Vegan friendly restaurants in Australia

[Mystic]

I thought it would be a good idea to post our favourite restaurants that are vegan/vegetarian or veg friendly, so that when we are stuck for places to eat, or someone is travelling, they can check out our recommendations

In Melbourne, I recommend:
*The Vegie Bar :)
380 Brunswick Street, Fitzroy
The Vegie Bar has something for everyone - pizza, burgers, curries, stir-fries etc... My favourite dishes have been:
- Chickpea dhal - chickpea and lentil dhal served with roti and brown rice
- Moroccan pizza - hummus and tomato base topped with eggplant, pumpkin, capsicum and mushrooms, sprinkled with sesame seeds
- Mostly Greens - stir-fry with asian greens and tempeh (in a choice of tamari or tahini sauce) with brown rice
- Rice Balls - sort of like falafel balls - they come with satay sauce, but I hate satay, so I got it plain
- Lentil burger

*Organically Grown :)
Glenferrie Road, Malvern
Organically Grown is a cafe/healthfood store that sells all organic:
- pies/pastries (hand-made, low fat, wholemeal organic sourdough pastry by Vegetable Creations). Vegan varieties include: plain vegetable pie, curried vegetable pie, spinach and potato roll, pumpkin and tofu pie, mushroom and tofu pie, dal pie.
- rice balls, curried potato balls
- soups/salads
- freshly squeezed juices
- wheatgrass

*Vegetarian Nirvana Cafe :)
486 Bridge Road, Richmond
See: www.nirvanacafe.com (http://www.nirvanacafe.com)
Personally, I loved:
- Channe
But I had to ask for more chilli!!!!

[Mystic]

I also forgot to mention, across the street from the Vegie Bar, is a place called Trampoline. It is an ice cream shop that has VEGAN SORBET - the most delicious vegan sorbet too!!!!

Likewise, on Acland Street, St Kilda is another ice cream shop with vegan sorbet. It is called Seven Apples. I haven't been there before but I went in and asked after I discovered that Trampoline was vegan (I thought that there was hope after all!!!)

[Mystic]

*Vegetarian Orgasm
61 Gertrude Street, Fitzroy

The main meals at the Veg Orgasm were nothing to rave about, but their desserts are another story!! :D

The main meals were more for people who like meat, but don't want to eat it, for example 'chicken' nuggets and 'chicken' parmigana were on the menu. They make their own vegan cheese, which is impressive though

Desserts were unbelievable - donuts, cake and ice cream galore!!!!

[eve]

In Sydney, there are two 100 percent vegan restaurants, Green Gourmet. The brother and sister who run the restaurants, and the vegan grocery store adjoining the one at Newtown, are lovely people, and the food is delicious. The other Green Gourmet is at St Leonards. Phone numbers are 02-9519 5330, and 02-9439 6533.

[Mystic]

Pronto Bronto's Vegetarian Fast Food will be opening in around 4 weeks at 95 Smith Street, Fitzroy. Apparently it will all be vegan, with the exception of dairy milk being offered for coffee.

[Mystic]

That is in Melbourne by the way

[Mystic]

Spud Bar - Blessington Street St Kilda, Melbourne

- For $6, you get this GIGANTIC baked potato, a choice of chilli beans or lentil dhal and any other topping you want! It is definately not gourmet food (I hate gourmet food), but it is very very tasty, filling, quick and cheap. You can also watch TV in the back corner!!!

[eve]

Just had an update from vnv, which included the following vege/vegan eateries:
NEW LISTING: ORGANICS ON THE GO
1377 Toorak Road, Camberwell VIC 3124, ph: 03 9889 9922
Opening Hours: Mon-Fri 9am-5pm, Sat 9am-2pm
Features: As the name suggests the food is all organic and can be taken
away to eat or eaten at the small number of seats available on the premises.
Everything is organic including the drinks, coffee and herb teas and 80-90%
of the food is suitable for vegans, this includes tofu burgers, rice balls,
quiches and lasagna. You can get cakes and muffins which are gluten free,
wheat free, made with spelt flour or are vegan. Saturday brunch includes
French toast or buckwheat pancakes with maple syrup and cashew cream.
A special feature is the kryvac meals which are vacuum packed and only
need to be heated up in boiling water to eat at your convenience, perfect for
healthy organic eating at home!

NEW LISTING: LUNCH WITH US
61 Station Street, Burwood VIC 3125, ph: 03 9808 3948
Opening Hours: Mon-Sat 8am-5pm
Features: Mottos out the front such as 'Vegetarian with a Difference' and
'Take a seat, Healthy you eat - We don't serve meat' proudly let you know
this is no ordinary lunch/take away café, coffee lounge. The friendly owners
Sharma and Mina offer standard café fare such as foccacias, sandwiches
and pies plus they utilise their Indian background to produce a special lunch
buffet mainly comprising of soy products and turning them into dishes such
as tandoori 'chicken'. There are plenty of drinks in the well stocked
fridge, plus juices and sweets and slices.

NEW ADDRESS: KARMA FREE KAFE
Karma Free Kafe has moved from 440b Dean Street to 553 Dean Street,
Albury NSW 2640. There is also a new phone number: 02 6041 5440. And
updated opening hours: Mon-Sat 8.30am-5.30pm, Sun 9.30am-3.30pm.

MOVING PREMISES: BEZBAH ORGANIC VEGETARIAN LOUNGE
bezbah is re-locating to new premises, and the shop at 31 Main Street,
Mornington, is currently closed.

NEW DETAILS: CAFE SAI
Café Sai Corner, at 628 Glenhuntly Road, Caulfield South, has changed
names and address. New details: Café Sai, 900 North Road, Bentleigh
East VIC 3165. New phone number: 03 9563 8599.

BURNT DOWN: HIMILAYA BAKERY
We have recently been advised that Himilaya Bakery, at 73 Vincent Street,
Daylesford, has burnt down. :( We are waiting to hear back about whether
they are rebuilding/relocating and will report back in the next issue of VNV
Update...

CLOSED DOWN:
1)The Organic Shop, 102 The Kingsway, Glen Waverley.
2)Chocolate Lily Vegetarian Café, at Shop 5, 850 Main Road, Hurstbridge.

For all updates check http://www.vnv.org.au/RestByName.htm.

VEGAN FAST FOOD IS ABOUT TO ARRIVE!
Pronto Bronto's is opening soon at 95 Smith Street, Fitzroy, at the Gertrude Street end of Smith Street, opposite the fantastic Vegan Wares store.
Pronto Bronto's is privately owned by vegans. All of our food is vegan with
dairy milk as an option for coffee; this is the only non vegan product in our
range. Our food offer consists of a variety of burgers, crispy nuggets, of
course fries and a very tasty hash brown. Ready to go sandwiches, wraps,
salads, and juices will also be on offer! Cakes, East Timor Organic coffee,
bottled drinks plus more is what you'll find at Pronto Bronto's. Eat in or
takeaway, open seven days, early till late.

Apply for a Pronto Bronto's VIP card today to receive notification of
our grand opening date, fantastic opening week offers, and ongoing loyalty
discounts. Apply for your card at: http://www.vnv.org.au/ProntoBrontosVIPCard.htm

NO LONGER VEGGO: Bar Bukka Restaurant & Bar, at 279 Smith Street, Fitzroy they recently changed management and now serving some meat dishes. They still
have an extensive veggo menu so we have moved their listing to our Vegetarian - Friendly Restaurants list.
NEW LISTING: GINKGO ORGANIC FOOD STORE
152-156 Yarra Street, Warrandyte VIC 3113, ph: 03 9844 3282
Opening hours: Foodstore: Tue-Fri 9am-7pm, Sat-Sun 9am-5pm
Cafe: Tue-Sat 9am-5pm, Sun 10am-5pm
BYO/Licensed: Not yet
Features: Serves light snacks and lunch; ingredients organic where
possible; gluten-free, wheat-free, dairy-free, sugar-free diets catered for;
fresh juices, supreme coffee; fresh dynamic positive atmosphere; extra
parking available behind community centre; wine bar night venue opening
soon.
Good news for Vic people :) - does that include you Banana?

[Imapeach]

Here's a list for Adelaide:

*D-Tox Me, on hindley street -- expensive and not vego, but organic!
*The Clearlight, on Rundle st -- wholefoods and takeaway
*Joy Discovery, next door to clearlight -- run by hare krishnas!
*Sprouts , on Hindmarsh sq. --- veg*n restaurant
*Bliss, on Compton st, just across from the central markets -- very cute place
*Quiet Waters, on hindley -- lebanese restaurant
*Foods for Life, Rundle Mall --- health food store with great takeaway and wholefoods
*Drift cafe, Morphett St, just around the corner from the markets --- my favourite cafe in the world.

Now you see, Adelaide isn't so scary and right-wing afterall :p

[eve]

You'd have a job getting a vegan meal at the first three on your list. Don't know about the others, but Quiet Waters sounds a bit suss, and as for a health food store, well they're rarely vegan. I lived in Adelaide for a couple of years, and found it difficult to find anywhere decent, though I used to go with my mother and sister to some hotel or other that had a smorgasbord, which offered a good variety of foods.

Seen the new vegetarian website in SA at http://www.vegetarianaction.org.au ?

[Imapeach]

Haven't been to Quiet waters myself, but have heard good things from other veg*n friends. The health food store in the mall I will support 100% as having PLENTY of vegan options. And good ones, too. D-tox me I dont actually like very much, but they do have vegan food there, although $8 for celery sticks is a bit much if u ask me. There are also lots of other places in the burbs - u can see the whole list on the vegetarian action site. Thanks for the plug btw :)

[eve]

Good to know Imapeach - actually it is some 20+ years since I lived in Adelaide.

[Imapeach]

And you're probably better off for it, eve!
i've only been here 3 years and it's already doing my head in! Nah, actually it is getting better, slowly... however it's also getting worse in many ways. But that's a thread for a whole other forum! :p

Have you heard the Tripod song, "Adelaide's OK" ?

"We're smoothing out the problems,
As we go in Adelaide.
We're scaling down the boringness,
In an understated way."

Gotta love this city :rolleyes:

[veganblue]

LOL - it's not that bad - i've been here going onto ten years now and it really grows on you - the beautiful hills, the often minimally inhabited stretches of white beach, the friendly people, the general feeling of safety. They say that it's a great place to bring up kids - I would have to agree from observation, but still think that more could be done to provide interest for kids and teens.

We have some rippa festivals here - Feast (http://www.feast.org.au/) is on at the moment, WOMADELAIDE (http://www.womadelaide.com.au/) is on in March next year and if you have the cash, The Ring Cycle (http://www.saopera.sa.gov.au/thering/) is on.

Sometimes it is just a matter of keeping an eye out for what is going on and it depends on what you are used to. I love Melbourne myself but have not lived there - only visited regularly.

Adelaide people are also generous; their support for Animal Lib here is greater than in most if not all the other states - despite the size of our population.

[Imapeach]

I agree we do have dibs on the best festivals. WOMAD is at the top of my list :) Still wouldn't want to stay here any longer than needed, tho!

But now I'm diverting from the original topic. Adelaide also has excellent markets for vegan grocery shopping. Chinatown is fantastic as are the Junction markets. Then again, I don't have a helluva lot to compare with.


Btw, veganblue, was that ALSA you were referring to? I feel so bad i haven't done any volunteering for them yet since joining :( That's a project for these summer holidays I reckon!

[eve]

A great place to bring up kids? Isn't it the Aussie city with the worst record for murders of children? Plus the record numbers of paedophiles doing their worst? :( And isn't Adelaide where they had those serial killers with the 'bodies in the barrels'? The worst part about Adelaide, that I remember, was the hot winds!

[Imapeach]

The bodies in the barrels happened in Snowtown. But yer on the right track. Actually South Aus in general is world-reknowned for its bizarre murders! We've had more than our fair share of strange happenings (watch tonight's news if u want proof!). But we definetely don't have as many "regular" murders as, say, Sydney or Melbourne. That paedophilia one is news to me tho.

This is a morbid conversation... :(

It was hot and windy today, eve! I love it myself!

[Mystic]

BE CAREFUL OF THE VEGIE BAR!!!! It seems as though they have fish stock on their premises - so just ask if you suspect that something may contain something of this kind

[Leigh]

A new vegan cafe opened a few months ago here in Brisbane and I'm addicted! It's The Forest in West End and their Big Breakfast and fresh juices are to die for!! We also have a veg place in Fortitude Valley called Veg Out, but I haven't been there in quite a few years.... Aside from breakfast at Forest, I don't really go out to eat too much. It's just too much like hard work, so I'd rather have meals at home so that I know exactly what I'm getting. That doesn't stop me going out for a vegan beer from time to time though ;)

[newmayaml]

Iv'e been living here for 3 months now, and it has a lot of veggie places.
the place where I work is a health food store, and they have a small cafe with a nice variety of vegan delights. I'm talking, of course, about "Macro Whollfoods" in Bondi Junction, (they are actually opening a new branch in Crows Nest a few days from now). The muffins are yummy, the "tofu-burger" is divine, and a lot of other stuff is just delicious and vegan as well. That's it for now... Have fun!

[Mystic]

My brother is from Sydney - he lives near Bondi Junction so next time I pop up to Sydney I will definately go there for a bite to eat :)

[Mystic]

Soulmama (http://www.soulmama.com.au) is fresh and delicious - I highly recommend it. It is vegetarian but mostly vegan. It is located at the St Kilda Sea Baths - Jacka Ave, St Kilda - near Acland Street and Fitzroy St.

I tried Seven Apples sorbet last night too - no where near as good as Trampoline

[Mystic]

I went to Pronto Brontos for lunch today. I didn't try any of the burgers or anything, but I got this MASSIVE panini roll filled with hummus, mesclun salad leaves, sundried tomato, marinated eggplant and kalamata olives for $5.90. I will be going back there to try their burgers and fries....very yummy

[Miel Miette]

Mother Chu's Vegetarian Kitchen is in Pitt St, Sydney, and utterly fantastic. It is 100% vegan.

Bodhi Cafe Under Central Station, on Eddie Ave, Sydney. 99% vegan. Not too bad, has a fast food take away bar. They use and sell cow milk though. This is a new thing, they used to be 100% vegan. Their cakes and mains are vegan too.

Blue ???? Can't remember the name right now, I'll post it later, but FANTASITC mostly vegan (uses honey) restaurant in Chinatown, Sydney. Mmmmm.....

[veganblue]

Organic yiros, on Rundle St Adelaide! They are not vegan but they cater sensitively to vegans and have wonderful food - three types of pita with fresh organic fillings. I had some sort of marinated tofu that was heated seperately and had kalamata olives, fresh tomato and avocado - to name a few of the yum ingredients.

I feel that it is really worthwhile to support the businesses that really make an effort to cater to vegan needs, even if they do have some animal products.