Narrowing down Melbourne’s plethora of vegetarian dishes into fifteen top contenders is a hard task. We’ve even asked you, our audience, for your opinion but even you guys thought the pressure was too much.
A word of warning: a lot of these places are north of Victoria Street, so you might have to make a trip north if you're used to staying in the Bayside bubble.
The cards have been dealt. The chickpeas have been consumed. Here are some of the best vegetarian dishes you can get in Melbourne.
- The Cumin braised eggplant with chermoula, smoked labneh, quinoa crisps and mint at Transformer will transform your tastebuds.
- The quinoa croquettes at Shakahari are something else: yam, black quinoa, buckwheat, macadamia nuts and diced vegetables served with kimchi, steamed greens, and a mild chilli onion wasabi puree.
- Bite into the very tasty peanut butter tofu bun with burnt chilli mayo at Kong BBQ; you won’t regret it.
- Drool over the crispy poached eggs with Daikon kim-chi, edamame, enoki mushrooms, roasted sesame dressing on sourdough toast at Archie’s All Day.
- Speaking of mushrooms, the Fun Guy pizza at Lazerpig (mushroom puree base, confit garlic, portobello and shimeji mushrooms, taleggio and thyme) is to die for.
- The Zelda burger at 8bit with the chickpea, corn and quinoa patty, topped with American cheese, beetroot relish, grilled halloumi, avocado, lettuce, & 8bit sauce; it will have you squealing with glee.
- If you’re looking for more of a chicken burger deal, the guys at B.East will have you singing with their Morrissey burger: southern fried mock chicken, sweet corn relish, lettuce, tomato and jalapeno salsa. (Try their beer-battered fries for an extra treat.)
- You haven’t lived until you’ve tried The Egg McMartinez at Smith & Deli: egg, bacon and cheddar on an English muffin with your choice of sauce. (We recommend BBQ.)
- The Pizza Pony duo makes some truly delicious Neapolitan pizza and their meat options can be made vegan on demand. You can usually find them lurking around Welcome To Thornbury, but keep up with their next location on their Instagram. I strongly recommend the mushroom pizza.
- You can’t go wrong with the chickpea, quinoa and cabbage gyozas at Chotto Motto. Swimming in a delicious soy and garlic sauce, these tasty morsels are my go-to every time.
- If you’re on a health kick, any of Terror Twilight’s bowls are sure to satisfy.
- Can’t decide between dumplings or noodle soup? The guys at misschu have got you covered with their delicious vegetarian dumpling soup. Ask anyone in the Melbourne office: I basically live off this stuff.
- Speaking of soup, the Sen Storm vegetarian pho is super duper delicious. If you’re on the south side though, try the Mushroom pho from Good Nights.
- Last but not least: anything off the Moroccan Soup Bar’s menu. Seriously.
Need something to wash it all down with? Sample the drinks at some of Melbourne's best bars.
Image credit: Annika Kafcaloudis