Soi Noodle Bar, Civic

It's one year later and we finally went somewhere different :)
Soi Noodle Bar, located in the Canberra Centre on Bunda St, has a separate vegan menu with several options to mix & match. We ended up with tofu chili basil stir fries – simple dishes, yet bursting with flavour. Bravo! Service was fast, which is what you want in a casual eating place like this. See you again soon, Soi Noodle.

Ricardo's Cafe, Macquarie

Ricardo's at Jamison Plaza is a popular place for coffee and breakfast/lunch. They have a separate vegan menu, as well as a couple of vegan dessert options on display at the counter. We went at breakfast time and ordered the big breakfast, granola and raw snickers bar. The servings were quite generous, so we left feeling very satisfied. The raw snickers bar was probably big enough for four people. The granola came with fresh fruit and some dollops of what seemed like a vegan lemon butter. Very nice indeed.

Vegan granola with almond milk

Vegan big breakfast

Vegan raw snickers bar

Au Lac, Woden

The fabulously successful Au Lac restaurant (Dickson) has recently opened another outlet at the Woden mall, along the strip at Corinna St. The menu looks to be the same all-vegan comprehensive offering of tofu, vegetable and mock meat dishes, with the delicate flavours we have come to enjoy. We popped in for a lunch time special tofu & rice meal, as well as the shredded tofu roll entree. Check their website for location and hours.

Shredded tofu rolls

Tofu & ginger lunch special

Roleee, Braddon

It's taken us forever to try Roleee but we are glad we did. They have a dedicated vegan menu with a number of good options that can be mixed and matched. You can order a roll, salad bowl, rice bowl or roti crunch, with curry and chutney of your choice. There are some other optional add-ons. Personally, I liked the roti crunch because it's a bit like having an oversized samosa for dinner.
We noted that they are having all-you-can-eat vegan feasts on the weekends. We're looking forward to trying that soon.

Chickpea curry salad bowl

Mixed Vegetable curry roti crunch

An Nguyen Vegan, Kingston

What a treat it is to walk down Giles St., Kingston, and see the word vegan prominently displayed. It's all due to the opening of An Nguyen, a fully vegan restaurant in the Vietnamese style. The menu is full of variety, and the dishes we ordered were very satisfying. Further information can be found on their Facebook page.

Summer roll

Salt & chilli mushroom

Eggplant & mushroom claypot

Vege tofu curry

Daana, Curtin

On our second visit to Daana, we ordered the black eyed peas curry, lentil dumplings, plain uttapam, and vegan masala dosa. Service is the friendliest we have seen anywhere, and all dishes were beautifully prepared.

Black eyed peas curry

Lentil dumplings

Binny's Kathitto, Braddon

Binny's Kathitto specialises in Indian street food. Here you can get vegan Dosa, or choose from a good selection of other items marked on the menu. Pictured here are the lentil pancakes (uttapam) and samosa. Highly satisfactory!

Masala Uttapam

Samosa

Bonta Vera, Newcastle

The story of Bonta Vera cafe is an inspiring one that is worth reading about and has been covered elsewhere. We popped into the locality of Minmi (now apparently part of Newcastle -- but in my youth was a little town on the way to Sydney) for dinner at this lovely cafe inside the old courthouse. The menu states in clear terms that no animal products are used on the premises.

Pictured is the chipotle burger with bean patty and a tasty mix of flavours. Together with corn chips and vegan cheese it is a combination that works surprisingly well. Probably a chilli bowl with corn chips and guacamole would have sufficed for me, but it is nice to try this lavish version.

Some amazing cakes are also available, and we will try these on our next visit.

Chipotle burger

Daana, Curtin

Daana specialises in South Indian cuisine, and these days is located in the southside suburb of Curtin (formerly at the Acton Westside Village). Vegan items are clearly marked throughout the menu. Popping in for lunch, I ordered the Mysore Masala Dosa – relatively spicy for the western palate – though I suspect Indian people would rate this as mild. It came with chutneys and a lentil/vegetable soup. Everything was fantastic – we're definitely going back.

Mysore masala dosa

Monster Kitchen and Bar, Civic

The Monster Kitchen is the restaurant at Hotel Hotel, New Action, up the wooden stairs from the Palace Cinema. It is a beautiful space to spend some time in. The dinner menu has no items marked as vegan, although it turned out the chips are vegan with no changes. Everything else had to be modified by negotiation with the wait staff. As a result, we suggest arriving before 7pm rush hour. The salad, roast pumpkin and chips were tasty as well-presented. Portion sizes were larger than the photos suggest. However, these days we prefer to go to places that have at least a few dishes marked vegan on the menu. A bit more thought put into the menu could save some hassle for the diners, wait staff and the kitchen staff.

Heirloom tomato salad

Chips with tomato dipping sauce

Roast pumpkin and chickpea

Walter G's, Dickson

Pizza is one of those things that people think vegans have to go without. But it isn't true any more. Aside from making your own at home, outlets such as Walter G's in Dickson are stepping in to take advantage of this gap in the market. Walter G's have gone the extra step by explicitly listing vegan options on the menu, and with vegan cheeses & aioli. All you have to do is ask for the vegan options and you will be taken care of. They have also taken a number of steps to avoid accidental contamination of ingredients. Pictured here is the veggie patch made vegan and with extra olives. A wonderful occasional treat.

Veggie patch (vegan version)

Coffee Lab, Civic

We had heard many good reports about Coffee Lab and it took us a long time to get there. When we did, we were not disappointed. There are a few vegan options listed on the menu.
The almond soaked chia and oats (vegan version) is topped with a yummy strawberry sauce and lots of blueberries, but is not overly sweet. The "First Frost" (vegan version) is basically sauteed mushrooms on toast, but it tastes better than it sounds and the serving size is very generous. If you want, you can order a vegan avocado on toast. Highly recommended.

Almond soaked chia and oats - made vegan

First Frost - made vegan

Tilley's, Lyneham

If you live in Canberra you need no introduction to Tilley's. The food menu has improved somewhat for vegans in recent times. Pictured here is the vegan lentil burger from the lunch/dinner menu. This menu has all the vegan options marked on it. The staff are also open to customisation of individual dishes, and you can sometimes see extra vegan options on the specials board. Do check out the sweet potato chips. The vegan options on the breakfast menu are a bit thin, however.  

Tilley's vegan burger

SpudBar, Civic

SpudBar in Civic has now closed.
 
At the SpudBar in Garema place you can get a potato (regular or sweet) with vegan toppings. There is a menu item called "Fresh Vegie", or you can customise the toppings. This is some of the best nutrition bang for the buck you can find in Civic, especially if you choose the sweet potato option.
At time of writing they were also offering a good value deal with a Dendy movie ticket included.

Fresh Vegie spud

Chong Co, Kingston

Chong Co Thai restaurant mentions the 'Vegan' word in the menu which means that you can negotiate a vegan meal without too much fuss, and even get an entree. There are a handful of dishes to choose from. Our meals were nicely prepared, tasty and filling. Plus, our seat near the window was a good vantage point for looking out over the Kingston foreshore and watching people walk past. Since Chong Co is also located in Belconnen, Woden and Gungahlin, this offers easy options for vegan eating in the town centres.

Fried tofu entree

Chilli basil stir fry

Vegetable massaman curry

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