Leading fast food chain Burger King, known for its meat-centric menu, is throwing a major curve ball in London next week. The company is revamping its Leicester Square flagship restaurant to be fully vegan for a one-month trial.

It’s the first Burger King restaurant worldwide to do so, and involved years of development, a press release from the company revealed.

The eatery’s menu will feature Burger King’s iconic Plant-Based Whopper and Vegan Royale, as well as more than 15 new options.

The new Plant-Based Bakon Double Cheeeze XL and Vegan Cheeeze & Bakon Royale are joining the menu, in what Burger King says is a “fast-food first.”

Vegan hamburgers, cheeseburgers, nugget burgers, cheese bites, onion rings, ice cream, and fries will all be on offer, as well as Burger King’s recently launched Katsu sandwiches.

An all-vegan children’s menu will also be available. The full menu can be found at the bottom of this article.

Vegan Burger King at Leicester Square

In an email sent to Plant Based News, Burger King confirmed that despite some of the menu items being labeled as “plant-based,” all options at the Leicester Square Meat-Free Burger King will be vegan during the month-long pilot. Meaning, the items without the Vegan Trademark are still plant-based, but not certified as such.

The company also revealed that if the concept is met with enthusiasm, it may consider opening more meat-free restaurants in the future – permanently.

“We’re incredibly proud of our new meat-free menu; it absolutely delivers on big taste with no compromises and reflects our ongoing commitment to serving our customers a diverse and innovative range of products,” Katie Evans of Burger King UK commented.

“The limited-edition menu is a direct result of our focus on vegan and plant-based innovation and goes hand in hand with our target of a 50 percent meat-free menu by 2030, as well as our commitment to sustainability and responsible business. We can’t think of a more fitting way to re-launch our new-look flagship in Leicester Square.”

To further drive its sustainability efforts, Burger King UK is donating 10p to Trees for Cities for every Plant-Based Whopper or Vegan Royale sold in the country during the pilot.

Food for all

The Vegetarian Butcher – a plant-based meat brand that creates Burger King’s vegan Whopper patties, Royale chicken, and nuggets – says the meat-free options rival their animal-based counterparts.

“At The Vegetarian Butcher, we believe that plant-based foods should be just as tasty as meat and our juicy range of meat-free products prove just that – showing that consumers don’t need to sacrifice a thing when making a plant-based switch,” said The Vegetarian Butcher’s Laura Iliffe.

“… We’re providing meat-lovers the chance to cut-down meat without compromising on taste.  We challenge you to taste the difference!”

Along a similar vein, animal rights organization PETA encouraged meat-eaters to give the concept a go.

“PETA applauds the UKs first all-vegan Burger King – a whopping great step in the right direction for animals and the environment. The planet needs a game-changing shift away from meat to combat the climate emergency, and Burger King is leading the way,” said Dawn Carr from PETA. “We love its expanding meat-free range: from the Vegan Royale to the Vegan Nuggets, these plant-powered, protein-packed meals appeal to both vegans and meat-eaters!”

Burger King’s meat-free location will be open from March 14, 2022 to April 10, 2022 at Leicester Square.

Burger King Leicester Square’s full vegan menu

• Vegan Nugget Burger
• Vegan Royale
• Vegan Cheeeze & Bakon Royale
• Vegan Cheeeze Royale
• Vegan Katsu Royale
• Plant-based Katsu Chilli Whopper®
• Plant-based Whopper®
• Plant-based Cheeeze Whopper®
• Plant-based Cheeeze & Bakon Whopper® 
• Plant-based Whopper Jr® 
• Plant-based Cheeeze Whopper Jr® 
• Plant-based Hamburger
• Plant-based Cheeezeburger
• Plant-based Double Cheeezeburger
• Plant-based Bakon Double Cheeezeburger
• Plant-based Bakon Double Cheeeze XL
• Plant-Based Double Whopper® 
• Plant-based King Jr® Hamburger Meal
• Plant-based King Jr® Cheeezeburger Meal
• Vegan King Jr® Nugget Meal
• Vegan Fries 
• Vegan Nuggets 
• Vegan Chilli Cheeeze bites
• Plant-based Onion Rings
• Ben & Jerry’s® Cookie on Cookie Dough Non-Dairy Ice Cream