ES FOOD newsletter Reviews, recipes and a feast of flavours Enter your email address Continue Please enter an email address Email address is invalid Fill out this field Email address is invalid You already have an account. Please log in Register with your social account or click here to log in I would like to receive the latest restaurant reviews, recipes and food trend every week, by email Update newsletter preferences

Christmas might be the most wonderful time of the year, but it’s not always the easiest for vegans and vegetarians.

With millions of turkeys and pigs in blankets being served around the world, sometimes the thought of settling down at dinner on December 25 with an uninspiring nut roast isn't the most appealing thing in the world.

However, it really doesn’t have to be this way — plenty of London restaurants are catering to meat-free diners all through the festive period, serving up delicious veggie dishes.

While not all of them are open on December 25 itself (for those places, check our guide), these are the best vegetarian and vegan Christmas dinners to try this year.

Manna

Primrose Hill’s Manna has been serving delicious meat-free dishes since back in 1967 and the vegan roast has been on the menu for the past ten years. Now, they’re putting on an enticing Christmas menu for vegans and vegetarians in the capital. The menu includes a starter of risotto filled mushroom, followed by a heritage baby bear pumpkin stuffed with nut roast and a cranberry port jus, with all the trimmings. The restaurant isn’t open on December 25, although it will be opening its doors for much of the festive period and New Years Eve.

4 Erskine Rd, Primrose Hill, London NW3 3AJ, mannav.com

The Gate

The Gate is offering up a three-course veggie feast at its three locations in Islington, Hammersmith and Marylebone this Christmas. Mains on offer including butternut & sage wellington, aubergine schnitzel and the Christmas rotolo, with pommes dauphinoises filled with wild mushrooms and parsnip purée. The £35 menu also includes a Christmas cracker and petits fours. The Islington site is one of the longest standing dedicated vegetarian restaurants in the capital — these guys really know how to serve a good veggie roast.

370 St John St, Clerkenwell, EC1V 4NN, thegaterestaurants.com

Duck and Waffle

Duck and Waffle is offering veggies the chance to enjoy a Christmas feast on December 25 and take in one of the most stunning views in the city from the dining room atop 110 Bishopsgate. The venue is putting on a Christmas Day vegetarian menu (£85 per person) — a crispy polenta starter is followed by roast parsnip and truffle soup, before a Jerusalem artichoke ravioli main. Diners can also enjoy a cheese selection and ‘Xmas bauble’ sponge pudding, before taking coffee and mince pies. It's a great option for veggie dinners looking to eat out on Christmas Day.

110 Bishopsgate, EC2N 4AY, duckandwaffle.com

Bull and Gate

Young’s gastro pub the Bull and Gate in Kentish Town is catering for veggies and vegans right through the festive period — including Christmas Day itself. The £80 menu includes a glass of champagne on arrival, as well as a choice of veggie starters spiced crown prince squash soup or wild mushroom, chestnut and chicory tart. Next up, diners can enjoy a beetroot, fennel and mixed nut roast, with bloody mary sauce and rosemary roast potatoes.

389 Kentish Town Rd, NW5 2TJ, bullandgatenw5.co.uk

Roast

While this London Bridge restaurant Roast is known for serving up hearty meat options, vegetarians wont have to compromise this Christmas. The restaurant is putting on two festive menus this year, and veggies have the choice between a beetroot risotto, with golden cross, pickled pear and toasted hazelnuts, or a red onion tatin, with salt baked beetroot, goat’s cheese and toasted hazelnuts for their mains. The variety on the menu means it could be a great option if you’re dining as part of a group with differing dietary requirements, too.

The Floral Hall, Stoney Street, London SE1 1TL, roast-restaurant.com

Baluchi

For a slightly alternative Christmas dining experience, head to Baluchi by Tower Bridge. The restaurant specialises in dishes inspired by the north west of India. All diners are well catered for too, with separate vegan and vegetarian menus available. Highlights include the vegan spice crusted aubergine steak with madras sauce, as well as the not so vegan paneer pasanda with padron pepper and the wild mushrooms and truffle khichdi. Top it all off with the spiced Christmas pudding with cinnamon custard.

181 Tooley St, SE1 2JR, thebaluchi.com

Texture

For a high-end festive celebration, Texture is pulling out all the stops for diners this Christmas. Scan down the Icelandic-inspired menu at the Michelin-starred Marylebone favourite and you’ll find plenty of veggie options in among the venison and Icelandic herring. The vegan tasting menu (£87) includes the likes of celeriac textures, red cabbage with brussel sprouts and black rice with coconut, lime leaf and lemongrass.

34 Portman St, Marylebone, W1H 7BY, texture-restaurant.co.uk