The best fine dining restaurants to visit for Veganuary

January is a month of new beginnings and resolutions — the start of the new year which is often viewed as an opportunity to restart with a clean slate. With events like Veganuary or dry January, this is a month for new experiences and commitments that could have potential for a lifestyle change in the future.

Veganuary is a campaign where people make a month-long commitment to live the vegan lifestyle. It was founded by Jane Land and Matthew Glover and was launched in the UK in 2014. Since then, the movement has grown in spades, with over 500,000 people participating every year. So, to help you take part in this event, we have compiled a selection of the best fine dining restaurants celebrating Veganuary with a vegan or vegetarian menu. If you’d like to try out the vegan lifestyle with a luxurious twist, these are the best places to start.Yaatra’s Ayurvedic dinner experience

On 26 January, for one day only, Yaatra — the Indian fine dining restaurant — will be hosting a special five-course ayurvedic dinner that encompasses all six senses – sweet, sour, salty, bitter, pungent, and astringent, which will also be complemented by non-alcoholic cleansing cocktails. Rooted in the belief in a natural and holistic path to health, Ayurveda is a timeless philosophy that seeks harmony within the body and mind.

Executive chef Amit Bagyal has thoughtfully curated each course to provide a complete sensory experience while contributing to the diner’s overall well-being. With dishes like ayurvedic spiced moong fritter & shiso leaf chaat and lotus root kebab with Himalayan salt & flax seed dust on the menu, this is an experience you don’t want to miss. What better way to celebrate Veganuary than by cleansing your body with one of the most ancient Indian medical systems in the world?Nordic vegan dining at Ekstedt at The Yard

Throughout January, Ekstedt at The Yard is offering a new take on vegan dishes with a focus on open-fire cooking and traditional Nordic techniques by Michelin star chef Niklas Ekstedt. At Ekstedt at the Yard, which is set within the five-star Great Scotland Yard Hotel, guests can embrace Niklas’ interpretation of plant-based cooking in his first restaurant outside of Stockholm. 

In the new vegan offerings, Niklas marries Scandinavian techniques with high-quality British produce, resulting in dishes like smoked potato velouté and ember baked salsify. Other dishes include pickled cauliflower topped with English autumn truffle and fire baked cabbage with seaweed sauce, chestnuts, and charcoal cream. The Vineyard’s plant-based winter menu

This January, The Vineyard in Berkshire is elevating its winter menu by offering a five course plant-based menu at its restaurant, The Tasting Room. Each dish on the plant-based menu has been carefully curated by chef Tom Scade to be of a similar ilk to the traditional menu. 

Some dishes on the menu include seasonal Jerusalem artichokes and konro roasted cauliflower, complemented by grapes, Tokyo turnips and mustard. Guests can also enjoy salt baked sand carrot paired with swede, orange and chestnut. For dessert, there is Sicilian pomegranate with mango, coconut and passion fruit, served with almond and bitter-sweet 68% chocolate.

The menu is also sustainability friendly, as the hotel is ​​integrating homegrown produce into the menus by working with local food suppliers to minimise carbon emissions. And if you don’t fancy the plant based options, you can opt for the traditional five course menu and enjoy to your heart’s content.Norma’s sustainable low-waste vegan collaboration

This January, Norma, the Sicilian inspired restaurant, is serving a sustainable, low waste vegan menu in collaboration with award-winning chef and cookbook author, Max La Manna.

This exclusive five-course menu will feature a symphony of Italian flavours, inspired by seasonal produce both from Italy and the UK. This menu will include dishes like roasted carrot raviolo with beetroot cream, pangrattato and crispy capers, courgette involtini with almond ricotta, winter tomato, basil dusted ‘parmesan’ crisps and no-waste potato focaccia and rosemary.

Diners will also have the option to make a discretionary £2 donation to FoodCycle as part of the collaboration, which is a national charity tackling food poverty, loneliness and food waste through community meals.Sloane Place’s Veganuary menu

For Veganuary, Sloane Place is launching a colourful vegan menu with a selection of delicious European-Asian dishes crafted by executive chef Bernhard Mayer and head chef Maryono Maryono.

This two- and three-course menu contains dishes like fried tofu with honey mustard & crispy giant corn, oven-roasted cauliflower & chickpea salad, aromatic vegetable tikka masala and grilled tempeh with green harissa, among others. For dessert, guests can sample a sticky chocolate pudding, an exotic fruit salad or a coconut and spiced pear cake.Japanese inspired Veganuary menu at Apothecary East

If you’d like to try a vegan menu with a Japanese twist, Apothecary East in Shoreditch is the place to be. With their ‘Feast for Two’ menu, the restaurant offers a completely plant-based experience to guests. With dishes like avocado cucumber sushi rolls with mage tout and chives, roasted pepper dragon with jalapeño salsa and tofu vegetable gyoza, guests can enjoy the tastes of Japan with completely plant-based ingredients.

Other dishes to try are their standout miso glazed aubergine, black sesame cauliflower, smokey tenderstem broccoli, and kimchi rice, all of which are best enjoyed with a group of people and some fun signature cocktails.