At the start of 2025, a global plant-based platform called Hackney the most vegan-friendly borough in London.
Using data from Happy Cow and Uber Eats, Plant Based News ranked the most vegan-friendly London boroughs, with Hackney firmly at the top.
However, 2025 was also the year when two plant-based campaigners stormed the council in September to protest the council’s inability to adopt the plant-based councils initiative.
“Hackney is a climate change leader. We know that this needs to be done to protect the planet and our environment and our economy, food security,” Alastair Binnie-Lubbock, the Green Party councillor for Hackney Downs ward said.
A big supporter of the initiative, Binnie-Lubbock, drew attention to the wider necessity of plant-based diets and their inclusivity for a borough like Hackney.
Plant Based News mainly based their decision around restaurant offerings in the borough.
Becoming vegan in 2012, Andy Burton, ‘The Hackney Vegan’, uses Instagram to document vegan businesses over London and the world.
Burton said: “I think we have a huge amount of choice in Hackney. It’s very easy here. It’s very convenient to pick up what vegan products you want. Even when you compare it to Camden that has a lot of vegan places, it still has a lot.”
He drew attention to some of the vegan businesses that have moved out of the area or folded. A particular fan favourite was the vegan Italian Plant Club that moved from Mare Street to Newington Green and then shut down. This seemed to be a trajectory of other vegan restaurants that have moved from Hackney.
However, in terms of offerings for vegans, it is still very strong with cafes including Black Cat, Wave and Beans Cafe.
Whilst some offerings may have closed, Black Cat reassured its customers by saying it would rather shut down than convert to serving non-vegan products.
The cafe has long been a community venue, and started out offering vegetarian food before becoming fully vegan.
Holly Campbell-Smith, one of the owners, told the North East Londoner running a vegan business is not without its difficulties.
“I think it’s more difficult now to run a vegan cafe than it was so two or so years ago. Veganism has lost its trendiness,” Campbell-Smith said.
“The cost of food has almost doubled since the last ownership and business rates are really expensive.”
Despite the costs, the cafe is far from struggling and has recently welcomed new groups, such as a queer robot society and supper club.
“We are just learning really, how best to run the business. We’ve seen ourselves rise over the year which has been very positive,” Campbell-Smith said.
Featured image credit: Alesia Kozik via Pexels
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