Fruit and Vegetables

I already wrote an in-depth article on the best places to buy vegan food online in the UK for home delivery, which you can check out here. However, if you live in the UK capital then you have some additional options available on where to buy vegan food in person. Here’s a list of the best shops and supermarkets I’ve found where you can buy vegan food in London, including some 100% plant-based shops that are still quite hard to find: Bigger shops selling vegan food in London Whole Foods (various locations) Unsurprisingly, two of the most popular places to buy vegan food in London are chains – Whole Foods and Planet Organic (below). Whole Foods Market is well known in the USA but also has a handful of branches in London that are good places to find vegan food. The company is now owned by Amazon and has been integrated into the new delivery service called Amazon Fresh, where members can get Whole Foods items delivered to their homes if needed. Of course, London residents also have the option to shop there in person as you would in any other supermarket. Their vegan selection is usually good, and they run frequent special offers. Planet Organic (various locations) Planet Organic is a well-established small chain, and they have over half a dozen physical stores scattered around London. This broadens your options for either getting fresh food delivered, which is only available to Londoners, or for the ‘click and collect’ option of picking up your order in the nearest store. You can also shop and browse in person. Planet Organic has a pretty good loyalty scheme and also has frequent discounts and deals available either online or in person. They also have a wide selection of ‘food to go’, so you can pick up something quick and easy to eat when you’re in-store. Greenbay (near West Kensington) I featured Greenbay in another article as a good place to buy vegan food online as they offer UK delivery, but they also have a physical shop on North End Road near West Kensington. They’re an excellent example of a well-established 100% vegan business that is also independently owned and run. They cram a lot of vegan goods into a small space, including vegan wine, beauty products, chocolate, snacks, loads of fridges full of vegan food and a good selection of fresh fruit and vegetables. Worth a visit even if you’re not vegan if you want to shop in a more ethical way. As with their online offers, they have a loyalty scheme if you plan to shop here often. 100% Vegan Shops and Supermarkets in London There are loads of good organic, natural and health-food-based shops in London but amazingly there are still very few of them that are truly 100% vegan. Here are some independent businesses that are: Organic for the People (Ealing) It’s not obvious from their name, but Organic for the People is a 100% vegan and organic supermarket that opened in 2014 on Ealing High Street. They’re small, independently run and have very good reviews so far. They also have an in-store vegan deli where you can pick up some fresh vegan food to go as well. VX: Vegan Junk Food Shop (King’s Cross) According to the VX website, the full title is “VX: London’s Notorious Vegan Junk Food Shop”. How can you resist? They’re a vegan café, open seven days a week, but they’re also a vegan shop, selling a wide range of vegan goods and snacks. If you choose to eat there while shopping, the menu is extensive and what I’d call comfort food rather than ‘junk’: Vegan burgers, pasta, nuggets, kebabs and nachos. If you’re still hungry you can move on to their doughnuts, eclairs, and so on. They’re one of the few 100% vegan shops to be on UberEATS and Deliveroo if you get the craving at home. Besides being a vegan grocery, they also offer 100% vegan fashion items. Well worth a visit. Even if you’re not London based, they offer mail order and a collect-in-store feature too. Plant Based Supermarket (Hackney) Plant Based Supermarket is exactly what they say - an entirely vegan supermarket on Well Street in Hackney. Hackney is a real foodie hub for vegans, so it became a welcome addition to the local area when it opened in 2018. They’re quite small, but have a lot of harder-to-find vegan products, and their opening hours are decent, allowing many people time to shop there after they finish work. Check them out by visiting their site here. They also have a very active Instagram presence where they post pictures of their latest inspiration and offers. Black Cat Café (Hackney) The Black Cat Café pride themselves on being better value than a lot of their competitors, offering popular vegan goods such as VEGO at prices cheaper than you can find elsewhere in the capital. Since London prices can be pretty hefty to begin with, this is a welcome selling point. Their popular café business sells some items to eat in or take away such as vegan sausage rolls, milkshakes, samosas and other snacks. Their shop carries a range of vegan items including vegan cheese, chocolate, and soft drinks. They also have a mini bookstore which concentrates on a variety of subjects that are broader than veganism (e.g. politics and ethics). They’re a co-operatively run space, too, which adds value to the already vibrant vegan community in Hackney. Fat Gay Vegan Market Vegan street food in London? Yes please! Almost all the non-vegans I know are always up for delicious plant-based food. Sean O'Callaghan, known widely in blogging circles as the ‘Fat Gay Vegan’ is bringing vegan food sections to two London markets every week. One is at Venn Street (near Clapham Common), the other in Walthamstow on Sundays. Both feature multiple food trucks selling 100% vegan street food. Click here to see more details on the FGV site. London health food shops with good vegan sections Since 100% vegan supermarkets are still fairly hard to find, it’s worth knowing about health food and organic stores that have good vegan selections, even if they sell other non-vegan products. Some of these include: Alara Health Store (Marchmont St, near Russell Square) The Alara Health Store is one of the few stores on this list to offer a 10% student discount, which is well worth it when stocking up on organic and vegan food. They have a ‘food bar’ in store, which has frequent vegan offerings. A vegan friend of mine raves about their vegan rice pudding, but if it’s not available then there’s usually a good selection of food to tempt you, regardless. They usually carry a good selection of vegan fresh and tinned/packet foods, and also stock vegan and ethical beauty products too. Earth Natural Foods (Kentish Town Road) Earth Natural Foods is an independent whole foods shop that makes a big effort to cater to all dietary types, including vegans. They make a lot of fresh food in-store, such as their baked goods, bread and pastries and salads and hot food to go. There’s usually a vegan option available – they often post their specials board on Facebook so you can check it out before you visit. When I visited, they had freshly made vegan pizza to take away. Their grocery section has a little bit of everything – it’s the kind of shop where you go in to buy one thing and come out with a basket full of finds. Everything is organic and of good quality, with plenty of options for vegans. Organic & Natural (Clapton Pond) In the middle of Lower Clapton Road, you may be surprised to find Organic & Natural, a tiny health shop and café specialising in natural and organic food. Although not huge it’s a good place to buy the most common vegan staples such as non-dairy cheese, tofu, soy-based ingredients and vegan sausages or patties. There’s also a small beauty and homewares selection with some homeopathic, natural and vegan options. If you stay for lunch in the café, they have a nice little outdoor area with free wifi. It runs completely counter to the run-down nature that this area is unfortunately known for, so patronising them helps to support such tiny local specialist businesses.