Last week we headed to brand new vegan cafe, We Are Vegan Everything (WAVE) in Hackney, London, to try out their delicious new menu. We’d already seen lots of pictures of the cafe and their gorgeous food on social media, so we knew we had to visit it for ourselves. We Are Vegan Everything is a 100% vegan cafe set up by the same team behind Cupcakes and Shhht. They serve up brunches, small bites, larger plates, and food to take away. The focus of the food at We Are Vegan Everything is on creating your favourite comfort foods, like pancakes, mac and cheese, and bagels, but with a healthy twist.
Their beautiful new cafe is located in the heart of Hackney, tucked away down a little side street. Out front, you’re greeted by a lovely courtyard, which is perfect for sitting out in the sun. When you step inside you almost feel transported to a balmy coastal town far away like Bali or Tulum, you definitely wouldn’t think you were in East London! The cafe has been beautifully decorated throughout to create a boho, beachy feel. There’s lots of plants, pink walls, wicker furniture, macrame and even some swinging chairs! It’s also a very bright and airy space, with floor to ceiling windows along many of the walls, which floods the cafe with lots of lovely natural light. The owners of We Are Vegan Everything have created a cosy, relaxed and inviting atmosphere. You feel as if you could spend hours chilling out on their sofas reading a book and enjoying all of their yummy food and drinks.
We arrived at about 11 am on a weekday and it was already pretty packed. There were lots of different tables and seating arrangements, including cosy sofas with coffee tables and armchairs, classic dining tables and chairs, a bar area with stools and also some comfy hanging seats looking out of the window. As the cafe was already quite full, we didn’t get much choice of where to sit, so we’d recommend coming early if you’re after one of the prime sofa spots! We also felt that the tables were all quite close together and you do feel a bit on top of each other, depending on where you sit. However, we understand why they’ve tried to fit in as many tables as possible, it’s clear the demand is there! It’s great to see a brand new vegan cafe full to the brim on a weekday, it just shows how much the vegan movement has grown in the past few years!
WAVE has an extensive drinks menu. You can order anything from fresh juices, smoothies and kombucha to coffees and freakshakes. Charlie had a black filter coffee (his usual), which he thought was super smooth and made with really good quality coffee. It’s definitely one of the better cups he’s had when reviewing places for the blog. I went for something a little different: a peanut butter latte made with Himalayan salt. It was very unusual, but I thought it worked surprisingly well! The nuttiness of the peanuts really complimented the earthy flavours in the coffee, and the salt helped to balance it all out, along with the creaminess from the oat milk.
For the food, we opted for a mix of small, large, sweet and savoury plates. We started with a big plate of pancakes. We went for the Coconut Bak’n which came with vanilla ice cream, smokey caramelised crispy coconut bak’n, syrup and even an edible flower! The pancakes themselves were great! They were the perfect texture. They were very light and fluffy but didn’t fall apart when you cut into them. The toppings were also a hit! I wouldn’t say the coconut bak’n tasted much like bacon, but it didn’t matter. It gave the dish some needed crunchiness which helped to cut through the soft texture of the ice cream and pancakes. It was a delicious plate of food which also looked beautiful, however, for £9 we thought it was a tad overpriced compared to some other places we’ve eaten. The pancakes weren’t that big, and it could’ve done with one extra topping to complete the dish. We’d love to try some of their other pancakes next time!
To mix things up a bit, we also went for a plate of mac and cheese. I know, it’s a bit of a strange combination: pancakes followed by mac and cheese. Despite this, we both loved this dish. It was a huge portion, filled with loads of delicious veggies, including broccoli, tomatoes and pomegranate seeds. It was definitely a healthier version of mac and cheese, but it was still really creamy and full of flavour! For £10 it was on the slightly more expensive side for a cafe, however, it was a generous portion and a delicious plate of food.
The last thing we ordered was a toasted ‘Salmon’ bagel filled with vegan cream cheese and topped with nori, marinated carrots, dill and watercress. It was absolutely delicious and definitely the most exciting dish that we had. Neither of us had eaten any salmon substitutes in the past that came close to what WAVE created. The texture of the carrot ‘salmon’ was very authentic, it was even flakey like normal salmon. The bagel was bursting with fresh flavours of the sea and left us wanting more! Despite this being the least pretty dish, in our opinion, it tasted the best! It cost £6 to eat in, so again not the cheapest lunch option. However, if you’re really craving that nostalgic taste of smoked salmon and cream cheese bagels, then this is the place to come and the dish to eat!
We really enjoyed our afternoon at WAVE cafe and would definitely recommend that you all visit. The food we had was great, and there were plenty of other things on the menu that we still want to try, especially the incredible looking freakshakes! It’s great to see a new vegan cafe doing so well, and we can’t wait to see how We Are Vegan Everything evolves over the years.
We Are Vegan Everything is open Mon – Sat 8:00am till 6:00pm & Sun 10.00am – 4.00pm
WHO’S IT FOR:
- Families and large groups
- People looking for classic brunch options (pancakes, avo toast, smoothies etc)
- Anyone wanting a quick lunch to take away
- People looking to relax with a coffee in beautiful calm space
We Are Vegan Everything
11 Dispensary Lane, Mare St, London, E8 1FT
https://weareveganeverything.com/
Have you ever been to We Are Vegan Everything? If so, we’d love to hear what you thought. Leave us a comment, like, or share this post with your friends.