Rudy’s Dirty Vegan Diner
WHAT: Rudy’s Dirty Vegan Diner
WHERE: 206 Upper St, London N1 1RQ and 729–731 Camden Stables Market, London NW1 8AH
PRICE: £7.50–13.50 (Main Dishes)
OUTDOORS: No
OUR RATING: Do It!
Although no longer Veganuary, we’re not ones to believe that a month should limit your actions (or your ethics). With vegan alternatives to meat and dairy products rising in popularity and hitting the mainstream, there have been many opportunities to adopt a diet that is simply better for the planet. Unfortunately, most substitutes are poor imitations of the real thing, putting many would-be vegan off. That’s not the case here — not by a long shot!
Enter Rudy’s Dirty Vegan Diner, a scrumptious establishment serving up the best of American comfort food from completely plant-based ingredients. We were lucky enough to recently dine at Rudy’s Islington location, which adjoins what must be the world’s first meatless butcher.
A traditional diner from floor to ceiling, Rudy’s exudes a fast chic coupled with friendly staff and comfortable seating. As explained by the brilliantly energetic and passionate Chef Orr, the menu is informed by a real need for delicious vegan recipes that reflect the authentic tastes of patrons and thus each dish is carefully tailored to feedback initially received. This includes striving towards the complete removal of preservatives as well as control over those ingredients throughout the creative and culinary process. The result is delicious food that bursts with a fabulous feel and taste.
To start our decadent lunch off we each tried out one of Rudy’s smoothies, the Tropical Crush (passion fruit, papaya, mango, pineapple) and the Beet & Berry (beetroot, raspberry, banana, ginger). We had hoped for a green smoothie, but they’d already run out, so we tried their fruitier options. The beet smoothie was a bit sugary for our taste, but we really enjoyed the tropical crush, and honestly both were a welcome light and sweet balance to the heavier savoury food to come! Next time we go there we might try out some of their vegan wines on offer, or if all of that is too fancy for you they’ve got local beers on tap too.
Rudy’s has just launched a few all day brunch dishes, including Eggz Avocado Toast, a Full English, and both sweet and savoury pancake options. Our chef mentioned the bacon and maple pancakes were his favourite choice, which really tempted us! The whole menu looked absolutely superb, comforting favourites with interesting spins: hedonism on a plate even with no meat or dairy involved.
We started with a side of merguez — grilled “merguez’’ sausage with tomato, avocado and Rudy’s bread and dip. This was perhaps our favourite dish of the day, with some amazing spices in the sausage — we had some as leftovers and they were still brilliant! The texture is a bit crumbly, and we’re not sure these would hold up on a BBQ, but we actually enjoyed it very much. It reminded us of a vegan and less oily version of sobrasada, and we gobbled it all up.
For our mains we tried their infamous rubenz (seitan pastrami, grilled onions, cheeze slice, sauerkraut, dill pickles & sauce) and their steak frites (“tenderloin” steak with roasted mushroom, peppercorn sauce and fries). We’ve been craving rubens for awhile, and this vegan version didn’t disappoint! The ratio of all the fixings was perfect, and while we’re used to rye bread, the sourdough was heavenly and stood up to the jam-packed ingredients. Meanwhile, the steak frites was one of the most unique dishes we’ve tried for awhile. While it didn’t quite taste like steak, the meatiness was there and the peppercorn sauce was what made this a winner.
Final Thoughts: Rarely do we eat at a restaurant and immediately decide we’re going to take all our friends there. This is exactly what we said to each other during lunch — we wanted to tell all our vegan friends right away and to go back as soon as possible. Maybe it was the nostalgia of the diner, maybe it was the amazingly affordable dishes, and maybe it was just the absolute deliciousness of everything we ate. But we’d go back in a heartbeat! We’d like to try out their original location in Camden, just for a change of scenery, and we might not get the same thing either. The destructor chick’n burger, the dirty dogz and the buffalo wingz are calling to us. But first, we’ll need to work off the calories from our last meal and then build up an appetite for another feast!
P.S.: Stay tuned for a future review of Rudy’s Vegan Butcher, where we try some of their products as well as partner products you can buy at the vegan butcher shop!