Two Vegans To Die For
/And the road to Vegan delights is Commercial St, in Shoreditch.
Only a few meters away from each other you’ll find Club Mexicana, a vegan tacos joint, and Tofu Vegan, a Chinese restaurant experimenting with vegan cooking.
You may think vegan food is not worth your while, but for somebody who’s an avid meat and fish eater, I was surprised to find out that what I was indulging did not contain any of it. If it fooled me, could it fool you?
CLUB MEXICANA - THE DOWNLOAD
There’s something about this restaurant that makes me think about Wham’s song Club Tropicana. The colours, the music, the ambience…it just screams let’s have some fun while having dinner, and it delivers. Unlike the song, not all things are free, but they are certainly worth every penny you spend.
The first time we visited I was unaware that the menu was 100% vegan and it was only when somebody mentioned as I was commenting on how incredible my birria taco was that somebody brough to my attention that what I was eating was not beef meat stew, but rather a meat-free version of it. I was incredilous. The best birria taco I tried in London, and it was vegan. And it didn’t stop there. Al Pastor, Fish Tacos, BBQ Shortrib…they are all mouthwatering, and vegan.
In addition to the incredible taste, you can also have an all you can eat Tacos night every Tuesday (at the beautiful price of £20 per head), and yummy cocktails to match the eve. Bang!
WHERE TO FIND them? Lucky you, there’s now three locations: Shoreditch, Soho, and Brixton. Pick your fancy.
WHEN TO GO? From 12-3 or 5-10PM all week barr Sundays.
TOFU VEGAN - THE DOWLOAD
This was another surprise made in heaven. I don’t know about you, but I am an avid fan of Chinese cuisine. It’s extremely tasty, naughty, salty, delicious, and for better or for worse, it is full of meat and fish ingredients.
But not at Tofu Vegan. Inspired to help the planet become a better and more sustainable place, the team behind Tofu Vegan created a 100% plant-based menu that impressed the non-vegans like myself. Usually using mushroom, tofu, and other Asian imitation meats made from bean proteins, they are able to recreate many client favorites. Their sichuan hot dishes like the Chongqing chick’n in a pile of fragant chillies is numbingly addictive, and so is their mapo tofu and cloud ear fungus.
WHERE TO FIND them? You are in for a treat as they have now 3 branches across London: one in Islignton (the OG), one in Golders Green, and on in Shoreditch, right next to Club Mexicana.
WHEN TO GO? All day, everyday (12pm-11pm). Don’t miss out!