Plant-based eating has been on the rise, with the Food Revolution Network reporting that plant-based dairy and meat sales are projected to soar from $29 billion in 2020 to $162 billion by 2030. While that's great news for inclusivity and access in grocery stores, it's also important for vegans to have access to plant-based meals when eating out. And lucky for vegan Melburnians, gone are the days of ordering hot chips and a sad salad consisting of just greens, red onion and tomato; in 2023, vegan eateries are practically a dime a dozen, and Happy Cow has ranked Melbourne as the fourth most vegan-friendly city in the world.
The results were based on criteria including the number of fully vegan restaurants within a ten-kilometre radius of the city centre; the number of fully vegan businesses including shops and bakeries; the density of vegan businesses per capita; and qualitative factors like how active the city's vegan community is. Based on that criteria, Melbourne came in fourth just below London, Berlin and New York City, and ranked ahead of Singapore, Los Angeles, Bangkok, Amsterdam, Warsaw and Barcelona.
The news should come as no surprise to vegan and non-vegan Melburnians alike; you'd have to live under a rock to not be familiar with entirely or predominantly plant-based eateries like Parcs (Time Out's Best Innovation winner in the 2022 Food and Drink Awards), Smith and Daughters, Red Sparrow Pizza and Patsy's. In fact, Happy Cow reports that based on 2022 data, Melbourne had a whopping 130 fully vegan establishments.
Want to see for yourself? These spots are slinging the best vegan fare in Melbourne.
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