We have some great news for people in the UK who are looking to get some awesome plant-based food!  Matthew Kenney, a Los Angeles-based celebrity chef, recently opened a vegan restaurant in London’s Shoreditch district. Kenney told Plant Based News that the restaurant, which is called Essence Cuisine, aims to be a blend of the healthy and the decadent.

As a leader in the plant-based food world, Kenney is known for such successful businesses as Plant Food and Wine (which has multiple locations across the U.S.) and Double Zero, an all vegan pizza restaurant in New York.

There’s this major misconception that it’s hard to eat out if you’re avoiding meat or dairy. Restaurants like Essence Cuisine show that, however, it’s becoming easier and easier to find plant-based options that are so much more than a salad or bland tofu. In fact, in the U.S., around 40 percent of people choose plant-based options when they eat out, and the overall demand for plant-based foods has increased 140 percent!

According to their website, the menu of Essence will be primarily raw plant-based and is influenced by London’s cultural diversity and appreciation for comforting foods. Some of their breakfast options include: avocado on seeded bread, raw pancakes with candied walnuts, quinoa porridge, and scrambled porridge with green harissa. Non-breakfast items on the menu, that have been revealed thus far, include raw pad Thai, lasagne, and salads.

Cheers to a new restaurant that will, hopefully, encourage more folks to try plant-based foods. Like Kenney says, food doesn’t have to be bad for you to taste good.

To learn more about trends in the plant-based food space, click here.

Image Source: Essence_Cuisine/Instagram