vegetarian vancouver?

[cupcakequeen]

i'm heading to vancouver with a vegetarian friend. i checked the best of thread, but i didn't see anything. is there any recommendations for a great veggie place?

[annanstee]

If you like Indian, Annapurna on 4th and Burrard is a good bet.

A lot of better restaurants will have decent vegetarian options as well.

[sugar plum]

First off, I have to say how thoughtful you are to do this research for your friend!

I'm a vegetarian living in Vancouver and the most well-known veggie restaurant has to be The Naam:

http://www.thenaam.com/

I haven't been to Crave but I hear it's good:

http://www.craveonmain.ca/

Sanafir has vegetarian tapas:

http://www.sanafir.ca/

The great thing about Vancouver is that most restaurants have at least one meat-free option on their menu. Have a wonderful visit to Vancouver. Hopefully, it stops raining for you...

[barolo]

You might find these recommendations from Vancouver Magazine helpful: Vegetarian/Vegan

As already noted, many Vancouver restaurants are well equipped to serve vegetarians. Vij's, the Bins or the many izakayas, to give a few examples, would have a number of vegetarian options.

[canucklehead]

You may want to try out Chinese Vegetarian while you are in Vancouver. It's Bhuddist based so even onions and garlic are not used (makes the food too pleasurable apparently). However - oddly enough - I have seen dairy used at these restaurants - so technically they are not Vegan.

Here is another vegatarian listing for you to check out. A number of Chinese places are listed. Word of advice - stay away from anything that proports to mimic meat - pressed tofu and gluten - nasty!

[Veghead]

Indian is always a good bet. I would also suggest Habit and Wild Rice.

[Sylphid]

If you're interested in trying Indian food, I second the suggestion of Annapurna, it is great.

If you're interested in Chinese Buddhist Vegetarian food, the most popular place is Bo Kong on Main & 13th or so. Their menu is 100% vegetarian, mostly vegan stuff, and it's large enough that you'll certainly find something to try. Their veggy dishes are great (oooh the gai lan....). While I kind of agree with Canucklehead that, generally, mock meat products are pretty poor, Bo Kong also makes some nice gluten-based dishes.

While The Naam is very popular, and is certainly much better now that their servers treat patrons like human beings, I'm not the biggest fan of their food. Not bad, but nothing special.

If you happen to be in the area, one of the best veg restaurants I've been to is Paradise Noodle House, out on the Burnaby/New Westminster border, on 10th Avenue. 100% veg Vietnamese menu, some great soups and other dishes.

[tangaloor]

I've been to all the places listed above, and my favourite vegetarian restaurant in Vancouver is foundation, at Main and 7th. Great food and cheap. The music can be a bit loud, and they've got sort of a down-at-heel urban vibe going. Get there early to avoid lines, even on weeknights.

If you're looking for something more refined, most of the non-vegetarian higher end restaurants will do a great job preparing something. The Raincity Grill in particular has very good vegetarian dishes. Lumiere has a vegetarian tasting menu which is fabulous and fabulously expensive, and the service is truly wonderful.

Not quite as upmarket is Aurora Bistro, across the street from Foundation. Very good food.

Bo Kong is good if you know your way around chinese buddhist vegetarian food. Otherwise the menu can be a bit perplexing. The dishes marked spicy are usually safe bets--buddhist veg can be bland as part of the principles include using less garlic and spices. The Naam is also good but the lines (as at Foundation) can be very long. Service can be a bit slow, but it's an institution--instant time warp. The yam fries with miso gravy are always ordered when I'm there. I've been to Crave and found the vegetarian selection to be not so good.

A lot of places have a great veg selection without being vegetarian. Vegetarian sushi is good and very Vancouver, Tandoori Palace is a great hole in the wall indian place on commercial drive... Tons of great small places around there--Pondok Indonesia, Cafe Kathmandu, Lombardo's (in the mall at commercial and 1st) for the best pizza in Vancouver...

[nwyles]

I have heard of vegetarians, but I did not think they really existed.

You learn something new everyday.

[Mooshmouse]

If you're looking for something more refined, most of the non-vegetarian higher end restaurants will do a great job preparing something.  The Raincity Grill in particular has very good vegetarian dishes.  Lumiere has a vegetarian tasting menu which is fabulous and fabulously expensive, and the service is truly wonderful.

←

Further to tangaloor's comments, West Restaurant also features a vegetarian tasting menu; I've always been a big fan of David Hawksworth's cooking.

Already mentioned upthread, Cafe Kathmandu is another of my personal favourites. There's also Chai Gallery on West Broadway in Vancouver which features ayurvedic cuisine and Yogi's Vegetarian Indian Cuisine on Commercial Drive.

Enjoy your visit!

[eatvancouver]

Restaurant Connor Butler has a vegetarian tasting menu as well. Like most vegetarian food in town, there isn't much I can tell you about how it actually tastes. It looks good on paper though.

I've been dragged to the Naam quite a few times, and I really don't like it. Everything is just kind of boring - stuff you could easily make at home.

[taryn]

The Radha Yoga Centre on Main has a restaurant that does lunch everyday and dinner thurs to sat.

radha eatery

[VanNoodles]

Restaurant Connor Butler has a vegetarian tasting

I've been dragged to the Naam quite a few times, and I really don't like it.  Everything is just kind of boring - stuff you could easily make at home.

←

What I like about the Naam is that it's a healthy alternative at 2:15 am when I have nothing in the fridge. This place is a lifesaver for uni students, with relatively cheap, healthy eats arriving in good-sized portions. Service has been disastrous in the past however.

[kevfoodvan]

This might interest you if you are an SFU vegetarian student:

http://www.foodvancouver.com/restaurant-re...?restaurant=105

Edited November 24, 2006 by kevfoodvan (log)

[gourmetgal]

In Thursday's Vancouver Sun, there was an article on a Vegan/Raw food window called Gorilla Food. It is located at 422 Richards St. and there is a website too.

Gorilla Food I am not a vegan, nor have I tried it, but it did look interesting. If you happen to be downtown, you could check it out. Report back if you go, and let us know what it's like!

[Memo]

I certainly get raw after eating their food.

Memo - orifice and artifice

[jsmith]

I've been dragged to the Naam quite a few times, and I really don't like it.  Everything is just kind of boring - stuff you could easily make at home.

←

When I lived in Vancouver I would always tell visitors that they should try to go somewhere on B.C. Ferries, and eat at The White Spot (but not one of the ones on the ferries). Neither are really fantastic experiences, but there's something about them that is as "BC" as you're going to get.

Everyone I know has strong memories of the ferries going back to their childhoods and who doesn't get all warm and fuzzy when thinking about a pirate pack?

The Naam is the same to me. It's as "Vegetarian Vancouver" as you're going to get. I don't know any vegetarians that haven't eaten there more times than they can remember, who doesn't roll there eyes when you mention the service. The fact that the service has improved would make me less likely to recommend it.

Oh, if you do get the ferries, try to go to the Sunshine coast. Then you can tell everyone you "Rode the queen of Surrey for 45 minutes"

[tangaloor]

And hey I almost forgot! For great vegetarian San Francisco-style burritos, go to Budgie's on Kingsway just north of Broadway (right near foundation and Aurora Bistro). Of course, if you're from SF it may not be much of a draw, but it was a godsend when I found them. Burritos like I used to get, not these *@$! "wrap" things.