The Best Vegan Meals at Non-Vegan Restaurants in Vancouver

Whether you’re a dedicated vegan or simply looking to make conscious food choices when eating out in Vancouver, finding vegan dishes can be a struggle — especially if you don’t end up seated in a vegan restaurant. Lucky for you, the minds behind Planted Meals are dedicated to good food and sourcing the best vegan dishes you can find, in vegan eateries . . . or anywhere else! From East Vancouver to Cambie to Main Street, these are some of our favourite vegan dishes at not-vegan restaurants around town.

Avocado Oshisushi from Sushi Loku. (Erin Ireland / FB)

Sushi Loku — The avocado oshisushi is an absolute must — we usually order 2–3! Their tofu teriyaki and agedashi tofu are also solid dishes to round out your meal. Bonus: Sushi Loku is just down the street from Elephant Garden Creamery, where their Mango Coconut Sticky Rice is absolutely superb!

Afghan Horseman — The Vegan Platter’s Delight is a great sampling of their options. You’ll be fighting over the Pakawra (batter fried potatoes) for sure! Just be sure to ask for a vegan dip option.

Fassil — Try out the Timatim Fitfit dish.

Eat Dundas — They have an extensive separate vegan menu including multiple starters and mains. Cassava fries are a great appetizer and the bun bo hue is our favourite main dish.

Modern Bowl from Cactus Club Cafe

Cactus Club — It’s so great to see these mainstream restaurants roll out a whole plant-based menu at all of their locations. Their Modern bowl is Mike’s favourite!

Gyo-Para — They always have more than one vegetarian option for ramen that can easily be made vegan (just remove the egg!). Their tantanmen is full of flavour, and their cold ramen is a treat in the summer.

Storm Crow Alehouse — Lots of comfort food (think burgers and fries) including vegan poutine!

Viet Flavour — One of our favourite “hole in the wall” secrets! This small restaurant on Broadway and Burrard boasts a generous vegan menu. The bun chay is our favourite, just make sure to ask for a vegan fish sauce alternative.

Nuba — Najib’s Special is our absolute fav!

The General Public — You can’t go wrong with any of their creative vegan sushi rolls.

East is East — Not everything here is vegan but they have a ton of really outstanding vegan options. We recommend their delicious mushroom eggplant curry or the vegetable kofta curry.

Spicy Creamy Vegan Ramen (Vegetaryn / YouTube)

Jinya — Most ramen shops have a vegan option but Jinya’s is our favourite so far. It’s creamy, spicy, and full of toppings. Their brussel sprout appetizer is also fantastic!

Jam Jar — Our favourite spot to go with a pal! Get their vegetarian tasting menu to share with your dining partner, which includes a sampler of all the varieties of delicious homemade hummus.

The Garden Strathcona — Come for their vegan beet hummus toast and stay for their life-altering Chewy Salted Chocolate Chip Cookies that are also vegan!

Vegan Eateries to Fool your Non-Vegan Friends (because we just couldn’t resist!)

MeeT — We’re such fans of this chain! You can’t go wrong with their beer-battered onion ring burgers, mac and cheese, and gravy fries.

Bandidas Taqueria — You haven’t lived until you’ve tried the Wolf & Goat burrito!

Virtuous Pie — A spot that will fool even the most meat-devoted diners! Everything from their mac + cheese to their Stranger Wings pizza is to die for.

​We’ve got an ever-evolving mix of culinary talents in the Vancouver area so of course, this list isn’t even close to exhaustive! So we wanna know: what are some of your favourite vegan meals in non-vegan spots?