I was drawn to eat at Vegan Yes thanks to its terrific reviews on google and its proximity to where I was staying in London. Vegan Yes is a vegan Italian-Korean fusion restaurant run by a couple who brought together their cultures to create this interesting mix. They don’t sit back-of-house either – Chef Mauro came out to chat with us quite a bit.

All meals at Vegan Yes start with a kimchi sampler. They have four homemade types of kimchi to taste, after which you can decide which type to have with your dish as most offer a choice. I had never tried different kimchis side-by-side, so it was fun to see how much variety in flavor there can be!

For my main dish, I opted for the kimchi burger. It comes with a soy and hemp patty, chili sauce, spinach, and their viola kimchi mayo. I opted for yellow kimchi in my burger, which has turmeric and ginger. The patty itself was pleasant with a mild taste. I was surprised that I was not totally overwhelmed by kimchi flavor given the kimchi on the burger and the kimchi mayo. Instead, it was a fun combination of flavors that complemented each other well. Nothing was overpowering. The overall texture of the burger was nice with a slightly crunchy bun, a soft but not squishy patty, and a good amount of sauce.

There were four of us all together. Everyone liked their meal expect one person who got too spiced by their kimchi pasta. It comes with red kimchi, which is the spiciest. The pasta was also too squishy, possibly because it was gluten free. It would be better if it were al dente, but nonetheless the flavor was good and two of us ate most of the rest of the dish. The same two of us ordered kimchi margaritas which were pleasantly surprising! Again, the kimchi flavor was not strong or overwhelming at all. In the margarita, it came more as a mild aftertaste.

The restaurant is cash only, so take note! When Chef Mauro came out to say goodbye, he asked where we were from. My party responded: the U.S., Canada, Ukraine, and Ireland. “Fusion like us!” he laughed. Indeed. I recommend Vegan Yes not only for its kimchi burger, but for its interesting approach and friendly owners.