Great Vegan Restaurants On The British Isles

A vacation to the British Isles can be very appealing—particularly for families with kids. It’s a relatively easy destination to reach for a lot of people coming from North American or Europe and can be a nice introduction to international travel. There’s plenty to see, plenty to do, and perhaps best of all it’s easy to visit a lot of different cities and regions within a single trip.

If you encourage a vegan lifestyle in your family, travel often involves a little bit of extra adventure. While vegetarian and vegan diets have seemingly become more popular over the years, it’s not always clear where you can go for an acceptable menu. In the UK and Ireland, however, this isn’t really the case! Particularly in the big cities of the British Isles, the last decade or so has brought about a major revival in the restaurant scene, and as part of the process a lot of exceptional vegan eateries have sprung up.

So, on the off chance that you’re looking to travel to the area, or if you simply want to bookmark some selections for the future, we’ve put together a small list of vegan restaurants on the British Isles with terrific menus, which also happen to be in close proximity to some really cool attractions.

Manna – London

London in particular has an incredible vegan restaurant scene these days, and for that reason it’s tough to single out just one, or even a few vegan restaurants. But in this case we’ll look to Manna, which has actually been around for some time—half a century this year, in fact! It’s a quaint little place, well decorated but by no means over-the-top, and its menu is fully vegan. Manna also makes for a nice visit because of its close proximity to Primrose Hill, a park with a small summit that offers spectacular views across London. Primrose Hill is the perfect stroll in the early evening and can give you and your family a wonderful perspective on the city.

Cornucopia – Dublin

Dublin is a wonderful city in which to find small unassuming bars and restaurants with a lot to offer inside. Cornucopia is just such a place, marked by a bright red façade but otherwise not particularly noteworthy from the outside. Inside it’s a very nice space, however, and the vegan menu is fresh and inspired, marked by dishes like veggie polenta cakes and cannelloni. The tourism draw in the area is strong as well, with Cornucopia situated quite close to Trinity College, which is always worth a look, as well as the National Gallery of Ireland.

1847 Manchester – Manchester

This is a very stylish restaurant blending modern and rustic appeal and boasting typically boasting a wonderful vegan-inspired menu – though it’s actually just set to reopen this September and we can’t tell exactly what the menu items are just yet. At any rate, it’s an enjoyable place in the fun city of Manchester, and incidentally, it’s nearly at the midpoint between some of the city’s biggest attractions: its soccer stadiums. You can head west to take in Old Trafford, where Manchester United has been listed as a co-favorite in this year’s Premier League, or head east to the Etihad, where Manchester City has been among the best teams in Europe for several years!

Café Kino – Bristol

Bristol’s a wonderful city to visit in the UK, in part because it simply feels intimate in a way that some of the other big cities don’t always. Accordingly, Café Kino is a little neighborhood establishment, fitting in naturally and yet designed very stylishly. It has one of the more creative vegan menus you’ll find, particularly as regards its breakfast, though some of the alternative burgers are interesting as well. As for nearby attractions, you may want to stroll by the Bearpit, once a sort of blotch on Bristol but now in the midst of hopeful rejuvenation efforts. By the sound of things, it will be a sort of park/market in due time.

The 78 – Glasgow

If you happen to make it to Glasgow, Scotland, you’ll be in close proximity to a lot of fun restaurants and pubs, and this place is sort of a blend of the two. It’s a cozy establishment, more of a bar than anything else by design, but known for its vegan-friendly menu full of comfort food. The restaurant is also quite close to the Kelvingrove Art Gallery & Museum, perhaps not one of the more famous museums in the British Isles, but a very interesting one particularly if you have kids. The arms and armor collection features the earliest near-complete plate armor in the world, which is a treat for pretty much any children who have ever whiffed an Arthurian legend!