Those who have been vegan for several years will remember the days when vegan pizzas were a disappointing affair. Few places even offered a vegan option, and those that did often looked like salad on a pizza base! Vegans were forced to order the vegetarian option and skip the cheese – and even that wasn’t always possible, because some bases contained dairy.
But luckily for us, things have come a long way since then, and Londoners can now enjoy a huge range of vegan pizza offerings. No longer are our topping choices limited to vegetables – many pizzerias now offer a range of mock meats and deliciously melty vegan cheeses. With such a wide selection available, there’s really no need to miss out!
So where can you find the best vegan pizzas? Here’s a selection of the yummiest options.
Located in Camden, all the food at Purezza is vegan – in fact, it was the first all-vegan pizzeria in the UK. It aims for its pizzas to be not just equal to, but better than traditional offerings. And it seems the restaurant may be succeeding – it won top prize at the 2018 National Pizza Awards with its vegan sausage and aubergine pizza, beating all the non-vegan pizzas nominated.
All Purezza’s bases are sourdough, and it has gluten-free options too. Even the vegan mozzarella, used on many of its pizzas, is homemade. Find Purezza at 43 Parkway, London NW1 7PN.
Basilico is an artisan pizza chain, and as such, its pizzas are wood-fired and made with high-quality ingredients from Italy. The pizzas are more expensive than you might find elsewhere, but if quality is important to you then it’s probably worth it.
The chain has four vegan options – sweet potato and kale, vegan margherita, roast vegetables, and vegan Sicilian. Gluten-free bases are available for an extra £2.30.
ICCO Pizza in Fitzrovia serves high-quality pizzas which aim to be the best value for money in London. Its pizzas are made fresh every day, including the dough.
ICCO’s plant-based offering is a mouthwatering vegetable pizza with caramelised onions, courgette, pepper, roast onions, and vegan cheese. Find ICCO at 46 Goodge Street, London W1T 4LU.
Wedge Issue makes “West Coast-style pizza”. Though not all vegan, it has an extensive vegan menu. Its pizzas are all wood-fired, and the bases are fermented for 72 hours in the traditional way.
There are seven vegan options, from the simple margherita to seitan and chilli or harissa and peppers. All come with vegan cheese, and there’s the option to add a variety of extra toppings for a small charge. These include olives, sun-dried tomatoes, capers, and pineapple.
Find Wedge Issue at 91-95 Clerkenwell Road, London EC1R 5BX.
Yard Sale is a London-based mini pizza chain. It’s an affordable option with four branches across the city. The dough is all vegan, and many of the pizzas can be made vegan by swapping out dairy cheese for a vegan alternative.
If you don’t fancy that, there’s also a vegan pizza called the Potater on the menu. It’s topped with shallots, roast potato, and cherry tomatoes, as well as spicy vegan mayo.
Speed is a selling point at MOD – it claims your pizza will be ready in a matter of minutes. It also places a strong emphasis on treating its workers ethically and pricing its dishes affordably. Best of all, you can pile on as many toppings as you like, because the pizzas come at a set price.
You can choose to swap dairy cheese for a vegan option on any of its pizzas, or create your own pizza by choosing whatever toppings you like. There are gluten-free bases for an extra £2, too. Find MOD Pizza at 17-18 Irving Street, London WC2H 7AT.
Located in Peckham, PickyWops is another artisan pizza place. With six different types of base available, including hemp and even spirulina, it goes above and beyond most restaurants. Pickywops originally catered to all diets, but has now gone fully vegan. Yay!
The different bases mean there are loads of possible combinations. Some even have a crust stuffed with almond ricotta! Find PickyWops at 144 Stockwell Rd, London SW9 9TQ.
Ciro Salvo is an Italian master pizzamaker who pioneered the idea of making dough with a very high water content. This is his only UK restaurant.
The vegan option on the menu is the classic Mariana, topped simply with garlic, oregano, and tomato sauce. Though it may sound less exciting than some of the other pizzas on this list, it’s been proclaimed one of the best pizzas in London even by non-vegan reviewers.
Find 50 Kalo de Ciro Salvo at 7 Northumberland Avenue, London WC2N 5BY.
Vegan Express in Tooting has an entire plant-based pizza menu featuring 14 different options – ideal if you want to go for pizza and be able to pick absolutely anything from the menu! Along with standard offerings like the Margherita and Super Spinach, there are more creative ones like Seitan Pineapple, Butternut Pistachio, and Seitan Salami. Its bases are wholegrain and made with seven-cereal flour.
Find Vegan Express at 913 Garratt Lane, London SW17 0LT. It recently opened a takeaway in Streatham, too.
This pizza chain has several branches across London. Its pizzas are traditionally made, with sourdough bases. They’re also very affordable, starting at just £5. Menus vary from season to season, and it prides itself on sourcing many of its ingredients from small farms in Italy.
Vegans can choose to replace the mozzarella with vegan cheese on any of the vegetarian options. Alternatively, the cheapest option – the tomato, garlic, and oregano pizza – is vegan-friendly.
We’ve all heard of Pizza Express, but did you know it has an entire vegan menu? The chain has upped its plant-based game in recent years due to growing demand. There’s now a vegan Giardiniera on the menu (mushrooms, olives, vegan cheese, parsley, and garlic oil). There are also three vegetarian pizzas which can be made vegan by swapping out the cheese for vegan mozzarella.
You can even get vegan dough balls as a starter, and either sorbet or vegan carrot cake for dessert.
Firezza offers traditional stonebaked pizza at its 17 locations across London. It has two vegan pizzas on its menu – the Spinaci, which has olive oil, pepper, chili, spinach, and onions, and the Vegano Chorizo, which has rocket, peppers, and vegan sausage. Both options come with vegan cheese, and there’s also the option to swap cheese for a vegan alternative (VioLife) on any of its other pizzas, or choose your own custom toppings.
Voodoo Ray’s makes huge New York-style pizzas with thin, crispy bases, which it sells by the slice. It has several London locations, with menus varying between them.
The only fully plant-based option on the menu is the Queen Vegan, which is topped with red onions, tomatoes, artichoke hearts, olives, and pesto. Those who avoid gluten can order a 10-inch pizza with a gluten-free base.
This is pizza with a difference! NAMA is a raw food restaurant in Notting Hill, and if you fancy a healthier option, its raw pizza may be just what you’re looking for. The pizza crust is made with walnuts, whilst the cheese is cashew-based and the “bacon” is made with aubergine. Find NAMA at 110 Talbot Road, London W11 1JR.
Karamel is an all-vegan restaurant, gallery, and venue in Wood Green. It has a pizza menu with eight different options, featuring a variety of mock meats, vegan cheeses, and vegetables. Choose from the Mediterranean, the Napoli, the Hawaiian, and more. Plus if you buy the Ayanna or the Palermo, some money will go to charity – so you can eat pizza and support a good cause at the same time. Win win! Find Karamel at 4 Coburg Road, Wood Green, London N22 6UJ.
Pizza Pilgrims began as street food vendors, but have now expanded to seven branches across London. They believe it’s “all about the crust”, which is why they prove their dough for 28 hours before cooking it at a very high temperature in the traditional way.
The Marinara pizza is topped simply with garlic, tomato sauce, olive oil, and herbs. At £6, it also happens to be the cheapest option on the menu.
This long-established pizzeria has several branches in London and the surrounding area. Though not all vegan, it has a huge array of vegan options, including the spicy pizza, the Tropicana, and even the Cheez Supreme. There are plenty of pizzas topped with vegetables, but there’s also no shortage of less healthy options like vegan chicken, pepperoni, and garlic sausage.
This pizzeria has grown from humble origins – it started out with no fixed premises – to become a highly successful restaurant. It also has several kiosks around the capital.
Its pizzas have twice been voted the best in London. Though there isn’t a vegan option on the menu, you can swap mozzarella for cashew-based vegan cheese on both the meat-free options (the margherita and the spinach pizza). Find Made of Dough at 182 Bellenden Road, SE15 4BW.
Radio Alice’s selling point is its organic ingredients and use of natural mother yeast to make the dough more easily digestible.
It offers two vegan options – simple tomato sauce with garlic, or peppers with olives, onions, and capers. Find Radio Alice at 16 Hoxton Square, London, N1 6NT.
At its three locations in Islington, Brook Green, and Boxpark Wembley, Zia Lucia offers a choice of unusual bases, from wholemeal to charcoal. There’s a gluten-free option too.
As far as toppings go, Zia Lucia serve a cheeseless pizza called La Vegana, which is topped with asparagus, sun-dried tomatoes, and butternut squash cream.
Canova Hall is an Italian restaurant in Brixton. It prides itself on its slow-fermented dough and use of high-quality fresh ingredients.
Plant-based eaters can enjoy the Vegan Viking, which is topped with chillies, rocket, mint, pistachio pesto, and cashew cheese. Its beetroot gnocchi is vegan too. Find Canova Hall at 250 Ferndale Road, London, SW9 8BQ.
Situated just across the street from Waterloo station, Crust Bros serves traditionally-made pizza with not one, not two, but three vegan options. There’s the Vegan Margherita, the Aubergenius (with aubergine, courgette, and vegan cheese), and a mushroom pizza. You can also build your own pizza, with the option to add vegan cheese. Find Crust Bros at 111 Waterloo Road, London SE1 8UL.
Well Street Pizza has branches in Hackney and Peckham. Its Vegana pizza comes topped with tomato, artichoke, spinach, mushroom, and Kalamata olives. The pizza is cheeseless, but you can choose to add vegan cheese for £2.30. There are extra toppings available too, plus gluten-free bases for an extra charge. Find Well Street Pizza at 184 Well Street, London E9 6QT.
At its six branches across London, Homeslice makes 20-inch pizzas sold either whole or by the slice. It aims to mix tradition with innovation by combining its authentic bases with unusual topping combinations.
Its vegan mushroom pizza with garlic oil is available both whole and by the slice.
Four Hundred Rabbits is dedicated to two fermented products – sourdough pizza and craft beer. It uses mainly British and seasonal ingredients.
There are two vegan options on the menu. The simplest comes topped with garlic, basil and olive oil; the other has toasted seeds, courgette, radish, basil pistou, and thyme. Gluten-free bases are available at an extra charge. Find Four Hundred Rabbits at 143 Evelina Road, London SE15 3HB.
Sodo Pizza is a sourdough pizza restaurant with branches in Hoxton, Clapton, Bethnal Green, and Walthamstow. It emphasizes seasonal and sustainable ingredients.
Its Mary Jane pizza is vegan and topped with garlic mushrooms, walnuts, greens, caramelised onions, chimichurri, and roast celeriac. And if you’re staying for dessert, there’s also a vegan affogato with biscotti, oat milk-based ice cream, and espresso. Yum!
Heist Bank describes itself as a “playground for grown ups”. At its site near Paddington Station, it has a games room, pool table, and street art. And of course, it serves pizza too!
The vegan option on the menu is topped with sun-dried tomatoes, courgette, and vegan cheese. Find Heist Bank at 5 North Wharf Road, London W2 1LA.
The Pizza Room is an award-winning authentic Italian pizzeria with three branches across London. Its red pizzas are made with homemade tomato sauce, and there are two vegan options – the Marinara and the Vegan Veggie, which is topped with mushrooms, peppers, courgettes and oregano. If you prefer your pizzas cheesy, you can add vegan mozzarella for £1.50.
Pizza Union is an Italian pizza bar. It has four branches – Spitalfields, Dalston, Aldgate, and King’s Cross. Service is superfast, and you can get pizza to eat in or take away.
The Vegano pizza comes with courgette, peppers, vegan pesto, and oregano. You can also choose to order the Margherita, Fiorentina, or Giardino without the mozzarella to make them vegan.
Saint is an all-vegan pizzeria in Hackney where you can just walk in, no booking required. Its bases are sourdough, and gluten-free bases are also available. Saint uses mainly local and artisan ingredients. Its cheeses are made from soya and coconut.
The pizzeria is based inside one of London’s best-rated cocktail bars, ABQ London. Find it at 18 Bohemia Place, London E8 1DU.
Pi Pizza serves artisan pizzas at its restaurants in Winchester and Battersea Rise. Uniquely, you can choose to divide your pizza into halves or thirds to try different flavour combinations.
There are three vegan options on the menu. One is garden pea, mint cream, avocado and chickpea. Another is chili aubergines, barbecue peppers, and pine nuts, and the third is broccoli, parsley cream, roast raisins, breadcrumbs, and pimento. Find Pi Pizza at 132 Stockbridge Road, SO22 6RN and 4-6A Battersea Rise, SW11 1ED.
This national Italian restaurant chain now has an entire vegan menu. As far as pizza goes, you can get the classic Margherita or the Rustica version (made with a different base). Gluten-free bases are also available. Many of the extra toppings are vegan too, such as the roast garlic, artichokes, and smoked chilli jelly. And if you’re still hungry, there’s vegan calzone and gelato for dessert. Some of the starters, pastas, and sides are also suitable for vegans.
What’s your favourite place to get vegan pizza? Let us know in the comments!