I moved to London in 2017 and since then I have visited many different restaurants. I usually go out with friends at weekends and we usually have lunch or dinner together. We have favourite restaurants that we visit regularly but we also like to try new places, new tastes, different cuisines.

One day we decided to have dinner in a vegetarian restaurant. We are all meat eaters, but we don’t mind vegetarian dishes either. I didn’t expect too much, because I have got used to having meat, also I thought that the portions are smaller if there is no meat on the plate. 

When the main course was served we were very surprised. It looked amazing and it was incredibly delicious. 

Since then we have visited several vegetarian restaurants, so let me write some information about the top five ones which I love so much that I would always be ready to visit again.

 

BUBALA 

In Yiddish, the beautiful, historical language of Europe’s Ashkenazi Jews, Bubala means darling or sweetheart. It was one of the first vegetarian restaurants that I visited last year. It’s a homely place full of good cheer and hearty cooking. Quietly vegetarian – a modern menu that is still satisfyingly old-school. Take, for example, the ful medames, a flavour-filled fava-bean stew brought smartly up to date with pesto, and the grilled cabbage loaded with tahini and nuts. Order the Bubala Knows Best £30-a-head set menu for a pocket-pleasing tour of the joint’s greatest hits. 

MILDRED’S

This restaurant is not only vegetarian but it serves vegan dishes as well. Mildred’s is the London’s first meat-free empire. This cosy place – following restaurants in Soho, Camden and King’s Cross – is an elegant, light-filled space in Dalston. All the delicious favourites are on the menu: the halloumi burger, the black-bean burger and, of course, the much-loved soul bowl – a quinoa and vegetable rainbow on a plate. 

THE GATE

Keeping pace with Mildred is The Gate. First I visited this restaurant in Hammersmith, but later I realised there are two more restaurants: one of them is in Islington and the other one is in Marylebone. I have found out that not only ordinary people visit these restaurants, but famous people have tried their dishes as well, such as Madonna, Gwyneth and Paul McCartney. The Gate’s beautifully presented plates taste as good as they look. The Sumac Aubergine Schnitzel only just steals the show from the champion Green Dragon salad with glazed tofu, avocado, sweet potato, red cabbage, pak choi and sesame dressing. These are my favourites.

GENESIS 

When I first entered this restaurant the colours and the lovely atmosphere caught my attention –  rose gold, white marble, and bubble-gum pink tiles, Genesis – on Commercial Street, a short hop from Spitalfields Market. The menu offers a wide range of flavours from around the world. Why not try the mouth-watering dull lentil curry or the saag-aloo which is rich in flavour and absolutely delicious.

THE SPREAD EAGLE 

The other day me and my colleague decided to go out for dinner. Everyone in the office knows that she is vegan. She offered me a place to go to. I was always interested in a vegan restaurant and its menu, so she decided to take me to one of them. This place is The Spread Eagle, London’s first vegan pub on Hackney’s heroically Homerton High Street. The kitchen is run by street-food favourites Club Mexicana – jackfruit tacos, Mexican-fried chick’n and a lot of big flavours – and the bar is similarly dedicated to a plants-only policy and a menu of vegan wines and beers. For the full experience, order a tequila sour in which the whipped egg white has been replaced with shaken-up chickpea water to create a similar effect. 

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