Plant-based and filling, ethical and fresh, veggie eats excite the tastebuds and look after our planet. Brisbane/Meanjin’s vegan and vegetarian scene has recently picked up the pace, with an array of restaurants, cafes and bars dedicated to veganism, or committed to having vegetarian options on their menu that aren't just a sad salad.
If you're looking for the best vegan and vegetarian-friendly restaurants in Brisbane, here at Urban List we've scoured menus, sampled tofu in a multitude of ways and queried what's in the fried rice to bring this exhaustive list.
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ZA ZA TA
1000 Ann St, Fortitude Valley
ZA ZA TA went vegetarian in 2021, and has since become a staple for plant-based diners across Brisbane. Their menu is still a melting pot of Middle Eastern and Mediterranean flavours, but now you'll find the likes of stone oven pita bread, silverbeet and feta borek with whipped tahini and green tomato, BBQ cauliflower shawarma, and sesame falafel with tahini sauce. There's a separate menu with 100% vegan versions of some of the top dishes, too.
La Bodega Taqueria
53 Lytton Road, East Brisbane
Serving lunch and dinner out of Lytton Road’s busy corner in East Brisbane, La Bodega has well and truly elevated the vegan Mexican game. With an entire menu dedicated to vegan starters, tacos, plates and salads, those eaters that usually have no choice are now spoiled for it. You can devour spicy chipotle cauliflower wings, loaded fries with vegan queso, cashew crema and guac, as well as three types of tacos: slow-cooked pulled jackfruit, shiitake mushroom birra and spiced black bean. Plus, it’s worth noting that they describe themselves as a frozen marg factory–get us down there ASAP.
El Planta
58 Hope Street, South Brisbane
Image credit: El Planta | Website
Lovers of Mexican food, El Planta is the spot for you, with a delicious lineup of entirely plant-based eats that changes seasonally. Vegan or not, you’ll find plenty to tempt you on the menu here, like tacos filled with beer battered palmito fillet, guacachile and pickled red cabbage, and mushroom, dorado mayo and pico de gallo. It’s not all about the tacos though—you’ll also find a selection of snacks to kick things off, including crisp housemade corn chips, grilled corn rolled in chipotle mayo, fried potatoes, garlic mayo, chimichurri and pickled banana peppers, as well as unreal margaritas to wash everything down.
Neon Ramen
471 South Pine Road, Everton Park
Bright and bold in look and flavour, Neon Ramen preaches plant-based meals that aren’t boring. Entirely vegan, they dish up delicious alternatives for the ramen classics like chicken katsu, smoked duck and char sui pork (yep, even the broth is vegan), and go beyond ramen to bao, from fried rice to even burgers. Their ‘Make-Your-Own’ dishes set them apart from the rest, allowing you to customise everything for your ramen or stir-fry bowls. Be sure not to skip on their bangin’ dessert options too—the vegan cinnamon bun ice cream sandwich has us drooling.
Luckies Kitchen
210 Oxford Street, Bulimba
Grab your plant-based pals and head down to Oxford Street, because Luckies is dishing up a loaded vegan banquet. Feast on five spice cauliflower popcorn, sweet and sour tofu and rice cake, red curry with charred pineapple, crispy noodles and more. Their vegan menu includes all these dishes and more—we’re talking a mouth-watering japchae mushroom Korean noodle, vegan fried rice and eggplant chips with douchi chilli caramel sauce. Not to mention the pineapple fritter with vegan coconut ice cream and caramel looks like the perfect post-dinner sweet treat.
You might also like:
- Brisbane's Best Vegan Cafes
- Brisbane's Best Gluten-Free Cafes
- Brisbane's Best Gluten-Free Restaurants
Ma Pa Me
Shop C Little Stanley Street, South Brisbane
Image credit: Ma Pa Me | Instagram
Nestled in South Bank’s bustling Little Stanley Street, Ma Pa Me heroes Indonesian and South-East Asian meals by head chef Alfan (Alfie) Musthafa that feel like a warm hug. Vegans and vegos are more than welcome here, reflected in the wide range of big and small plant-based eats on offer. Menu standouts include the fried sweetcorn ribs with smokey laab seasoning and kaffir lime mayo, the jackfruit rendang curry and the nasi goreng with tofu, veggies and sambal ulek.
Donna Chang
171 George Street, Brisbane CBD
Known for its refined and modern Chinese, Donna Chang has changed the Cantonese and Sichuan flavour game—and they serve a vegan banquet. Start things off with a cooling cucumber salad, Liangfen mung bean noodles, crystal dumplings and shiitake mushroom bao. Move on to ginger, black bean and chilli dressed fried eggplant, and indulge in the beef Dan Dan noodles rich in Sichuan, sesame and peanuts. We’re salivating just writing this–save us and check out the full banquet menu for yourself here.
Boom Boom Room
49 Elizabeth Street, Brisbane CBD
Fresh, local produce and Japanese cuisine are just a match made in heaven–especially as a vegan. Enter Boom Boom Room, an opulent underground eatery dishing up plates embodying the Japanese street food scene. They serve two vegan banquets, featuring showstoppers like slow roasted miso eggplant with fried tofu, vegetable dashi and enoki mushroom, as well as onigirazu (sushi sandwich) filled with grilled tofu, roasted peppers, avocado and pickled radish. Pair it with sips from their extensive sake and cocktail menu (we’re eyeing the Kuromitsu Old Fashioned).
Pawpaw
898 Stanley Street East, Woolloongabba
Image credit: Pawpaw | Website
This South-East Asian-influenced staple in Woolloongabba has the herbivores sorted with a wide range of vegan dinner options (tofu lovers especially). Highlights include tofu bao buns with a hoisin caramel sauce, an eggplant, potato and pumpkin Malaysian Yellow Curry (with roti because obviously) and, of course, the classic Pad Thai with tofu. Allowing diners to customise the protein on a lot of their large meals, Pawpaw perfectly accommodates groups of mixed dietary requirements—so no one misses out.
You Came Again
245 Boundary Street, West End
There isn’t much better than tapas. You get to nibble away at lots of different little dishes, usually with a drink in hand and a bunch of mates. Live the tapas experience fuelled by a whole lot of plant power at You Came Again, Brisbane’s first vegan tapas bar. Trust us, you’ll be screaming for more of their mushroom and walnut pate, pesto-stuffed mushrooms and the meetballs with romesco sauce and garlic chips. Do yourself a favour and be sure to sample the cocktail menu as well.
Detour
11 Logan Road, Woolloongabba
This place has some seriously creative flavours. It is also known around the traps as one of Brisbane’s best vegan restaurants. Detour is not an exclusively vegan restaurant, but half of their menu is for the plant eaters out there with eight diverse and delicious meals to choose from. Feast on seawater potato with saffron, dill and garlic, smoked pumpkin with maple and mustard, as well as a sweet potato green curry with lychee. Got a fancy date or a special occasion to celebrate? Detour is the perfect place.
NAÏM
14 Collingwood Street, Paddington
Image credit: NAÏM | Website
While it's not 100% vegan or vegetarian, NAÏM has dedicated plant-based menus for both brunch and dinner, meaning you don't have to attempt to interpret all those V/VO/VGO notations. Highlights on the evening menu include dishes like grilled 'chicken' schwarma, baba ghanouj tartlets and the 100% vegan muhammara and cheese platter.
Rogue Bistro
14 Austin Street, Newstead
Rogue Bistro’s monthly degustation menus cater to just about anyone, and that includes our vegan and vegetarian friends. In fact, they get their own menus. A different five-course menu is curated every month that showcases the best local, seasonal produce in truly inventive ways. This is the place to go if you as a vegan are constantly craving something fresh and new.
Netherworld
186 Brunswick Street, Fortitude Valley
Not just a haven for all old school arcade lovers, Netherworld is also a staple of Brisbane's vegan scene, with their Hellmouth Diner dishing up a full menu of vegan eats. You can expect the likes of vegan hotdogs, burgers, nachos and loaded fries, along with snacks like 'chicken' nuggets and cauliflower drumettes. And for all those non-vegan friends, every dish can be made carnivorous—but here the vegan option is the norm, not the other way around.
Antica
70 Kedron Brook Road, Wilston
Image credit: Antica | Website
Antica means ‘ancient’ in Italian, but their menu is anything but. The team at Antica have curated a full-length vegan menu from the antipasti to the pizza and pasta and even dessert. They haven’t skimped on the flavours either, reimagining classics like the capricciosa and margherita pizza and ravioli and Bolognese pasta dishes. Vegan tiramisu and cannoli also grace the dessert menu, meaning you never have to miss out.
Happy Boy
East Street, Fortitude Valley
If you're looking for somewhere to dine that will please everyone—vegans, vegos, carnivores and even the gluten-intolerant—Happy Boy ticks all of the boxes. The Chinese-leaning menu is split into vegetable, meat and seafood dishes for ease of ordering. If you're planning to share, eats like the salt and pepper tofu, saucy eggplant (sans pork belly), mushrooms and tofu in soy sauce and mushroom and truffle fried rice will have everyone drooling. Find this spot under fairy-lit trees in the Valley.
e’cco bistro
63 Skyring Terrace, Newstead
E'cco bistro regularly put out tasting menus that have both a vegan and vegetarian section–a score for the herbivores. Their four or five-course tasting eats are designed to offer the full e’cco experience without cutting corners. The risotto with fennel, lemon, chilli and rocket looks to die for, and as for dessert, the maple tapioca pudding with mango and toasted coconut sorbet is sure to fill that sweet treat-sized hole.
Looking for more vego friendly spots? You'll definitely find some options here:
- Brisbane's Best Japanese Restaurants
- Brisbane's Best Mexican Restaurants
- Brisbane's Best Thai Restaurants
Image credit: Za Za Ta | Supplied
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