Eddy Macit, a fish-loving Turk from the Black Sea area, has taken on the role of head chef at the new shop and prepares the ingredients by hand the night before. The shop has a range of vegan trimmings, including pies and mash and tartar sauce. (Vegan burgers and sausages are also on the menu.)

“You have to be much more careful when you are frying to make sure the consistency is right,” he said as he fried one of the banana blossoms. “You can’t just whack it all in like a fish.”

After watching nearly a dozen vegans devour the dish, I decided to try it. I am also a fish-loving Turk from the Black Sea area and I wanted to love it, but after years of eating succulent cod fillets my palate could not quite adjust to the thin and rubbery texture of the blossom flower. (The whole experience made me crave fish, and for dinner I had a meaty chunk of North Atlantic haddock.)

Mr. Sutton imports the banana blossom from Thailand and says that the vegan-friendly ingredients do not come cheap. One portion of fish and chips at the vegan shop costs 7 pounds and 50 pence (around $10), a little cheaper than the cost of the real fish, which starts at £10.50 a portion and goes up according to the type of fish.

Ms. Macit and Ms. Bonesso observed that the customers who came to eat at the vegan shop somehow seem different — more calm and friendly, they said.