The UK Just Got Its First Vegan BBQ Restaurant

UK-based veggie lovers have at least one more plant-based option to add to their food bucket list. The country just got its very first fully vegan BBQ restaurant.

The meatless BBQ spot—called Stoked—opened in Westcliff this past weekend.

The menu features a number of traditional Southern-style barbecue staples. These include tempeh ribs, mac ‘n’ cheese, deep-fried chicken wings, seitan brisket, burgers, and more.

The restaurant’s owner, Billy Reeve, told LIVEKINDLY in an email that he plans to change out the menu each month.

“On the menu at the moment, we have the OG BBQ plate, which is what we built Stoked on. [It features] the ribs, pit beans, mac-and-cheese, and southern slaw with the house BBQ sauce,” he explained. He continued: “We [also] do a chicken slider meal which is oak-smoked chicken chunks, a herb garlic mayo, candied jalapenos, house pickles, on a toasted artisan bun with fries.”

And if these don’t strike your fancy, Stoked also offers meat-free Reubens, a New York deli-style sandwich, and a Nashville crunch wrap. The latter features Nashville hot chickenless chunks, Creole mustard mayonnaise, and mac ‘n’ cheese, all wrapped in a giant tostada and fried.

Vegan Barbecue Takes the UK

Reeve went vegan four years ago. He says plant-based food has become important to him because of the positive impact it has on the planet.

“I simply do not want to cause any harm to any animals whatsoever. Not to mention this helped with my weight, my skin, [and] my energy levels,” he said. 

Going vegan has helped to enhance his social life. “It’s brought a nice community. A lot of the people I now am friends with through being vegan,” he explained.

Reeve first opened Stoked as a pop-up in May 2019 after seeing a lack of vegan barbecue food in the market. “BBQ is the food that I love to eat. And I […] realized that I couldn’t get it anywhere. So I decided to make it myself,” he explained.

After the coronavirus pandemic hit, Reeve quit his teaching job and opened Stoked as a brick and mortar.

Reeve says the food has been a hit with the locals. “We sold out in a few hours and there was about an hour queue for food. And I think we fed around 500 people. A complete sell-out, couldn’t get it out quick enough,” he said.