The Best Vegetarian Restaurants in Islington
By the Islington Local Guide team. Verified and updated June 2026.
Islington has a deeper bench of dedicated vegetarian and vegan restaurants than almost anywhere in north London, and the best of them are good enough that you would happily take a committed carnivore. My picks are The Gate for a refined dinner, Tofu Vegan for the food I crave most, Jam Delish for award-winning vegan Caribbean, and Indian Veg for the cheapest proper feed in the borough. I have eaten at all of them, and everything below is checked and currently open.
A quick note on honesty: the plant-based scene has thinned out in the last couple of years, with names like Rudy’s on Upper Street now gone. The places here are the ones that have lasted, because the cooking stands up on its own terms.
Quick picks
The Gate
Address: 370 St John Street, EC1V 4NN (opposite Sadler’s Wells)
Cuisine: vegetarian, with plenty of vegan options
Best for: a proper sit-down dinner, pre-theatre, taking non-vegetarians
The grande dame of London vegetarian dining. The original Gate opened in Hammersmith in 1989, and this Islington branch has been quietly excellent since 2012, set in a high-ceilinged Grade II listed room a couple of minutes from Angel. The cooking reflects the founders’ Indo-Iraqi Jewish heritage and ranges widely, plated with real care rather than treated as a meat-free afterthought. It is the one I book when I want dinner to feel like an occasion, and it is ideal before a show at Sadler’s Wells. There is a weekend brunch and a good-value set menu too.
Tofu Vegan
Address: 105 Upper Street, N1 1QN
Cuisine: fully vegan Chinese (Sichuan, Cantonese, Dongbei)
Best for: a group dinner, mock-meat sceptics, repeat visits
If I could only send you to one, it might be here. From the team behind Xi’an Impression, Tofu Vegan makes its own tofu daily and turns out a long menu of regional Chinese dishes, from mapo tofu and silken tofu in spicy Sichuan sauce to convincing ‘lamb’ skewers and sizzling mushrooms. The point is not that it imitates meat, but that the cooking is genuinely good in its own right. It is deservedly popular, so book ahead, as walk-ins on a weekend will be waiting.
Jam Delish
Address: 1 Tolpuddle Street, N1 0XT (north of Chapel Market)
Cuisine: vegan Caribbean, plus a full cocktail bar
Best for: a lively night out, something you have not tried before
The most exciting thing to happen to vegan food in Islington in years. Started in lockdown by siblings Jordan and Chyna Johnson and now in a permanent home off Chapel Market, with chef Nathan Collymore, formerly of Jamie Oliver’s Fifteen, in the kitchen. The curry ‘goat’, jerk oyster mushrooms and Appleton rum wings have won genuine awards, including Best Caribbean Restaurant at the 2025 FACT Dining Awards. Reggae on the speakers, sorrel cocktails on the table, and a room that fills up fast. It does not eat like a vegan restaurant, which is the highest compliment I can pay it.
Namaste@OMNOM
Address: Islington Square, 116N Upper Street, N1 1QP
Cuisine: vegetarian and vegan Indian
Best for: an Indian afternoon tea, a calmer meal, brunch
Tucked inside Islington Square, this is a vegetarian and vegan Indian restaurant and wellness space, a collaboration with Norfolk’s Namaste Village. The food leans on Ayurvedic and sattvic principles, and the signature here is an Indian-spiced afternoon tea that is worth booking for. It is a gentle, light-filled spot rather than a rowdy one, which makes it a good daytime choice when the rest of Upper Street is heaving.
Mildreds King’s Cross
Address: 200 Pentonville Road, N1 9JP (the Angel and King’s Cross edge of Islington)
Cuisine: vegan and vegetarian, internationally inspired
Best for: a dependable meal with a mixed group, big menus, cocktails
Mildreds has been doing plant-based food since 1988, long before it was fashionable, and the King’s Cross branch on Pentonville Road is the handiest of the group for Islington. The menu hops around the world, from Korean fried ‘chickn’ burgers to Sri Lankan sweet potato curry, and it is consistently good without being fussy. It gets busy and does not always take bookings smoothly, so go early or be ready to wait at peak times.
Indian Veg (Bhelpoori House)
Address: 92–93 Chapel Market, N1 9EX
Cuisine: vegetarian Indian, all-you-can-eat buffet
Best for: a cheap, generous, no-frills meal; bring your own drinks
A genuine Islington institution, trading on Chapel Market since 1985. It is a fully vegetarian all-you-can-eat buffet that remains one of the cheapest proper meals in the borough, served in a room whose walls are covered, floor to ceiling, in pro-vegetarian posters and slogans. The food is wholesome rather than refined, vegan dishes are clearly labelled, and you can bring your own drink. It is wonderfully eccentric and I have a real soft spot for it. Go hungry.
Where they are and how to get there
Most of these cluster around Angel and Upper Street, which makes a short veg crawl easy: Angel station on the Northern line puts you within a few minutes of The Gate, Indian Veg, Jam Delish and Mildreds, while Tofu Vegan and Namaste@OMNOM are a stroll up Upper Street towards Highbury & Islington. Booking is wise for all of them on Friday and Saturday nights.
Islington vegetarian restaurants: FAQ
What is the best vegetarian restaurant in Islington?
For a sit-down dinner, The Gate on St John Street is the long-standing favourite. For vegan food specifically, Tofu Vegan on Upper Street and the award-winning Jam Delish near Chapel Market are the current standouts.
Which Islington vegetarian restaurants are fully vegan?
Tofu Vegan and Jam Delish are entirely vegan. Mildreds is largely vegan, while The Gate, Namaste@OMNOM and Indian Veg are vegetarian with clearly labelled vegan options.
Where can I eat vegetarian cheaply in Islington?
Indian Veg on Chapel Market runs an all-you-can-eat vegetarian buffet that is among the cheapest proper meals in the area, and it is bring-your-own-drinks.
Are there good vegetarian restaurants near Angel station?
Yes. The Gate, Indian Veg, Jam Delish and Mildreds King’s Cross are all within a short walk of Angel, with Tofu Vegan and Namaste@OMNOM a little further up Upper Street.
Are these places good for non-vegetarians too?
Very much so. The Gate, Tofu Vegan and Jam Delish in particular are popular with meat-eaters, and at each of them a large share of diners are not vegetarian or vegan.
A note on how we put this together
Every restaurant here was checked against current listings and the businesses’ own pages before publishing, and we left out places that have closed, including a few well-known vegan spots that shut in the last two years. We live and eat across North and East London and visit these places ourselves. If something has changed since we last ate there, tell us and we will update .
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