Hundreds of hungry customers queued for up to three hours to get their hands on a free vegan pizza in east London last night.
The Stable's giveaway at its Whitechapel outlet was held to mark World Vegan Day and saw around 500 punters line up around the block to munch on the dairy and meat-free treat.
A video taken outside the restaurant showed hundreds of eager vegans patiently waiting to get inside to feast on the Italian delicacy, which was being given away free with a drink.
The restaurant even sent out vegan brownies and ciders to keep the crowds happy while they waited to get in.
Rob Scully, who tweeted the footage, wrote in disbelief: "Are people really queuing for three hours for a free pizza at The Stable, Whitechapel? Wanted a nice cider #nothappening"
Office worker Tom Hill took a picture of the queue as it snaked down Whitechapel Road around the corner into Fieldgate Street.
He posted the photo on Facebook page S*** London where the queue was greeted with derision by some commenters who branded the customers "desperate hipsters".
Others were confused by what a vegan pizza would actually consist of, suggesting "bread with sauce" and "ketchup on toast".
Jordan Rutty taunted the vegans, saying: "I would start walking up and down the queue with a KFC Bargain Bucket making noises like the actress out of When Harry Met Sally!"
Alan Mills joked: "Sure none of them were cheesed off about waiting."
"They'll have no beef with the management..." replied Jay Denyer.
Mr Hill told the Standard: "I looked outside of my office window at around 5pm and there was already a queue to the end of the street.
"When I left at 6pm it was snaking around the corner towards the Tesco. It had barely moved in that time so I imagine people had to wait a very long time.
"A lot of cars were slowing down to ask what was happening.
"It was a very bizarre thing to see in Whitechapel. Definitely a good thing though."
But those who got inside tweeted they were very happy with the freebies.
Vinod D tweeted: "Great pizzas and cider. Great service too."
Another happy customer wrote: "Tried yummy vegan pizza for the first time at @_TheStable Whitechapel today, sad we didn't get any brownies in the queue though :("
And Oli Hanniford wrote: "Had free pizza and cider courtesy of @_TheStable tonight, gooooorgeous."
Roxanne Chamley, the restaurant's deputy operations manager, said around 500 people had turned up with an average waiting time of two hours.
She said: "It was amazing. It was definitely worth doing something to celebrate World Vegan Day. We have a vegan menu so we thought why not?"
"They all loved it," she said. "We had a great reception and everybody left really happy, which was great."
