Food>Restaurants & Travel

The Best Vegan Fish and Chips In the UK

All the Best Vegan Fish and Chips You Should Be Eating

In need of some comfort food? There’s nothing like vegan fish and chips.

Fish and chips are a British staple, but as consumers turn towards healthy, ethical, and environmentally-friendly alternatives to animal products, demand for plant-based seafood is on the rise. According to a customer survey by Sainsbury’s, up to 91 percent of British consumers are flexitarian. This means that the majority of Brits are trying to eat more plant-based foods.

Vegan Seafood

Vegan seafood includes everything from simple, whole foods substitutions—such as battered tofu as cod or chickpeas, lemon, and nori as a plant-based tuna fish—to high tech clean-meat production.

Clean-meat companies such as the Californian start-up BlueNalu aim to overhaul seafood production with “cellular aquaculture.” BlueNalu is working to produce slaughter-free seafood, alongside similar companies such as Finless Foods. In contrast, companies such as Quorn, VBites, New Wave Foods, Ocean Hugger, and Good Catch Foods produce plant-based seafood alternatives from existing products such as soya, mycoprotein, and algae.

With so many vegan seafood options to choose from, we picked the best restaurants in the UK for vegan fish and chips.

The Best Restaurants for Vegan Fish and Chips

All the Best Vegan Fish and Chips You Should Be Eating
Matter Fastfoods now operates as a pop-up kitchen.

1. Matter Fastfoods

Bristol’s very own vegan tofish and chip shop may have closed, but Matter still do pop-up events serving fried vegan junk. Matter Fastfoods has cooked up steaks, chicken, kebabs, wraps, and other plant-based takes on classic dishes.

Sutton and Sons expanded its menu to cater to customer demand.

2. Sutton and Sons

“Our signature recipe is made from banana blossom that’s been marinated in seaweed and samphire,” says the London based Sutton and Sons. “The innovative menu available at all three of our branches includes ‘prawn’ cocktail, ‘scampi’, ‘chicken’ and ‘fish’ burgers, battered sausages and vegan pie and mash.”

Earth and Stars serves gluten-free smoked tofu.

3. Earth and Stars Brighton

Earth and Stars in Brighton serves smoked tofu in place of fish. The meal is gluten-free and served with vegan tartar sauce, pea purée, and fresh samphire. The restaurant has also served a vegan doner kebab with shiitake mushroom bacon.

All the Best Vegan Fish and Chips You Should Be Eating
The Seabreeze uses vegetable oil and banana blossom for its vegan fish.

4. The Seabreeze

Teeside’s local favorite The Seabreeze has added battered banana-blossom fish to the menu. The chippy switched to cooking in vegetable oil and have a separate fryer for gluten-free options. The Seabreeze also sells chia seed and rice nuggets.

Loving Hut is 100 percent vegan.

5. Loving Hut

Vegan restaurant Loving Hut serves vegan fish and chips at both its Archway and Brighton Lanes branches. It also serves battered sausage, an “ocean burger,” and other classic chippy tea staples. Loving Hut won VegFest’s Best Vegan Restaurant award in 2015.

All the Best Vegan Fish and Chips You Should Be Eating
Mono celebrates “chippy Tuesday” with vegan comfort food every week.

6. Mono

Glasgow’s Mono makes “tofish”—tofu wrapped in seaweed then battered and fried. The seaweed gives it a savory seafood-like quality. Served with chunky chips and mushy peas. Mono also offers celeriac schnitzel, corndogs, burgers, and other vegan junk.
Hungry Horse Launches Vegan Menu At All 280 UK Restaurants

7. Hungry Horse

The UK pub chain Hungry Horse launched a variety of new vegan options in 2018, including vegan fish and chips. The plant-based fish uses fish-free flakes from VBites and is served with mushy peas and crispy chips. The pub also serves a hot Bakewell tart and vegan ice cream.
All the Best Vegan Fish and Chips You Should Be Eating
Lucy’s Fish and Chips serves battered, locally made sausages from Tofurei | Image/@Sleazy Vegan

8. Lucy’s Fish and Chips

Lucy’s Fish and Chips is a Norwich market staple and added vegan fish in early 2019. The “Vish” is made using seaweed and lemon marinated banana blossom. Other plant-based menu items include battered vegan fish steaks made using fish-scented konjac. The chippy stall also sells battered, meat-free sausages and tofu burgers.

All the Best Vegan Fish and Chips You Should Be Eating
The Veggie Chippy says it was the first of its kind in the UK.

9. The Veggie Chippy

Birmingham’s own Veggie Chippy serves vegan versions of several popular British comfort foods. These include battered “vish,” pasties, chips, curry sauce, and mushy peas. The Veggie Chippy also serves battered sausages, burgers, pizzas, and other side dishes.

All the Best Vegan Fish and Chips You Should Be Eating
The Land & Sea even serves vegan versions of black pudding | The Tartan Carrot

10. Land & Sea

The Land & Sea in Falkirk has a large, separate vegan menu. The traditional chippy sells plant-based prawns, battered “vish,” sausages, chicken, deep-fried pizzas, and even haggis. The Land & Sea also serves vegan sides and desserts and hosts regular vegan nights.

All the Best Vegan Fish and Chips You Should Be Eating
Simpsons fish and chips serves an expanded vegan menu in Stroud.

11. Simpsons Fish and Chips

This South West-based chippy serves vegan options in Stroud. The Simpsons menu includes vegan tofish made using seawater, lemongrass, and seaweed. Deep-fried pickles, battered jalapenos, pea fritters, burgers, and cheese and potato patties are also available.

If you feel like staying home and making your own, try this vegan fish and chips recipe made with banana blossoms.

Liam Pritchett