World Vegan Month is November. Watson's Cocktail Bar on Granby Street is named in tribute to Leicester-linked Donald Watson, co-founder of The Vegan Society, and serves vegan cocktails and a plant-based tapas menu alongside classic cocktails, wine and whisky.
November is World Vegan Month — and Leicester has a particular claim on the story. The word “vegan” and the organisation behind it, The Vegan Society, trace back to a woodwork teacher who lived and worked in this city.
The Man Behind The Name
Donald Watson was born in Mexborough, South Yorkshire, in 1910. He later lived in Leicester, where he taught woodwork and was secretary of the Leicester Vegetarian Society. In 1944 he and a small group of like-minded people founded The Vegan Society, and Watson and his future wife Dorothy Morgan coined the word “vegan” from the first three and last two letters of “vegetarian”. He died in Keswick in 2005, aged 95.
Sources: Wikipedia: Donald Watson and The Vegan Society's obituary (PDF). See also our fuller piece, Donald Watson and Leicester's Vegan Society.
What Watson's Offers This Month
Watson's Cocktail Bar on Granby Street takes its name from Donald Watson as a tribute to that local history. It is a classic cocktail bar — not a vegan-only venue — with vegan cocktails and a plant-based, Kerala-style tapas menu alongside classic cocktails, wine and whisky.
- Vegan cocktails & tapas: what is available and how to ask.
- Vegan tapas: Tofu Ularth, Chilly Tapioca, Soya Pepper Fry and more.
- Vegan cocktails explained: what makes a cocktail vegan.
- Thursday Happy Hour, 5–7pm, no code or app needed.
No special November offer has been announced; if that changes we will say so on the live events page.
Planning A Vegan-Friendly Evening Or Party
Tell the team about dietary needs when you book. For groups, see vegan Christmas party venue in Leicester and private party hire.
Frequently Asked Questions
World Vegan Month is observed every November, and World Vegan Day is on 1 November.
Watson's is a classic cocktail bar named in tribute to Donald Watson, co-founder of The Vegan Society. Vegan cocktails and a plant-based tapas menu are available alongside classic cocktails, wine and whisky.
Donald Watson (1910–2005) lived and worked in Leicester, co-founded The Vegan Society in 1944 and, with his future wife Dorothy Morgan, coined the word 'vegan'.
No special November offer has been announced. Happy Hour runs on Thursdays 5–7pm, and the team can tell you which cocktails are vegan.
