World Vegan Day: The Best Veggie Restaurants in the UK

November 1^st is World Vegan Day and this year marks the celebration’s 13^th year, with vegan and vegetarian lifestyles becoming more and more popular than ever. Censors suggest that the number of vegans in Britain has risen by 360% in the last 10 years[1]. While the rise is certainly due to hard work on the behalf of campaigners within the movement, credit must be due to the smorgasbord of vegetarian and vegan restaurants cropping up all over the UK. See what all the fuss is for yourself with our guide to some of the best veggie restaurants in the country, each within reaching distance of your Leonardo Hotel.

Food for Friends
Just a 3-minute walk from Leonardo Royal Hotel Brighton Waterfront Flavour is paramount at Food for Friends, the award-winning restaurant based in Brighton’s historic South Lanes. It was named one of Britain’s top 100 restaurants by The Sunday Times, and it’s easy to see why. Its gorgeous-looking veggie dishes are bursting with flavours from every corner of the world; from ginger beer-battered haloumi cheese to Katsu sweet potato.

The Garden Restaurant
Just a 7-minute drive from Leonardo Royal Hotel OxfordSunshine makes vegetables taste great – hence the The Garden Restaurant and its superb vegetarian cuisine. It has the only grassy beer garden in town and a hearty vegetarian and vegan menu. You can still eat outdoors during the winter months, but the pub’s interior décor is bright, traditional and inviting. Indulge in a vegetarian chilli in a warm, family-friendly environment where you can daydream about next year’s beer garden weather.

Lotus Vegetarian Kitchen
Just a 12-minute drive from Leonardo Hotel Manchester Central

Lotus Vegetarian Kitchen is the perfect place for meat-eaters who’re looking to take the plunge into a vegetarian lifestyle. This Chinese restaurant offers a range of guilt-free national favourites. Aromatic crispy duck. Prawn crackers. Beef in black pepper sauce. Each dish replaces meat for a range of mock meats and fresh vegetables for an offering of takeaway favourites with a twist.

Ranjit’s Kitchen
Just a 12-minute train ride from Leonardo Hotel GlasgowGlasgow is challenging the haggis and deep-fried Mars Bar reputation of Scotland, becoming a haven of healthy eating with more vegan restaurants than most cities in the UK, recently toppling Brighton as the most vegan-friendly city in Britain. Top-rated amongst the Scottish city’s buffet of delicious veggie eateries is Ranjit’s Kitchen. This family-run deli serves traditional Panjabi food, with a changeable menu based on what fresh, local produce is available from day-to-day. You’ll never try the same thing twice.

The Egg Café
Just a 12-minute drive from Leonardo Hotel LiverpoolSituated in the spacious loft of an old Victorian warehouse is The Egg Café, Liverpool’s premier vegetarian restaurant and independent art gallery. More than just a healthy and hearty restaurant, this venue is a bohemian experience with panoramic views of the city centre.

Why not squash World Vegan Day and Halloween into one this year? Follow our guide to Halloween Around the UK and plan your vegan cuisine accordingly, so you can tell your potatoes from your poltergeists.

[1] The Telegraph, ‘Number of Vegans in Britain Increases By 360% in 10 Years’