Temple of Seitan a place that Claire had been raving on about all week, was as good as it she made it be. Its this perfect destination for the vegan appetite – serving vegan fried chicken and more!  The brand was founded by Melbourne couple Rebecca McGuinness and Patrick O’Shea in 2015. They realised London was lacking in vegan fast food on the market compared to Australia’s vegan junk food stalls which were everywhere.

Rebecca started experimenting with different types of seitan recipes at home until she found ‘Seitan and Beyond’ by Skye Michael Conroy, where she alternated and developed the flavouring and texture to her own taste. This was a success amongst her friends and family, so she thought it be a great idea to sell her seitan chicken at markets such as Brick Lane and Vegan festivals around the UK. This was when Temple of Seitan fast food restaurants were born ‘Temple of Hackney’ in January 2017 and a year later the opening of ‘Temple of Camden’.

Temple of Seitan

The one we visited was near King Cross, it was rather busy when we got there, the only table that was available was next to the entrance, until we saw another table free up and clambered towards it.

The restaurant was bright and vibrant a great food joint, the staff behind the counter were really friendly and enthusiastic. Their menu was above the counter, clear and brightly lit. As a first timer they were very helpful and recommended a couple of items and suggested which soft drink would go with our meals! They took our names and we waited for them to call us when it was ready, it didn’t take long to wait which was great as we were both famished!

Claire ordered their Temple Deluxe – 1/4 Pound Patty, Burger Sauce, Cheese, Bacon, Lettuce, Pickles with popcorn bites as her sides [to share] and a soft drink lemony lemonade, I ordered their Temple Burger – Chick’n Fillet, Ranch Mayo, Bacon, Cheese, Lettuce, Pickles and Fries [GFO] Chipotle Salt [to share] and to quench my thirst the guy serving me suggested their Gingerella Ginger Ale.

We were lucky when we got our meals, when we did as a queue started to form.

My Temple Burger was delicious, I can see why it got so busy quickly! The ‘chicken’ fell apart like real chicken and the texture is so similar, I couldn’t believe that my ‘chicken’ burger wasn’t real chicken! If you fancy a deep fried ‘chicken’ this is the place to go.

The popcorn bites were tasty too, little bites of heaven. I also had a munch of Claire’s Temple Deluxe and her pound patty was good but personally I thought my burger was better, both very saucy and generous amount of ‘meat’. Their fries was also great, crispy and flavoursome.

I think we both ate with our eyes as we gradually got stuffed! The Gingerella Ginger ale was refreshing with a crisp and fiery kick, that helped wash my ‘chicken’ burger down.

My overall experience at Temple of Seitan was delightful with such a mouthwatering selection of tasty fried food, and a lively atmosphere with friendly staff. I must say it would be great to see a Temple of Seitan south of the river. This place is great for non vegan foodies too, as the flavours were phenomenal and I can’t wait to go back!

Temple of Camden opening times are Monday to Saturday 11am to 9pm and Sunday’s 11am to 6pm.

Temple of Hackney opening times are Monday to Saturday 12pm to 9pm and Sunday’s 12pm to 6pm.