.

A study released last year showed that even the animal products with the lowest environmental impact had a larger footprint than vegetable substitutes. Therefore, making even small reductions in the amount of meat and dairy you eat can lower your food’s carbon footprint (or “foodprint”) by around 25%. For example, switching out your usual dairy latte for oat milk reduces your annual carbon footprint by 164kg (that’s the same as driving 417 miles from London to Baden-Baden in Germany). By replacing beef with tofu once or twice a week you save 592kg of greenhouse gases a year (the equivalent of driving 1510 miles — from London to Athens). That’s huge.

It’s also a double whammy: 13 million hectares of rainforest is cleared annually and deforestation is a huge contributor to the climate crisis, equating to 17% of all global emissions. About a quarter of this land is cleared to make way for livestock and other agriculture. In addition, a large proportion of crops are fed to animals (for example, 70-75% of soy grown worldwide is fed to livestock). It’s well-evidenced that eating more plants (and, by default, fewer animal products) is one of the best things people can do for the environment.

If you’re not sure where to start, we —  allplants —  will help ease you in with delicious ready-to-eat meals in your freezer, made by our chefs, daily.

Producing enough food to feed the world’s growing population is an energy intensive process however we look at it. Changing our diets makes a massive difference, but so can being aware of how much food we’re wasting. Around a third of all food produced for human consumption is wasted annually. In the UK, that translates to about 8 million tonnes per year and the average UK family loses £470 due to wasted food annually. The good news is that 60% of that waste is avoidable and there are some really easy ways to minimise our waste; eradicating waste can reduce the carbon footprint of your diet by a quarter.  

Pre-plan meals then make (and stick to) a shopping list;

Rotate the contents of your cupboards so the old stuff is at the front;

Ask for reduced portions in restaurants or take a doggy bag home;

If you have space, use your freezer to prolong your food’s shelf life;

Donate any spare food to a local food drive (a quick Google will usually bring up a whole host of options);

It might sound silly but make sure you’re not throwing out perfectly good food because you think it’s out of date.

Buy “wonky veg” (at Lidl, Asda, Morrisons or Tesco) or sign up to Oddbox, who sell otherwise wasted produce.

This one won’t take too much time or thought, but will have lasting positive implications. Choosing an environmentally aware energy supplier — like Bulb — is a straightforward way to reduce your carbon footprint, as well as your energy bills. They offer electricity generated from renewable sources — solar, wind and hydro — and carbon neutral gas ( generated by “green gas mills” and food or farm waste). In just one year you’ll save 3.5 tonnes of CO2, which is the equivalent of planting 1,770 trees. Impressive.

Not so relevant right now, as we head into summer, but worth remembering for when the nights draw in. Turning your thermostat down by just one degree could save you around £80 a year in bills (1-3% of your energy bill depending on your home). In terms of energy — and therefore your carbon footprint — turning your thermostat down by 2 degrees from 20°C to 18°C will save 33 TWh. We think that’s just a great excuse to snuggle up under a blanket when the evenings get colder. Regulating your heating with a timer is another great tip; that way you can make sure you’re warm when you need to be but don’t waste energy heating an empty house.

5. Switch electrical items off at the wall rather than leaving them on standby

It’s a pain, isn’t it, to switch things off at source when you have a remote control to do just that? The thing is, remotes don’t switch things off, they leave appliances on standby and the problem with standby mode is that it still uses electricity. New legislation means that newer appliances use a lot less electricity when left on standby, but an old TV can use as much as 106kWh a year (and will add £15 to your bill). If you’re also leaving your multi-room speakers and your router and your Sky box (you get the message) on standby, then it quickly adds up — both in terms of your bill and the impact on the environment. But it’s easy to rectify: build turning appliances off at the wall into your evening routine — or, even better, do it as you finish using them — it takes seconds and can make tangible improvements to your carbon footprint.

Longer-term changes (that take more effort but are worth it)

Not something we generally associate with our carbon footprint, but fast fashion has a devastating impact on the environment: while leaving your TV on standby all year would emit 32kg of carbon dioxide, buying just 3 pairs of trousers and 2 pairs of shoes — a lot less than most people would buy in a year — would mean 41kg CO2 released into the atmosphere. Every year, the fashion industry is responsible for 1.2 billion tonnes of greenhouse gases – that’s more than international flights and shipping combined. Additionally, 73% of all clothes are burnt or sent to landfill.

Choose quality over quantity by avoiding fast fashion;

Pledge to only buy an item if you commit to wearing it 30 times;

Take time to discover your new favourite sustainable fashion brands, here are some great ones;

Shop in charity shops or vintage clothes stores;

Or, even better, sign up to Urban Outfitter’s clothing rental scheme (when it arrives in the UK; it’s due to launch in the US this summer), which will allow you to rent clothes for a 6 month period and then return them. Join the waitlist here.


No one likes to be told what to do, especially when it comes to our holidays: we work hard and we deserve our down time. The problem is, as an individual, the way we travel has a huge impact on our greenhouse gas emissions: cycling is 10 times more carbon efficient than driving and getting the train is 5 - 6 times better for your footprint; a flight from London to New York emits a whopping 2.2 tonnes of carbon dioxide. Of course, the best thing to do is to simply not fly, or to use trains 100% of the time. For many of us that isn’t possible. Some of us can choose to drive less and limit our flights — or at least the distance we fly — by opting for public transport when feasible and choosing our holiday destinations carefully. But all of us can take a handful of steps to make sure that when we do travel, we do so with our carbon footprint in mind.

Choose public transport over driving where possible;

Travel light as the heavier a plane is the more fuel it uses;

Fly from your local airport to avoid adding unnecessary miles to your journey; and

In a similar vein, it’s not just our own travelling footprint we can be aware of, our food has its own. Shifting to locally sourced produce is one great way to cut back our carbon footprint. Interestingly, if buying internationally, knowing how it is imported can make all the difference: air freighting is 100 times worse than shipping from a carbon emissions perspective. While it’s difficult to know each individual food’s exact carbon footprint, How Bad are Bananas?: The Carbon Footprint of Everything is a pretty good (and entertaining) resource.

Buying local and seasonal is best. Companies like Crop Drop who — offer veg boxes — are a great way to eat locally-sourced seasonal vegetables.

To help you plan your own shopping around what’s currently in season, you can use this calendar. Alternatively, locate your nearest farmers’ market — where everything you find will be local and seasonal. And you can find some delicious seasonal recipes here.

Bulk-buying seasonal produce (such as strawberries) and then freezing them is a great way to ensure you have them when you want them, too.

When shopping in a supermarket, check the labels as you go as the country of origin will generally be marked.

When buying imported produce:
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Sadly, though, the method of importing isn’t the only thing to consider. Some foods rack up a scary number of food miles (like some cheap fish products that are sent to countries like China — where processing is cheaper — before being sent back) and for others, like strawberries (that are grown in locally in greenhouses) it is actually better to buy the imported product. It’s all a bit of a minefield but starting with a veg box or frequenting your local farmers’ market is a step in the right direction. That said, it’s important to note that the biggest food-related impact comes from the choice to eat less animal products: switching from an omnivorous diet to a vegetarian one saves 5 times more carbon dioxide than sourcing absolutely everything locally.

A fairly easy step, but more long term because bulbs always seem to go at inconveniently awkward and unpredictable times. LED bulbs are better for the environment for two main reasons. First and foremost, they use less energy than a traditional halogen bulb — up to 90% less. Secondly, unlike “normal” light bulbs, which contain mercury, they can be recycled. As an extra bonus they also last a lot longer so you save money and reduce wastage overall. Unlike the old 90’s-style energy-saving light bulbs, LED’s provide instant light and can be any colour you want.

Other energy-saving tricks are quite simply not efficient if your home is not well insulated; good insulation keeps your house cool in summer and warm in winter. It ensures energy is not wasted. Newer houses tend to be fairly well insulated as standard, but if you live in an older house it is well worth investing in decent insulation — from the loft right the way down to the foundations — if you are able. Start with the walls, as a typical house can lose between 30 and 40% of heat that way. Then the roof, which accounts for roughly 25% of heat loss. Finally: windows, doors, then floors.

Once your house is well insulated, the next step to making it an energy-saving haven is to install solar panels. In April of this year, around 1.5 million UK homes were thought to have solar panels and we are currently installing them faster than any other European country. Interestingly, while the somewhat unpredictable UK climate may not seem like the optimal one for harnessing the sun’s energy, actually it is: solar panels absorb light not heat, so the hours of daylight are what counts. Even in cloudy weather they will produce around a third of their maximum output, more than enough energy to power your household appliances. Last year the installation of new solar panels almost doubled and it’s thought that by next year 10 million homes could have them. Why not make yours one of them?

While making all of these changes overnight is not a realistic vision, it’s important that we pick our battles carefully.

Thinking about the things that we do every day — like, eat and dress — is the way we make the biggest difference. Every time we choose our food, or buy a new outfit, we have the power to make a decision that affects the world we live in in a very real way. By being more conscious, by choosing the vegetarian option over the meat, by re-wearing something we already own rather than buying something brand new for a night out, we can reduce the impact we have on the environment. We can form new habits that will, in turn, drive change, as the laws of supply and demand do.

We’d love to hear what you’ve done to reduce your carbon footprint and what difference it’s made… What’s gone well? What have you struggled with? Let us know on social media.

Not sure what you can do in the face of the climate emergency? Here are some little adjustments that can make a real difference.

Blog Post: 11 Ways to Reduce your Carbon Footprint

In the face of the current climate emergency, it can be hard to know what to do; scary situations — especially ones this large — often activate our fight or flight response but they can also make us freeze. This is no time to be caught in the headlights. The reality is that the average person in the UK has a carbon footprint of around 15 tonnes. In order to be considered ‘sustainable’ our individual footprint needs to be around 5 tonnes. (If you’re curious to find out an estimate of yours, click here).

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