Being vegan has never been about subtraction for me. I never thought about what I would take away from subs, meals, soups, or curries. Instead, I’ve imagined how to create the tastiest homemade sandwich: rocket, basil hummus, Kalamata olives, and oregano-flavoured sun-dried tomatoes between two slices of sourdough. How can tofu be both juicy and chewy? Thank you, Maya Leinenbach, for your glazed tofu recipe. How can a slice of cauliflower transform into a fine dining experience? Try pairing it with butterbean purée and chimichurri sauce.

Becoming vegan has changed how I see a simple vegetable, spice, or nut. So to everyone who asks, “Isn’t becoming vegan difficult?” I’d love to respond: “Nope!” It’s enduring. It’s a new way of thinking, inventing, and creating.

The Place: A fully vegan Mexican taco experience featuring BBQ Short 'Rib' with chipotle salsa.
The Article: Chapter One: An Entry Log to Veganism.
The Latest News: Looking for gift ideas? Ed Winters’ newly updated paperback edition of How to Argue With a Meat Eater (And Win Every Time) is out!
The Recipe: Max La Manna's nut roast cake made from lentils, sweet potatoes and carrots.
The Plate: The toastie you've been craving.

If you’re just joining us, here’s a link to our first and second issues.

Enjoy!

hazal

Taco extravaganza at Club Mexicana

Words by: Hazal Yılmaz

Some of you might remember. There was that Notting Hill gem called Crazy Homies. Although my memory is a little blurry after many years, partially because the time we spent there was filled with pitchers of margaritas, I recollect that place as one of the most luscious spots I’ve ever been to. And I’m not just talking about Mexican flavours. It was the tunes. The carafes we wanted to bring home, the shot glasses into which mezcal was poured. The chunky guacamole that I believe only had salt, pepper, and lime and the crackly corn tortillas that keep it company. Crazy Homies just stopped existing, and so the search for bean and guacamole tacos, rice-filled salsa burritos, and melting cheese and mushroom enchiladas began.

For a long time, Mexican cuisine felt like one of the few we couldn’t easily find in London. Trying a couple of joints, leaving dissatisfied, coming back home, and experimenting with new recipes became a pastime. Mango salsa and roasted cauliflower fajitas, corn salsa accompanied by Mexican fiesta rice, mezcal margaritas, and guac! The kinds of guacamole we tried to master included: red onion, spring onion, no onion, coriander, parsley, rocket, lime, lemon, citron, green, yellow, plum, San Marzano, cherry, and heirloom tomatoes. I can confidently say: the juicier the tomatoes, the worse the guac. Lime and coriander is the best combo, especially with red onions.

So, when a friend of mine told me there was an innovator throwing a California-style vegan Mexican supper club in a Hackney cafe — a three-course taco feast accompanied by Wham! records, blow-up flamingos, and LOTS of tequila — it was already too late to join because, by then, they had moved to their residency in a Homerton pub. So I did the next best thing: went to brunch at The Spread Eagle, ordered the fish tacos, and the triple-fried potatoes. Then, the supper club, now the restaurant I’m talking about, is Club Mexicana, and the innovator we shall cherish is Meriel Armitage.

Since then, Club Mexicana’s permanent space opened in Soho's fave foodie community: Kingly Court, and at last, it came to Spitalfields. Although it’s almost impossible to pick a favourite, every time I go, depending on my hunger level, I order the Buffalo Mushroom and choose one or two additional tacos. Al Pastor comes with adobo-marinated shawarma, onion & coriander, salsa verde, and charred pineapple; BBQ Short ‘Rib’ features sticky glazed ‘ribs’, BBQ sauce, slaw, pink onions, pickled jalapeños, and garlic mayo. To drink? Jalapeño-infused tequila, triple sec, coriander, lime, salt — on ice, not frozen.

These days, Mexican cuisine seems to be booming, especially in southeast London. Although I have more tips about Mexican flavours in town, places for Mezcal tastings, orange-flavoured hot sauces, and Horchata drinks, Club Mexicana is the place where the myth is real: anything you can cook, I can make vegan.

A must-have: Well, obviously tacos. Three of the same cost £13.5. I would strongly recommend going with a group of friends who are willing to experience a hot, spicy Mexican fiesta.

My favorite: Order some SALSA MADRE with tomato, lime, jalapeño, and coriander, and put it on everything.

Bonus: Every Tuesday night at our favorite vegan Mexican in Spitalfields, from 5pm— all-you-can-eat tacos for £20 per person.

Address: Soho: Kingly Court, London W1B 5PW. Shoreditch: 46-48 Commercial Street, London E1 6LT

Chapter One:

An Entry Log to Veganism

The earliest records of plant-based diets—people who abstain from eating meat, poultry, and fish but still consume dairy, eggs, and honey—date back to the 500s BCE in Ancient Greece, where the mathematician and philosopher Pythagoras of Samos advocated for dietary restrictions rooted in ritual purity. His followers likely avoided certain meats for religious reasons rather than ethical vegetarianism. Similarly, Hinduism and Buddhism emerged as the first religions promoting a diet that avoids harming animals. Around 1000 CE, Arab poet and philosopher Al-Ma’arri introduced plant-based eating to the Arabian Peninsula, declaring that if humans deserve justice, so do animals. However, the idea of a meat-free diet took centuries to spread from East to West.

By 1815, British physician William Lambe promoted a diet consisting only of water and vegetables, claiming it could prevent and even cure diseases such as tuberculosis and skin disorders. In 1838, British thinker James Pierrepont Greaves established the Concordium community at Alcott House in Surrey, England. This commune, considered one of the earliest known plant-based communities, also influenced the formation of the Vegetarian Society, officially founded in Ramsgate in 1847.

In 1884, a London newspaper described the Alcott House community as practicing a milder form of vegetarianism, allowing dairy and eggs. Though the term "vegan" had yet to be coined, this article hinted at a stricter form of vegetarianism focused on total animal-product exclusion.

The first known plant-based cookbook was published in 1874 by American Russell Thacher Trall, though his works focused on "natural hygiene" rather than explicitly vegan cooking. Rupert H. Wheldon followed with similar publications in England in 1910. In 1931, during a visit to London, Mahatma Gandhi emphasized that plant-based living was more than a health choice—it was an ethical and political stance.

The word “vegan” was coined in 1944 by British animal rights advocate Donald Watson. He derived the term from the first three and last two letters of "vegetarian," explaining, “We are entering an era that marks the beginning and end of vegetarianism.” Suggestions like “allvega,” “neo-vegetarian,” “dairyban,” “vitan,” “benevore,” “sanivore,” and the French “beaumangeur” (meaning "good eater") were ultimately passed over in favor of “vegan.”

Watson also founded The Vegan Society, launching campaigns on how to eliminate animal products from human diets. In 1944, The first Issue of The Vegan News was published, It later became The Vegan. War II, tuberculosis outbreaks among cattle in the UK further fueled Watson’s advocacy, as fears of disease transmission led more people to reduce animal product consumption.

Watson became vegetarian at 17 after witnessing the brutal conditions on his Uncle George's pig farm. As he learned more about the animal agriculture industry, he chose to eliminate all animal products, including dairy, eggs, and honey, comparing the industry to slavery in his speeches. Until his passing in 2005, at age 95, Watson lived in England’s Lake District, gardening, leading nature walks, and continuing his activism for animal rights.

Since 1994, November 1st has been celebrated as World Vegan Day, marking The Vegan Society’s 50th anniversary. Louise Wallis, then President of The Vegan Society, established the day to honor its founding. On this day and beyond, vegans abstain from eating meat, dairy, eggs, and honey. They avoid products containing animal-derived ingredients like whey and shun materials such as wool, leather, and pearls.

Max La Manna’s creations have been on our radar for the longest time. With Christmas approaching and vegans attending tables, gatherings, and dinners where questions about what they’ll put on their plates are bound to come up, how about a nut and vegetable roast that will be the center of attention and conversation?

Here is the method of how to cook Max’s Vegan Nut Roast recipe, or for more recipes you can order his latest book You Can Cook This.