It has become quite unfashionable to have New Year’s Resolutions.
But like many of us at the turn of 2024, I couldn’t help but be swept up in the ‘New Year, New Me’ posts rampant on social media.
Healthier eating consistently ranks as one of the most popular desired lifestyle changes at the dawn of a new calendar year, and it’s a savvy time for the annual Veganuary campaign too. With 23% of the UK considering themselves ‘at least flexitarian’, it’s the perfect time to give choosing to eat less meat and animal products some consideration.
Since the month-long Veganuary event began back in 2014, the landscape for vegans in Newcastle has changed substantially.
Once touted as a bit of a fad, it’s fair to say it’s now gone fully mainstream. Awareness of the benefits of a plant-based diet is stronger than ever in the UK and at a time when consumers are increasingly conscious of sustainability, knowing that following even a part-time vegan diet is likely better for the planet, better for our bodies, and better for the animals means a desire for both more and frankly better dining options is both overdue and in demand.
Larger cities in the UK have embraced the growth in plant-based diets. Think of the Veggie Pret experiment in 2016 or the stupendously great Bundobust across the North West. Newcastle has long lagged behind with a few dedicated but dubious restaurants peddling unimaginative and uninspiring dishes for a small but dedicated crowd. That is no longer the case.
Leap forward to 2024, and I’d argue there’s never been a better time to be a vegan in Newcastle.
As an example, a 2013 menu from local favourite Dabbawal doesn’t have a solitary mention of the word ‘vegan’, never mind dishes denoted (vg) on the menu. Fast-forward to its latest iteration and Dabbawal has a dedicated plant-based version of its menu. It is admittedly, around 25% the size of the ‘regular’ one, but it demonstrates that when there’s demand, it is more than possible, and presumably, profitable. Even in one of the most popular and prolific restaurants in the region.
Nowhere is a better indicator of this than January’s NE1 Restaurant Week. With more than 100 venues taking part this January, I looked at a random selection of 30 and found that an impressive 70% had dedicated vegan offerings.
Which is great news, of course. I’m regularly asked, ‘Where are the best vegan restaurants in Newcastle?’, and my response is becoming increasingly consistent. Rather than seeking out ‘all-vegan’ restaurants which invariably turn out to be disappointing (The Ship Inn, Ouseburn possibly excepted), Any restaurant worthy of your time and hard-earned money will likely have multiple choices on their menus.
And not just the dry bean burger, the bland tofu or the (yawn) stuffed portobello mushroom, but genuine thought applied to both individual dishes and entire menus.
There are too many to mention, but for some of the best vegan dishes in the city this Veganuary, try the pan haggerty at Blackfriars, the Truffle in Paradise at I Scream for Pizza, gigantes at Kafeneon, or pan con tomate at Kaltur. My personal favourite, and something I constantly recommend is the tandoori broccoli at Khai Khai (pictured, top). This one is as good a dish — vegan or not — as you’ll have anywhere, all year. If you’re looking for something entirely vegan in the city centre, try Cantina. A Quayside vegan Mexican restaurant isn’t something I ever thought I’d be recommending, but that’s what progress looks like.
It might not be for everyone, and we may still be a way behind some more forward-thinking cities in the UK. But if you are kicking off 2024 by following a plant-based diet in Newcastle, even just for a little while, there’s plenty to be happy about.
From being the home of the vegan sausage roll to having more restaurants per capita than any other city outside of London, when asked if Newcastle’s restaurant scene caters for vegans, my response is a vigorous wey aye.
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