A while ago I planned to visit ‘Rawligion’, to make it one of my hotspots. As I lately plan to work on my blog outside my flat, I was looking for a cafe near Tottenhamcourt Road, where I could write some articles. So I found Yumchaa, what looked really nice. When I arrived there, it turned out that ‘Yumchaa’ was right next to ‘Rawligion’, such a nice and especially handy, coincidence. It was a lovely day that day, with lots of sun and a blue sky. With the graffiti in front of me and the BT tower in the distance I had a strong Berlin-feeling. I was excited to go inside, because the pictures I’ve seen were very appealing.
It looks like a spacious cafe when you’re standing in front of it, but when you’re actually going inside you can see it’s very big for a cafe. It’s amazing! I loved it instantly! There is so much light coming in through the glass ceilings. I think that is what I loved the most. All the chairs and tables are different and vintage. It’s an organised mess. I won’t like this style in my own house, but for a cafe I just find it absolutely beautiful. The counter is made of old wooden shelfs, what really adds to the industrial/vintage atmosphere. It was very quiet when I came in, what was nice, because I could choose almost any table I wanted. I chose a nice big table near the wall, with lots of daylight.
The girl who served me was really nice and helpful when I asked for vegan options. On the counter is a big selection of tea, which you can smell, read about and then choose from. What a great idea. Another great thing: they only use loose tea. It’s all about tea here and how to make it taste most perfect. There are also a lot of treats on the counter, with 3 vegan options. Yay! I chose the ‘sour cherry with hazelnut’ cake and (of course) I ordered a chai latte to go with that. They make this in a special filter, what is super cool. I was a little bit too late to take a picture of this process, what means you better go and check it out for yourself. The chai latte was super yummy and pure of taste and the cake I had, was very yummy too. The girl told me they were 
thinking about offering more vegan options. You can also have a light lunch here and there was actually only one option for vegans. It would be amazing if they could add some to that. I sat and worked here for a few hours and had a lovely time. I’m very sure I’ll come back here. This is definitely one of my favourite cafes from now on.There are 5 other locations in London though and after seeing this one, I’m very curious about the other locations. Next time I’ll probably check out one of their other locations. You can find all the other locations on their website. It’s a very nice website too and you can buy and learn all about their tea. They even deliver. And it’s free for all UK orders over £35. Delivery tea, how great!
WHO? Yumchaa.
WHERE? 9-11 Tottenham St, Fitzrovia, W1T 2AQ.
CUISINE? Tea Cafe.
VEGAN? No! (omni)
OVERALL? 9 (beautiful atmosphere, great tea/cake, could have more vegan options)
Do you know Yumchaa already? Are you a tea drinker and do you sometimes work outside your house too? Please let me know if you decide to visit Yumchaa! You can do this by leaving a comment below. You can also show me by tagging me on Instagram or by using #PlanetManel. Thank you! X
I’ve got a new job since mid January. This means I’m taking a different route to work. So now, every morning, I’m walking past this really nice cafe called ‘Cable Co’. It looks really nice and I wanted to check it out. I live very close to here and so it was easy. I also decided to take my laptop, to do some work there. I found out that it works much better when I work out of the house. Working in my own flat and next to my lovely bed is just not my thing. Haha! So on a Friday morning I went here to see what vegan options they have to offer. I was pleasantly surprised.
I asked what vegan options they had and they sell 3 types of energy bombs. I chose the coconut one, but they also have a nutty one and one that’s called ‘breakfast’. She also told me that they make the porridge with almond milk and so if you order it without the honey, it’s vegan. Perfect, so I ordered that. One of the best things was that they make their Chai latte with a syrup, what means there is no milk powder. As Chai lattes are my favourite, I ordered that too. I was very lucky finding a spot next to the window and a moment later there was a nice bowl of porridge in front of me, with an even nicer Chai latte. The porridge was very tasty, though I do like it to have a little bit more runny. The taste itself was good though. It would have been amazing if they offered agave nectar, but I must day that I didn’t really miss sweetness that much, thanks to the fresh berries on top. The energy bomb was yummm!
One thing why my eye caught ‘Cable Co’ is because it’s nice atmosphere. It’s black from the outside, with simple, modern, white letters. It’s not a very big cafe, just a few tables and seats. It’s quit industrial, what I like. Though I did have a very nice spot, the seat wasn’t that comfortable. It was a very small wooden bench. Or maybe my bum is just to big.. haha! It’s ok to sit there for a while and chat, but for working a little longer I’ll make sure to pick another seat. I really liked that the staff being very helpful and they kindly answered my questions. They also have another location called ‘Wire Co’, around the corner of the West Hampstead Underground station. So if you live around there, you might want to check that one out and let me know what that one is like. Check out their 
I lived in Shepherds Bush for 1,5 year. Great place to live. Near Westfield and great transport into central London. A lot of weekend you could find me in Westfield or in West 12, what is on the opposite of the road. I always walked past Thai Buffet, or I saw it from the bus. It said ‘Lunch £5,90’ and ‘Dinner £6,90’. They serve Thai and Chinese vegetarian food. I always thought, ‘I should go there’. I like buffets, I like Thai food and it’s SO cheap! Only, because it was cheap and it also looked cheap I never bothered to go. I never was too keen on the idea and mostly went to Wagamama instead. Until last year, when my brother came and stayed at my place for a few days. He is really into buffets too and as it’s vegetarian, I was positive they had some vegan options too. That’s why I decided to go with him.
Ok, it’s not the place I would take my lover on Valentines Day, but it’s perfect for a hungry Saturday afternoon. Like me and my brother. I asked the lady what was vegan and I couldn’t believe my ears when she said that everything is vegan! What?! Why didn’t I go here before?! The food looked delicious and I couldn’t wait to start. I was so excited. We ordered a drink and we ran to the buffet, haha! With buffets I always like to start with salads. Just because your body will digest it easier, starting with raws. After that I was very happy to dig in the 
seitan, tofu and spring rolls.. gosh it was nice! When I was full I really wished I had another stomach to fill. They even had crispy duck style pieces and a lot of rice, noodles and lots of veggies. I really liked all the food and there are quite a lot of options for a small restaurant like this. Everything is very tasty, but I wasn’t crazy about the dessert though. It was just fruit, nuts and some tapioca pudding. They could have done a lot better I think. Maybe it’s just the Thai and Chinese kitchen that don’t give a lot of vegan style dessert option. All together I think it’s great value for money though!
So like I said before, it’s not a place you’re going to, to have a romantic dinner. But with all the food options, you don’t really care about the interior that much. It’s alright. Something I didn’t like that much is the staff. They were friendly, but not very focused on service. I know it’s a buffet and it’s all self-service, but it’s just nice if you feel very welcome. Overall, I was very pleased that I went and I’m sure I’ll come back here. Especially when my family is over here. My brother liked it a lot too and I’m sure the rest of my family will as well.
Years ago I went to Giraffe and all I remember from that is that they have really good sweet potato fried. Lots of restaurants have them now, but at that time they were one of the few. So whenever I craved sweet potato fries, I’d go there. Then I didn’t go for quite long, because there are not a lot of restaurants around. Last summer I flew to Mallorca from Heathrow and before boarding I went to Giraffe again. For the fries, obviously.. but then I saw they also have a very healthy yummy vegan salad on the menu! So It was time they became a hotspot!
So this time I went to the Giraffe near Holland Park. I ordered the yummy salad and.. well, you know.. Haha! I must say that this salad is very good. It’s very tasty and very healthy. Such a good option if you’re out with other people and you want to choose something vegan and healthy. Apart from this salad and the fries, you can also order things like: olives, edamame beans, avocado on sourdough bread, roasted aubergine (without yogurt sauce), Spicy Rice bowl (without egg).. so they do have quite a few options. I should try something else next time. If you go to their 
The restaurant near Holland Park is perfect for if you came from a beautiful (Holland Park is beautiful, it’s my favourite park!) stroll in the park and feel like having a nice meal. It’s only a 5 minute walk. You’ll feel welcome the second you walk in. I was served by a very kind and happy girl, what I find so important, whenever I eat out. I also really like their interior. They created a very nice place. It’s modern, but it still feels warm and homely, with different tables and seats. They did really well to create a worldly atmosphere. What means that you can almost see the menu through the interior. Also, it’s very child friendly, a real family restaurants. It’s for everybody really.
On Portobello Road, around the corner from Oxford Gardens, there is a lovely Juice Bar, called ‘Portobello Juice’. You can’t miss it, because it’s very colourful and it looks very.. juicy, haha! As you know, I love Portobello Road and many times I walked past this juice bar, without going in. This is actually because I always get a Starbucks whenever I’m around there and as the drink I order there is so filling, I never got around to try a juice here. Until one day I saw that they had Acai bowls too and they actually had quite a lovely juice/smoothie menu. So there we go.. I had to go for breakfast!
As I like to test Acai bowls, I ordered that. I did mentioned that there couldn’t be any animal products in there, so they would put only fruit and seeds on it instead. I also ordered a tea. As an Acai bowl and a juice would look like each other so much. Next time I will try one of their juices or smoothies. Also I would like to try one of their many vegan desserts. They have all sorts of vegan raw goodies. I never knew that. You can only really find out when going inside. What do you think of raw oreo’s (chocolate or salted caramel), raw snicker bars or some other raw cakes (chocolate or raspberries).. That sounds amazing doesn’t it? I’m very curious about them, especially about the salted caramel oreo’s! Then there is a salad bar with quite some vegan options and the salads look good. If I was here for lunch instead, I might have gone for that. You can have it with ciabatta bread and grilled veggies if you like. So they do have some vegan options, also for lunch. Which is great! But about the Acai bowl.. it was very tasty, though I think they could have done a little better with the presentation. Maybe the fruit on one side and the seeds sprinkled over/next to it? Would have looked fantastic!
There is something about the place I really like and that is the art. There is amazing art painted on the walls (outside and inside). Of ladies drinking juice.. It’s made really well and I think they’re real eye catchers. There is also art hanging on the wall, art you can buy. I like this a lot. The tables and chairs look all very nice in the whole juice-look. I do think that some things make it look a bit cheap, like the salad bar itself and the orange/purple coloured counter. It just doesn’t match with the nice things they have. It could have looked much more modern and attractive, even though I think they did a really good job with the rest. The staff was very friendly and helpful, what is always nice. So I will definitely go here again to try a juice and a salted caramel oreo. Oh yes!
Notting Hill is great. For a lot of reasons.. but one of the reasons is definitely the restaurant ‘Farmacy’. A few times I saw Farmacy popping up on Instagram and when I checked what it was, of course I needed to go there. Now it happened to be that I got a temporary job last December, just for a week. The job was only a 2 minutes walk from Farmacy, how perfect?! So after my first work day, I went straight there and I was so impressed. What a fancy restaurant! This is definitely a good place for a more formal lunch, but also perfect for dates or to celebrate a special occasion. I’m just thinking now, I might actually go here on my birthday!
At Farmacy they, as the name implies, serve healthy food. “Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.” They get their products from local, organic farms from the UK. This doesn’t only make it taste amazing, it also makes sure you’ll get the maximum of all the nutritional benefits the food offers. Their whole menu is vegetarian, but looking at it, you’ll actually see that most of it is vegan too. Yay! I got the (of course) the burger (Farmacy Burger) with sweet potato chips. They do have lots of other very nice things on the menu. What do you think of ‘sweet potato falafels’ and ‘Tagliatelle ai Funghi’? Or you 
can choose 1 of the 3 vegan pizza’s.. These are only a few options, they got salads, soups and very nice desserts. I was too full to try a dessert, but I’ll make sure I’ll have some the next time I go. It will be very hard to choose though.. they have lots of dessert options for vegans and it’s totally different from a ‘sorbet’ or a ‘fruit platter’.. these are real desserts! Mouth-watering.. So as you can read, there is lots of good food, but they also do incredible juices and shots. All sorts of very amazing drinks. They’re all made right in front of you, at the bar in the middle.
Farmacy is located at Westbourne Grove, a street full of nice, quite exclusive shops and quite a lot of restaurants. Perfect location I would say and in a beautiful building. I also really like the interior. Very light and very green with lots of plants. In the front are very nice round benches, which I think are the best seats. There are also normal tables and chairs or you can eat at the bar. If you’re planning to go at a busy time and you’re going with 2 or more people, I do recommend you to make a reservation. It’s a very busy restaurants. Waiting to get seated is very normal. A lot of people like it here, what is only very positive though. I have to make a compliment about the staff, they’re very friendly and professional, what is very pleasant. The only down side about Farmacy is that it’s quite expensive. Though, to be fair, the food is really good! So in comparison it’s probably not that bad. Check out the 
Last Thursday I didn’t post a hotspot, silly me! That’s why I’ll give you one today: Lupita! When I was planning to go to ‘Giraffe’ in High Street Kensington, I couldn’t find it. Apparently it’s gone. Instead I found Lupita. I actually did see it before, because it’s quite the eye-catcher. I looked at the menu and there was no reason to put them on my hotspot list as there was basically nothing vegan. But because I was there anyway, I went inside and asked if they are willing to make me anything vegan. The staff was so friendly and helped me straight away. Together we veganised a vegetarian burrito and I ordered a side salad. In the meantime they gave me 2 dressings, 1 a little spicier than the other, but both really tasty! When my burrito was in front of me I was very content, it looked fabulous. I ate it all together, the burrito with the avocado, the dressings and the very fresh crispy salad. It was a really good meal for a restaurant that doesn’t offer anything vegan.
I’d say Lupita is a very good option if you want to go to a restaurant with people who’re not vegan. Personally I’d rather go to a vegan or vegetarian restaurant btw. I wouldn’t feel comfortable or at ease with somebody who’s eating meat in front of me. But I know that there are people who are ok with it and that’s why I think it’s good to review restaurants like this. Also I think the more ask for vegan options they get, the more vegan the world is going to be. Hurrah for that! At least the staff was very helpful and I actually had a very nice mature conversation with one of the waiters about veganism. I recommended to put something vegan dishes on the menu, but it wasn’t really a traditional Mexican thing he said. Though I do think they can at least give vegan options, because the burrito they made me, was lovely.
Lupita has 2 other branches. One in central London (13 – 15 Villiers Street WC2N 6ND) and one close to Liverpool Street (60-62 Commercial Street E1 6LT). They also do delivery and take away. For more information about that, you can go to their 
Who doesn’t know Jamie Oliver?! He is such a famous cook, that I think everybody knows him or at least heard of him. He published lots of books (still waiting for a vegan one?! Hehe..) and he is very successful. He also owns a lot of restaurants, all over the UK. You can all find them via the 
so many people asked for it. They now serve vegan pasta anyway. So when I went to have lunch there I was expecting that pasta, but when I took a look at the menu I was pleasantly surprised! They changed everything and now there were vegan options all over the menu. They marked everything very well and it made me so happy! the world is changing.. baby steps, but it is! I ordered the roasted aubergine with lentils and some chunky chips (I’m a sucker for chips). I was so excited and when my meal was in front of me I was very pleased. It looked great! It also was very tasty. The chips were lovely and the aubergine was perfectly done. Together with the lentils it was a very good combination.
It’s a big restaurants. You can sit at the entrance, what could have been a restaurant on its own, but if you walk past the toilets there is another big space, it almost looks like it’s 2 restaurants in 1. I really like the interior. It’s light, industrial, vintage with a modern twist. It’s truly amazing!
Carluccio’s is a very popular restaurant with many restaurants all over the UK. It’s not vegan, not vegetarian, but.. they do have a separate vegan menu (incl. vegetarian things)! It makes Carluccio’s perfect for if you want to go out for a meal with friends or family who are not vegan. It’s a shame there is only one main dish for vegans (spaghetti with tomato-basil sauce), but they do have a lot of yummy side dishes which you can add. Or you can make a main meal out of side dishes if you like. A reason why Carluccio’s is really standing out from the crowd is because it’s an Italian restaurants that doesn’t 
serve pizza. I like it, because it’s not what you expect, but they still have very nice things on the menu for vegans. It’s something different from ‘pizza, no cheese please’, vegans mostly order in Italian restaurants. Not that it’s not tasty, because yum(!), but what do you think of some nice crispy bruschetta? ..or sautéed mushrooms with garlic and chilli in a crispy mixed salad? Personally I really like the food there and even though the spaghetti is their only vegan main dish, it’s very tasty and exactly the way you expect and want it to be. For dessert you can choose between 3 flavours of sorbet.
I do really appreciate that they have a separate menu for vegetarians/vegans, but I think they can do better on the vegan options. I think it’s positive that they do pay attention to it though, it’s definitely a step in the right direction. But what about a nice plant-based risotto with mushrooms?
On their 
I actually know about this restaurant for quite a while already. Somebody told me about it in the beginning of this year and then it was just on my hotspot list for ages. The reason is because at that time I looked it up it seemed like a hassle to get there. Silly me.. as when I looked again it turned out I can be there within 30 minutes by taking 1 train, from the opposite of where I live. Easy! My friend Pavla came to visit me that day. I didn’t see her for a long time, because she was traveling for quite a while. Before she went away we used to do some hotspot hunting together and it was very nice to go here with her.
The first thing I thought when I walked in was ‘what a cool place’! I immediately regret the fact that I only went here now. It’s all black and I would say it’s a mix between industrial and modern. It’s not very big, but there is enough space to sit very comfortable. The staff was so kind, as we took ages to decide what to get. Everything is vegan and it was just very hard to make a decision. When I’m at a place I really like, I always tell myself I should go again soon. The only thing is that there are always more hotspots to discover and my stomach can only take so much. Though, I must say I think about this restaurant a lot and I’m very sure I want to go again.
As a starter we ordered ‘cheesy balls’. They looked so nice, so much creativity on a plate. We shared all 4 of them and the flavours really came together. They also serve really cool 2 coloured bread. Not much later our main dishes came our way. It looked amazing! I must say that Pavla her food was a bit tastier than mine though. Pavla chose this incredible vegetable dish what looked like a lasagna (if I remember well it was the ‘Parmigiana’) and it was so full of flavour, it was too good. I chose the ‘soy chunk skewers with bbq sauce and potato wedges’, as I wanted to choose something no other restaurant offers. The potato wedges were the best I’ve ever had and the salad was so crispy and fresh though, but the soy chunks were a bit tasteless. The only taste was the huge amount of bbq sauce on top. I still liked it because it was very chewy, so different and recently I like to try new things on the menu. We were sitting next to a big sign with all the desert written on it. I think that was very clever of them, because if there is a sign with ‘chocolate pizza’ next to you for almost an hour, you will order it. So we did. It was big enough to share and you can even divide it in 4 and still have a nice dessert each. It was deeeeeeelicious!
About Fed By Water. It’s located in Dalston, just across from the Dalston Kingsland overground station and they serve an authentic, traditional Italian cuisine. You can order soup, salads, pasta’s, pizza’s and some amazing starters. If you’re very hungry, I’d recommend the calzone as it’s huge! They also do something with live music. I can’t find anything on their website about it apart from that they’re working on it. Live music and vegan food sounds amazing though, doesn’t it? You can also get their food delivered and they do a catering service (what looks amazing btw!). More information about this you can find on their 
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