EATING VEGAN IN AUSTRALIA
A question that I get asked A LOT is how to find restaurants that have vegan options when going out for meals with your friends / family. Considering I have recently returned from traveling Australia I thought that talking about some of my favourite vegan restaurants there would help those of you who live in Australia or anyone who is planning on visiting! My top 10 are categorised by city - Sydney, Perth or Melbourne as they're the places I found the best vegan food! If you want to see What I Eat in a Day videos from these three cities plus many more then head over and subscribe to my youtube channel here, and keep a look out over the next few weeks!! Note that none of these are in any order, I love them all equally!
SYDNEY
Sydney was a vegan dream, with Newtown being the place to be! Home to all the vegan restaurants you could ever want, an indie-but-not-quite-yet-pretentious vibe and only 10 minutes from central station, Newtown became my home during my stay and I definitely will be going back in the future! I have 4 of my top 10 restaurants in Sydney, and every single one of them is in Newtown so that really does speak for itself.
THE BEST VEGAN PIZZA
1. BASIL & GIGI'S - NEWTOWN
Luckily as soon as I arrived in Sydney, I was invited to a meal with some other vegan girls I knew off of twitter and instagram (social media really is a wonderful thing), and we headed straight to Basil Pizza in Newtown. I had been told by them that this place did the most amazing vegan pizza and so I was so excited to go there! We ordered half and half pizzas of almost every vegan topping (Pepperoni, Hawaiian, Margherita, Potato & Rosemary and Animal Lovers - Ham, Pepperoni & Tofu) however after waiting in anticipation for the pizza to come out we were told that the pizza oven had broken!!! You can imagine how devastated we were! Luckily they managed to salvage 2 of the pizzas, one half Pepperoni / half Hawaiian, and one Margherita (which was eaten so fast I didn't even get a picture). The staff were so lovely and gave us both for free because of the inconvenience, meaning we went on to another restaurant (pictured below) but the pizzas we did have were INCREDIBLE!! I don't know what meat substitutes or cheese they used but they tasted amazing! Definitely one of the best vegan pizzas I have ever tasted and I definitely have to go back one day to try all the toppings! You can view the menu here.
2. GIGI'S - NEWTOWN
The other vegan pizza restaurant I visited was Gigi's, a renowned pizzeria that turned 100% vegan in September. This restaurant is so popular that there is a constant line out of the door, luckily I only had to wait about 20 minutes to get in when I visited! Unlike Basil Pizza, they don't feel the need to recreate the 'classics' but instead make their own incredible flavours (you can view the menu here). I had the Patate - thin sliced roasted potato, garlic, rosemary and black truffle paste, (pictured below), it was absolutely delicious! If you're looking for pizza for a special occasion then I would highly recommend Gigi's, the sophisticated atmosphere and exquisite flavour combinations are unbeatable. For a lunch date with your friends or a weekend pick-me-up, then Basil pizzeria is the place for you!
2. GREEN GOURMET - NEWTOWN - 100% VEGANSYDNEY
Sydney was a vegan dream, with Newtown being the place to be! Home to all the vegan restaurants you could ever want, an indie-but-not-quite-yet-pretentious vibe and only 10 minutes from central station, Newtown became my home during my stay and I definitely will be going back in the future! I have 4 of my top 10 restaurants in Sydney, and every single one of them is in Newtown so that really does speak for itself.
THE BEST VEGAN PIZZA
1. BASIL & GIGI'S - NEWTOWN
Luckily as soon as I arrived in Sydney, I was invited to a meal with some other vegan girls I knew off of twitter and instagram (social media really is a wonderful thing), and we headed straight to Basil Pizza in Newtown. I had been told by them that this place did the most amazing vegan pizza and so I was so excited to go there! We ordered half and half pizzas of almost every vegan topping (Pepperoni, Hawaiian, Margherita, Potato & Rosemary and Animal Lovers - Ham, Pepperoni & Tofu) however after waiting in anticipation for the pizza to come out we were told that the pizza oven had broken!!! You can imagine how devastated we were! Luckily they managed to salvage 2 of the pizzas, one half Pepperoni / half Hawaiian, and one Margherita (which was eaten so fast I didn't even get a picture). The staff were so lovely and gave us both for free because of the inconvenience, meaning we went on to another restaurant (pictured below) but the pizzas we did have were INCREDIBLE!! I don't know what meat substitutes or cheese they used but they tasted amazing! Definitely one of the best vegan pizzas I have ever tasted and I definitely have to go back one day to try all the toppings! You can view the menu here.
2. GIGI'S - NEWTOWN
The other vegan pizza restaurant I visited was Gigi's, a renowned pizzeria that turned 100% vegan in September. This restaurant is so popular that there is a constant line out of the door, luckily I only had to wait about 20 minutes to get in when I visited! Unlike Basil Pizza, they don't feel the need to recreate the 'classics' but instead make their own incredible flavours (you can view the menu here). I had the Patate - thin sliced roasted potato, garlic, rosemary and black truffle paste, (pictured below), it was absolutely delicious! If you're looking for pizza for a special occasion then I would highly recommend Gigi's, the sophisticated atmosphere and exquisite flavour combinations are unbeatable. For a lunch date with your friends or a weekend pick-me-up, then Basil pizzeria is the place for you!
You can find Basil Pizza at 126 King St, Newtown NSW 2042 and Gigi's Pizzeria at 379 King St, Newtown NSW 2042
After the unfortunate occurrence at Basil Pizza we all decided to go to an Asian buffet instead called Green Gourmet. Green Gourmet is a 100% vegan buffet that has a wide range of dishes both on the extensive menu or in the buffet! For the buffet, which is what we did, you just load up your plate, weigh it and pay for how much you select! Its delicious, easy and affordable making it the perfect place to visit for lunch or dinner! The selection of food I got from the buffet (pictured above) included the most AMAZING barbecue pork!! Oh man seriously if you are in the area, this is somewhere you HAVE to try! They also have a supermarket next door selling all vegan foods, including cakes, desserts and frozen versions of their food for you to cook at home! You can check their menu out here.
You can find Green Gourmet at 115 King Street, Newtown NSW
3. SADHANA KITCHEN - NEWTOWN - 100% VEGAN
Now if you have ever looked on the instagram accounts or watched videos from vegans such as Bonny or Earthling Maxi you will have heard of Sadhana Kitchen. Known for its wholesome, instagrammable vegan food it was somewhere I knew I had to go whilst in Sydney! The cafe itself has such a welcoming vibe, and beautiful decor that even without the incredible food it would be the perfect place to lunch with friends or take your non-vegan family. But then you get a glance at the menu... which lead to me taking a good 15 minutes to decide between what I wanted (which was everything). I finally decided on the 'vegan eggs benedict' (pictured above) which consisted of rye bread, mushrooms, COCONUT BACON - which is honestly life changing in itself and avocado topped with homemade hollandaise sauce, it was delicious! I also went for a bright pink smoothie and of course a salted caramel coco whip, because who could resist?! If I ever go back I can't wait to try the raw crepes, pitaya bowl and every slice of raw cake they have! I would seriously recommend this place, its a bit on the pricey side but you definitely get what you pay for! You can check out their website here for more info.
You can find Sadhana Kitchen at 147 Enmore Road, Enmore NSW
4. GELATO BLUE - NEWTOWN
If I could bottle happiness I would have endless bottles full of the very moment I walked into Gelato Blue for the first time. This place is revolutionary! Honestly, picture a vegan dessert heaven and then you have Gelato Blue. They have over 10 vegan ice cream flavors (including Peanut Butter Brownie, Choc Hazelnut Crunch and After Dinner Mint) as well as brownies, cookies, donuts, cakes, just everything you could EVER want! The first time I went I got a warm brownie with peanut butter brownie ice-cream, a waffle cone and chocolate fudge sauce *insert heart eye emoji*, and then the second time I got a popping candy donut, chocolate hazelnut crunch ice cream and coconut ice cream (IT WAS AMAZING). If you are ever in Sydney this place is your first point of call, and your second point of call.. and your last point of call, just seriously go there, you will thank me! You can check them out here, and drool over their instagram here.
You can find Gelato Blue at 318 King Street, Newtown NSW
MELBOURNE
Melbourne was actually my favourite place that I visited in Australia, and part of this was due to the fact it was the home to Smith & Deli. Much alike Sydney, Melbourne had its own alternative suburb that was home to an abundance of vegan cafes, called Fitzroy, with Brunswick Street being particularly vegan friendly. I practically lived in Brunswick Street when I was in Melbourne as it had the most amazing atmosphere, people, and of course food!!
The place of all vegan dreams is Smith & Deli... which I hadn't actually heard of before the vegan meal in Sydney where we all spent about an hour scrolling through their instagram and crying over the fact they sold VEGAN CROISSANTS??!!! Unfortunately I didn't get any croissants when I went to Smith & Deli BUT I did get a tuna and cheese toasted sandwich .... twice. Tuna and cheese toasted sandwiches was my favourite food EVER before I was vegan so as soon as I saw this on the menu I had to get it! And it did not disappoint, it was so delicious that I went back right before my flight and bought another so I could take it on the plane to Perth with me, I know I really am a genius. But for real, Smith & Deli is a 100% vegan deli (and bakery, and shop) that sells anything you could ever want, from meatball sandwiches, to BLTs, to pizza, to donuts and PAVLOVA - vegan pavlova!!! I don't know how they do it but I do know that it is possibly the best thing to ever exist and you have to go there immediately!
You can find Smith & Deli at 111 Moor St, Fitzroy VIC
I discovered this place on my last day in Melbourne and thanks to a new friend I made at the noodle night market the night before! Once again on Brunswick St, this place is incredible! It has so many vegan options that are both affordable and delicious, such as the vegan nachos with cashew cheese that I had! The best thing about this place though is the communal seating areas! This is perfect if you are traveling as you can chat to the people around you but also great if you are going with your friends or family as there is ample space for everyone and also so much room to make new friends! You can check out their website here if you want to see the menu and find out more information.
You can find Vegie Bar at 380 Brunswick St, Fitzroy VIC
7. DOLLY'S SISTER - GEELONG - 100% VEGAN
This place was a saviour for me, for the entire month and a half of traveling before I arrived in the Melbourne area I was CRAVING vegan mac and cheese, and then I found this place in Geelong just before I was about to leave for the airport and IT HAD MAC AND CHEESE! This mac and cheese was honestly the creamiest, cheesiest vegan pasta that I had ever had and it was absolutely incredible! Not only was the food amazing here (I also had chocolate cake for dessert and a smoothie) the atmosphere was just so chilled! Everyone that worked at Dolly's Sister was so welcoming and friendly, and the whole cafe was plastered with vegan activism posters which I found incredibly cool. If you ever find yourself in Geelong I highly recommend this cafe, and you can find out more info here.
You can find Dolly's Sister Cafe at 221 Moorabool, Geelong VIC
Where do I even get started on Lord of the Fries? With branches in Sydney and Melbourne, I managed to find myself there 5 times over the 2 weeks I spent within those two cities and I have no regrets. Lord of the Fries is definitely vegan junk food, but I don't even care, its glorious!! Lord of the Fries is basically a vegan friendly fast food chain that does burgers, hot dogs, fries, onion rings, 'chicken' nuggets and milkshakes... sounds amazing right?? They have vegan options for everything on the menu which amazed me, as I could order a cheese and bacon burger and a peanut butter milkshake and it would all be vegan and delicious!! The sweet potato fries are incredible, the milkshakes are incredible, the onion rings are incredible and oh my gosh, lets not even mention the BREAKFAST BURGERS !!! I had a vegan breakfast burger loaded with cheese, a breakfast patty, bacon and hash browns and it was honestly the best thing I had ever tasted! If you haven't yet been to Lord of the Fries I definitely recommend it asap!! In the meantime, you can check out the full menu here.
You can find Lord of the Fries at Flinders St Station in Melbourne and Central Station in Sydney.
I was only in the city of Perth for a few days but this didn't stop me finding the best vegan breakfast options possible! Much alike most Australian cities there was a specific part of the city where all of the vegan cafes resided, in Perth this was Northbridge. Northbridge was filled with cute little cafes, record shops and a ROOFTOP CINEMA (which was such a great experience!) as well as the art gallery, so definitely a place I would recommend visiting!!
9. FLORA AND FAUNA - NORTHBRIDGE
I managed to find this cafe via instagram whilst walking to Northbridge from my hotel but I sure am glad I found it! Nestled down an alley, this cute little cafe does the most beautiful vegan food, I mean look at that muesli bowl pictured above! Not only is the decor wonderfully retro and shabby-chic, the people working there are incredibly friendly and create the most welcoming atmosphere! This place is perfect for a brunch date with friends or just to explore by yourself for a moment of peace and good vegan food! You can find out more information via their instagram page here.
You can find Flora and Fauna Cafe at 4/70 Aberdeen Street, Northbridge WA
10. LITTLE BIRD CAFE - NORTHBRIDGE
Another impromtu find via instagram, Little Bird Cafe creates the most aesthetically pleasing food I have ever seen! From the delicious pancake stacks to the monstrous cakes in every flavour you will not struggle to find something you like here! I had the pancakes topped with an abundance of fruit and cashew cream (pictured above) and not only did it combine the perfect mix of sweet and savoury it kept me full ALL DAY, it was incredible. I also had a slice of the vegan chocolate cake and let me tell you, it was the best thing I have ever eaten in my entire life. I would honestly endure the 29 hours of travel to Australia all over again just to have one more bite of this cake, it was creamy, rich and so chocolatey I had to eat it over 3 separate seatings but my god it was amazing. If you want to check out their instagram and dream about all their food like I occasionally do you can find it here, and be sure to visit!
You can find Little Bird Cafe at 100 Lake St, Northbridge WA
So that's it, My Top 10 Vegan Cafes in Australia! I really hope you have enjoyed this post and be sure to check out my youtube channel, PositiveSoph, to see What I Eat in a Day videos featuring all these cafes alongside travel videos and recipe videos!! As always I would love it if you commented below or contacted me on my social media accounts @positivesoph or via my email positivesoph@gmail.com with any feedback you may have!!
Keep your soul happy! - Sophie :)
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