Is there anywhere on the coast that sells VEGAN fish & chips?

[BrittanyKAMA]

Hi, I’ve been vegan for years, but woke up this morning to a drizzly bank holiday weekend and have this yearning to sit on a beach eating fish & chips.

I know you can buy vegan ‘fish’ but I wondered if anyone knew of anywhere on the coast that sells it?

Many thanks.

Can anyone tell me where in Whitby I can get oil fried chips then?

I am glad that this thread has proved useful for people, in spite of the invasion from meat-eating trolls.

Don't forget toad in the hole

I’m in Southend and there are at least 3 places that I can think of that does, although the vegan pub opposite the station has closed down now due to COVID. I’m vegan and Southend is spoilt in terms of vegan eateries in general

@stunnningandbrave

It does make you wonder how some people function in every day life!

What's wrong with asking for recommendations?

(Absolutely nothing!!)

How does your post help anyone?

(It doesn't)

@ChairmansReserve

There is loads to do in Brighton if you enjoy stepping over homeless teenagers overdosing on pavements, stag nights on a comedown and overpriced gelato parlours.

Makes a change from overdosing on drugs I suppose

@Ariela

Surely it's 'fish' or 'not fish'? There can be no such thing as vegan fish.

Bloody hell, how long should I wait for the Zebra crossing?

Or the pelican

To sharks, vegans and meat-eaters taste the same. The main difference is the water they are found in. Swimmers eaten around Brighton are a little more briny than those from St Ives which have a seaweedy flavour.

@SpanishFancy www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g186345-d2711083-Reviews-Robertsons_Chips_away-Whitby_Scarborough_District_North_Yorkshire_England.html

Thanks!

@poppycat10

Soya protein cylinder is ridiculous compared to vegan sausage

I don't disagree that "soya protein cylinder" is ridiculous but why not just call it a soya sausage? It's still a sausage, it's just not a pork or beef or chicken sausage. Vegan only tells you it's vegan, not what's in it.

Because they're not all Soya

You ask for 'a sausage' you don't ask for a pork sausage or beef sausage. I don't know what variety of vegetarian sausage they have. If I ask for a soya sausage, they may (correctly) say no, but they might have other types of vegetarian sausages.

It's not a difficult concept to get your head around.

@Booksandwine80

It’s not about being “anti vegan” it’s about bullshit bollocks like “vegan fish” I mean, wtf?!

How would you like us to ask for it?

@hamstersarse

There’s probably a reason you are craving fish.....it’s nutritious protein which sadly most vegans are lacking

Jesus, is there no topic you don't live up to your name on?

It's not a difficult concept to get your head around

Sigh.

So it's not soya. so it might be quorn. So it's a quorn sausage. Might even be a vegetable sausage, come to that.

But it's not just vegan. Or vegetarian. Funny how the vegetarians don't get a look in these days - it's vegan or nothing (other than halloumi I suppose).

And to the OP - I am not a meat-eating troll because I don't eat meat.

And I still think "vegan" fish alternatives sound bleugh.

I am as entitled to my opinion as you are.

@poppycat10 once you’ve established that there is a veggie sausage available you can enquire as to its composition... it’s just quicker to ask ‘do you have vegan sausages?’ Than ‘do you have sausages made of soya, quorn, vegetables, pea protein, seitan or other non-animal derived ingredients?’

@BrittanyKAMA Instagram has loads of vegan and accidentally vegan profiles. I was lucky enough to find one that's local who finds and posts new vegan options, products, places to eat etc turns out we have a fairly local Chinese place that does fully vegan meals and a chip shop that does vegan "fish" and chips...ughhh delicious!! So maybe try on there too!

@RampantIvy you missed off Wallfish
(snails) False food advertising since at least Tudor times!

Those that are vegan for environmental reasons, where do you stand on palm oil? It has become industry standard for oil in food (over canola/rapeseed, ground nut, sunflower etc) and is in practically all processed food in UK supermarkets (and the main constituent of trex, vegan butter, vegan margarine etc), but it has meant wholesale destruction of rainforest and deforestation for plantations.

The removal of these habitats are resulting in the enormous decline of species, loss of diversity, and contributing to climate change.

Obviously the vast majority of meat eaters also consume palm oil, but they're not (again, in the main) professing an environmental concern about the origins of their food.

I'm just interested, as many people are not in the least bit concerned about the growth of palm oil use, and I don't know any vegans in rl any more (my father was vegan for thirty years before his death, but he was also staunchly against deforestation, and palm oil use, and in fact in his final decade he started a permaculture smallholding).

Palm oil comes up constantly in vegan groups - actually it’s a banned topic for some as it’s so contentious! I avoid processed foods generally so eat less palm oil by default but my understanding was that palm is the most productive oil crop per hectare and therefore switching to any other type of oil would require more land and therefore more deforestation.

Thanks for your answer pattypan!
I wouldn't have expected sunflower or rapeseed oils to require any deforestation, as these are crop that grow in fields, though I realise groundnut plantations have led to deforestation (though groundnut can be part of permaculture/sustainable farming).
What you say about yields is likely the biggest factor, as industrial producers will prioritise profit over custodianship.

There's no easy answer and it's probably far too easy to fall into the trap of avoiding one environmental nasty only to transfer your impact somewhere else, which maybe more or less destructive.

If you replace local grass fed meat bought direct from a farm a few miles from your home with processed vegan alternative made with palm oil that's destroyed the rainforest, been shipped thousands of miles and made into a vegan sausage in a massive factory 200 miles from your house is that really a positive for the environment?

How does the impact of palm oil genuinely compare with UK grown rapeseed oil, which grows here in abundance on arable land not rainforest, as evidence by the many bright yellow fields that can be seen right now?

On the matter of vegan fish and chips without the weirdy processed ingredients, if you can find a chip shop that doesn't use beef dripping and can make batter without egg or cows milk in it, you could always get a potato scallop, chips and mushy peas, beans or curry sauce.

See, I'm not vegan but I eat a lot of vegan products because I'm allergic to milk. My allergy not bad enough to kill me in trace amounts but I get really really ill if I actually eat something with it as an ingredient and have been hospitalised before. If something is labelled vegan I KNOW it won't have milk in even if it's made in a factory with milk products (lots of products you wouldn't even think have dairy in and I often think wtf, why does that need milk in it!?), I know I can eat it safely. If every product was called something different and awkward and not just called vegan whatever, I'd have to check all product ingredients all the time. It's a lot easier for people like me. I don't understand why people even care what it's called. You're not buying it, you're not eating it! Why even waste your energy caring about this? Please can someone tell me an actual reason it matters to you? It's not like you're going to get it mixed up with your food

Ps... I enjoy banana blossom fish and real fish, tried the banana blossom at a friends once. No it's not exactly the same, but it's nice enough and the texture is decent as a fish alternative goes. I imagine fish and chip shops put more effort into making it taste fishy too!

Regarding palm oil: it could be an environmentally friendly crop, as it comes from trees (nearly always better than annual crops). However, the way it’s grown across most of the world, it isn’t right now, due to the razing of virgin forests to grow it.

Personally, I avoid palm oil- it’s not difficult to do.

Also, I’m wondering what people think vegan “fish” is? There have been numerous references to horrible chemicals, over processed shit etc, but down here it’s a block of tofu wrapped in seaweed, battered and fried. I suppose that tofu technically is a processed food, - in the same way that bread, for example, or cheese is- but it’s not really what most people think of when they envisage highly over processed food.

Also, I’m wondering what people think vegan “fish” is? There have been numerous references to horrible chemicals, over processed shit etc, but down here it’s a block of tofu wrapped in seaweed, battered and fried

Personally speaking, this is my “issue” (for want of a better word) with calling something “vegan fish”. Other than identify it as vegan, it does nothing to identify it as anything else and as we’ve seen on this thread, there’s several vegan products/combos it could be. It just muddies the waters for anyone who might have other allergies or concerns. Just call it “fried banana blossom —vegan” or whatever.

I’m not up in arms about it though and this is not an attack on anyone’s eating choices ;)