Wednesday 3 June 2015

Vegan Guide to London's Heathrow Airport

Heathrow Terminal 5 is without a shadow of a doubt the airport terminal I’m the most familiar with. Whenever I fly internationally with BA, which is pretty often these days, I fly out of there and becuase I like to be early for everything there’s always time to relax and grab some food before the flight. 


Everywhere listed is after security so if you’re flying from another terminal check out the guide to Heathrow's restaurants, cafes and bars on their website.

Wagamama - I've been a bit of a Wagamama critic in the past, in Brighton there are a tonne of vegan options so this chain has always seemed a bit lacking but the airport location somehow elevates their options from a meh to a yay in my mind. Am I still irritated that there’s milk in the pickles and that the soba noodles aren’t vegan? Sure, but I can appreciate a bowl of Saien Soba with udon, their Yasai Cha Han, hold the egg, and their breakfast options which include Breakfast Yasai Yaki Soba, switch the soba noodles for rice noodles, and baked beans on sourdough toast.




The breakfast menu also includes the Asa Gohan - sticky white rice, miso soup and pickles which may or may not contain milk. Wagamama have said on their Facebook page that their pickles may contain milk but it's unclear whether this is a traces of thing and they haven't responded to my e-mail so I can't confirm either way. 

Pret - Pret have a surprising ammount of vegan options these days and they all hover on the healthy side of the spectrum. Their menu / vegan options change pretty regularly but there's usually at least one vegan sandwich or wrap available as well as breakfast options like porridge and . I spotted the Super Greens & Reds Sandwich as well as some juices, fruit pots and snacks including Crisped Kale and Sweet & Salty Popcorn.




Eat - Eat don’t make very much vegan food but it is the place to go for a matcha soy latte. 

Giraffe - Giraffe, like Wagamama, is somewhere you can stop for a sit down meal before your flight. Their menu changes pretty regularly but there website has a super helpful tool to help you suss out what's vegan as their options aren't marked on the menu. They don't serve their full menu at the airport but right now you can choose from a mix of sides and small plates including sweet potato fries, a hummus sharing platter or some edamame.



I also spotted this Montezuma's chocolate pop up in the duty free store inbetween Eat and Wagamama on the ground floor when I was on my way to Austin last week and whilst they didn’t have any of the delicious vegan truffles they did have the vegan chocolate buttons which are my faves.





If you’re flying in Club World or are a BA Silver or Gold Card holder you can chill out in the BA Galleries Lounge. There are two of these and they're located at the North and South ends of the terminal. Not only do they have free fruit and water (best!) they also have both lightly salted and sweet chilli kettle chips and soy milk is avaiable on request. 


Not content with toast, fruit, and crisps I went on a scouting missions and found vegan shortbread tucked away near the tea and coffee making facilities on the far right of the lounge. 



Clearly labelled vegan the jar of biscuits is located in a slightly gloomy corner but one worth venturing over to. These were definitely a welcome addidion to my usual fruit, crisps, water game.

If you don't have lounge access don't fret, you can still access wifi at Heathrow. If you join the network all you need to do to access four hours free wifi is to sign in with your name, e-mail address and flight number.


Happy travels!

11 comments:

  1. Nice options! I know our Memphis airport has pretty much nothing to offer. :-(

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  2. A great budget option can be the Boots meal deal, you can find hummus wraps or veggie sushi, with a drink and snack for not so much money, maybe around £4? And it has been a while since I've been in a British airport, but I think Boots are pretty good at labelling vegan? Maybe someone can update me?

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    1. Yeah, they do have a good vegan friendly meal deal. I only don't recommend Boots because they have some shady wording surrounding their animal testing policy and they dodge tax in the UK.

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  3. Awesome! I'm flying out to new york from T3 in October, so this is really useful to know! xx

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  4. Ooh, how exciting finding cookies! I've being trying the Boots Meal Deals recently. They've got a couple of new Japanese style options - a rice noodle and mango salad and a brown rice, edname and kimchi salad as well as Trek protein bars and coconut milk so pretty healthy too for £3.29.

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    1. I know right? They were yummy! Glad the Boots meal deal is a good un', I only don't recommend them here because the shady wording in their animal testing policy plus the fact that they're one of the worst tax avoiders makes me wanna avoid them.

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  5. Great post! It can be such a drag finding food to eat at airports, nice to know you found some decent options. Shortbread, mmm...

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  6. I don't know about the airport branch but at other branches WHS has a vegan labelled falafel sandwich - great if you're stuck for something quick.

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  7. Wetherspoons also have a vegan menu these days.

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  8. Itsu and Caffe Nero also have vegan options.

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