Black Cat café

Walk down Clarence Road and you'll spot Black Cat wedged among the independent shops and residential streets of Lower Clapton—this is the kind of neighbourhood spot that makes East London feel like home. Inside, it's relaxed and unpretentious: vintage furniture, plants everywhere, and a chalkboard menu that changes regularly. You're getting serious about your food here—inventive breakfasts, substantial lunches, cakes that justify the queue—but there's zero sanctimony about it being vegan. People come back because it's genuinely good, not because they feel obligated.