A Vegetarian Friendly Guide to Peckham

Is Peckham now the coolest neighbourhood in London? Possibly. It certainly is a vibrant, cultural and creative hub with what seems like a new hip place to eat popping up every few weeks. Being one of London’s most diverse and creative communities gives Peckham a distinctive edge in terms of its culinary scene. As more and more of our friends are becoming Peckhamites, we are taking the opportunity to discover SE15. There's no need to engage in a Peckham vs Hackney debate, and we are happy to report that like Hackney, Peckham has enough lure to impress plant-based foodies. Here is our guide to vegetarian friendly restaurants in Peckham.

 

Pedler

Apart from being a proudly local eatery with focus on seasonal ingredients, we have 2 very simple reasons to like Pedler; the fabulous Bloody Mary courtesy of Little Bird Gin company and excellent green shakshuka. Oh, and our lovely waitress offered complimentary avocado when we asked whether we could do without the eggs. Major brownie points!

 

Tupi

An all-day no fuss café with decent food and plenty of veggie and gluten-free options to satisfy any craving. There is a European menu with a Latin America twist and includes a bottomless weekend brunch for only £15 per person. That should be enough to convince many.

 

Levan

Good quality food in casual setting only moments away from Peckham Station. You would have zero excuses to not try Levan's superstar caramelised celeriac ravioli dish with dashi butter. If you are familiar to Brixton and liked Salon, you are likely to enjoy this place as well. Staff are very knowledgeable about dietary requirements and upbeat about their sustainability ethos. The food is also accompanied by an excellent natural wine list.

 

Mr. Bao

Deliveroo’s CEO and Co-Founder Will Shu thinks Bao will be the next burger and we think Mr Bao are the ones who will take vegan bao mainstream. Instagram-perfect ambiance, excellent service and a separate vegan menu. Need we say more? This place is incredibly popular among locals and is almost always entirely packed so reservations are recommended.

 

Petitou

A laid-back neighbourhood café serving plant centric and wholesome food on a quiet street. In addition to its incredibly loveable ambience, Petitou deserves a place on this list for its attention to support the local community. They source their vegan samosas from Mmmma’s Kitchen – a local company and all leftover food is donated to local charities. This local gem offers a nice distraction from the bustling city life.

 

Persepolis

A quirky café and Persian corner shop which is as colourful and original as its owner Sally Butcher. The menu is vegetarian, much of it vegan or gluten-free. We like the shop more than its food and thought we should still include in this feature as there aren’t many places in London where you can find good quality dukkah or preserved lemons. While you are there, why not have some Turkish coffee with hot paklava?

 

We will be taking the Overground from Shoreditch much more frequently to enjoy Peckham’s foodie scene. We haven’t braved the queue at the Taco Queen yet, which tops our list of places to eat, but hopefully soon. In pulling together our list we debated about including Begging Bowl, a strong Peckham favorite. The menu does have plenty of options marked as Veggie and Vegan, which is great; however, since our last visit, we've heard mixed things, so we thought we'd give it another go before delivering our verdict.