The best vegan spots in Glasgow

Perhaps the city’s most well-known vegan restaurant, Mono has been a firm-favourite in the city since it opened in 2002. Known for its great music – and food – this eatery has all you need for a bright and lively meal. Dishes are big and bold: opt for the Macaroni Cheese or Chargrilled Burger (complete with a brioche bun, roasted tomato and slaw) if you are really hungry. Other, lighter items include the Falafel Wrap and Harissa Seitan Burrito. Go for the tasty vegan food, stay for the exciting bands, exhibitions and other fun events taking place each month.

For superb coffee, smoothies and brunch food at reasonable prices, look no further. Gusto & Relish isn’t strictly a vegan cafe, but that doesn’t mean that there aren’t lots of options for those following a plant-based diet. Staff are friendly and the atmosphere is intimate and cosy. After you’ve sampled some of the savoury vegan dishes – like the brunch ‘stacks’ topped with avocado, spiced sweetcorn salsa and sumac – treat yourself to a homemade vegan cake or pastry. Located minutes from Queen’s Park, Gusto & Relish is the perfect destination for your relaxed Sunday brunch.

This restaurant is undoubtedly one of the best vegan newcomers in the city. The focus is on fresh, healthy vegan cuisine. All the food is prepared and cooked on sight, free entirely from animal produce. The diner-style Blueberry Cinnamon Swirl Pancakes and Breakfast Slam Pancakes (which come with seitan bacon, scrambled tofu, maple syrup and ancho chilli butter) are enough to get anybody out of bed. If you fancy something on the lighter side, acai bowls and vegetable/fruit smoothies are in abundance. The atmosphere is relaxed, and the staff are easy-going but helpful. Things get quite busy at the weekends, so booking is recommended.

The Glasvegan offers vegan dishes to takeaway as well as eat in. Comfort food is the order of the day here: expect dishes like the Chilli and Cheese Not-Dog and Raw Bounty Cheesecake. Crêpes are a bit of a speciality here too, complete with classic toppings like banana and caramel as well as a few innovative offerings – like the Mai Tai sauce and the brown sugar and peach combo. Service is fast, but you never feel rushed. An ideal location for people-watching, or gearing up to do some adventuring in town, The Glasvegan is popular for a reason!

If you like Mono, check out Stereo, its sister venue. In Glasgow there seems to be somewhat of a symbiosis with live music and vegan food, as many of the venues we’d recommend to see bands and solo singers are also proud proponents of plant-only menus (Hug and Pint is another one worth checking out). While Stereo’s Renfield Street home was designed by none other than local legend Charles Rennie Mackintosh, its interior has an urban industrial feel that suits its contemporary menu. There’s no meat or dairy to be seen, so you don’t need to be selective about what you order and there’s an entire menu dedicated to gluten-free food too, which is handy as we know the Venn diagram of gluten-free and vegan restaurants can be limited. Asian flavours feature heavily, sometimes fused with French or Scottish influences. And there’s always a fair dollop of comfort food to be had, in the form of burgers and chip suppers. The cocktails are enticing too, with creamy options that haven’t been anywhere near a cow.

The dishes change daily at this cool little joint in Woodlands, making every visit a new experience. Serving dinner from 5pm Monday to Saturday and lunch from noon Wednesday to Saturday, it offers a very creative menu of highly nutritious ingredients that celebrate the fruits of the earth. To give you an idea of the sort of thing you can expect, past plates have included chicory salad with orange dressing and hazelnuts; pea soup with olive oil and fregola; tofu with spinach and fenugreek; shredded potatoes with Sichuan pepper oil; and roast pears with fried bread and stilton custard — is it sweet? Is it savoury? Who cares, it’s delicious! Pair your meal with a naturally fermented biodynamic wine; Sylvan serves 30 of them by the glass.

Be aware that this isn’t an exclusively vegan eatery, so don’t go rogue when ordering from the menu (look out for the vg icon next to the dishes to be safe). This is modern pub food, so burgers and pizzas are big features on the hearty menu, along with Asian-inspired spicy treats. Or opt for something from the “classics” section, such as lentil daal with coconut, batata harra and pitta. If you’re here mainly for drinks and just want a snack, Chinaski’s has you covered too, with bowls of vegan nibbles and small plates, such as cauliflower shawarma with chermoula and pickles, and sweet potato with chickpeas, laban and zhoug. And there’s a roast, from noon till it’s gone, every Sunday. The bar has a whole new drinks menu to try, which is a great excuse in itself to book yourself a table.

This Partick eatery has been in business since April 2019, when it was opened by Mama Lim and her family. Lim hails from Malaysia and loves to bring the flavours of her homeland to the people of Glasgow, sharing her roots and cultural heritage through her home-style meals. Not only are the ingredients super healthy, but Mama cooks without using MSG or any artificial enhancers, so you can be sure of an all-natural experience. Dishes are designed to be shared and you can enjoy them with Suissi Vegan Kitchen’s one-of-a-kind cocktails. If you’re tee-total or just not drinking at the moment, then you’ll love the mocktails which include Matcha Martinis and Lychee Cosmopolitans. The venue received a refurb in August 2023, so if you haven’t been for a while, it’s worth stopping in to check out the new look.

If your gastronomical splurge involves sweet treats and bakes, get yourself down to Plant Blonde, another 100% vegan establishment. It’s not far from Suissi Vegan Kitchen, at the side of Partick which merges with the West End and can be spotted by its flirty pink exterior. There are just a handful of tables inside and a couple outside, or you can grab and go from the streetside counter. The colourful celebration cakes are ridiculously beautiful, but you don’t need an excuse to bag yourself a mini version in the form of a lavishly iced cupcake, empire biscuit or a gooey cookie dough bar. Then wash it all down with a Mother Gaia smoothie or a golden latte. Those working or living in the centre of town will also be able to get their Plant Blonde fix in the brand’s new pop-up, inside the Lush store.