Burger King Vegan Royale Review

Fast food chains are notorious for their lack of vegan options, and even if you don't want to eat there, it's always good for there to be at least one vegan option in case it's the only place you can grab food from, or to convince otherwise meat lovers to try something vegan. For a while, the only option Burger King had was a bean burger. It was a decent option, but a bit cliche and not particularly innovative on their part.

Burger King's newest offering is the Vegan Royale Burger. It's a chicken-style burger made from wheat and soya protein, served in a long burger bun with lettuce and vegan mayo, It's available on its own or as a meal. 

Hey there, our soft drinks aren't yet certified by the Vegan Society, so they aren't available as an option with our vegan meals. Hope that clears things up

— Burger King (@BurgerKingUK) May 28, 2021

Something important to note is that if you get it as part of a meal, the only drinks available are water or a Caprisun. I believe Burger King have said it's becasue they're concerned about cross contamination of possibly non vegan fizzy drinks as they all use the same tube. According to their website, they only serve Coca Cola, Fanta and Sprite which are all confirmed to be vegan anyway, so they're probably just being overly cautious. 

The burger uses a patty from the Vegetarian Butcher. It's wheat and soya based (unlike the KFC equivalent, which uses Quorn). It has a very meaty texture and isn't very strongly flavoured but it definitely tastes nice. It also came with fries (certified vegan, whereas the KFC ones are fried with chicken products so aren't) and a Caprisun drink. The one I had came with a bit too much vegan mayo for my liking, though my Mum also tried it on a different occasion and said hers was fine, so that might have just been a one-off. If you're not a fan of mayo, you might be better off removing it and adding your own ketchup.

Overall, I'd say I'm really happy to have this option, even if personally I don't eat at Burger King very frequently. I'm also super impressed that they've worked with the Vegan Society to make sure this, their fries, and the drinks it comes with are all certified vegan and have emphasised they do all they can to remove chances of cross contamination - it makes me feel a lot happier eating it! However, it's a real shame their other new burger, the Plant Based Whopper, is not suitable for vegans (though they've made sure not to advertise it as such). This is because despite it being vegan by ingredients, it is cooked on a broiler with all of the other meat patties. In my opinion, this makes it not vegan as it's been cooked in the remains of meat products, and the thought makes me a little woozy, but obviously if you're vegan and want to try it that's your decision. Hopefully at the very least it might convince some meat eaters to try a vegan option instead!