Burger King Goes Large With Vegan Restaurant Trial in Central London

American fast food monster Burger King best known for its Whopper has turned its flagship London restaurant into a “meat-free” venue for a month, in what is both a massive marketing stunt and also, presumably, a trial for how a vegetarian burger by the world-famous restaurant might be received.

This is the first time Burger King has opened a completely meat-free venue in the U.K., which is not completely surprising for an American burger chain. And yet, “after years of development, the restaurant — located at Burger King’s flagship site in Leicester Square — will be in open to the public for a whole month from Monday, 14 March to 10 April,” a spokesperson told Eater. “The restaurant will feature the chain’s biggest ever plant-based menu.”

Burger King

What it calls “ground-breaking new additions” include the following:

• Bakon Double Cheeeze XL
• Vegan Cheeeze & Bakon Royale
• Vegan Nugget Burger
• Vegan Chilli Cheeze Bites
• Bacon Double XL
• Plus, the Whopper® “will also being given a plant-based makeover.”

Maroon sandwich and filter coffee chain Pret has been at the forefront of the vegetarian fast food pivot, turning its own trial site into a major motivating factor behind an expansion drive in 2019.

Could this be the start of something? Burger King is suggesting this is a pop-up and marketing play, without saying as much. In reality, it’s obvious that the corporation is testing the waters; this is the heart of tourist town in London. It also makes sense in the context of the company’s pledge from earlier this year to become 50 percent meat-free by 2030.