Borough Market for vegans

I last published a post about Borough Market's vegan options a few years ago, and it's been really popular ever since. Rather than leave you with a list of places that's five years out of date, I thought it was time to write about how the number of vegan options has grown and grown since then.

I think if I had to pick my one favourite place to eat in Borough Market, it would be a toss up between Gujarati Rasoi and Horn OK Please, with the latter just edging it by a nose.

Both are veggie but have a goodly amount of vegan choices. If you find your face on the receiving end of a dosa from Horn OK Please, you'll not have steered yourself wrong. That said, Horn OK Please normally have three or so dishes on their menu, two of which are normally vegan, so anything you get from them is probably not going to do you wrong.



 Gujarati Rasoi also does a nice line in boxes of takeaway Indian food, and if you're hungry (or greedy, like me) make sure you get an onion bhaji to accompany your meal. It's the size of a cricket ball, so having a bhaji loving friend that can take over the eating if you start flagging is no bad thing.

If you're more in mind of a burger, then Borough Market has you covered there too - there's a vegan burger stall that's calling your name. The stall used to be called The Veggie Table, and sold both vegan and veggie items, but underwent a vegan conversion a while back and now goes by the name of the Big V.

There are three vegan burger options to choose from, as well as salad. I've not had a change to try them, but they look pretty good to me - next time I'm around Borough, put me down for a cheeseburger.

The other all-vegan stall at Borough Market is Koshari Street Food, which dishes up platefuls of the traditional Egyptian dish. I can confirm it's really tasty - a mix of rice, pasta, and lentils, served with a ttabbouleh type mix, caramelised onions, chick peas, and spicy or non-spicy sauce. It's one ot those great dishes where every spoonful you get is different, thanks to the many elements, but always equally delicious.

Balkan Bites stall also offers a vegan choice in the form of a potato and onion bourek. Again, I've not had a chance to try these myself, but I am a sucker for anything wrapped in pastry, so I'd certainly be very happy to give them a try.

if you're  looking for something vegan and sweet, you've got a couple of options. The Turkish Deli stall does a range of interesting flavours of Turkish Delight. If you're craving a little sugar to round off your meal but you don't want a full on dessert, a couple of cubes of Turkish delight (try the pine sap) and a cup of Turkish coffee, and you'll leave a happy bunny.

There's also a stall called the Free From Bakehouse that does a range of allergy-friendly cakes including wheat-free, dairy-free and vegan (some all three). There are vegan cupcakes, flpajacks, and muffins to be had. The cakes often seem a bit dry to me, which may be a side effect of the gluten-free ness, though getting a cupcake means the generous amount of icing should help make up for that.

If you're looking for food that you can cook yourself, rather than something readymade, Borough is full of them.

There are lots of really good greengrocers to stock up on all the fruit and veg your heart desires. Ted's Veg, Chegworth Valley, and Elsey and Bent are good all rounders, while Jock and Son's do some good bargains, while Turnips caters for those with bigger pockets in search of more exotic veggies.