Vegan in Berlin: Gemello Vegan Pizza

Posted on August 10, 2026 by Jenny
A pizza with lots of cheese and a yellow sauce

A few years back on a trip to Berlin, our train arrived after most restaurants had closed so turned to the food delivery apps to see what we could get delivered to put hotel. We ordered pizza that was very tasty – but it was also not sliced and we didn’t have any cutlery with us. We had to rip it into pieces with our hands, which was a big old mess. Finally this year I was ready to try pizza in Berlin again, at a different spot and dining in. And look – this time it came with scissors for slicing! Are Berliners just opposed to pizza cutters? Are they banned in the city?! Fortunately, the pizza itself raised fewer questions.

Gemello has quite a small menu, with only a handful of different pizzas. But there were some really unusual and fun options on there.

A pizza topped with tomato sauce and aubergine

Dr HH had the rosina, which was topped with aubergine, salami, tomatoes, chilli, rose, and mint. It felt stretched a bit too thin for his liking, to the extent that the base in the middle felt almost non existent and it was very difficult to pick up. Taste wise, no complaints though. There was a nice heat from the chillies and good flavour from the tomato sauce. The aubergine slices were big and well cooked. The salami was nice, though it felt like a pretty standard vegan meat topping. The mint added a nice bit of freshness and he didn’t notice the rose flavour too much, which is probably a good thing – it’s better to have too little rose flavour than too much.

A pizza with lots of cheese and a yellow sauce

I got the Sunday, which is excitingly billed as a carbonara pizza with egg yolk sauce, parmesan, and bacon. This restaurant got onto our itinerary the second I saw this option on the menu during my pre-trip research. Honestly, I had to double and triple check that it was a vegan restaurant because it seems ambitious to take a dish that’s all egg, cheese, and meat and make it vegan. But the vegan scene in Berlin is nothing if not ambitious! The egg yolk sauce was so rich and flavoursome – and it was a much more generous serving than I was expecting. It was really the star of the show. The meaty chunks were tasty and the cheesiness was great too. The base held its integrity, I didn’t experience the same sloppiness as Dr HH. This pizza was really sensational, but perhaps a bit too rich to eat in one sitting for me. Dr HH was more than happy to tackle the leftovers though!

It was a very busy spot, packed to the rafters on a Sunday evening, so a reservation is strongly recommended. Service was very fast though. Diners are allowed their table for two hours, and we didn’t need nearly that long. I will definitely be keeping an eye on their menu for future visits. Between this spot in Berlin and Purezza in the UK, I feel like I’m living in a golden age of vegan pizza options. Just not in my own city, unfortunately…

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Vegan in Berlin: Brammibal’s Donuts

Posted on August 3, 2026 by Jenny
Two plates of donuts and two mugs of milky hot drinks

I always make sure to go to Brammibal’s on every trip to Berlin. The donuts are always excellent and the range of flavours is really exciting – much more enticing than the standard Biscoff or fruit ones I usually see. I love the Potsdamer Platz branch in particular. There’s a lot of seating, both inside and out. There’s no table service, so you order either at the counter or using one of the screens. This is what we tried on a trip in July.

Two donuts on a plate, one a ring glazed with chocolate and topped with a blob of cream cheese ice cream and some biscuit crumbs, the other a filled donut topped with chocolate.

At the top of this picture is the zupfkuchen, a monthly special in July. It was a ring donut topped with chocolate ganache, a blob of cream cheese icing, and some chocolate biscuit crumb. Every individual element was delicious, and together they were an absolute dream!

The other donut in the picture is a Boston creme, which is a classic for a reason. The dough is soft, the ganache is rich, and the vanilla custard is light and sweet. This is a permanent fixture on the menu, and deservedly so. I think I get one every time we visit.

Two filled donuts on a plate. One is topped with green icing and chopped pistachios and pink raspberry cream. The other is topped with chocolate.

This bright pop of pink and green is of course pistachio and raspberry. Dr HH thought this was delicious! It was bursting with jam that was sharp and not too sweet. This balanced really well with the sweet pistachio icing.

A ring donut with white icing barely visible under a chocolate biscuit crumb coating.

We brought a few back to Prague with us too, of course. The cookies and cream was a lovely sweet donut with vanilla icing and a delicious cookie crumb. This isn’t a flavour combination that will change the world, but it’s simple and well executed here.

A filled donut topped with sugar and a blob of chocolate hazelnut cream

The bomboloni, however, might actually change the world! I’ve had this one several times over the years and always forget quite how good it is. The chocolate hazelnut filling is so thick and flavoursome, it’s incredible. I’ve had this kind of nutella-filled donut in various places over the years, but never as decadent as this one. The filling feels less like chocolate hazelnut spread from a jar, and more like melted Gianduja.

A ring donut topped with a sticky looking caramel glaze and chopped nuts, with a blob of cream cheese icing in the middle

Dr HH also tried the macadamia cheesecake. It was a ring donut topped with a great caramel glaze. The macadamias added some salt and crunch which worked very well. The cream cheese swirl was delicious too.

I always like to rank every dish I try in a restaurant, much to the delight (?) of my dining companions. But this is one of the rare occasions where I want to award everything joint first place because everything is simply delicious!

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Vegan in Berlin: Li.Ke

Posted on July 27, 2026 by Jenny
Six small sharing dishes of Thai food

After a really delicious Thai meal at a fully vegan restaurant earlier in the year (read about Mali Vegan Thai here), we were champing at the bit to get more vegan Thai food in Berlin a few weeks ago. I’d seen Li.Ke recommended online many times, and it seemed like our best bet. It was absolutely jumping on a Saturday evening, so reservations are definitely recommended (though it took a few days for our online reservation to be confirmed). It was busy and noisy and quite casual, with really fast service, so not necessarily the spot for a quiet conversation or fancy affair. The menu includes small and large plates, but generally it seemed to have a Thai tapas vibe to it.

You place your order by filling in a form marking which dishes you want – I love this way of ordering! We got six dishes to share, which was plenty because I was not hungry at all.

Three battered prawns on top of a small bowl of stir fried vegetables

I almost overlooked the prawn dish on the menu, but fortunately Dr HH spotted it in the description of the thod gratiem. This was battered prawns with stir-fried vegetables. The prawns were tasty, but the batter was a bit too thick and lessened their impact. The stir fry was really flavoursome and well seasoned.

Four crispy coated balls with peanut sauce

Dr HH had actually been to this spot before on a solo jaunt and recommended the tau hu thod, which was tofu in a crispy coating with peanut sauce. The peanut sauce was tasty, but the tofu was underseasoned. The crispy coating was great. It was a fun little morsel.

A bowl of yellow curry with vegetables

I personally didn’t try the gari fak thong (yellow lemongrass curry), but Dr HH was a bit underwhelmed by it. The sauce was not as flavoursome as he had hoped. There was some lemongrass coming through, but the overall flavours were not strong enough for his liking.

Two crispy rice cakes with dipping sauce

We gambled on the gui chai, which is something I don’t think I’d really seen before: baked rice cakes with spring onions and soy chili sauce. The rice cakes had a lovely gelatinous texture, with a crisp edge too. The dipping sauce brought some lovely flavour.

A bowl of curry with large vegetable chunks

Dr HH’s favourite dish was the Matsaman curry, which involved coconut milk, carrots, tofu, jackfruit, potatoes, onions and peanuts. He thought it was a lovely rich sauce with lots of flavour. The vegetable chunks well cooked and there was a good amount of tofu and jackfruit, so it felt quite substantial.

A red cabbage leaf filled with crispy salad

And I never thought I’d say it, but my favourite dish was…a salad! The kao nem was billed as a crispy baked curry rice salad. The rice had a nice crispy texture in the places where it had caught. The dish was really tasty from the fresh herbs and had some zingy citrus flavours too. I might have to find a recipe so I can make this at home!

We had such a great time at this restaurant. I love a menu that enables you to try lots of different dishes, and just getting some good quality Thai food was a real treat.

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Vegan in Berlin: Shisomen

Posted on July 20, 2026 by Jenny
A bowl of ramen with a creamy broth, some big thick slices of vegan beef, a piece of baby sweetcorn and a large pak choi

Trips to Berlin and London always bring me so much joy because the vegan food is top notch and there are so many different cuisines to try. As the Prague vegan scene struggles a bit, it’s a real treat to visit cities with such a diverse range of eateries. Along with revisiting some of our favourites, we also found a few new (to us) spots on our latest weekend in Berlin, starting with Shisomem. This is an all vegan Japanese restaurant, and we really enjoyed our visit. It was quite busy on a Saturday lunchtime, so booking is recommended.

Two skewers with large mushroom pieces, served alongside a salad

We shared two starters. The yaki shimeji were mushroom skewers with yakini sauce. The mushrooms were so tender and juicy and had a lovely savoury flavour. They worked with and without the sweet chilli sauce.

Slices of silken tofu topped with a brown sauce and garnished with greens

The hiyayako was slices of silken tofu with a topping of enoki mushrooms, chilli oil, garlic oil, spring onions, sesame seeds. The topping was nice and had a slight curried taste. It was really nice but if it were served in a bowl it would have been easier to catch all the sauce and really maximize the flavour.

A bowl of ramen with a creamy broth, some big thick slices of vegan beef, a piece of baby sweetcorn and a large pak choi

Then we each had a ramen. I tried the tonkotsu ramen, and it was the most garlicky broth I’ve ever had! It was delicious and really packed a punch. The beefy slices had an enjoyable meaty texture, but I thought they tasted a little bland compared to some meat substitutes I’ve had. The accompanying vegetables were cabbage, baby sweetcorn, and pak choo. The cabbage was fine and the baby sweetcorn was nice but I would have liked more. The pak choi was massive and unwieldy and hard to eat. Does anyone actually enjoy having this in a hot bowl of broth?! How do you tackle it?!

A bowl of ramen with a creamy broth and chilli oil, a mound of vegan mince, a piece of baby sweetcorn and a large pak choi

Dr HH had the tantan ramen, which he thought was fine…until he had a taste of the tonkotsu broth and realised his was a bit bland in comparison. Still, the broth was tasty with a good amount of chilli oil. The mince topping tasted like a nicely cooked Beyond mince with bits of diced mushroom in there too. He enjoyed the crunch from bean sprouts and cabbage, but shared my disapproval of the unwieldy pak choi.

A tall glass filled with a creamy strawberry drink

I also have to give a mention to the non-alcoholic drinks menu, which had some fun and creative options. The strawberry drink was delicious!

Pak choi not withstanding, we really enjoyed our meal here. Ramen options in Prague are not very impressive these days, so this was a real delight for us and made me long for another trip to Japan!

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Vegan in Manchester: Pie Minister

Posted on July 13, 2026 by Jenny
A pie sitting on top of a pile of mashed potato, with a gravy boat on the side

We’ve been to Pie Minister a few times over the years, but always forgotten to make notes and write a review. Writing this review now will remind me that while I love a pie, I might be better off trying somewhere else for a meal in Manchester.

A pie sitting on top of a pile of mashed potato

There were two vegan pies on the menu this time, and we both chose the mooless moo, which is a steak and ale pie. I liked the pastry a lot, it was crisp and flaky. The meat chunks were nice and there was enough flavour for me. It had a nice gravy too, though it could have been richer.

The mash felt a bit underwhelming to me, and I assume the non vegan one is better. It was tepid, and very underseasoned, so it just felt cold and bland. It really needed the gravy pouring on to give it any semblance of flavour – fortunately, there was a good gravy boat included with the pie.

A pie on top of mashed potatoes, topped with mushy peas and grated cheddar

Dr HH upgrades to the ‘mothership’ deal, which included a side and cheese as well. The minty mushy peas were pleasant, you could taste the mint in there and the texture of the peas was about right as they weren’t complete mush. The vegan cheddar didn’t really add anything noticeable.

If you really want a pie, this is a good option, and I’m not sure there are many other vegan pies knocking around Manchester city centre these days. But if you want a really good vegan meal, I’d look for a better option.

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Vegan in Manchester: Moose Coffee

Posted on July 6, 2026 by Jenny
A burger along with a portion of potato hash and some sauce

We usually end a trip to Manchester with breakfast at Dishoom, which I consider one of the top breakfast menus in the UK. We bucked that trend on our most recent visit and tried Moose Coffee instead. This was a very popular spot for Sunday brunch. People were queuing outside and we couldn’t even get a reservation at the time we wanted – though I would recommend attempting to make a reservation nevertheless. The menu includes quite a few clearly labelled vegan options, though sadly none of their pancakes are vegan, which is a shame as they were clearly popular and looked very good indeed.

A burger with two patties, one slice of cheese and some salad, along with a portion of potato hash

I ordered the yelamu, which is a brioche bun with two burger patties, a slice of smoked applewood, tomato and rocket. The bread was delicious! The patties were quite tasty, with a good meaty flavour. The cheese gave a good smoky flavour too. It was tasty, but besides the bread it felt like something I could assemble myself at home for no real trouble (shop bought patty, shop bought cheese). The hash on the side had a nice chunky texture, but was too heavy on mustard (for a mustard hater like me).

A plate with tofu scramble, two sausages, bread, butter and salad

Dr HH had the verazzano, which was a tasty scramble. It had plenty of crumbled tofu and (we think) some silken tofu to give it a bit of a wetter texture. It had some good chunks of artichoke and sun dried tomato in there for some different flavours and textures. It was a bit sharp and mustardy, which worked quite well for him. A bit of black salt would not go amiss to give it more of an eggy taste. It came with a couple of sausages, which were perfectly fine, and some sourdough that was meant to be toasted but didn’t look or feel it. Overall, it was a hearty and tasty plate.

A side plate of potato hash with some chunky crispy bits

He also ordered a side of hash as he wanted a potato fix. He quite liked the mustard flavour in there. It felt like not enough of the potatoes had caught and crisped in his portion, so it lacked a bit of texture.

We would certainly like to go back to try the French toast, but we won’t be beating down the door for the savouries – they were pleasant, but not the best vegan breakfast in Manchester for us.

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Vegan in Manchester: Purezza

Posted on June 29, 2026 by Jenny
A lasagna piccante pizza with ragu sauce, cheese and basil

I love an all-vegan pizzeria because they really put some effort into their toppings. It’s nice to get some creative options, rather than a few staples that you see in omni restaurants. The pizzas in Purezza sounded very exciting, and it was hard to narrow down our options. There are also some fun sides, including mac and cheese, but unfortunately we were too full to indulge.

A parmigiana party pizza, with tomato sauce, cheese and aubergine

Dr HH ordered the parmigiana party pizza, swayed by its description as award winning. Sure enough, it was delicious. The tomato sauce was excellent, and the aubergines were perfectly cooked and well seasoned. There was lots of tasty, melty cheese as well.

A lasagna piccante pizza with ragu sauce, cheese and basil

I went for the lasagna piccante pizza. I wasn’t even hungry but I devoured the whole thing because it was too good to waste! The base was nice. The sauce was a really rich ragu, very flavoursome and savoury. It had a chilli kick to it, and the heat really grew as the meal progressed (without being too much). The cheese was nice and cooling, and the basil was refreshing too. It was quite an oily dish, but it was really tasty.

I will definitely be returning here in the future (or to a branch in another city), ready to try another exciting and creative option – and hopefully some mac and cheese too!

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Vegan in Walsall: Veggie Fryer

Posted on June 22, 2026 by Jenny
A packet of fish and chips, wrapped in paper from the chip shop

One of the great joys of returning to the UK is getting proper vegan fish and chips. Well, the fish is rarely that believable either in the UK or elsewhere, but at least you’re guaranteed proper chippie chips. That’s exactly what we got at Veggie Fryer. Everytime we’re visiting family near Walsall, we look at the logistics of getting to Veggie Fryer to try their wares, and end up not going because it’s a bit too difficult for us to get to. This time we realized that we’re finally within their delivery range, so we were able to make it happen. We ordered delivery online, and the food arrived hot and securely wrapped.

A look inside the battered fish, showing quite a flaky, stringy texture and a crispy coating

Dr HH and I each ordered fish and chips.The fish had nice batter and stayed pretty crisp, even in transit. The fishy texture was good, and accurate to some types of fish, but the seasoning was not very fishy unfortunately. (This is a fairly consistent complaint I have about vegan fish – it usually only gets one right out of taste and texture.)

I had mine with regular chips. They were, as I hoped, proper chip shop chips. They stayed pretty hot and were really tasty.

Battered fish with battered chips, that have orangey batter on them

Dr HH got battered chips, which are a black country staple that he grew up with. They had a crispy orange batter on them, which he absolutely loved. I tried a few of his, and they were indeed very pleasant.

A battered sausage

I also ordered a battered sausage, because that was my order of choice as a non-vegan child. It was small, as indicated by the price. The sausage was tasty, but unfortunately it didn’t travel well – the batter went soggy and didn’t retain it’s crisp (the fish really did though).

We’ll definitely order from Veggie Fryer again. A proper vegan friendly chippy is still a novelty for me!

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Vegan in London: Cream Dream

Posted on June 15, 2026 by Jenny
A chocolate eclair dusted with good

After seeing lots of impressive pastries on social media, I had been dying to visit this London spot to try their cream cakes – due to a busy tourist itinerary, we also ended up going for the savoury lunch menu.

A chicken Kyiv with mashed potato and pea puree

Dr HH had the chicken Kyiv and thought it was tasty. The chicken had a good texture and there was a crispy coating. Lots of garlic butter oozed out when he cut it open, which was a fun sight, and it provided good flavour. The mash was smooth and the pea puree was pleasant. It was a good tasty dish.

A bowl of Ukrainian dumplings with sauce, mushrooms and cream

I had mushroom and potato dumplings. This dish was perfectly pleasant, but not amazing. The filling was nice but a little bland for me. The sauce also didn’t add much flavour. The sour cream had the most going on. Still, the textures and presentation were nice.

A cross section of the eclair which shows it is filled with a chocolate cream, topped with caramel and nuts, and coated in chocolate
A side view of a chocolate eclair with a bumpy gold topping

I hadn’t had a vegan eclair before (I think), so we both ordered the Snickers eclair and it was good fun. The chocolate choux was maybe a little too thick and spongy, but I’m really not a choux connoisseur, so I may be wrong. The chocolate cream was great. The caramel and nuts were coated in thick chocolate. It was really tasty and not too sweet. The whole thing is dusted with gold, somewhat unnecessarily, but the textures were great and it was robustly constructed and easy to eat.

Two mugs of milky drinks, two eclairs

Unfortunately, we didn’t love the hot drinks we ordered. The hot chocolate is available with white, milk, or dark chocolate. Milk was too sweet for me (and I have a very sweet tooth), and was quite unpleasant. Dr HH didn’t love the taste of his latte either. However, we did love the soft drinks we had earlier in the meal.

The cafe was very busy when we were there around 1pm, and the upstairs seating area felt quite cramped. People were enjoying the chintzy decor, but when the cafe was busy it contributed towards the cramped feeling for me. For us it was a nice spot for a fancy pastry and a short stay. It was an extremely Instagrammable spot – whether that’s a good or a bad thing for you!

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Vegan in London: Mali Vegan Thai

Posted on June 8, 2026 by Jenny
Two dishes of Thai food with vegetables, mock meat and herbs

Fully vegan Thai restaurants do not exist in Prague, so I’m always looking out for one on my holidays. I was really excited to visit this spot in London. Dr HH and I had two starters (shared) and two mains (separate).

Four skewers, two with chunks of tofu and two with chunks of mushroom, drizzled with sauce alongside a small salad

We shared the satay skewers (satay hed & tao hoo). There were two mushroom and two tofu skewers. The mushroom ones were really juicy and meaty and had that extra flavour hit. The tofu ones were lovely and spongy. The satay was peanutty and flavoursome, with some heat but not too spicy. These were great!

Chunks of chicken with chillies and herbs served in lettuce leaves

I love homemade larb, but had never had it in a restaurant , so I was giddy to see it here (larb gai pop). First of all, it was a bit hard to share! The chicken pieces maintained a nice crunchy coating despite the dressing, and the meat was not too soft or mushy. The onions and shimeji were lovely and the dressing was sharp and delicious with a nice heat.

Slices of aubergine, very fine vegan mince, and Thai basil leaves in a light sauce

For my main, I got pad ma khia muang – stir-fried aubergine with minced pork and basil. It had lovely soft, melty aubergine. The Thai basil was fragrant, and the minced pork added good flavour and texture. The flavours were quite simple, but savoury and delicious.

A dish with several different types of vegan pork, in mince form and small chunks, with chillies, vegetables and herbs

Dr HH got the crispy pork (sam moo tip kua prik). There were nice bits of pork which lived up to the crispy name of the dish. The accompanying pork mince gave some flavour and a bit of a different texture. The pork belly wasn’t great for him, with a bit of a tough texture and not a lot of flavour. Overall, it was nicely seasoned and spiced but a bit dry for his tastes – it could’ve done with some sauce (I love drier dishes, so it would have been fine for me).

Overall, we really enjoyed it! The dishes were tasty, service was excellent, and the menu was so tempting. Unfortunately we returned to Prague with the taste for great Thai dishes and nowhere to turn!

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