2020 seems to be all about that #plantbased life, so bookmark our guide to the best vegetarian restaurants in Singapore, including Indian vegetarian, Chinese vegetarian, western, vegan and more!
Forget Meatless Mondays, there’s never been more interest to go meatless every day of the week! And with these top vegetarian restaurants you’ll have plenty of dining choices for that plant-based meal no matter what cuisine you’re craving. We’ve rounded up vegan restaurants, vegetarian buffet restaurants, Indian vegetarian, Chinese vegetarian, hipster raw food cafés and more!
Know the lingo:
Vegetarian – someone who does not eat animals but may eat animal products such as dairy and eggs.
Plant–based – based on fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and legumes.
Vegans – strict vegans are against animal products in every form so they would not eat animal products (dairy, eggs, honey, etc) nor wear animal products like leather.
Mock meat – a type of vegetarian processed food, often containing a soy, gluten, and vegetables, shaped to resemble real meat
Raw food – food that has not been heated above 48C which some say destroys nutrients and natural enzymes.
Afterglow – Vegan restaurant
Afterglow is all about healthy vegan dishes with a lot of raw dishes on the menu. Instead of standard carbs, Afterglow uses more nutritious alternatives. Their Avocado Kimchi Rolls ($14) are served with almond sushi “rice” and the Raw Vegan Nut Cheese platter ($14) features cultured cashew cheese instead of the dairy version. Afterglow even has a kid-friendly healthy menu consisting of lentil flaxseed nuggets with garlic cheese “aioli” ($8) and sweet potato wedges ($6). Raw vegetarian dishes include Raw Pizza and Raw Lasagne ($22) while cooked mains include the hearty Quinoa and spinach hash brown burger ($20). Don’t miss desserts like raw chocolate and raw cheesecake.
Afterglow, 24 Keong Saik Road, Singapore 089131, Tel: (+65) 6224 8921, www.facebook.com/afterglowsg
Alma by Juan Amador – Vegetarian degustation menu
One-Michelin starred Alma by Juan Amador has just launched its first-ever vegetarian degustation menus, so vegetarians can try out Executive Chef Haikal Johari’s fresh take on classic dishes. The cuisine here is modern-European with accents of Asia, and it is fine dining perfection, with each dish prettier than the last. The vegetarian degustation menus start from $138++ per pax for a 5-course dinner and feature the best of vegetarian produce such as Shinano apples, Kaboucha pumpkin and Jerusalem Artichokes.
Alma by Juan Amador, 22 Scotts Road, Goodwood Park Hotel, Singapore 228221, www.alma.sg
Ananda Bhavan – Indian vegetarian restaurant
Ananda Bhavan is one of the oldest vegetarian restaurants in town, serving traditional Indian vegetarian dishes. There are now multiple branches around Singapore, all dishing out North and South Indian vegetarian meals. Think Biryani Set Meals with Veg korma, Raita, and Vadai, or masala thosai and chaats.
Ananda Bhavan, various outlets, www.anandabhavan.com
Annalakshmi – Indian vegetarian buffet
Annalakshmi is a unique Indian vegetarian buffet offering of all you can eat, for whatever you wish to pay. How novel a concept is that? The vegetarian buffet at lunch might have biriyani, poori, appam, vegetable curry and other north and south Indian home-style cooked dishes.
Annalakshmi, 104 Amoy Street, Singapore, 069924, www.annalakshmi.com.sg
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The Boneless Kitchen – Korean vegetarian restaurant
It’s not often you see a Korean vegetarian restaurant but that’s exactly what The Boneless Kitchen offers. From vegan Kimchi Mandu, which are dumplings stuffed with over 15 vegetarian ingredients, to Dolsot Bibimbap, a colourful vegetable filled bowl of rice topped with shredded vegetables, all dishes and sauces are freshly made from scratch. Si if you are craving vegetarian Korean fare – hit this spot up!
The Boneless Kitchen, 1 Irving Place #01-31, The [email protected], Singapore 369546, Tel: (+65) 84576464, www.thebonelesskitchen.com
Elemen Classic – Vegetarian restaurant
Elemen Classic, newly opened in the revamped Great World City, is a welcome addition to the vegetarian scene in Singapore. The interiors are lovely — touches of gold and green elevate the decor, and the wall of greenery softens the space. The focus here is on modern interpretations of meatless dishes, but you won’t find any mock meat on the menu. Try Truffle Broth Ramen ($14.80) or the Kale Tofu with Wild Rice ($15.80), with house-made tofu. For dessert, try the Purple Rice Porridge with Coconut Ice Cream ($8.80) or go with the Creme Brulee ($6.80), Chocolate Lava Cake ($9.80) or the Red Velvet Peanut Butter Cake ($6.80). Guests can order a la carte, or go for the set menu, priced at an extremely reasonable $28.80 for six courses, or $32.80 for 8 courses.
elemen Classic, Great World City, #01-22, 1 Kim Seng Promenade, Singapore 237994, Tel: (65) 6235 6613, www.elemen.com.sg
The Garden Club– Vegan & vegetarian dishes [CLOSED]
The Garden Club isn’t completely vegetarian like its predecessor, HRVST, but it does offer a good menu of vegetarian and vegan dishes (with the bonus that meat eaters can still eat meat, too). It’s a lot more interesting than just salads here. Vegetarian dishes include the Garden Ragu Fettucine ($15) with a pretty convincing Beyond Meat ragu. There’s also the vegan Green Crack ($9.50) or the umami Caulifower Roast ($10) made moreish with garlic miso sauce. There’s a breezy rooftop setting with a bar, live acoustic music and enticing happy hour promos, too.
October 2020 update: The Garden Club has closed.
The Garden Club, 6A Shenton Way, OUE Downtown Gallery #05-01, Singapore 068815, www.thegardenclub.sg
Joie by Dozo – Vegetarian set meals
Joie (say ‘joy’) offers vegetarian set lunches and dinners – there’s a six and seven-course degustation menu showcasing their Japanese-European dishes. Think: a Wild Rice with Eggplant Terrine and a grilled Monkey Head Mushroom Steak, served on a hot lava stone. Prices are very accessible, at $38.80 per person onwards.
Joie by Dozo, #12-01 Orchard Central, 181 Orchard Road, Singapore, 238896, www.joierestaurant.com.sg
Kailash Parbat – Indian vegetarian and chaat restaurant
A popular chain in India with multiple Singapore outposts, Kailash Parbat offers vegetarian North Indian cuisine (like Vegetable Tandoor, Vegetable Biriyani and Pax Bhaji) but is best known for its chaat. There’s a whole menu dedicated to chaat (the Indian savoury street snacks that are often crispy on the outside and filled with various veggie fillings, herbs, sauces and spices). The Chole Battura (chickpea curry) is also excellent.
Kailash Parbat Restaurant, multiple locations, www.kailashparbat.com.sg
Komala Villas – Indian vegetarian restaurant
Komala Villas offers basic but tasty Indian vegetarian cuisine with both South and North Indian fare at its multiple branches on Race Course, Buffalo and Serangoon Roads. Food is served on metal trays as sets like the Vegetable biryani set ($7), which comprises vegetable curry, chapati, papadum, saffron rice, daal, raita.
Komala Villas, multiple locations, www.komalavilas.com.sg
Kitchen by Food Rebel – Healthy café
Kitchen by Food Rebel may not be a vegetarian restaurant but given it is run by health coach Elika Mather, who is passionate about cooking from scratch healthy food with lots of well thought out balanced vegetable dishes, we thought it worth a mention. Veggie dishes include Three Egg Omelette ($6), Vegan Soup of the Day ($9), Gluten Free Corn Tacos with Tofu and Avocado ($17), Superfood Salads and Vegan Sweet Potato Chickpea bowl ($19). They are also open on the weekends for brunch for açai bowls, Cinnamon Spiced Overnight Oats ($9.50) plus Bulletproof coffee or super smoothies like the Incredible Hulk ($9).
Kitchen by Food Rebel, 28 Stanley Street, Telok Ayer, Singapore 068737, Tel: (+65) 62247088, www.foodrebelsg.com
LingZhi Vegetarian – Chinese vegetarian
LingZhi Vegetarian is owned by the TungLok Group so you know the Chinese food cred is high. Vegetarian Chinese cuisine is on the menu but rather than resorting to mock meats, dishes are made with organic ingredients with plenty of fresh vegetables. There are two locations of LingZhi Vegetarian, at Liat Towers and another at Velocity Novena.
LingZhi Vegetarian, multiple locations, www.lingzhivegetarian.com
The Living Cafe —Vegan and flexitarian
Balanced Living Café on Bukit Timah is popular with those serious about eating clean. Their menus offer something for those eating vegan, gluten-free and even raw diets (but they do serve meat, too so you can dine in a group with various requests). The Living Cafe uses lots of healthy nuts, seeds and grains as well as fresh vegetables (including herbs harvested from their Aerospring Indoor system) to offer a wholesome and nutritious meal. Look out for their crunchy vegan broccoli mushroom pizza ($20) with a crust made of herbs, oats and flax seeds, and toppings of pesto and macadamia cheese, sesame tofu burgers, and RAW desserts and bliss balls.
The Living Cafe, 779 Bukit Timah Road, Singapore 269758, Tel: (+65) 6762 8029, www.thelivingcafe.com
Lotus Vegetarian Restaurant – Chinese vegetarian buffet
Lotus Vegetarian Restaurant, located at Hotel Marlow, is the place to head for a huge offering of vegetarian dishes with its Asian vegetarian buffet featuring Japanese vegetarian sushi, Chinese, Malay, Peranakan and other local favourites. This vegetarian restaurant is from Taiwan, so expect best-selling Taiwanese dim sum as well as Local classics reinterpreted meat free here. We hear this spot is a great place to book your yu sheng vegetarian meal too. Look out for vegetarian chicken rice, nasi lemak and mee siam plus stir-fried laksa – all in a vegetarian version using ‘prawns’, mushrooms, tau pok and beansprouts. Prices for the vegetarian buffet start from $20.80++ for adults ($14.80++ for kids below 1.2 m) for lunch and $22.80++ for adults ($14.80++ for kids below 1.2 m) for dinner
Lotus Vegetarian Restaurant, #01-01/02, Chinatown Point, 133 New Bridge Road, Singapore 059413, www.lotusvegetarian.sg
Loving Hut – Vegan restaurant
Offers homey style vegan cuisine in a mix of western and local fare. There are different dishes offered according to the day of the week (from as los as $8.90 a dish) as well as their usual menu. Dishes might include Nyonya Laksa, Vegan Lasagne, Aglio Olio pasta or a Portobello Burger. There’s also kids menu of pasta ($12.90).
Loving Hut, 229 Joo Chiat Rd #01-01 Singapore 427489, www.lovinghut.com.sg
Miaoyi Vegetarian Restaurant – Vegetarian Chinese
Miaoyi Vegetarian restaurant serving vegetarian traditional Chinese fare is another popular choice for family reunions for their vegetarian yu sheng. It’s a popular spot year-round too for Chinese vegetarian cuisine and zi char style dishes range like Sweet sour ‘pork’ ( $12), Coffee Abalone Mushrooms ($13) Mock Curry Fish Head (from $15) and the exotic sounding Royal Spicy Monkey Head Mushrooms!
Miaoyi vegetarian restaurant, 101 Upper Cross Street, #03-32 People’s Park Centre, Singapore 058357, Tel: (+65) 64671331, www.miaoyi.com.sg
Original Sin — Vegetarian restaurant
This Chip Bee Gardens Mediterranean vegetarian restaurant is a hit with the ladies that lunch. It’s been around for ages and is still going strong thanks to their varied menu and lunch set deals. Original Sin can prepare dishes to be gluten-free, vegan and without onion/garlic for their sizeable Indian clientele so they are used to requests. The a la carte menu boasts lots of fresh salads like Kale Salad with sweet potato, feta and lentils ($19) and Beetroot Salad ($19) with avocado, edamame and yoghurt, Indian style tandoor veg or Bosco Misto ($29), of spinach, feta and tofu patties. Look out for their lunch specials at $24++ which includes a choice of main like the meatless Beyond Burger or Veggie Bowl with spiced tofu, cauliflower, spinach quinoa with a choice of drink.
Original Sin, 43 Jalan Merah Safa, #01-62, Holland Village, Singapore, Tel: (+65) 6475 5605, www.originalsin.com.sg
Real Food — Vegan & vegetarian restaurant
Real Food is a vegetarian cafe set up by the organic grocery shop Real Food Grocer. There are three branches at South Beach, Oasia Hotel Novena and their flagship the lovely decked out Orchard Central branch with a retail section and comfy seating. Real Food serves vegetarian food with a conscience: no processed ingredients, artificial preservatives or trans-fat. Their burger menu sees Portobello mushroom ($14.80), Millet and veg patties ($13.80) and Lentil Quinoa patties ($1380) instead of meat. There are brunch dishes from Gluten-free Banana Pancakes ($11.80) to gluten-free Soy Yoghurt with Granola ($8.80), plus vegan cakes, sourdough cinnamon buns, smoothies, organic coffee and other health drinks.
Real Food, 3 locations, check the website for details, 181 Orchard Road #02-16 Orchard Central, 238896 Singapore, Tel: (+65) 6224 4492, www.realfoodgrocer.com
SunnyChoice Cafe — Vegetarian Asian
SunnyChoice is a family business run by five sisters, selling organic products with a cafe on the side. Healthy Asian vegetarian dishes are on the menu so this is your spot to try one of our favourite healthy hawker dishes Hakka Thunder Tea Rice with its side of antioxidant-rich matcha soup. There’s mock Ikan billis and lots of vegetables served up with brown rice. Other dishes include Mushroom Tofu Set meal, Pumpkin Fried Brown Rice, Curry and Bibimbap – a traditional Korean rice dish with shredded vegetables served in a steaming stone pot.
SunnyChoice Café, at various locations in Singapore, Tel: (+65) 6892 2383, www.sunnychoice.com.sg
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VeganBurg — Vegan fast food burgers
VeganBurg was one of the first 100% plant-based fast food burger joints in Singapore. All of their burger patties are made mainly of soy and mushroom and are GMO free. Watching your carbs? Go bun-free and replace the VeganBurg wholemeal buns with a lettuce wrap and swap out this fries for Broccoli! The avocado-Beetroot Burger ($11.80) is their bestseller and for dessert you can almost guiltlessly indulge in their dairy-free coconut ice cream ($6.80).
VeganBurg, 44 Jalan Eunos, Singapore, 419502, Tel; (+65) 6844 6868, www.veganburg.com
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Whole Earth – Peranakan-Thai vegetarian
This Michelin Bib Gourmand vegetarian restaurant serves a mix of Thai and Peranakan dishes. There’s some mock meat on the menu here like sweet and sour ‘pork’ but other dishes use mushroom or tofu instead of meat. Try the Penang Rendang, which substitutes shiitake mushrooms for beef, and Nonya curry ($21) with minced mushroom meatballs and potatoes.
Whole Earth, 76 Peck Seah St, Singapore 079331, www.wholeearth.com.sg
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Lead image credit Joie by Dozo
