Vegan eating out in Melbourne

The growth of vegan food available in Melbourne over the past decade or so has been huge.  Lots of places are now providing vegan options that are exciting, creative and innovative.  As a vegetarian who does not like eggs or a lot of dairy, I enjoy lots finding cafes with plant based offerings.

This year I planned to write about vegan eating out in Melbourne during Vegan MoFo but ran out of time.  The draft has sat there ever since begging to see the light of day.  I also developed the post because I never have time to blog about all the meals I photograph.

So here is my tour of some of Melbourne's vegan-friendly cafes.  It is not a comprehensive list because it reflects how I eat out - I don't like mock meat, I live in the inner North and I mostly eat out at brunch or lunch rather than dinner!  I hope it will make us all feel good about all the wonderful vegan food available.  I'd love to hear of your favourite place to eat vegan food.

My top 5 vegan meals in Melbourne

Sourdough toast with smashed peas, wild rice and candied walnuts
@ Wide Open Road, Brunswick

Sadly this dish is no longer available.  It was so amazing that couple of years later it still stands out as one of my favourite meals I have had in a cafe.  I have also had an excellent tofu scramble there.  It is worth checking their current menu for vegan options.

Vegan nachos 
@ the Vegie Bar, Fitzroy

I was at the Vegie Bar for lunch a while back and really enjoyed the generosity of these nachos.  Heaps of corn chips, salsa, black beans, vegan cheese, vegan sour cream and jalapenos.  It could easily serve 2 (ie I could not finish it).  Nachos can be a bit dry but these were full of vegies and sauce and were really satisfying.  I also loved the green kale smoothie I had with it. 

Brunswick ploughman’s lunch 
@ Code Black, Brunswick

A Middle Eastern twist on the traditional ploughman's lunch.  I was very impressed that when I asked for a vegan version, eggs and meat weren't just subtracted but I was given substitutions.  My platter consisted of chickpea fritters, pickled cabbage, roasted mushrooms, olives, beetroot dip, grated carrot with cumin, fresh radish, avocado with dukkah, gherkins and home made flatbreads with dukkah.  It was so so good.

Raw Hawaiian Live Pizza 
@ Yong Green Food, Fitzroy

I haven't had much raw food in cafes but there is more of this around Melbourne.  One place that I have visited was Yong Green Food which has a lot of raw food including pizza.  This raw pizza had a macadamia-nut bread base, topped with tomato sauce, avocado, pineapple, olives, sprouts, cherry tomatoes and cashew cheese sauce.  Not comparable to regular pizza but wonderful and light.

CLT bagel 
@ New Day Rising, East Brunswick

There is a good reason this CLT has been raved about by many.  The generous serve of coconut bacon (with rocket, tomato and avocado) makes this bagel chockablock with flavour and goodness.

5 recent dishes at omnivore cafes

1. Natural Tucker Bakery (North Carlton) - tofu and pesto tart with pumpkin, and wholemeal apricot and coconut cake.  Healthy and delicious.
2. San Churro (CBD and various) - churros with dark chocolate sauce (thanks to Linda for pointing out these are accidentally vegan.).  Absolutely decadent.
3. Minang Nasi Padang (Carlton) - Eggplant curry, tofu coconut curry and spicy peanuts.  Cheap and cheerful Indonesian street food.
4. Dos Diablos taco truck - (on the move) black bean tacos with corn salsa (enjoyed in Yarraville Gardens!).  Nice but I should have availed myself of the sauces.
5. A Minor Place (East Brunswick) - almond crusted chickpea burger, vegan mayo, caramelised onions, tomatoes, spinach and sourdough toast.  Fantastic and quite spicy!

5 recent dishes at vegetarian or vegan cafes

1. Supercharger (CBD) - smashed green peas and avocado, eggplant curry, carrot salad, braised tempeh and brown rice.  Healthy but my options didn't quite work together and just felt virtuous.
2. Loving Hut (Northcote and other locations) - wanton noodle soup.  Delicious and satisfying.  I want to try more.
3. Melbourne University Food Cooperative (Parkville) - pumpkin and tofu pie.  Great healthy cheap student food.  (Sadly it is closed until Semester 1 starts next year in March.)
4. Sister of Soul (St Kilda) - black sticky rice with caramelised coconut and blood orange sorbet.  An amazing dessert.  (I wish the photo did it more justice.)
5. Lord of the Fries (CBD and other locations) - original burger with chips.  A mock meat burger I enjoy.  Yummy burger (that I was reluctant to try because it is quite 'meaty') with lots of sauce.  (Ask for vegan cheese and mayo.)
 

5 Vegan and vegetarian cafes I have reviewed

1. Smith and Daughters (Fitzroy) - Stylish vegan restaurant with a Mexican influence.  Enjoyed brunch and would love to try the dinner menu.  
2. Lord of the Fries (CBD and other locations) - Great chips but also burgers and hot dogs.
3. Vegie Bar (Fitzroy) - A busy and lively vegetarian restaurant with an extensive menu, lots of raw food and heaps of vegan options.
4. Trippy Taco (Fitzroy) - Cheap and cheerful vegetarian Mexican-style street food with lots of vegan options.  Great tamales. 
5. Mr Nice Guy Cupcakes (Ascot Vale) - All vegan.  He makes lovely filled bagels but it is the fancy cupcakes that really make me ooh and aah!

5 Vegan-friendly cafes I have reviewed

1. True North (Coburg) - Offers vegan meat and cheese substitutes in their impressive rolls and sandwiches, such as BLT, Breakfast Roll and Reuben Sandwich.  Plus lots of hot sauces.
2. Wide Open Road (Brunswick) - Innovative modern menu that changes seasonally. 
3. Code Black (Brunswick) - Modern cafe with interesting dishes that is prepared to actually substitute for meat and cheese rather than just remove it from your dish!
4. ShanDong Mama (CBD) - Flourescent lit Asian cafe with amazing dumplings and scallion pancakes.
5. East Elevation (East Brunswick) - Light-filled warehouse cafe and chocolatier that offers fried tempeh instead of eggs in their veggie breakfast.

5 cafes I want to try vegan food

• Eat Fresh Pizza (Maribyrnong)
• Las Vegan (Collingwood)
• Madame K's Vegetarian (Fitzroy)
• Raw Trader (CBD)
• Red Robyn (Camberwell)

5 shops to buy vegan products

• Aunt Maggies (Brunswick)
• Cruelty Free Shop (Fitzroy)  
• Habib Organics, formerly Flinders Organics (CBD)
• Mad Cowgirls Vegan Grocery (Preston)
• Organic Wholefoods (East Brunswick and Fitzroy)

5 vegan friendly places that are gone but not forgotten

• Cafe Sarabella (Coburg) - A little Indian cafe in Victoria St mall that is much missed.
• The Gasometer Hotel (Collingwood) - This pub had a great innovative vegan section on the menu.  It closed and has since reopened with a more traditional pub menu.
• Lentil as Anything (Brunswick) - I enjoyed this vegetarian community-oriented cafe on the corner of Union St and Sydney Rd.  At least there are other branches of Lentil as Anything that are still open. 
• Radical Grocery (Brunswick) - a fantastic vegan grocery store that I loved visiting.
• Tart ‘n’ Round Café (Thornbury) - This was a great vegan and gluten free cafe.

5 Melbourne bloggers who write about vegan cafes

• The Good Hearted
• The Lentil Institution
• Little Vegan Bear
• Veganopoulous
• Where's the Beef (vegetarian blog but usually mentions vegan options)

I am sending this post to Rika of Vegan Miam who is heading to Melbourne next month and is very interested in where to find vegan food!  I look forward to reading about her experiences! (Update April 2015: you can now read her post on Vegan Eats in Melbourne.)

Now it your turn.  What is your favourite vegan-friendly cafes, vegan meal and/or recommendations for vegan eating in Melbourne?  If you don't live in Melbourne, tell me what cafe/dish you would like to try.