5 Flavor-Filled Vegetarian Restaurants in Vancouver

Whether you’re a strict vegetarian or like to choose meat-free cuisine as often as possible, it can be difficult to find tasty vegetarian meals when you’re traveling around in an unfamiliar city. Happily, Vancouver is not a spot lacking in dining delights for those who like to abstain from animal products. From cool cafes to happening restaurants, there are venues around the city that are serving up fresh, quality vegetarian meals on a daily basis.

Whether you’re keen to sample some veggie burgers, want to taste a fresh salad, or need your fix of Asian cuisine, you’ll find something to suit your appetite in Vancouver. Read on for five top vegetarian restaurants you can add to your itinerary.

1. Tera V Burger
When you begin to feel the craving for a burger, don’t worry about finding a great vegetarian option in Vancouver. Tera V Burger serves up healthy yet appetizing veggie burgers that aren’t like those found at other fast-food joints. Rather than using patties made from low-grade beef mince or caged-chicken fillets, the restaurant utilizes quality vegetarian ingredients instead. Tera V has a mission to provide diners with great food that not only satisfies strict vegetarians, but also helps turn meat eaters onto the benefits of going meat-free. Even Vegan diners will find great-tasting food options here.

The owner of the venue, Jagmohan Basran, believes in running a business that works to alleviate not only human health problems, but also environmental degradation and cruelty to animals. He aims to expand his single restaurant into a worldwide chain that provides top vegetarian food to people around the globe.

The menu includes a range of burgers, as well as salads, sandwiches, wraps, and smoothies. The restaurant sources local ingredients as much as possible, and makes use of biodegradable and compostable packaging. Tera V has a bright, clean, modern interior that features plenty of wood and a striking photographic mural.

2. Heirloom Vegetarian
Another fresh, exciting location can be found at the Heirloom Vegetarian restaurant. If you’re vacationing in Vancouver and want to dine on items designed by a high-profile chef, this is the place to go. The Heirloom Vegetarian chef has past experience cooking for a variety of notable names, including Jack Nicholson, Sean Penn, Sting, Lululemon founder Chip Wilson, and even Kermit the Frog. At this purely-vegetarian restaurant, you’ll find a menu that features raw, vegan, and gluten-free choices, all made from local, Fair Trade and organic ingredients. The business also provides customers with late-night dining, craft beers, generous portion sizes, a comprehensive wine list, interesting musical playlist, and free Wi-Fi.

3. Dharma Kitchen
Vegans will love dining at Vancouver’s Dharma Kitchen. This Buddhist restaurant is completely vegan, and serves up fresh, healthy, uncomplicated food with a focus on Asian cuisine. At Dharma, diners can enjoy “the food of mindfulness,” as they munch on menu items that include curries, burgers, tofu dishes, and their famous homemade chai tea. With a name that comes from the fundamentals behind the Buddhist way of life and philosophies, Dharma is set up to honor sustainable development and good karma.

The restaurant aims to benefit the environment and its customers by mixing ancient wisdom in the ingredients used, with modern cooking techniques. The venue is the perfect place to go for healthy food served in a calming, meditative dining atmosphere with friendly service.

4. Panz Veggie
For good-value, fresh, and tasty vegan Chinese cuisine, head to Panz Veggie. The restaurant uses only local, ethical and healthy ingredients and provides a range of light dishes that are great for sharing. Located in downtown Vancouver, the venue has a Chinese name that translates to the word “compassion,” so you can understand why many diners frequent Panz on a regular basis. The restaurant’s atmosphere is laid-back and relaxing, with staff that do not try to rush customers out the door. Instead, diners are encouraged to sip their tea refills, digest their meal, and finish conversations in an unhurried manner before leaving.

5. 3G Vegetarian Restaurant
If you love a good yum cha meal on a weekend, take a trip to 3G Vegetarian Restaurant in the Cambie Village. The vegan-friendly venue features an all-day dim sum menu with its own vegetarian versions of popular items like pork or shrimp dumplings and pork buns. 3G was voted the “Best Vegetarian Restaurant” in the 2013 Diner’s Choice Awards, and also received top honours in 2012 from VegNews Magazine, when it was ranked as the “Best in the West.”

With all of these delicious restaurants you won’t have to worry about having trouble finding vegetarian meals in Vancouver. The next time you’re looking for a vacation destination where you can maintain your meat-free lifestyle, check prices to Vancouver on Flights.com. Even those in your party that haven’t converted to vegetarianism yet will be able to enjoy the food here, so there’s really no downside.