Britain’s most vegan-friendly city has been revealed, and it’s not London or Brighton

Vegan friendly cities

Credit: Getty

Life


Britain’s most vegan-friendly city has been revealed, and it’s not London or Brighton

By Hollie Richardson

Updated 5 years ago

A new survey has found the UK’s most vegan-friendly city, but the result might surprise you.

Veganism is the future of food, according to recent trends. 

Last month, a report predicted that a quarter of all British people will be vegetarian in 2025 and half of us could identify as flexitarians. Sainsbury’s, who conducted the research, also announced that “home-grown meat substitutes” will be commonplace within the next few years.

With veganism now being very much in the mainstream, no wonder barely a week goes by without a new vegan cookery bible being published. It also explains the number of vegan cafes and restaurants that continue to pop up around the UK.

But which British city is the most accommodating for vegetarians and vegans? 

A new study by catering equipment retailer Nisbets surveyed 1,000 UK based adults to find out. They did this by looking at Google search trend data and examining the number of searches around the term ‘vegan and vegetarian restaurants’ for several major cities across the UK. The findings were then cross referenced with the number of vegan and vegetarian restaurants listed per city.

Norwich is vegan friendly

Credit: Getty

The report found that Norwich is the most vegan-friendly city, with just 2,094 people in the city per vegetarian/vegan restaurant.

Scotland also proved to have a strong reputation as a meatless dining hotspot, with both Edinburgh (2,631) and Glasgow (3,000) laying claim to second and third place in the top ten.

Interestingly, despite 20% of Southampton residents sharing that they are either vegan or vegetarian, more than two thirds of those living in the city admit to never visiting vegan and vegetarian restaurants in their local area.

In contrast, 40% of Mancunians say they regularly pay a visit to one of the cities many vegan and vegetarian restaurants at least once a week, with Bristol residents not far behind (20%).

Despite its title as England’s capital and being renowned for its extensive choice of cuisine when eating out, London didn’t quite make the top ten, claiming stake to the number 11 spot on the list.

Brighton, rather surprisingly, didn’t make the list either.

Here is the full list of the UK’s top 10 vegetarian/vegan-friendly cities:

1. Norwich

2. Edinburgh

3. Glasgow

4. Newcastle

5. Bristol

6. Manchester

7. Liverpool

8. Cardiff

9. Southampton

10. Nottingham

Images: Getty

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