Top London steakhouse: nearly half of ‘steaks’ sold are vegan this Veganuary
Veganuary has had a drastic effect on one London steakhouse
Carnivores can be famously stubborn in their pursuit of high quality meat, so it’s surprising to hear that almost half of the customers at one of London’s top steakhouses are ordering vegan steaks rather than the real thing.
Le Petit Beefbar in Chelsea says their vegan steaks have gone from around 1% of their weekly sales to around 45%, “which is a lot”, brand director Virginie Bigand tells Morning Wire
“We have seen a real increase in sales of our Redefine Meat dishes. A TikTok went out and people started to get to know the product. Guests are more curious and happy to discover a new way of eating meat substitutes. It is a great alternative.”
At Le Petit Beefbar they serve a vegan version of their classic steak frites dish using vegan meat by Redefine Meat, a company which creates a variety of vegan meat alternative products, including a pulled pork, pulled beef, a pioneering vegan flank steak, burgers, sausages and beef mince.
Read more: Veganuary: Try this ‘completely revolutionary’ vegan steak
They have drawn in millions of views to their recipes and food inspiration videos on TikTok, including to this one about creating a “dreamy quesadilla” with pulled pork, which has had over five million views.
Brand director Bigand continued: “It is really refreshing, as a vegan, to be able to enjoy a product that is this close to steak, as close as you can get in our opinion.
“Beyond taste, the fibre and structure of the steak is incredibly close to that of a meat steak. It is completely revolutionary and makes me want to be vegan.”
Sales of vegan food actually fell in 2023, with some top brands withdrawing products from supermarket shelves. But Veganuary still drew in 700,000 sign-ups in 2023, breaking previous records for the annual campaign encouraging people to pledge to give up meat for January.
Read more: Veganuary restaurants in London: The best vegan food around