LONDON — Ah, fried chicken. It's greasy, it's fried, it's finger lickin' good. But it hasn't exactly been vegan friendly — until now.

A restaurant serving vegan fried "chicken" opened in London on Saturday, bringing joy and happiness to the lives of myriad city-dwelling vegans.



The Temple of Seitan in Hackney, east London, is serving up vegan fried chicken made from seitan, a meat substitute made from gluten.

✦ Guys, we've got a new 🌱 to add to our Vegan London maps! ✦ Temple of Hackney opened today! ✦ We tried the Temple Burger and the Strip Sub, they definitely lived up to the hype ✦ A photo posted by Bright Zine (@brightzine) on Jan 14, 2017 at 12:07pm PST

Co-founder Rebecca McGuinness explained how they are using seitan to replicate chicken.



"The fried chicken is made from seitan, we use vital wheat gluten mixed with soy and seasonings to replicate the flavours," said McGuinness.

McGuinness says she's been replicating her favourite "pre-vegan" dishes since she went vegan 10 years ago.

"We found that the seitan chicken we have been making really does taste and have the texture of the real deal," says McGuinness.

A photo posted by The London Sinner (@londonsinner) on Jan 15, 2017 at 4:56am PST

"We think it’s important as there is a common misconception that vegans hate the taste of animal products, but this isn’t true. The majority of us go vegan not because we hate the taste of meat, but because we see the important ethical, environmental and health reasons for doing so," McGuinness continues.

McGuinness says that she wants to show non-vegans that you don't have to miss out on your favourite dishes by going vegan.



On the menu, vegans will find a mix of "chicken" based dishes, like strips, wings, popcorn-style bites and burgers.

Princes range from £3 ($3.62) and £8 ($9.65) per item.