CLOSED: Food For Thought

The days when vegetarian isn't as hip, cool and people were not so aware of the tremendous health benefits of vegetarian food, these guys have been here making heart warming and reliable vegetarian food. It was a go to place for me, a vegetarian for more than 20 years, to relax and not have to explain what I don't eat. Their quiche, stew, and salads we such a stable. The place is small, and perhaps there are lots more vegetarian friendly places out there. But I gave me a home feeling, always going there at lunch time for a good meal.

They might have fewer choices each day, but their menu change pretty much daily. So I don't see that as a problem.

For those who don't like its basement, or small premises (don't forget, if it isn't so good, and vegetarian in higher demands, it won't be so packed!), I suggest you get take away (the counter is upstairs) for a speedy service. Go sit in nearly lincoln's Inn field, or around seven dials round about.

I would always go either very early or after the lunch rush hour has past. It will always be a place I have fond memories of.

I used to like this place. It's still the same it's always been, but I don't really go here any more because it's so dairy heavy - scant vegan options - and the food is uninspired muck for the most part - that is undercooked and lacking in taste. They need to update their chefs. Very "naughties" bland bulky vegetarian if you catch my meaning.

The reviews were correct when they say that this place is cozy. The line gets fairly long, too. I had the spinach and lentil masala - delicious! No need for salt and pepper because it was full of flavor! I got the lowdown from a local who's table I crashed...this place has been open, in the exact same location, since like the 70's. However, due to the changes in the neighborhood it has gotten too pricey for the establishment to stay. Unfortunately, they are supposed to be closing their doors permanently in June. Please don't miss your opportunity to eat some really good food and show your support for a place that has been opening minds for decades.

Small and cosy place (a little bit too cosy) offering healthy and tasty food. I had mushroom&spinach quiche with salads for £8,50 and the portion was huge.

The menu is not huge but versatile so it's enough.
The stuff was very friendly and helpful.

The only thing I didn't like was the interior, it's a bit small and can be overcrowded. Definitely more for a quick lunch than a long sitting meal.
Old fashioned toliet needs imporvements too.

A bit too small, gets packed easily. But the food is well worth the waiting!

Food for thought was a quiet and tiny basement cafe with a limited menu of warm and hearty vegetarian food. Be sure to make it there early as they tend to run out of options during lunch-time. I had a tasty tomato soup and a filling bowl of stir fried veggies with brown rice. Not as many vegan options as preferable but still a great place.

Being perfectly located in Covent Garden, this is a lovely little place to have lunch. I was there slightly after peak time, so it wasn't as crowded as I had expected it to be after reading the reviews here on HappyCow.
Service was super friendly and my meal, a veggie stew, quite tasty albeit of the very homemade, simple style. And you can't beat the price - £5,50 for lunch in this location, and water for free!

During my one week stay in London I've been there three times together with my mom because the food was just sooooo damn good!!! :) It's a very small eatery and does not look so nice but the staff is very friendly and they cook really good organic, nutritious, satiable indian-based food to fair prices! I would recommend this to all people who like indian kitchen with lots of vegetables, legumes etc. It was so delicious!

I went to Food for Thought on a holiday in London, and I LOVED LOVED LOVED the food!!!! One of the best dining experiences I have ever had!!! Although it is cramped, and a little hard to get a seat, this totally went out of my mind when I was eating my meal! Quick service too! I esoically loved the crumble dessert! I am DEFINATLY going again, and I am planning to get their cook book!

This place is OK if you're in the area and there is nothing else but I wouldn't go there deliberately. It's very crowded, few vegan options, and if you are with your children it's hard bc so little space, if you have a push chair with you better go somewhere else bc you need to go down a narrow staircase to get to the counter where you order the food.

I went there last Sunday at lunchtime and it was full of people, but we managed to find a table after a few minutes. Got the hot dish + salad at 8.20 pounds, it was nice and spicy (with a lot of coriander as well).

The place is nice, even though for the main part it's a basement with no windows (there are only a couple of tables at the ground floor close to the kitchen). However, it's full of wood and colourful!

It was nice to find out that the place has been open for decades!
Updated from previous review on Saturday May 25, 2013

Food for thought has been here for decades. It's a great little spot - it is tiny though and seating is cramped, it's often quite a squeeze. Food is often currys, pasta bakes etc, filling, tasty but quite 1970s era veggie cooking. I had a spinach and chick pea curry last time I was there. They do a range of meal deals - main with salad, main with pudding etc, which offer good value. Do watch out, if you ask for just the main on its own, you often get just that (ie veggie curry, but no rice for instance). Pudding is generally fruit crumble, which is vegan, but they never do any vegan cream or custard. Why FFF? last time my curry was a bit on the tepid side and my crumble volcanically hot, so some vegan ice cream would have been nice.. but nice little spot if you're in town, you're small and you aren't carrying bags.

This is true, I have been happily eating at Happy Cow restaurants in about 32 countries now and I have yet to find a restaurant as delicious as Food for Thought. They change their menu every day, has a very local feel, everything tastes fresh and organic and the dessert is incredible. It's very busy and their hours are a bit hard to manage, but a must eat for any vegetarian in London!

Absolutely love this place, have been going here for years and years.

The menu changes daily, with a special at night, and there is always a vegan option. They also have cakes, soups, salads, teas etc

You can choose to eat in the restaurant, or to get take away.

Can pretty much guarantee a good meal when I come here.

I really love Food for Thought and go there everytime I am in London. The atmosphere is very nice, both the staff and the other guests were always really really nice. Nobody there minds sharing tables as the restaurant is rather tiny and it is usually very busy. Due to this, it is really easy to talk to others and get to know new people.
The food is absolutely great, they serve quiches, soups, salads, bread, cakes and a choice of hot dishes. Most of these change on a daily basis, which means you will always find something new and delicious everytime you go there. All of it contains a lot of vegetables and is really filling and very tasty.

This place is great after a day around Covent Garden or the West End served with a large plate full of fresh veggie dinner in a cosy basement. Very delicious!

we ordered some buisness place I don't exactly rememeber the name of, but it included 3 salads and main hot dish. it was very good and the price was fair.

We (a family of 5)ate at this lovely little restaurant on a late Sunday afternoon (they are open until 5:30 p.m. on Sunday but you should get there about an hour beforehand). The portions were generous, the prices reasonable. We enjoyed the vegetarian stew and both the quiche and the cheese scone were a big hit with the kids. The waiters or rather servers at the counter were very pleasant and patient in explaning what each dish contained (for our fussy kids). Since we came late there was no problem finding a place to sit. The restaurant is very conveniently located - a few minutes walk from the Covent Garden tube station. Definitely a good place to come back to.

Not too salted meal was good for my lunch and very healthy. Quiet place. I could eat slowly. I love it^^

I have worked quite near here before, and it's always a good option for lunch. Everything is vegetarian, with only a couple of vegan options. The stir fry veg is one of the vegan choices and is always on the menu. I must say, it is delicious- packed with vegetables and tofu and a flavoursome sauce. I also love the vegetarian quiche, which changes each day. They include a cheesy topping and some cress on top too. the pastry is delicious also. The salad selection is always different, and I love it when there are salads filled with dill, my favourite herb, which they clearly love too.

Dessert is a crumble or a scrunch - a fruity, biscuity cream which is delicious and both always contain seasonal fruits. Water is free and available on each table, just pick up a glass.

They do great bread and scones, which I always get as they're so delicious and change each day. You can get a takeout upstairs, which doesn't usually have a queue.

It is tiny, and you often have to queue up the stairs and try and find a seat. I've never not found a seat, but if you're in a group it may be tricky.

The staff can be friendly, but not always! Also, the toilets are right next to the tables under the stairs, which isn't great if people queue up outside them (only 1 ladies toilet). Also, there's not been any soap in the ladies toilets on a couple of occasions and staff have been too busy to assist.

All in all, it is one of the yummiest places to eat in Covent Garden, is in a great location and the food is reliably good. I think it is expensive for what it is, and cash only (good luck finding a cashpoint nearby!)

Great food, they make on the day (not off a menu, so you choose what's there each day). Its always busy, (often hard to get a seat!), but great in the heart of convent garden area.

Small and busy but fantastic food. Plenty of vegan options! The soup was honest warming and tasty and the salads were delish :D
Great atmosphere

This is a nice little restaurant conveniently located near Covent Garden, which serves classic, no-fuss dishes that are healthy and taste great. There are a good number of vegan choices, and I liked everything that I ordered (soup, main, and dessert). The warm fruit cobbler for dessert was especially commendable. The portion sizes are also generous, and I find this to be a great place to go to in the winter, when one seeks hearty servings of comfort food.

It's also a good option when you are out and about shopping or visiting near Covent Garden, and want food which is served very quickly (all of the dishes are prepared in the morning and ready-to-eat when you get there).

One thing about this place though, is that is TINY and usually PACKED, so if you go, make sure to have an open mind about the possibility of sharing tables and sitting close to strangers!

This is a lovely little place to eat with gorgeous homely food. We queued for a while for a table and it's very 'cosy' once you're seated - worth getting there early.

This seems to be a popular lunchtime haunt for people in Covent Garden. The queue was out of the door when I first passed. There is a take away and an eat in section downstairs.

I had a polenta and mozzarella bean stew, with black olives, which was pretty good. I would have had more, (they do some awesome looking salads and cakes), but they only take cash.

Seating is limited; sharing a table adds to the atmosphere.

There are menus, and black boards, but if you've not got your glasses on they can be a bit hard to read.

Most of the time crowded but it's a good thing to wait!
Food is delicious and the athmosphere is very cosy. When you've found your sit, you don't want to leave anymore.

The good thing is that they don't waste food. If you're the lucky last customer, you'll have the privilege to have the last scone.
Isn't that amazing?

We have been coming here for years and it has hardly changed.... including the signs on the loo doors.. and, generally, having the one vegan option in cakes... the scones... but it is friendly, reliable and reasonably cheap. A great, and traditional, place to meet friends.

find yourself on a small stool in a crowded (at peak times) basement and enjoying a big plate full of healthy, delicious stuff.
there is a daily menu with at leat one vegan option. i had to ask because either there are no labels for vegan meals (at least not on the board), or i didn't find/understand them. nevertheless, the staff is very friendly and makes you a plate of joy for about 7,50 pounds. the free drinking water on the tables is definitely a plus in this expensive town!

Decent vegetarian cafe in Covent Garden which makes a nice place to rejuvenate yourself after or in between all that shopping. Food portions were OK, not particularly small or big. Prices were reasonable for central London. Some tables were too close and it might feel a little cramped. Will definitely go back when I visit London again.

This is a lovely little homely place to eat. I've been here a couple of times now and I've enjoyed myself each time. Food is delicious, served in cool clay pots, lovely staff and food is a decent price. It is very limited of seating space (benches) and is busy most of the time so you will end up seating with other people.

I've been going to Food for Thought for 30 years. The food is very good. The problem is that it's too popular. The last few visits I had to queue for ages to get served and then squashed on the end of a table. A member of staff went round telling people to leave as soon as they'd finished their meals!
so don't go peak times and it should be ok.

Went there one evening last week before going to theatre.
The place hasn't changed much in 30+ years, still busy and the food is really nice and inexpensive.
Vegan items clearly marked on the menu.
Vegan choice of main course was limited the day I went.The stir fry - and they always have stir fry on the menu - tasted really nice.They'd ran out of the other vegan main course.
For dessert I had a vegan strawberry scone (I don't know any other place in London that does vegan scones).
The other optioin for vegan dessert was fruit crumble with vegan custard.

went there twice. because it is as little and you want to eat-in youd probably have to sit next to a stranger. always pretty full but hey why not sharing the space with others. they just want to eat as you do.
had beetroot in a curry. eating beetroot like that was the first time in my live(i hate it as salad) and it was the first time i liked it actually.
you think its a small portion but each time i have to fight to finish it(i'm a little monster just to say).
some berries with crumble as dessert were ultimate. simple but so delicious

I've eaten at Food For Thought a couple of times and the food was very tasty on both occasions. Spicy vegetable gumbo the first time, and a gingery stir fry the second time. The portions looks deceptively small in the bowls they were served in but proved to be more substantial than they looked.

I attempted to visit a third time when I was in London a couple of months ago but it was evening and two of the three dishes on offer had run out. Obviously not a reason to hold a grudge! It has always been very crowded when I've seen it but it's cosy and lively and I like its atmosphere.

The prices are reasonable and the portion sizes perhaps on the small side but didn't leave me [a girl with a large appetite!] hungry.
I'll definitely go back, but will aim for somewhere between lunch and dinner time, to avoid the crowds but get there before all the food runs out!

We went to this restaurant when we were visiting London in 2007. It was good to find a vego place near the Covent Garden (where our duaghter was enjoying the ballet). Very crowded but the food was ok in a very 1970's sort of way. I don't think I'd bother going back but it was O.K., nice and warm on a cold December night!
Seem to recall that there was some bother about how desserts were supposed to be ordered?

In the heart of Covent Garden.
Small space, take-away is available from upstairs, eat in is downstairs which is the basement.
Seems like an old building that has been converted to meet it's purpose now.
They have packed as many seats in as possible. That is is a basement as well adds a little of the bunkerish vibe.
Lots of visitors to London here. There were lots of people there even when I went out of peak times. I had to take a seat next to the toilets.

The menu has a few dishes from various cuisines. I chose the Indian. It was ok, the Indian restaurants will still stay in business.

It is counter service. Service was ok.

At just under ₤10 for main meal and a Purdeys it was fine.

I really like this place. When I lived in London I used to go once a fortnight. The food is tasty and the portions are decent sizes. It is always crowded though, so unfortunately I usually got take-away.

I have visited food for thought on 2 occasions. On the first visit, although the food was very good, the chap that served me had the dirtiest fingernails I had ever seen.

I did not even eat on the second occasion. I presume it was a manager serving me as she told a staff member to go on a break. I ordered a take away and the server spat on her hands and pulled out the container with the same hands. She then put soup into the container and some soup had spilt down the side of it. She picked up a soapy cloth from the sink and wiped down the outside of the container with it. I walked out and did not purchase the food.

I've been here a million times and am always pleased. The seating is definitely limited esp at peek meal times, so if you want to stretch out and have a comfortable meal, this isn't the spot. However if you want to duck in and have a quick healthy delicious meal between shops in Covent Garden, this is the place. though I've heard otherwise in reviews, I always managed to find enough vegan options. I also enjoy the staff, they're kind and helpful, and always seem be having a good time.

I have been eating in Foof For Thought since the early seventies.

The food is always excellent.

If I am ever in London, which is rare these days, I always eat in Food for Thought.

I've eaten here a couple of times and both times been pretty squeezed in.

They don't have a great vegan range. I like my salads but I like to have other choices as well.

Food has always been fresh and tasty enough, without really setting the world on fire.

If you are a vegetarian looking for take away, might be a good option.

Love the name :)

I've lived in London since 1994. When I was just vegetarian I used to go to Food for Thought all the time, but I haven't really been able to since I've been vegan. They do virtually nothing that is vegan - just overpriced stir fries or salads that you can get several other places much more cheaply. They may have a vegan flapjack (oatmeal cookie for the North Americans) - but again, many corner shops sell non-dairy or vegan flapjacks, so it's not worth the special trip. It's sad, because their veggie food is great.

This restaurant is certainly unique. it is very small and apparently has quite a local following. The seating area is one long bench with small square tables which provides for a cozy communal feel. I got there before it opened and they have a line waiting out the door. The problem here is the food., the lack of selection and the prices which are semi despicable. The Stir fried noodles were gross. they were flavorless and it looked like they took any vegetable they could get their hands on mushed it up and just slopped it in. The saving grace here is the salads. I had the carrot salad and a bean salad and they were both of very high quality using excellent produce and with great natural flavors. When i go to a restaurant though, i like the feel of a menu. here it almost feels like i came in to a lunchroom and got the same slop as everyone. the atmosphere also contributes to that feel. I found it funny how the server would act surprised when someone ordered rissoto (even though it was 1 of only 3 entrees offered and the 7 consecutive people on line before had ordered the same thing). As for the prices. for a main dish and salad it costs 7.5 pounds. considering that this is a half a plate of salad and half a plate of a gloppy main dish (put together on 1 plate) i think that it is exhorbitant and would avoid this place at all costs.

A friend recommended this place to me. I was told to go early and I'm glad I did because it would have been awkward to have ordered food and not been able to sit anywhere. Keep in mind that this is a mainly vegetarian restaurant, so some things do have dairy. The food was reasonably-priced, fresh, and healthy and it was a nice, casual atmosphere. I'd go again!

I'm a veggie who has been living in London for the last few years, and whenever I'm in the city centre I always go out of my way to go to this place. The food is fantastic - very wholesome, fresh, and always made with love. Yes, they get very busy & the staff may be rushed off their feet, but this is only because it's great food at great value! It's reliably vegetarian, and it's the only place in London that my meat-eating friends consistently enjoy. Great food!

This place had solid English desserts and a decent stir-fry type of dish. The prices were reasonable, though the place is crowded and hard to move around in. Also, they accept only cash, which was a bit of a problem. I'd recommend it for a light snack, but definitely not during peak hours.

This is one of two veggie places I haven't been back to after I was treated rudely by the staff. The place gets busy and queues will form; and there is one queue for take away and one for eating in. We were pretty much told to go to the back of the queue for being in the wrong queue at the wrong time, which I thought was inconsiderate as I'd been waiting for ages and wasn't 'in the know' about the protocol. When I had eaten here (I'd been about 3 times before) the food was adequate (ratatouille, stir-fry, etc) but nothing out of this world for what I was paying. I haven't been back -- if you're in Covent Garden go to Neal's Yard instead.

We didn't actually make it into the restaurant because people were queueing up the stairs and outside onto the street! At any rate, having looked at the menu outside, it didn't seem to have that many vegan dishes. It's mainly vegetarian.

This place does get really busy, but the food is delicious and good value, especially for the location. The thalis always look delicious, and the desserts are good too!