If you want to be spoilt for choice, head over to Primrose Hill, north London, where you can tuck into a range of MFM options. Every Monday during March, restaurants, pubs and cafes in the trendy area will be offering vegetarian and vegan dishes in a bid to reduce their carbon footprint and encourage more meat free custom.
Today will be the first Primrose Hill MFM, organised by environmental group Transition Primrose Hill, which aims to persuade people to reduce their carbon footprint over the long term, with a view to creating a cleaner, greener world. Inspired by MFM, the group says it started the initiative “to make eating vegetarian and vegan meals fun and easy, while giving our local restaurants a boost on quiet nights”, adding: “We want to be at the forefront of the new trend towards vegan/vegetarian/flexitarian diets by helping more people enjoy eating meat free meals.”
While Primrose Hill is the home of London’s oldest veggie restaurant, Manna, as well as MFM-supporting Odettes, run by Bryn Williams, both of those fine establishments are sadly closed on Mondays. Lucky then that so many other local stalwarts have already committed to joining the campaign. Those taking part so far include restaurants Lemonia and Oka; pubs The Landsdowne and The Princess of Wales; cafes Greenberry and Sam’s Cafe – watch out for the special MFM Menu cards to see what meat free deliciousness is on offer. Meanwhile, Sylvia’s Diner at the Oldfield lunch club, which is run by Primrose Hill Community Association in the local sheltered housing building, will be serving up a delicious Vegetarian Wellington, made specifically for the inaugural MFM by chef trainer Michael White. The famous Primrose Hill Bakery will be offering a selection of vegan chocolate and vanilla cupcakes.
As well as the promise of more custom on a Monday, the eateries taking part are going to be supported and widely promoted on social media. Diners are also being asked to share photos of their meals on Instagram, with a weekly prize for the best shot and a competition to discover the best menu offering. The number of places already taking part speaks to the popularity of the initiative, and as more join, Primrose Hill has a very real shot at becoming the capital’s premiere meat free hotspot. Local resident Mary Portas said: “Primrose Hill has the most wonderful mix of restaurants, cafes and pubs … It’s such a great idea that they will be offering extra veggie and vegan options on Mondays throughout March.”
Giorgio Richi, co-manager of The Princess of Wales, agrees that one day a week without meat is a great idea, adding: “It will also be effective for promoting businesses in Primrose Hill and shows we can provide something different for those who are interested.”
So if you’re able to make it to Primrose Hill today, or any other Monday this month, let us know how it goes. With enough support, the businesses involved could be persuaded they should make MFM a weekly event.
Update 19 March, 2018:
According to Transition Primrose Hill, the following establishments are now also taking part in the Primrose Hill Meat Free Monday initiative.
Pubs: The Queen’s, The Engineer
Cafes: Ripe Kitchen, Chloe’s Expresso
Restaurants: L’Absinthe
The Landsdowne is not taking part.