Ultimate guide to vegan food In Sydney

Bodhi sits nestled amongst Hyde Park Moreton Bay fig trees in the heart of the city. This vegan restaurant offers Yum Cha and pan-Asian as their specialty. Ingredients are fresh, local, and organic at this award-winning restaurant.
Bodhi features a mouth-watering selection of Yum Cha for lunch, including ‘chicken’ dumplings, silky tofu with mashed potato, and glass noodle spring rolls.

If it’s dinner you’re after, Bodhi offers a fantastic tapas menu. Try the chickpea battered cauliflower, taro chips with salsa, or the smoked eggplant with crispy rice crackers.
If you’re still hungry, there are some wonderful dessert dishes on offer, including coconut sponge cake, and caramelised lady finger bananas.

This vegan venue has an incredible drinks menu too, featuring cocktails and mocktails made with organic herbs and bespoke syrups, plus an excellent list of local wines.

Dish Cult Recommends: The $10 Australian Field Mushroom Dumplings and Fried ‘Chicken’ Sliders

The owners of this venue, Pedro Martinez and Sophia Stewart-Kasimba, have a grand vision.
Their vegan mega hub will be home to Kimusabi, a sushi restaurant, Outlaw, a teppanyaki grill restaurant, and Cousin Sals, and an Italian eatery serving plant-based pasta dishes, plus a green supermarket.

Pedro Martinez, formerly of CBD restaurant Contrabando, says that his aim is to show people that “a plant-based lifestyle or a plant-curious lifestyle doesn’t have to be as expensive as it’s made out to be”. As for Greens Supermarket, shoppers can expect fresh produce and bread that’s baked in-house, along with all of the other things you’d find at Woolies or Coles.

Martinez and Stewart-Kasimba envisage that their vegan mega hub will be open by the end of this year, and zero waste by 2024.

Dish Cult Recommends: The Roast Cauliflower, Karaage Eggplant and Shimeji Mushroom Rolls

Comeco’s owners started their eatery as a result of their own food allergies, and to that end, all of the products at Comeco are vegan, gluten and dairy-free, and made with all natural ingredients.
Try the fluffy rice bread, or grab a sour doughnut, which come in a tantalising array of flavours, such as chocolate custard, stewed apple cinnamon, and salted caramel custard, or the brownie made with sweet potato.
Just make sure you eat ‘em quick, as they are made fresh daily to be eaten that same day.

As for the sushi side of things, Comeco offers sushi platters featuring mushroom and chilli rolls, and tomato avocado and cheese rolls, to name a few. Comeco’s ultimate goal is to ‘eat, laugh, and share happy moments’. Sounds pretty good to us…

Dish Cult Recommends: Their Eggplant Jalapeno Chilli Roll, Smoky Bbq Miso Roll and Salted Caramel Sourdough Donuts

Green Gourmet has been in the vegan restaurant business since 1998 – it’s a family owned and run establishment making a great selection of their signature Love Buns in Spicy Eggplant and Chickpea, Charcoal Black Sesame, and BBQ ‘Pork’ flavours, to name a few. And if Love Buns aren’t your thing, Green Gourmet offers several options for the sweet tooth. Try the chocolate brownies, the Earl Grey sponge cake, or the hand-crafted snowy mooncake.

If you’re feeling the need for nourishment Green Gourmet makes two types of broth – mushroom and beetroot – and delivers throughout most of Sydney, as well as offering take away from their St. Leonards restaurant at 538 Pacific Highway.

Try the steamed dim sims with shitake mushrooms, the soy tofu drumsticks, the Malaysian yellow curry, or the Crispy Thai ‘Fish’. For lovers of tea, there are eleven herbal teas to choose from and The Last Empress, infused with rose buds, sounds heavenly.

Dish Cult Recommends: The BBQ ‘Pork’ pack of 4 Love Buns, Salt and Pepper ‘Calamari’ or Mushroom, BBQ ‘Pork’ and their famous Shantung ‘Chicken’

‘Good food’ is Bad Hombres’ motto. Their menu is fully vegan and gluten free, designed with sharing in mind, and covers all of the classic Mexican dishes you’d expect, like nachos, quesadillas, tacos and guacamole. Plus you can check out some more unexpected dishes like the King Mushroom Peruvian Ceviche, or the Baja Jackfruit with seaweed and white cabbage slaw.

When you’re done wash it all down with a glass of natural, vegan wine or a tequila-based cocktail. We love the Red Sangria which is infused with flavours of apricot, orange, and passionfruit, and the delightfully-named Mariachi, made with Campari, grapefruit, and citrus.

If you’re eating in-house, expect casual and cosy decor and an 80’s-inspired playlist to get you in the party mood.

Dish Cult Recommends: The $26.50 Mole Enchilada Sharing Plate for 4 and the Cauliflower share plate

Located on Newtown’s ever-buzzing King Street, this pay-what-you-want resto ditches a fixed-price menu in favour of giving back, paying it forward, and a delicious vegan line-up. Having started the venture in Melbourne, at Lentil As Anything you pay as much as you can afford or as much as you think the food is worth (which, trust us, the food tastes like it’s worth a ton.)

A certifiable feast of Sri Lankan dishes, the team here doesn’t skimp on quality and the food is just about as authentic and flavourful as they come. Service here is friendly and you’ll get some of their signature dishes like dahl with rice, vegetable, pappadam, and Sri Lankan Farmer’s Dosa served with a smile by one of their friendly volunteers.

Shift Eatery aims to make things deliciously vegan, and whether you’ve just started trying out the no-animal-products life or have been a vegan for years in tireless search of good eats, at this little nook you’ll feel anything but left out.

Toasties are just 100% comfort food, right? Grab a sanga from their wide range including the “Reuben’s Vegan Brother, Steve” that features corned “beef” and sauerkraut, and the “Meetball Sub” that features vegan meatballs, house-made marinara sauce and a toasted hoagie roll. They also clock in a good selection of warm poke bowls, salads, and all day breakfast bagels. Everything on the menu is so much fun, you might forget that everything’s purely vegan!

Making traditional Neopolitan pizzas without any cheese or meat might seem a little impossible to some, but for one of Sydney’s most popular pizzerias (now turned vegan) Gigi’s, you’ll barely notice the difference. At the helm is fellow vegan and pizzaiolo Marco Mattino, and the 100% plant-based menu remains totally innovative with every option sounding more tantalising than the last.

With a focus on ethical eating and ingredient sourcing, here you’ll find stone roasted wood-fired pizzas like the peperone rosso featuring San Marzano tomato, red capsicum, capers, chilli and an olive tapenade, and the Salsiccia e Broccoli featuring Beyond sausage, garlic & chilli sauteed broccoli and tree-nut ricotta. You’ll also get gnocchi al forno baked with napoletana sauce and homemade lasagna with plant-based ragu and bechamel to tide you over until your pizza arrives.

Dish Cult recommends the $30 Salsiccia e Broccoli.

This cosy Surry Hills spot is where you’ll find colourful vegan pastas and an extensive spritz list in aesthetic rose-gold surrounds. Fellow vegans rejoice, you’ll get to indulge in Charcoal Bucatini here at Mark and Vinny’s – an artful dish of cashew cream, smoked mushroom pancetta, vegan egg yolk and vegan parmigiano cheese that’s every bit as delicious as regular cheese.

Other offerings are the lasagne vegana featuring plant-based bechamel and mozzarella, and their vegan pizzas like the fungi e tartufo with a truffle paste and mushroom medley. Every plant-based ingredient is made in-house and tastes all the better washed down with a refreshing “Fly me to the moon” Spritz and enjoy a perfect night out.

Dish Cult recommends the $29 Charcoal Bucatini.

Vegan ramen might be unfamiliar to some (read: most) of us, but once you’ve heard of it, trust us, there’s no going back. This tiny little bare-bones eatery in Newtown dishes out some of the best hot bowls of plant-based ramen and rice dishes you can find around.

Spring for Lonely Mouth’s tantanmen ramen that’s a spicy bowl of nutty Sichuan-based broth topped with housemade plant-based mince. Pure goodness in a warm bowl steeped both in depth and rich flavour that’s a complete banger of a meal when paired with their shoyu tare cauliflower karaage served with vegan mayo.

Grab your friends here for a Japanese vegan feast and end the night with a classic sake to kanbe the night away.