The all-you-can-eat lunchtime buffet, available from midday to 3.30pm, is good value for money: £7.50 to eat-in or £5.50 for a takeaway box. There’s a selection of tasty raw salads and hot dishes to choose from.

The evening à la carte service starts at 6pm, when the small restaurant fills up quickly. With its minimal decor and candlelit tables, 222 Vegan Cuisine has a cosy, unpretentious atmosphere. The menu is equally down to earth. Starters include homemade soup, a bean and tofu pancake, and pitta bread with dips. The hearty mains include a roast, pasta basilico, pumpkin and pine nut risotto, a tofu veggie burger and the customers’ favourite, seitan stroganoff. Simple dishes, but full of flavour. There are also salads and a couple of raw dishes, if you fancy something lighter. Desserts include tofu cheesecake, ice cream and raw chocolate torte. To quench your thirst: hot drinks, fresh juices and smoothies, and wine and beer with affordable organic options.

The wholesome, satisfying food at 222 Vegan Cuisine is no doubt what makes the restaurant so popular among vegans and non-vegans alike. It’s a big hit with families too. Make sure you book ahead for dinner – the word is definitely out.

The lunch and dinner menus change every week, but you’ll find creative dishes such as a beetroot burger served with beetroot chips and slaw; jackfruit and aubergine shawarma; vegan mac ‘n’ cheese; lentil bolognese on penne; and jerk plantain with mango salsa and turmeric cous cous.

On the tantalising Saturday brunch menu: huevos rancheros with homefries and smoky black beans; jerk plantain with scrambled tofu; a full vegan ‘traditional’ cooked breakfast, and more. The Sunday menu holds its own too, with a nut roast wellington served with roast vegetables and gravy. The food is always tasty and the portions generous.

When you enter the cafe, vibrant Van Gogh prints and impressionist murals welcome you into an airy room that opens up onto a large courtyard with seating. Colourful fairy lights lead the way up a spiral staircase to a charming room with many angles, many small windows and ‘The Starry Night’ painted on the ceiling.

There’s nothing pretentious about Café Van Gogh – with its chequered tablecloths and bric-a-brac on the shelves – and that’s probably why it attracts a good mix of people. It’s the type of relaxed place you can enjoy with a group or on your own. It’s the norm to see people reading the weekend papers or working with a coffee. So, if you’re looking for a quirky, arty cafe with great food and friendly staff, you’ve found it.

A change in post-war living and the counter-movements of the 1960s led many people to adopt vegetarianism. Manna is credited as leading the way from early on by promoting healthy and sustainable eating through a vegetarian diet. Today, the restaurant follows an animal product-free philosophy, providing a menu that is entirely vegan.

The food at Manna is international and varied with lots of interesting starters and sides. Menu items are often seasonal and there are daily specials, but on the starters list you might come across a cannelloni bean slider, cashew cheese croquettes or vegetable tempura. There’s also a mixed mezze (a choice of three starters), salads and sharing plates.

For mains, you might find fennel and pumpkin seed bangers and mash, Thai curry, an enchilada bake and a pasta dish, to name a few. The pasta is served with Manna’s signature ‘veatballs’. Chef’s specials are available, as well as a ‘build your own meal’ – a selection of four sides served as a main. To follow, there’s a selection of decadent desserts made with cashew cheese and ‘vice’ cream. There’s a good selection of organic and vegan wines and beer in-house, as well soft drinks and spirits.

The restaurant is cosy but not crowded, with a comfortable number of tables and a small conservatory at the front. The dark wooden furniture is contrasted by the white walls and accentuated by candles and decorative ceiling lights. As the acoustics are good, it’s easy to keep conversation.

After half a century in business, Manna still has a unique offering and is as popular as ever – something that many of London’s new veggie and vegan places will aspire to.

The original restaurant is nestled in a small courtyard in Hammersmith. Inside, there’s an immediate intimacy and warmth, thanks to the low lighting, candles on tables and an eye-catching wall that’s covered in colourful, reclaimed planks of wood. While tables are set closely together, the room is quiet and it’s easy to relax and get lost in conversation. Staff are friendly and helpful. During the summer, tables are set up in the courtyard for those lucky enough to dine in the sun.

The seasonal à la carte menu is the same at all three restaurants; there’s no shortage of options to choose from, and special menus offer unique dishes dedicated to a theme, such as The Gate’s annual wild mushroom festival. From mizo glazed aubergine to Mediterranean tart, the starters neatly canvas The Gate’s mixed culinary influences. Mains are no different: rotolo, Malaysian curry, an aubergine schnitzel and what may be the most striking dish, a tower of sweet potato and blackbean tortillas. Salads and sides are also available. A wine rack near the kitchen is well stocked with a selection of organic, vegan options. Stay for a decadent dessert – a soft cappuccino cheesecake, perhaps, or a strawberry eaton mess.

The Gate prides itself on inventive food, combining ingredients in unexpected ways. With a separate menu for children, Sunday roasts and lunch options, there’s something for everyone. Book ahead – there’s rarely an empty table in sight.

With enormous bay windows that stretch to the high ceiling and an airy interior, the restaurant is surprisingly large in size. Tables are set closely together under low-hanging filament lights, and the arrangement generates a lively hum of conversation.

The seasonal à la carte menu acknowledges what the brothers describe as their ‘Indo-Iraqi Jewish’ heritage, threaded through Italian and French cuisine. The dishes are every bit as diverse as that implies. To start, you might find artichokes, halloumi, sesame-coated smoked tofu and a mezzo platter. The mains, to name a few: wild mushroom risotto cake, Malaysian curry and aubergine schnitzel. Make the most of the chunky polenta chips and other sides, and try a dessert if you can – they’re pretty special. There’s sticky toffee pudding, strawberry eaton mess, raw basil strawberry tart and more.

Alongside the à la carte menu, there are lunch options that celebrate Spanish and Arabic tastes, Sunday roasts and a children’s menu. Keep an eye out for special seasonal menus dedicated to a particular theme, such as The Gate’s annual wild mushroom festival.

There’s a good range of organic and vegan wines available, and a full cocktail menu.

On a typical weeknight, there’s rarely an empty table at The Gate. Book ahead to miss the waiting list and guarantee yourself a table at what is deservedly one of London’s most popular vegetarian restaurants.