Hail Seitan! I’m back with Flexing Vegan, a miniseries featuring reviews of eateries around London with vegan only menus. For my third flex, I’m keeping near the last place I visited (Sutton and Sons Vegan Chip Shop) for a devilishly good lunch at Temple of Seitan.
Just off Mare Street (near the Tesco Superstore) on Mornington Lane, this fast food joint is a sanctuary for devotees of seitan.
Plant-based and high protein, seitan is an alternative to meat made from wheat gluten. Far from being a newfangled science food, t’s been a palate pleaser for Buddhists and other vegetarians since the 6th century in China. I’ve loved the stuff since the first time I tried it in the early 90s at a “fake meat” vegetarian restaurant in San Francisco’s Chinatown. Depending on how it’s seasoned, seitan can be super tasty. If you’ve never had it, you might be surprised by its chewy, meaty texture.
The way it’s prepared at Temple is in the form of breaded chicken fillets and burger patties.
For my lunch, I went with the £11 combo deal. It came with a Temple Burger (Chick’n fillet, ranch mayo, seitan bacon, vegan cheese, lettuce and pickles), a side of coleslaw and a Karma Cola. The burger was awesome: juicy and filling with a gratifying flavour profile. By gratifying I mean I enjoyed it very much as I would a decent chicken burger (maybe even a little more than most chicken burgers I’ve had). Portions were ample; I left Temple sated and set for the day (and not at all bloated).
Service was friendly and sufficiently fast for a quick lunch. The cooks in the back were playing Neil Young, a soundtrack which seemed to suit my mood perfectly as I sat at the bar and tucked into my meal.
Temple of Seitan’s Temple of Hackney is located at 10 Morning Lane, E9 6NA. There’s a Temple of Camden too. Find out more at templeofseitan.co.uk.
I’ll be back soon with my next Flexing Vegan review.
