London – Shoreditch

We had an excellent time touring Shoreditch with our knowledgeable guide Li-En. She expertly guided us through the colorful streets pointing out various street art on our way to four outstanding eateries.

We were absolutely stuffed at the end of our tour. I highly recommend this to anyone who is looking for an adventurous food journey through an exciting part of London.

The only food walking tour I’ve ever been on that begins with visiting some of the best street art in the world. We then went on to eat some delicious vegan food around the Shoreditch neighborhood. I don’t want to spoil the surprise of all the great types of food, but I promise you won’t leave hungry. Our guide was a local university student, and she was very nice and fun to talk to. Such a great tour! I highly recommend.

The company called “Vegan Food Tours” specializes in vegan food tours. They offer them in Amsterdam, London and Barcelona. I tried their London tour. The weekend tours tend to be popular, but when I registered for a tour on Monday it turned out I was the only guest. Yet, the tour took place and Li-en was an excellent guide.

I chose the tour in “Shordich”, which is a lively area of London with a fascinating history. According to the guide Shordich was once a place full of factories with a lot of underpaid (foreign) workers. Recently it was taken over by big IT companies and together with a lot of renewal of buildings it’s now a fascinating mix of brand new architecture, street art and old factories. Some places look so dirty that you wouldn’g even want to go there during the day, just around the corner one may find an upscale place to live at!

The tour comprises of a short walk, and visits to four restaurants. The guide varies the route and restaurants a little depending on the day and seating availability. We had pita wrap as a starter, followed by a taco, a burger and finally a donut. In other words: all fast food. While it’s all vegan, do not expect any true health food on the tour.

Guide Li-en had decent knowledge of the area, of the grafiti artists and of the restaurants she took me to. She could also tell me a lot about London in general, where to go, where to shop, what to do and what not to do. Having a vegan guide to get me on the right track for the remainder of the stay was just as valuable as the tour itself.

If I’d have any critisism then it’s the fact that the walk was too short. I would appreciate to see more of London and have more time between restaurants to digest the food. Also, the website might mention that it’s all vegan junkfood. Personally, I would appreciate a vegan high-class healthy restaurant tour.

Would I recemmend the London Vegan Food Tour? Yes, without a doubt. You see an interesting neighbourhood, try an interesting mix of restaurants and meet like minded individuals.