The Chairman and Yip, Civic

The Chairman and Yip retaurant has been in Canberra for a longer time than many Canberrans have lived here. Prices are a little higher than the average restaurant. What do you get for your money then? In short: a fine dining atmosphere; impeccable service; staff who understand what vegan means and remember your vegan booking on arrival; a separate vegetarian menu -- all of which is vegan or can be made so; and excellent food, beautifully presented. The Chairman & Yip would be ideal for a special occasion or work function.

Fried tofu (entree)

Mushrooms with cashew pesto (three per dish) (entree)

Red curry (served with rice)

Tofu & eggplant (served with rice)

Let's Be Natural, Mawson

This health food store can be found at the Mawson shops and stocks an impressive range of vegan products. Grains and pulses can be bought in bulk with your own containers. Delicious vegan cakes are also sold. You can browse the range of skin & body care products. Overall, it is one of the better stores out there for vegans in Canberra. It is worth dropping in if you are in the area or live on the south side.
Shop 2, 73-77 Mawson Place, Mawson ACT 2607
Enter from the courtyard.

Entrance - Let's Be Natural

Bulk purchase of basic supplies

CoYo and Tofutti

Vegan protein powders

Vegan cakes

Grill'd, Civic

We decided to try out Grill'd recently, knowing that they have a menu which caters to vegans. All of their chips are vegan and they have three types of veggie burger which can be made vegan if you leave some things off them. This is all explained in their menu and on their web site. We found the staff to be knowledgeable and helpful. We ordered the Garden Goodness without cheese or mayo (do check that these have indeed been left off the burger). When you compare it with Sweet Bones for example, it is not the tastiest vegan burger out there. But it is nice to know you have this option available in most major Australian cities.
On the other hand, the chips are outstanding. Just remember, fried chips are a sometime food.

Grill'd Garden Goodness - made vegan

Grill'd sweet potato and herbed potato chips with tomato relish - vegan

Brodburger, Kingston

It has taken us a while to get around to visiting Brodburger, one of the most widely reviewed and blogged food outlets in Canberra. The buzz was that the vegan burger was pretty good, so we dropped in after visiting the Kingston Bus Depot Markets. Arriving before 12pm meant that our wait was relatively short at 20 minutes. Notably, the burger has no patty as such, just a delicious stack of marinated and grilled vegetables with a spicy sauce and garlicky aioli. Thankfully, as the vegan option is listed on the menu, there is no explaining to do. Just order and enjoy.

Vegan brodburger

Kippax Curry House, Holt

Kippax Curry House, opposite the main Kippax shops, serves Fijian-style curry. They have gone to some effort to develop a vegan section on the menu, and for that we are very grateful. The food is beautifully prepared. A special mention for the pumpkin curry which had a sweet roasted flavour.

Bara (chickpea patties)

Aloo baigan chana (potato, eggplant and chickpea)

Pumpkin curry

 

Saluna, Newcastle

On a visit to Newcastle we had these delicious vegan items at Saluna in King St. There were several vegan options on the menu and the specials board. Vegan cakes are also available. Newcastle's CBD seems to be much more lively than it was a few years ago, and it's great to know that we can get food like this. I have a feeling we'll be going back.

Vegan burger

Beetroot & potato cakes