Restaurant Brighton's guide to
Vegan burgers in Brighton
Our top picks
Best vegan burgers in Brighton
Being in the country’s most vegan friendly city has its advantages when it comes to classic fast food reimagined mooless. Here we’ve got a roundup of the best vegan burgers Brighton has to offer from entirely plant based establishments. I’ve also picked out a few favourites as sampled by the RB resident vegan (that’s me).
Most places that do a classic burger will do some form of vegan burger too, check out our burger page for more on those.
Rhys
Vegan burgers in Brighton
UmamiNation at The Mesmerist is at home on our Brighton vegan burger roundup. With Asian slaw and onion bhaji the bean burger is packed with flavour and has the kitchen’s signature sauce too. Although not technically a burger, we feel that Bao buns deserve a mention here, for the sticky Korean Shiitake Mushroom Bao Buns served at The Mesmerist will have you coming back for more!
Sarah’s been making her signature Brighton houmous since 2009 and is the undisputed queen of all things chickpea. She favours whole food over processed ingredients and chickpeas over almost anything else. Her burger is, you guessed it, chickpea based, but don’t let that put you off: what this woman can do with a chickpea is mind blowing. The burger is baked, not fried and flavoured with aubergine, sundried tomato and strong herbs giving this patty a deep satisfying flavour. You can read my blog for Smorl’s, with more about that burger, here.
The Vurger Co.
Vurger Co in the Lanes goes all out on creating high-tower burgers full of classic comforting and feel good flavour. It’s mostly about meat substitutes with soy based pork and chicken burgers and a fishless fillet burger. There’s also a plant patty, if that’s more your bag, and it’s a good one. The Buffalo Vurger is a personal favourite, if like me you have a manageable addiction to hot sauce then this is for you.
Oowee Vegan
Oowee Vegan began life in that other vegan paradise, Bristol, but decided to make Brighton home to its flagship in August 2022. Burger wise you’ll get the full spectrum here. There’s deep fried, crispy coated ‘chicken’ burgers at the downright dirty end, grilled ‘beef’ burgers in the middle and practically saintly plant patties at the other. With that in mind, you’d half expect a salad to feature somewhere on the sides or extras, but thankfully no. They deep dive into dirty with the rest of the menu; add shakes, loaded fries, popcorn ‘chicken’ and mac and cheese – you get the picture.
The Pipeline
Hidden on Little East Street in the Lanes, The Pipeline Pub is like the bad kid at the back of the school bus who’s already got something pierced. The Pipeline pulls a crowd of plant loving punks and their chums with its jukebox, live gigs and entertainment and entirely vegan menu. The burgers are all named after inspirational women from the Rock world, Patti Smith naturally getting ‘the classic’ burger. As you’d expect these burgers look like trouble, but with a 100% plant-based menu they’ve got hearts of gold.
Really Happy Chicken
There was once a rumour that the reason a certain highstreet chicken shop chain changed its name was because it couldn’t legally use the word chicken to describe the genetically modified creatures that they breaded and fried. As untrue as the rumour was, Really Happy Chicken seem to have picked it up as a marketing strategy and run with it. This independent vegan chicken shop serves a range of burgers all made with their in house 100% not chicken and secret recipe coating. The first time I came here a group of lads on a stag do turned up. At first I thought it was a case of ‘wrong turn bruv’, but they knew what they were doing and ate with gusto: the times they are a-changin’.
Freeloada
East Street is home to many fine eateries and pubs. The popular East Street Tap is a draw for tourists and locals alike with a fine selection of beers and ales, a sunny outdoor spot in the summer and an entirely vegan fast food menu. Freeloada goes big on the meat substitute, so this is one for you if you’re craving something from your former meat eating days, or just need that junk food fix to quash the consequences of ‘the night before’. Go for their signature ‘chicken’ burgers made to their own special recipe.
Flower burger
Flower Burger was born in Milan in 2015 and joined the Brighton throng on North Street in 2021. It’s the fifth Flower Burger and only the second in the UK. Strong hippy vibes dominate with burger buns coloured using natural ingredients impressively showing off Mother Nature’s penchant for psychedelia. Patties are predominantly plants featuring chickpea burgers, mushroom burgers and a little bit of seitan (gluten washed from flour used as a meat substitute in China from about the 6 century – did someone say “meat substitutes in veganism is a fad?”) These burgers are packed with sauces and veg helping your palette get blissed out on plant love.
The World's End
The World’s End pub is a popular student hangout. With an arcade and raceway on its second floor it attracts game enthusiasts and other people who don’t think drinking beer is fun enough on its own (each to their own). The fun doesn’t stop with racing mini cars round a neon lit racecourse, oh no. The 100% vegan menu has gone to town with amusing titles and pop culture references. Thankfully the flavour packing burgers are no joke and the portions will have your sides splitting even if the ‘Big Cluckowski’ passes you by.
A few vegan burgers of note
This old-school central Brighton pub has a menu brimming with classic bar food given a modern makeover. The menu is from local chef Phil Bartley who’s renowned for his commitment to fresh, local and artisanal produce. So while things look familiar, the taste will be next level. There’s a delicious vegan burger on the menu, of the crumbed ‘chicken’ (chick’n’) variety with garlic may, chunky chips and served in a brioche bun.
The New Club is a stylish seafront bar and diner with epic views of the West Pier and plenty of outdoor seating. Its vibe is very NY brunch culture where you just want to gather your gang and for one of those fun filled afternoons of food, drink and laughter. The homemade vegan burger is a cashew and butternut patty with beetroot ketchup and dill pickles. It’s a lovely mix of rich, earthy and sharp notes that gets the whole palette involved. It’s also part of their bottomless brunch menu which is, in a word, perfect.
Find a banging plant-based burger at MEATliquor on Brighton’s York Place. The cult burger joint is by its nature very meaty, however, the ‘Tempeh Tantrum’ dubbed vegan burger is worth popping the blinkers on for. The burger comprises double tempeh and mushroom patties and “cheese” burger sauce. There’s a further two “Inna Bun” options which include the Burgaloo and Impossible Chicken, which we’ll let you discover for yourselves. These guys mean big burger business, so it’s best to trust that you’re in safe hands!
Since opening in 2017, Lost Boys has become a go-to for nostalgic feel good food done well. Their London Road chicken shop is their first real home where they’re able to create a fully immersive Lost Boys experience, step through the door and into the mid 80s and 90s. They’ve developed their own vegan chicken recipe, breaded in their own special mix and served with a choice of sauces that you can ‘drink, drizzle or drench’. Wash it down with a Capri Sun or a Cherry Coke and leave with a pocket full of original 80s merch from their vending machine (think Pez dispensers, action figures, Disney toys).
