Burger King opens a vegan restaurant in London

On March 14, Burger King's flagship location in London's Leicester Square will become completely vegetarian. This means the fast food chain is replacing regular dishes with plant-based options. The all-vegan Burger King location will be open until April 10, and the month-long test will help inform the company about whether there is market demand for permanently meat-free locations.

The vegan location will feature Burger King's largest plant-based menu, including the plant-based Whopper burger and Burger King's iconic Vegan Royale, along with 23 other options — including a kids' menu with dishes for children. The menu also includes a vegan bacon double cheeseburger, chicken nuggets, paprika, and the newly launched Japanese-inspired Vegan Katsu Royale and plant-based Katsu Chilli Whopper.

While Burger King's menu labels some items as vegan and others as plant-based, the company said all items at the Leicester Square location will be vegan during the trial period. lasts a month. Items labeled plant-based are still vegan; however, these dishes are not certified and do not carry a vegan label.

“We are incredibly proud of our new meat-free menu,” Burger King UK Marketing Director Katie Evans said in a statement. "This menu delivers great taste without compromise, and reflects our ongoing commitment to serving customers a diverse and innovative range of products."

Meatless options at Burger King

Vegan meat brand The Vegetarian Butcher has partnered with Burger King in recent years to expand plant-based options on its menus worldwide. The partnership has led to the launch of products such as the Vegetal Whopper in Mexico, the Vegetable Whopper in China and vegan chicken nuggets in Germany. Last year, the chain also expanded Vegan Royale and its vegan chicken nuggets to Africa, becoming the first fast food chain to offer vegan-certified meat in all of Africa.

Burger King first entered the vegan arena with the launch of the Impossible Burger in US locations in 2019. At Burger King UK, plant-based options — such as Rebel Whopper, Meatless Nuggets and Vegan Royale — have been steadily growing in recent years. The company's goal is to offer menus that are 50% plant-based by 2030.

“The limited edition menu is a direct result of our focus on plant-based and vegan innovation, and our goal of a 50% meat-free menu by 2030, as well as our commitment to sustainability and responsible business,” Evans said. “We couldn't think of a more fitting way to mark our transformation in Leicester Square.”

Many other meatless myths

Burger King's vegan Leicester Square location isn't the first outpost to go completely meatless — but it may be the first to be completely vegetarian. Last year, the chain transformed a location in Spain into a meat-free paradise for an entire month. The Madrid outpost serves vegetarian dishes, in partnership with The Vegetarian Butcher, including Long Vegetal (a vegetable based take on Long Chicken, also known as "Chicken Royale"); Plant-based Whopper; and vegan chicken nuggets.

A similar test was carried out in Germany, where a completely meat-free Burger King opened for a limited time in Cologne serving items developed by The Vegetarian Butcher.