Hi my name is Sam i an Austalian living in London and i have just adopted my new life style of being a vegan/Superhero and im loving it.

But i was wondering if there was any fellow Londoners who could give my some pointers on where to buy organic foods. As i'm having trouble finding some of the more obscure ingredients in Alicia's recipes. Like where do i find Umeboshi Plums????

Can anyone help me? :-)

Thanks Sam. 

There are lots of organic shops in London.

Have a look at:

http://www.revital.co.uk/Stores

there are a few Wholefoods shops around, as well as local organic shops (e.g. in Belsize Park). You can get a lot of the stuff from Waitrose and from Korean/Chinese/Japanese supermarkets (like frozen lotus root). A lot of the stuff is also available online from PlanetOrganic and other websites, even amazon.co.uk.

to be honest though, i'm not a big fan of all the obscure exotic ingredients. they can be easily replaced by their local flavour counterparts. besides, most vegan cookbooks seem offputting to people, precisely because they contain so much stuff nobody's ever heard of...

good luck

Hi Jo,

thanks alot for your pointers. I discovered a whole food market the other day an it was love at fist sight.

I love Planet Organic.  If you live in London they will deliver to your home as well.  The one on westbourne grove has a really good hot food selection with a wide range of fresh salads and well cooked vegan foods.

You can also order from the Organic Delivery Company or Abel and Cole.

I have to recommend some amazing vegan restaurants as well!

Manna, in Primrose Hill is entirely vegan:  http://www.mannav.com/

Saf, has a location in Oldstreet and a smaller location upstairs in Whole Foods on High Street Kensington.  Commended for it's sustainable ethos. Raw and Vegan!  http://www.safrestaurant.co.uk/

Those are my two favourites!

There is also

Vita Organic, a small raw vegan cafe in Soho and a cheap eat.  I love the raw vegan cheesecake:  www.vitaorganic.co.uk

Mildreds. They are vegetarian, rather than vegan, but have a lot of vegan dishes: www.mildreds.co.uk/

Food for Thought:  a small cafe restaurant in covent garden always has vegan options including things like vegan scones, vegan fruit crumbles and stir-fries.

There are loads of other ones as well. I definitely think Mana and Saf are worth trips regardless of where you live in London. 

I'm with RJ. 

Everything the above post says is true! I've been to all the restaurants and they're all delicious. I have a bit of a soft spot for Saf. 

Also when you're in soho get a spot of lunch at Vita Organic as mentioned or try Hummus Brothers - the hummus, guac and mushrooms are all vegan.

Then head to china town (walk down dean street and cross the road) where you'll find everything you need. 

Good luck x