We all know it’s grim up North, but is it vegan?

Known for the Yorkshire pudding and its obsession with cheesy chips and gravy (lashings of it, everywhere, on everything), the North probably isn’t the first place you’d look for seitan or jackfruit. However, look no further than Leeds – a buzzing and multicultural student city with a surprising taste for tofu.

LS6 The Clock Café (16 Headingley Ln, Leeds LS6 2AS)

Around a 10 minute drive from the city centre, you’ll find the area of Hyde Park, notorious for being a residential area brimming with university students. You can probably imagine that the eateries around here are geared towards our student population, who are known for loving a good party, and indeed there are plenty of cheap cafés serving up huge greasy fry-ups on those fragile Saturday and Sunday mornings. Perhaps you wouldn’t expect to find many veggie and vegan options with such a demand for budget student grub, but LS6 Café is open every day to meet the ever-growing demand for plant-based options among the Leeds students.

The vegan breakfast is what originally drew me towards LS6, and it did not disappoint. Served between 9am and 4pm, the vegan breakfast is a delicious combination of veggie sausage, spinach, sweet potato and thyme hash browns, baked beans, roasted tomato, garlic and herb mushrooms, and hummus on toasted rye bread. They also do a veggie version, which swaps the hummus out for a fried egg. For around a fiver, this tasty cooked breakfast is perfect for a student budget. Both their breakfast/brunch menu and evening menu boast a range of other veggie and vegan options too.,

Bundobust (6 Mill Hill, Leeds LS1 5DQ)

Tucked away on Mill Hill, off Boar Lane, away from the bustle of the main city centre streets is this gem – an entirely vegetarian restaurant with many vegan options serving Indian street food with a modern twist as well as local craft beers and IPA. With two branches, one in Leeds and another in Manchester, news of Bundobust is spreading across the North, especially since it has been featured in Time Out magazine, the 2017 Michelin Guide and the Sunday Times.

On weekdays, you’ll find the lunchtime express deal which gets you two of its dishes for £7 and will be sure to fill you up. In fact, you could even share everything with friends in a tapas-style meal. Otherwise, the small plates cost between three and six pounds which fits nicely into a student budget. My personal favourites are the okra fries and biryani bhaji balls which are both vegan, but to be honest I’ve tried nearly everything on the menu and it’s all delicious.

Humpit (The Corn Exchange on Call Lane, Leeds LS1 7BR)

Winner of Virgin’s Best UK Street Food Start Up 2015, Humpit is a plant-based eatery found in the Corn Exchange in the heart of Leeds City Centre. Humpit caters perfectly for veggies with the whole menu being suitable for vegans, as well as having a range of gluten-free alternatives and homemade fresh drinks, both to eat in or take away.

If you’re feeling particularly ravenous, the Half & Half in Pita is the option for you: your choice of a giant white or wholemeal pita bread stuffed with hummus, unique Mediterranean inspired falafel balls (aka the best falafel to ever grace my tastebuds) and a generous amount of salad and pickles. With house sauces such as Nutty Tehina and curried Mango amba, you’ll never find another flavour combination quite as satisfying as Humpit’s. For the standard hungry vegan the Humpit classic is another great choice: the same delicious hummus and falafel in a bowl with a pita on the side for all your scooping needs.

The nature of the food served at Humpit means the entire menu is naturally cholesterol-free and low in saturated fats, and their hummus is lower in fat and higher in protein than your standard supermarket tub. Luckily for us, the fact that all food at Humpit is prepared fresh in-house means you won’t find any harmful preservatives or chemicals in your meal – all the fun and flavours of (regularly) eating out, without any guilt.

Student herbivores in Leeds should be sure to keep their eyes peeled for the new Humpit branch opening in the Students’ Union of the University of Leeds campus in September this year.

Wapentake (92 Kirkgate, Leeds, LS2 7DJ)

Located in the midst of the city centre, this café and bar is a vegan hotspot. Wapentake is notorious for its love and dedication to a Yorkshire way of life and the grub that comes with it. This instantly brings to mind traditional northern meaty dishes which on the outset does not seem like the go-to place for veggie students. However, the pub promises and strives to create a vegan alternative to all meat options served. They cater for vegans on every level – from alternative milks in hot drinks and a simple meat-free sausage butty, to delicious dairy and egg free cakes. It’s the place for a true veggie foodie.

Wapentake has clearly taken the student population’s interest in a vegan lifestyle, and combined it with their love for their northern home away from home. They’ve created a menu that welcomes a plant-based way of eating, whilst staying true to those good old-fashioned Yorkshire meals. This includes a mouth-watering vegan roast, consisting of a nut loaf, beautifully roasted and seasoned vegetables and potatoes and a Yorkshire pudding, all smothered in gravy. Always a priority for a fellow vegan is the search for the best breakfast, and this is one of the best Leeds has to offer: baked beans, toast, veggie sausages, mushrooms, avocado and hash browns will undoubtedly revive anyone after a wild Friday night out. With an array of tempting veggie options to choose from, this pub truly has something for everyone.

Roots and Fruits (10-11 Grand Arcade, Leeds LS1 6PG)

After a tiresome day of exploring the hectic city that is Leeds, a short walk through the city centre is all it takes to a peaceful vegan paradise. Situated in the historic Grand Arcade, hides Roots and Fruits, a quirky and humble vegan/vegetarian café with plenty to offer those of the plant-based persuasion. The impressively varied menu in Roots and Fruits means you will be spoilt for choice: a vegan full English, a zesty jackfruit wrap, or even a fairtrade coffee if you’re just popping in for a sit down (the menu also changes seasonally to offer you quality and natural local produce). The café offers wonderful plant-based alternatives to the classics, including my personal favourite “The Bean-Ball Sub”, an animal-friendly take on a meatball marinara sub. The sandwich is stuffed to the brim with perfectly seasoned bean dumplings and greens, lathered in a delicious vegan cheesy sauce between bread of your choice, I go for the ciabatta. The incredible size of the portions means this place allows you excellent value for money and the ability to support local businesses at the same time. As well as its variety of plant based goodies, Roots and Fruits is also a creative and supportive space, where you can enjoy the wonderful work of local artists that surrounds you as you chow down. So, whether it be a fry up, chips and dip, or a creamy hot chocolate with marshmallows on top, Roots and Fruits is the perfect hideaway for quality comfort food. Pop in next time you visit Leeds, say hello to the lovely staff, and enjoy delicious and affordable grub at this one of a kind vegan hot spot.