Jake’s Vegan Steaks Burger

This is one of our favourite vegan festival finds so far! At the Vegan Summer Fest London we came across Jake’s Vegan Steaks, one of the busiest stalls there with long lines at lunchtime. Of course, we wanted to see whether the hype was justified, so we had to queue up and get one for ourselves!

The stall was the picture of efficiency, with almost an assembly line feel to it as each part of the burger was assembled in turn. We watched eagerly as the process was completed for our orders, which were delivered very smoothly.

It was very sloppy and hard to eat all at once because of the sheer size of the operation, and I actually lost my burger while trying to eat it! It fell safely back into the carton it was served in, however, and there’s always something fun about a messy burger.

The seitan steak burger itself was chewy, bouncy, mushroomy meat. One of the consistent factors with this burger was that it defies you to believe it is vegan. Surely there must be an animal in it somewhere?! But no, even the soft, creamy, American-style cheese has never been anywhere near a cow.

All of the sauces that were added to the bun mixed together in a kind of wonderful melange of BBQ, mustard, sriracha, and mayonnaise. Now, anyone who reads regularly knows that I am shy of spicy food and would never normally choose those toppings, but boy, do they work together. There was the light and sweet addition of caramelised onions, and shredded lettuce which always makes me feel like I’m eating a Big Mac or something similar. It was a pretty fun burger to eat, which I can recommend wholeheartedly knowing that almost everyone can eat it.

It was £7 with the added option of “cheez”, and while that made it one of the most expensive burgers on offer, the choice was obvious. This is one stand we’ll be visiting again if we find it next time.

ON THE VEGBURGE SCALE, I GIVE THIS…

TASTE – 10/10 

PRICE – 4/10 

REST OF EXPERIENCE – 8/10