Vegetarian restaurants double in UK in 3 years

- Published: 06 May, 2010

The number of top-end vegetarian restaurants in the UK has more than doubled since 2007, according to the Vegetarian Guides.

Restaurants of all styles in the vegetarian category listed in the guide have increased from 270 to 450 in 12 years.

Vegetarian venues have opened in Bath, Nottingham, Manchester, Woodbridge in Suffolk, Ambleside in the Lake District and several towns in West Yorkshire.

Italian vegetarian restaurant Amico Bio and a second Saf diner have also opened in London in recent weeks.

A new chain of vegetarian restaurants, Otarian, will open a number of outlets in central London this month, followed by other sites across the UK.

Otarian will include the carbon footprint of every dish, with a small bowl of roasted tomato soup using 1.31kg of carbon.

Celebrity chef Aldo Zilli opened his first vegetarian restaurant, Zilli Green in Soho, central London in February.

Andrew Dargue, co-founder and head chef of Vanilla Black restaurant near Chancery Lane in London commented:

"Vegetarian restaurants are doing well, partly because people are realising that meat-eating is bad for the planet but also because the traditional view of vegetarian food as bland and boring is changing. Fewer people hold that view; they're looking for something different."

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