The Spread Eagle, Homerton, London
There’s nothing more traditional in England than a roast dinner at pub. But modern concerns over factory-farms, the plant-based revolution and concerns over environment and allergies and health, mean that a few pubs are now following a trend, in offering deliciously hearty vegan roast dinners. With roasties and gravy, so don’t worry!
Allergies are well-catered for. Just be aware that some roasts contain tasty miso (but this is unpasteurised, so not for pregnancy/nursing or weak immune systems). Read more on food safety for people and pets.
Vegan-Friendly Pubs for Sunday Roasts
The Roundhill (Brighton) is a very popular city pub, with a safe inclusive space for all, and weekly rotating menus in line with seasonal ingredients.
The Spread Eagle is London’s first fully vegan pub. Expect a centrepiece such as seitan or a nut roast, seasonal greens, and crisp roasties that stand up to rich gravy. The setting is in East London is lively yet warm, and booking is wise, as peak slots fill fast, especially on Sunday.
The Gardener’s Arms (Oxford) offers good vegan food, not necessarily all Sunday roasts, but various options like a Mixed Cup & Wild Mushroom pie, cooked in sage and red wine gravy, with fries and fresh seasonal veggies.
The Walnut Tree (Suffolk) again goes beyond the traditional pub lunch. Try the chickpea ‘crab cakes’ with homemade tartare sauce, or the warm halloumi salad. On Sundays, go for the roasted mushroom Wellington, with with a white wine sauces, roasties and veg. Or you could order take-out – Sunday gourmet pizza or a Sicilian veggie stew roasted in vermouth and herbs.
The Punter (Oxford) is a laidback riverside garden pub, displaying local art. The menu here is more international – sweet potato and black bean burgers with kimchi, kaffir lime and fries. Or a tofu red curry. Finished with a selection of tasty puddings: apple tarte tatin or chocolate mousse cake.
The World’s First Plant-Based Steakhouse!
The Queen Inn (in Wales) not only went plant-based a few years back, but has recently been voted the best-rated vegan restaurant in Europe, and one of the top five in the world! This family-owned business dates back a long time.
But rather than continue the tradition of serving up meat, it has instead decided to offer plant-based alternatives like realistic redefined steaks, ‘battered fish and chips’, vegan crab cakes and cauliflower steaks! The food is so good that people travel from Scotland to taste these meals!
This pub is both beautiful and welcoming (even visiting dogs get water bowls and blankets to sit on). The pub decided to go plant-based during Veganuary and it was so successful, so far using the vegan calculator, the pub landlords reckons their alternative menu has saved:
- Over 40,000 animal lives
- Over 350,000 kilos of carbon dioxide
- Over 165 million litres of water
- Over 350,000 square metres of forest
- Over 812,000 kilos of grain
What Makes a Vegan Roast Dinner?
Nut roasts are obviously one option. But times have moved on. Chefs now make roasts using tempeh or lentils, and offer all the usual favourites like roast parsnips and mashed peppered swedes, along with vegan mash and roast spuds. All served with vegan gravy.
A few pubs (like the Queen Inn, above) are using lab-grown meats. These are not as bad as they sound, they are ‘real meats’ but without animal cruelty or environmental issues:
For instance, one brand (Mission Barns) recently took (without harm) one sample culture from Dawn the pig, then cultivated it in a lab, to mimic her body. Then it added sugar, proteins and vitamins. The sample is then ‘fattened’ in the cultivator. After two weeks, it’s combined with plant-proteins to make ‘pig meat’.
Meanwhile, Dawn continues to roam free with her friends, at her home at an animal sanctuary. The company says she is happily unaware that her cells could feed millions of people, and save millions of her fellow pigs!
