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We asked and you delivered.
Time and time again we hear people ask for recommendations for the best vegetarian and vegan food in Canberra. So we put the question out to our faithful Instagram audience and gosh, did you deliver.
From 89 responses we got 147 recommendations for 56 local restaurants, cafes and bakeries that you said offer amazing vegetarian and vegan fare. So where should you book into?
To start with, it’s perhaps no surprise that Au Lac Royal Vegan Cuisine got a massive response (21 votes) with their 10+ year legacy of offering meat-free, dairy-free cuisine across two locations—Dickson and Woden.
With oodles of Asian-fusion dishes that use soy-based protein in place of animal products on offer, Au Lac is a vegan’s dream.
Taking out the silver was epic Braddon bakery-cafe Sweet Bones with 20 votes—again no surprise given they’ve been proudly vegan since opening in 2011 (Happy 10th Birthday Sweet Bones!). We’ve heard their cinnamon scrolls are out of this world.
Third place (17 votes) might surprise those who haven’t been keeping up with recent foodie news. It’s NewActon’s Monster Kitchen and Bar, which while many would agree it to be one of Canberra’s most atmospheric venues, might not necessarily tweak as plant-based heaven—that is, unless you read our announcement that Monster has gone completely vegetarian for 12 months. That’s right—an entire menu of elevated vegetarian food. Run, don’t walk.
Coming in hot with nine recommendations was Lonsdale Street’s Lazy Su (hellooooo, vegan set menu), as well as neighbour Grease Monkey (seven votes) for their plant-based burger options.
Brodburger was hot on their heels (six votes) with their vego and vegan burger options (special shoutout for developing a vegan version of their iconic Brod sauce) with Akiba scooping five votes for their flexible Feed Me menu.
Dickson’s My Rainbow Dreams got a heap of love with four shoutouts—perhaps unsurprising for an iconic vegetarian wholefoods cafe—with Braddon’s Bamiyan Afghani restaurant and NewActon’s Rebel Rebel scooping three gongs each, the latter due to their waitstaff being so obliging when it came to altering the menu. We love to see it!
Kingston’s Morks also got three shout outs, especially for their vegan tasting menu which one follower described as “the best thing I’ve ever eaten in my life”. Well, what Morks is there to say? (sorry).
Following these were a raft of shout outs with two recommendations including Kingston’s An Nguyen Vegan (perhaps for obvious reasons), the City’s Fish Shack (apparently their milkshakes are amazing—not the first time we’ve heard this), Braddon’s Assembly (can attest that their breakfast sides are excellent), the City’s RAKU (delicious, always), Braddon’s Gather (so many dishes can be made vegan!), the City’s Nosh (with a build-your-own-bowl, anything goes), Kingston’s Local Press (hello, breakfast cobbler!) and The Boat House, who got a special shout out for their exceptional vegan/vegetarian wedding food, so there you go!
After this came the recommendations with one vote each. I say ‘vote’ because it simplifies things, but at the end of the day it really does come down to personal preference.
I think each of these recommendations should be taken not with a grain of salt—but with the full faith that someone had an amazing vegetarian or vegan meal here.
After all, they took the time to respond to our question and send it through. So why not give them a crack?
- Blu Ginger (City)
- Burger Hero (Braddon)
- Baby Su (City West)
- Two Before Ten (NewActon)
- Edgar’s Inn (Ainslie)
- Parlour (NewActon)
- Frugii (Braddon)
- Griffith Vietnamese (Griffith)
- Canberra Museum and Gallery Café (City)
- Stepping Stone at Strathnairn Arts (Ginninderry)
- Papparich (City)
- Grill’d (various locations)
- The National Portrait Gallery (Parkes)
- Kokomo’s (City)
- The Ottoman (Barton)
- The White Eagle Polish Club (Turner)
- EightyTwenty (Braddon)
- Vanilla Pod (Greenway)
- ONA Coffee (Fyshwick)
- CBD Dumpling House (City)
- Highroad (Dickson)
- XO (Narrabundah) “Their vegetarian tasting menu”
- Oscar’s Bakery (University of Canberra, Bruce)
- Stand by Me (Lyons) “The French Toast!”
- Fekertes Ethiopian (NewActon)
- Mookie (City and Tuggeranong)
- Patty Smith’s (Dickson)
- Spice Affair (Casey)
- Ethiopian Down Under (Pearce)
- Ganjee’s (Braddon)
- Chez Frederic (Braddon)
- The Goods (City West)
- Utopia Vegan Cuisine (Dickson)
- Project Enoki (Verity Lane Market, City)
- Tikka Take (City)
- Karuna Vegetarian Restaurant (Lyneham)
We hope this helps our vegetarian and vegan readers and followers—thank you so much for your recommendations!
Feature image: Monster Kitchen & Bar
