Adelaide’s best vegan and vegetarian dishes: here’s where you’ll find 25 of our favourite dishes
HOW good does a weekend indulgence of meat-free yiros pizza, cheeseburger pie, tostaditas or salted caramel slice sound? Here’s where you’ll find 25 of Adelaide’s best vegetarian and vegan dishes.
FEELING peckish? How about a yiros pizza, cheeseburger pie, tostaditas or piece of salted caramel slice with a twist?
The twist being, you’ll find each of these delicious treats on vegetarian and vegan menus across Adelaide.
You can also get an amazing vege stack, field mushroom and haloumi burger, zucchini pasta, vegan buffalo wings and potato gnocchi.
Here is where to head for 25 of the best vegan and vegetarian dishes across the metropolitan area, in the city as well as Adelaide’s east, west, north and south.
Don’t forget to share your favourite — and tell us about any we’ve missed!
In the East
By Celeste Villani
Argo, 212, The Parade, Norwood
Tofu scramble
ARGO cafe owner Daniel Milky says a vegan diet should not mean missing out on a breakfast staple.
Argo’s tofu scramble — which looks just as good as the egg-based classic — includes sauteed kale, capsicum and zucchini, which is then sprinkled with zaatar, a Middle Eastern spice mix.
Match it with a delicious fruit smoothie or a piece of raw cake and there will be no need for lunch afterwards.
Tofu scramble $14.90.
Papa Mias Wood Oven Pizza, 3/503 Goodwood Rd, Colonel Light Gardens
Yiros Pizza
IT sounds like the perfect combo after a Saturday night out, but Papa Mias’ owner Michael Badr says his yiros wood-oven pizza is a family favourite.
Mock mince, made of wheat, replaces lamb, while dairy and egg-free alternatives replace cheese and garlic sauce.
Gluten-free and takeaway options are available.
Prices start at $11.50.
Natures Providore, 88 Duthy St, Malvern
Zucchini pasta
NATURES Providore owner Kate Allen says fan-favourite dish, zucchini pasta, ticks all the right boxes for vegetarian and gluten-free eaters.
The organic cafe’s take on a typical pasta dish includes long, curly strands of zucchini topped with a fresh basil pesto sauce, sun-dried tomato and feta.
Zucchini pasta $17.50.
Cheery Darlings Bakehouse, 5 Aroha Tce, Forestville
Cheeseburger Pie
WHAT do you get when you cross a cheeseburger, a pie and a vegetarian?
Cherry Darlings Bakehouse sells around 200 cheeseburger pies a week, making it one of the eatery’s most popular items.
The filling is made of mock mince, made from vegetable protein, and mixed with homemade cheese, made of a fermented soy yoghurt.
Cheeseburger pie $7.
Creative Fusion Cafe & Organic Store, 377 Magill Rd, St Morris
Vietnam omelette wrap
AFTER leaving a government job two months ago to spend more time with his daughter Reefe, 4, Creative Fusion owner Meil Liu decided to enter the world of hospitality.
His shop, which has been open for about three weeks, prides itself on its wide range of vegan and vegetarian dishes.
Mr Liu recommends the omelette wrap filled with pickled carrots, lettuce, cucumber and a hint of chilli and coriander. Wrap $9.90.
In the West
By Amy Moran
The Organik Store, 37 Broadway, Glenelg South
Salted caramel slice
HEARTS were heard breaking across Adelaide when vegan institution the Chocolate Bean closed a little over a year ago.
But fear not, vegan cake lovers.
Genius dessert maker Ainslee deWet is behind one of the Organik Store’s most popular sweets, the salted caramel slice.
The cafe prides itself on providing delicious options for vegetarians, vegans and people with other special dietary requirements.
Salted caramel slice, $5.90
Nettle Raw Cafe, 10 Rosetta St, West Croydon
Vegan burger and kale chips
NETTLE Raw Cafe is Adelaide’s first raw eatery and has converted many to its deliciously seasoned dehydrated kale chips and healthy outlook.
Its vegan burger is popular fare among regulars, standing out on a menu of colourful, delicious and textured food. It’s complete with a tasty quinoa, sweet potato and black bean pattie, Mexican slaw, harissa and avocado on a sourdough or gluten-free, housemade, raw bread.
Vegan burger and kale chips, $16
The Annex Cafe, 3 Waterloo St, Glenelg
Soul bowl
GETTING a bit of colour on your fork will be easier than ever with the Annex Cafe’s Soul Bowl.
The enormous serving of vegan-friendly salad is packed with marinated mushroom and kale, beetroot, alfalfa, tomato, avocado, cucumber, mung beans and topped with homemade hummus. Haloumi can be added for $3.
If you are not full after devouring this bowl, there is a fridge full of delicious raw desserts to finish off the meal.
Soul bowl, $15
Zenhouse Vegetarian Fusion, 462 Port Rd, West Hindmarsh
Yum Cha
ZENHOUS is a city mainstay that has graced the western suburbs with its presence on Port Rd. The menu is huge — feast on dumplings, steamed buns, spring rolls and mock-chicken satay skewers — while your friend goes the veggie burger and chips option. There’s no salt and pepper squid here, but the tofu option is fantastic, lightly battered and seasoned to perfection.
Yum Cha, about $5.50 per plate
Sarah’s Sister’s Sustainable Cafe, 117 Semaphore Rd, Semaphore
Peasant Foragers lasagne
THIS cafe has gone the extra mile in making wholesome vegan and vegetarian dishes as sustainable as possible.
Local foodies will love the Peasant Foragers lasagne, which features layers of delicious vegetables and chilli with ricotta, or bean curd for the vegan option.
Kale, stinging nettles, purslane and herbs grown by local schools can all be found in this dish. Nearby schools put together mystery boxes of produce grown in their gardens for the cafe so the lasagne varies from day to day. Served with a side salad.
Peasant foragers lasagne, $18
The City
By Sophie Perri
Vego & Loven It, 240 Rundle St
Absolutely Fabulous burger ($16) at Vego & Loven It, 240 Rundle St
THIS is one wholesome, jam-packed burger. Put it this way: if you were buying all the ingredients for this at the grocery store, you’d only just make the cut for the 10 items or less lane.
Crammed with a falafel patty, hummus, avocado, tomato, carrot, tahini, sweet chilli sauce, lettuce and lemon juice, this burger is the biggest hit of Robin Eastwood’s 27-year-old business.
It started as a vegetarian haunt, and is now completely vegan (except for the gluten-free bread). Other items on the menu include wraps, curry and soup of the day. And of course, salad.
Absolutely Fabulous burger, $16
Bliss Organic Cafe, 7 Compton St
Tofu scramble ($16) at
OWNER Ray Wang took over this popular cafe towards the end of last year, but the menu remains the same. Its signature item is still the breakfast favourite: tofu scramble.
The colourful dish includes white mushrooms, potato chunks, grated carrot, baby spinach, tomato, raisins, pepitas and sunflower seeds, finished with a sprinkle of fresh herbs, flaxseeds and sesame seeds.
Complement it with a latte using coconut, rice or almond milk. The default milk used is an organic, non-dairy soy milk.
Tofu scramble, $16
Joy Discovery, 13 Bent St
Sweet potato, zucchini, cauliflower and spinach curry
THERE’S always a curry of the day special at this spacious cafe off Rundle St, but it’s this sweet potato version that has proven to be the favourite.
The woman behind the 11-year-old cafe, Sipra Lloyd, also makes a range of burgers (tempeh, tofu, falafel and red kidney bean), frittatas and moussaka, as well as desserts such as raw vegan chocolate cheesecake.
She tends to work more with vegetables than fake meats, so the only meaty menu item is the “Not Dog”, a soy hot dog on a sourdough roll.
Head next door to vegetarian yum cha eatery Zenhouse if you want more meat-like options. Lloyd meditates for five minutes before she cooks each day, so you could say she puts the om in nom.
Sweet potato, zucchini, cauliflower and spinach curry, $15-$17
Veggo Sizzle, 358 King William St
Vegan buffalo wings
PRATIK Panchal mixes flour, sauces and a bunch of spices together and somehow gets it to taste like chicken.
It works, because these buffalo wings have quickly become the big hit of Panchal’s varied vegan menu.
Panchal opened this eatery down the quiet end of King William St about two months ago, after moving from Melbourne in January.
He makes everything, including the sauces. Other dishes include fried rice with vegan chicken, rice noodles, sizzling eggplant and spaghetti. For dessert, try the chocolate or caramel mug cake.
Vegan buffalo wings, $8
Two Bit Villains, Adelaide Arcade balcony (facing Rundle Mall)
Cheeseburger ($11.50)
THE meats listed on this menu all come dressed in quotations, so expect to see the cheeseburger listed with a “beef” patty, or the sloppy joe with savoury “mince”.
An entirely vegan menu means the meats here are made with soy, though this doesn’t compromise on flavour.
Customers go nuts over the cheeseburger with a soy patty, pickles, cheese, onion, sauce and mustard. Other favourites include the chilli cheese fries, veggie burger and mac and cheese. All except five menu items are available gluten-free.
Cheeseburger, $11.50
In the South
By Michael Milnes
The Cottage Bakery, 196 Main Rd, McLaren Vale
Vegetarian quiche
DINE in or takeaway, with or without a side salad, the vegetarian quiche is a standout favourite among her customers, co-owner Mel Hage says.
“Everyone loves our quiche,” she says.
“It is loaded with chargrilled capsicum, sun-dried tomatoes, roast pumpkin, Danish fetta and baby spinach.
“It is really delicious.”
Ms Hage says the bakery uses locally sourced, fresh produce when possible, and offers a wide range of meat-free options, including frittata, wraps, focaccias, soups and bliss balls.
She says in the three years since the bakery opened on Main Rd, it has built up a large following of locals and tourists.
Family size vegetarian quiche, $18.
Agatha’s Cafe, 1 Gawler St, Port Noarlunga
The Vego breakfast
OWNER David Racher says the cafe’s vegetarian breakfast option has been a favourite on the menu for more than three years.
“The Vego breakfast is poached eggs, spinach and avocado with a beetroot and riccota spread on rye toast and you can add dukkah if you like,” he says.
“It is big with vegetarians and also with customers that aren’t.”
The Vego, $16.
Fleurieu Pantry, 18-20 Gawler St, Port Noarlunga
Vege stack
THIS Port Noarlunga restaurant specialises in vegetarian and vegan meals.
“Our most popular vegetarian dish would be our vege stack,” owner Karly Hall says.
“It starts with a roasted sweet potato mash, field mushrooms, roast capsicum, steamed broccolini and finished with a pesto sauce and roasted almonds.”
She says to switch the dish to vegan, the pesto is swapped with chilli jam.
Vege stack, $18.
Oh! Calcutta, 171 Main South Rd, Morphett Vale
Aloo Baigan
OWNER and chef Prag Bansal says the Aloo Baigan dish is found in most regions of his native India.
“It is pan fried eggplant and potatoes cooked with onion, garlic with my own spices and is very popular,” he says.
“It can be mild, medium or hot, you just have to ask.
“We have a new menu with a lot more vegetarian dishes.”
Aloo Baigan, dine in $14.50, take away $11.50.
The Tin Shed, 225 Main Rd, McLaren Vale
Field mushroom and haloumi burger
THIS dish is a favourite with lunch time diners, manager Barry McGuigan says.
“We use a whole field mushroom as a replacement to the burger patty along with
deep fried chilli-crumbed haloumi cheese and roasted capsicum aioli,” he says.
“Everything is made in-house and it is a very popular burger.”
Mr McGuigan says more vegetarian and vegan options have been added to the menu in the past year.
“Our menu is very well balanced between seafood, burgers and vegetarian meals,” he says.
Field mushroom and haloumi burger, $19.90
In the North
By Sarah Rohweder
Tostaditas
Coffee Amigo, 36 John St, Salisbury
WE are all looking for something to spice up our life and these tostaditas are the perfect way to do just that. Straight from the heart of Mexico comes a delicious, flavoursome meal that features fresh tortillas topped with fried beans, guacamole, red cabbage, and cheese. The vegan option comes with dairy-free Biocheese. They are accompanied by two homemade salsa dips.
Tostaditas $13 for two serves.
The Watershed Cafe, 665 Salisbury Highway, Mawson Lakes
Haloumi stack
FEELING like something seriously mouth-watering and fulfilling?
The Watershed Cafe’s vegan haloumi stack really is enough to satisfy anyone.
The chargrilled cheese lays atop a bed of roquette, accompanied by marinated zucchini and eggplant, topped with golden fried leek and a side of beetroot chutney.
Haloumi stack $21.50.
Little Joey’s Pizza, 110 Philip Highway, Elizabeth
Vegetarian pizza
YOU can’t go wrong with a pizza topped with all your favourite vegetables and herbs.
Little Joey’s offers a delicious pizza base smeared with tomato sauce that is covered with mushrooms, capsicum, olives, pineapple, onion, herbs and fresh garlic, with a sprinkle of cheese. You can order a side of garlic bread and 1.25L drink for an extra $6.90.
Vegetarian pizza regular $11.90, large $14.90.
Surya Indian Cuisine, Shop 2, 66 Reservoir Rd, Modbury
Vegetable biryani
THERE is a reason why this dish has been labelled the Chef’s Special: Your tastebuds will be hit with an explosion of flavour with the dish, which is served on a bed of aromatic long grain basmati rice, stirred through fresh vegetables, saffron, sultanas, coriander, and cashew nuts.
It also comes with a small side of fresh Indian yoghurt known as raita.
Vegetable biryani $13.90.
Fox and Firkin, 1370 North East Rd, Tea Tree Gully
Potato gnocchi
THE Fox and Firkin’s pub menu boasts an amazing Italian dish that is suitable for any vegetarian or patron who just doesn’t feel like a juicy steak.
The potato gnocchi dish is served with roast pumpkin pieces, blue cheese, pine nuts and a handful of rocket leaves. It is fresh, tasty and incredibly filling.
Potato gnocchi $25.