Nicole’s Brisbane Vegan Eating Guide – September 2006
This guide attempts to compile a list of vegan and vegan-friendly places to eat and buy food around Brisbane. It’s by no means exhaustive, and if (of course) totally subjective. The places listed under “cater for vegan diets” are a selection only, and are generally placed where it is easier to obtain vegan foods. Each section will have contact details and a brief description, followed by noting if it’s eat-in/takeaway, what to expect food-wise, and a price range. The price range key is (roughly!): $ = up to $5; $$ = $5 - $10; $$$ = $10 - $20; $$$$ = over $20.
Vegetarian and Vegan Restaurants
The Forest Food Lounge (124 Boundary St West End; 3846 6181 / http://www.theforest-westend.com/one.html
The Forest is (to my knowledge) the only all-Vegan café in Brisbane – and we’re lucky to have it! It’s a friendly atmosphere and terrifically tasty food. I guarantee you’ll be hooked on the “cheese”cakes in no time.
- Eat in or takeaway.
- What to expect: tea, coffee, fresh juices, cakes, salads, pastries, pre-cooked hot meals, vegie burgers of all sorts (tempeh, lentil etc) to order. The Forest is also licensed, and stocks a fantastic range of vegan, organic beers, wines and spirits.
- Price range: $$ - $$$
Magic Wok Vegetarian Restaurant (358 Mains Rd Sunnybank; 3219 5775)
Formerly “Leaderbowl” – but not much had changed except the name! Still a fantastic, huge menu of awesome asian feasts.
- Eat in or takeaway. Buffet on Saturday lunch.
- What to expect: asian delights a-go-go. Fried entrees, grilled ‘meats’, sushi, noodles, regular mains. I highly recommend the Lemon 'Chicken' and the fried 'Chicken drumsticks'.
- Price range: $$ - $$$ (best to go with a large group and split the price!)
Kuan-Yin Tea House (Wickham St, Fortitude Valley; 3252 4557)
A wonderful little cafe/restaurant near Chinatown in Fortitude Valley. It's great for a quick snack, meals or just grabbing bubble tea. Unfortunately it has limited opening times. The staff are really lovely though, and it's a great place to grab lunch on the weekends. (One or two things on the menu are vegetarian, not vegan – make sure to check!)
* What to expect: snacky entrees, small soups, tea snacks, full meals with tvp/gluten meats, and a huge range of bubble tea, iced tea and pots of hot teas. I heartily recommend the Taro milk drink (made on soy milk, of course) which tastes like cookies! Can definitely recommend the fried dumplings and the Taiwanese fried "chicken".
* Price range: $ - $$
Restaurants that cater for Vegan Diets
City Wok (99 Elizabeth St Brisbane – Charlotte St end of Elizabeth Arcade; 3210 1010)
Surprisingly, there are very few veg* restaurants or cafes in the CBD. That’s because it’s full of McDonalds, or yuppies wanting seafood or something. God damn them. City Wok is my paradise amongst the homogenous.
- Eat in or takeaway.
- What to expect: weekday lunch buffet brings a damn fine selection of pre-cooked mains, noodles, fried rice and entrees (spring rolls, dim sims). At other times they have a whole whopping vego menu in addition to their meaty one – stir fries, soups, fried entrée morsels. Mmm. If you’re vegan, specify that it’s a veg* meal you want, and that you want no egg (they do ask this with every order).
- Price range: $$
The Vietnamese Restaurant BYO (194 Wickham St Fortitude Valley; 3252 4112)
The original home of Make Your Own Fun Rolls! In addition to their ‘normal’ menu, there’s a good selection of stuff for vegetarians and vegans.
- Eat in or takeaway.
- What to expect: some nice entrees, and soups (chilli vegetarian soup is the best!). Main meals are a standard mix – the chilli garlic bean curd is spectacular (if you don’t have to kiss anyone for at least 24 hours). My most favourite thing, of course, is the bean curd ‘make your own fun rolls’ – an assemble yourself Vietnamese rice paper roll meal. But watch out – make sure you ask them to provide satay sauce instead of the fish sauce that automatically comes with them! I only very recently made this discovery.
- Price range: $$ - $$$
King Ahiram Lebanese Food (88 Vulture St, West End; 3846 1678)
Best felafels in Brisbane, no competition.
- Eat in or takeaway.
- What to expect: BEST FELAFELS IN BRISBANE. Pay attention! Tasty extras like grilled eggplant can be a nice treat. Their spinach + lentil pies are also vegan, and they occasionally have a rice and lentil dish.
- Price range: $
Sushi Deli (Wintergarden complex, city; McArthur Building, city; Indooroopilly Shopping Centre, Indooroopilly - and many other places, i'm sure)
Sushi Deli have some of the nicest quality sushi in town - and for what is effectively a sushi 'fast food' joint, that's awesome!
- Takeaway
- What to expect: ready-to go sushi in rolls or packs. They've got hatomaki avocado + cucumber rolls (which are both v. tasty), and also larger standard rolls like fried tofu, japanese vegies etc. Their inari's pretty tasty, too. Just watch out – one of their vegetarian options has egg!
- Price range: $
Huong's Vietnamese/Chinese Restaurant (83 Vulture St, West End; 3844 6701)
A small-ish restaurant upstairs on Vulture St, very friendly staff and quite a nice place to eat - especially if you snare a window seat! A good place for vegies and omnis alike. Everyone's happy... Or, they better be.
- Eat in or Takeaway
- What to expect: There’s a good mix of Vietnamese/Thai/Chinese veg* foods for entrees and mains. A couple of my faves are the delicious sizzling Mongolian vegie platter, and really subtle (but full of flavour) lemongrass tofu dish. They've got a decent selection of veg* entrees - spring rolls are particularly nice.
- Price range: $$$
Sassafras, 88 LaTrobe Tce, Paddington; 3369 0600) - http://www.sassafrasfoods.com.au/
A really cosy little terrace-house turned cafe. Great atmosphere and a huge mixed cafe menu. Great for keeping vegies and omnis happy for a nice mixed dining experience, especially for brekkies.
- Eat in only, as far as I know.
- What to expect: Fresh juices, smoothies, coffee, huge breakfast menu, pastries.. the usual cafe fare! I had scrambled tofu which was very tasty. I was also happy to discover that the friendly, good looking staff knew that "no egg or dairy" meant "vegan"! A gold star for them.
- Price range: $$$
Espressohead, 169 Boundary St West End 4101; (07) 3844 8324
One of the busier (but relatively largeish) cafes on Boundary St in West End. Friendly, helpful staff who accomodate vegans quite well.
- Eat in.
- What to expect: Lots of juices, plus regular cafe fare - mostly for omnis, but you can get them to work things a vegan way, which is nice. They offer brekky, lunch and dinner. It's nice to have another option for a vegan breakfast! Just remember, nothing's completely vegan (food wise anyhow) so make sure you check and double check! (Especially those mushrooms on toast, which are cooked in butter more often than not.)
- Price range: $$ - $$$
Flowers of The World (Florist/Cafe), shop 15a Little Stanley St South Brisbane QLD 4101. ph: (07) 3229 1032
- Eat in or takeaway.
- What to expect: Small cafe attached to the florist, with organic coffee and some vegan bakedgoods. Open 7 days, and late-ish on Friday evenings.
- Price range: $ - $$ (if including snacks)
Quan Thanh, Shop 5/ 75 Hardgrave Rd West End 4810; (07) 3846 3849
Amongst the intensive strip of restaurants on Hardgrave Rd, Quan Thanh stands apart in having a decent range of Vietnamese vegan eating options, as well as being refreshingly un-trendy. Almost all of the veg menu is vegan, just make sure when you order that nothing comes with egg, or fish/oyster sauce.
- Eat in or takeaway
- What to expect: A couple of veg entrees, some lovely vegie dishes, rice paper rolls, noodle salads, and the undisputed king of Quan Thanh: salt and pepper tofu.
- Price range: $$
Wild Pepper, Shop 1/75 Hardgrave Road, West End; 3844 1262 - http://www.wildpepper.com.au/
Wild Pepper’s expensive, and almost unbearably trendy, but it’s nice to have a gourmet pizza treat every now and then.
- Eat in or takeaway
- What to expect: A variety of vege pizzas, with the option of vegan cheese (Tofutti). Gluten free bases offered, too. Quality can be hit and miss, but try your luck.
- Price range: $$$ - $$$$
The Alibi Room, 720 Brunswick St, New Farm; 3358 6133 - http://www.thealibiroom.com/
The Alibi Room is a bit of an oasis amongst the posh cafes and restaurants along this strip in New Farm. Comfy to hang out in with a nice atmosphere, this bar/restaurant has a reasonable amount on offer for veg*ns to snack upon - even pizza! Oh my.
- Eat in or takeaway
- What to expect: Fairly standard cafe foods like burgers, tapas and pizza. They have a specific vegan breakfast, as well as a vegan pizza (complete with stunt meat and uncheese!) - and they're good about requests to veganise other things (other snacks, dips coming with chips, etc).
- Price range: $$ - $$$$
Himalayan Café, 640 Brunswick St New Farm 4005; (07) 3358 4015
You might be surprised, like I was, to discover the Himalayan offers vegan options – even marked as that on the menu! It’s delicious food, and a fantastic, cosy atmosphere.
- Eat in and takeaway
- What to expect: a really decent range of vegan entrees, and some hearty, flavoursome mains. The black eyed bean dish, especially.
- Price range: $$ - $$$
Wagamama, Emporium (1000 Ann St), Fortitude Valley; (07) 3257 3855 – http://www.wagamama.com.au
It can be difficult to find vegetarian/vegan options in some Asian restaurants. Wagamama’s hip to the jive, though, and offer a great range of vego foods. They’re good about modifying to use vege stock, and leaving eggs out of things, too!
- Eat in or takeaway
- What to expect: noodle soups, stirfries, curry, gyoza to die for and amazing freshly steamed edamame for entrée!
- Price range: $$ - $$$
While Wagamama technically have veg*n foods, i'm loathe to recommend them now as i've had troubles on occasion with their staff understanding what the hell I need even when I explain it in clear terms.
Tibetan Kitchen, Fortitude Valley 454 Brunswick St 4006; (07) 3358 5906 / West End 59 Hardgrave Rd 4101; (07) 3844 7355 - http://www.gourmetdeliveries.com.au/menus/we/gd_menus_tibetan.htm
Another surprising offering – not a huge range to choose from, but it’s somewhere you know you can go with omni friends, and everyone can enjoy the intense deliciousness of Tibetan cuisine. As nothing is marked specifically, make sure to check the vegetarian meals are actually vegan.
- Eat in
- What to expect: dumplings and potato cakes for entrée, a couple of soups, and a few curries and tofu dishes for mains.
- Price range: $$ - $$$
Ginga, 178 Grey St South Brisbane 4101 QLD; Phone: (07) 3846 2313
Sometimes you’ll find yourself at South Bank with friends, and it’s got to be one of the most hellish places on earth to seek out vegan foods. With enough cajoling, most places will be able to find something – it’s much easier at Ginga where a decent amount of vegetarian/veganisable food is on offer already.
- Eat in or takeaway
- What to expect: The only vegan sushi on offer is their avocado roll, but is quite nice. Entrees on offer include vege tempura, edamame, miso soup, steamed vegies, and agedashi tofu. Mains are limited to zaru soba and yaki soba vegetables (double check and check again to make sure they know you want them vegan).
- Price range: $$ - $$$
Supermarkets, Grocery Stores and other general product outlets
As far as general food shopping goes, and not eating out, Brisbane’s pretty rad. Most Coles supermarkets carry a lot of veg* foods, and their health food sections have great ranges of tofu etc. A lot of the supermarkets in Chinatown (Fortitude Valley) and out at Sunnybank have good veg* food (faux meats, tasty treats) amongst the large amounts of strange unidentifiable food.
Bakeries
- Baker's Delight: All of their plain breads are vegan, and they've got an awesome selection. Some of their sweets are also vegan, like the jam log, cinnamon log, fruit buns and finger buns.
- Brumby's: Again, their plain breads are vegan. I'm not too sure about their sweets, except for a couple of things like fruit buns, and apple and walnut loaves w/ icing.
- Sol Breads (corner of Hardgrave Rd + Vulture St, West End; (07) 3255 1225 - http://www.solbreads.com.au/): Lots of plain breads like sourdough and the like which are vegan.
- Flour Power (corner of Gladstone Rd + Dornoch Tce, Highgate Hill; (07) 3217 2988): Simply amazing place, even though their vegan selection is minimal. Their plain breads (sourdough etc) are vegan, and on top of this there are amazing gourmet breads like olive loaves, fruit + nut loaves (chock FULL of dried fruit and whole nuts) – just make sure you check before you buy that an egg glaze hasn’t been used.
Health Food/Bulk Stores
These stores carry a lot of bulk and imported products, and in the case of the health food stores, specialised vegan goods that are difficult, if not impossible, to find in regular supermarkets.
- Mrs Flannery’s (Wooloongabba, Taringa, Chermside; http://www.mrsflannerys.com.au/). One of the larger health/organic “supermarkets” around.
- The Green Grocer (144 Boundary St, West End; (07) 38447961). Small but well-stocked.
- Fundamental Food Store (219 Given Terrace, Paddington QLD 4064; (07) 3368 1855 - http://www.fundies.com.au/index.html). Café attached.
- Organic Essentials, 11 Days Road, Grange. Qld 4051; (07) 3856 0678 (http://www.organicessentials.com.au/). Small store on the northside, stocks Redwood Organics products from the UK (Cheezley etc).
- Sun & Earth Organic Foods (New Farm 845 Brunswick St 4005; (07) 3358 2299). These guys are small, but have a great range – especially of Green and Black’s chocolate, and the fantastic Soy Delicious ‘ice cream’ from the States, in millions of flavours!
- Mick's Nut Store (31 Hardgrave Rd West End 4101; (07) 3844 7396). Terrific for bulk legumes, nuts and cereals.
- Samios Foods Retail (36 Annerley Rd Woolloongabba 4102; (07) 3391 2169). Bulk olives, canned goods, nuts and legumes. Typical deli-type foods.
- All India Foods Pty Ltd (31 Balaclava St Woolloongabba QLD 4102; (07) 3391 1420). Awesome range of bulk spices, legumes (lots of dal!) and oil.
Markets
Around Brisbane, there are a few markets that are great for cheap fruit + veg, and some tasty gourmet treats.
- Green Flea markets (at Davies Park in West End every Saturday, 6am – 2pm), is probably my favourite, although they’ve become super crowded recently. They have really cheap fruit and veg, potted herbs, fresh flowers, olives etcetc. The markets also feature the amazing 'Ykillamoocow' (http://www.ykillamoocow.com/) stall, selling vegan versions of pies, sausage rolls, dagwood dogs and samosas. (They can be reached on 0423352599 for catering.)
- Farmer’s Markets (2nd and 4th Saturdays of each month at the Powerhouse in Lamington St New Farm by the river - http://www.janpower.com/). This is not quite as vegan friendly as other markets, but you can still pick up some lovely produce and products.
- Northey Street Farm markets (Corner of Northey and Victoria Streets, Windsor, 6 – 11am Saturday mornings - http://www.northeystreetcityfarm.org.au/). These markets are sort of like a smaller, all-organic version of the Green Flea markets. Situated within the city farm’s grounds (near their café), the stalls provide quality organic fruit + veg, as well as breads and other products. As a bonus, it’s not too far to head to Organic Essentials over at Grange afterward (although the store do have a stall at the market).
Gold Coast section - not updated recently
Tian Ran (Shop 8 / 2462 Gold Coast Highway Mermaid Beach; 5572 0678)Something very similar to Magic Wok, with pretty affordable prices. Veryveryvery tasty.
Magic Apple (Shop 2, Fifth Avenue Burleigh Heads; 5576 2177)Like a vegetarian version of the Forest.
Tan's - fish + chip shop @ Burleigh Heads
Although it's a fish and chippery, this place does a killer grilled tofu (I recommend with satay sauce) + chips, and you can also get tofu wraps + burgers. Mmmm. It's also pretty cheap.
If you have any questions, or suggestions, drop a comment! I would love to be able to discover more places around Brisbane to add to this. Feel free to pimp this out to people who might be interested.
Feeling: 
productive