Five Favourite Vegan Restaurants Changing The Scene in Central Bangkok.

The World Vegan Travel team has spent 8 years in Bangkok over the past 10 years and we have seen Bangkok turn from a place where vegan food was available but not necessarily highly accessible to a place with vegan abundance. Who remembers when most vegan places were just a hole in the wall? We distinctly remember there being ‘only’ 181 listings on Happy Cow for Bangkok, now there are 291! I mean just look at the 100% vegan restaurants in the Greater Bangkok area.

In the past 6 years, there have been a number of vegan restaurants that have opened up and are doing amazing things. Not only have they created new types of dining experiences that vegans love but non -vegans are flocking to them too. They are so creative with their marketing, food photography and as a result, they are making vegan food desirable to many Bangkok residents and travelers.

These restaurants deserve a shout-out. Make sure you ⭐️them in your Google Maps for your next trip to Bangkok or if you live in Bangkok, go and visit them again!

Veganerie

The growth that the Veganerie team has experienced is totally inspiring. When we came to Bangkok, we first met Jin and Jah at a Farmers Market selling a few cakes. WHAT? Vegan cakes in Bangkok!? Just five years later they have three restaurants, one cafe, and one grab and go. Located in downtown Bangkok each of their locations is very close to the Skytrain stations which makes getting there a lot easier. 

We should also acknowledge that the owners of Veganerie are unashamedly vegan for the animals as their Keep Calm and Go Vegan mural at their Veganerie Concept location is testament to. They support the work of activists and have their sights on expansion. You can also order online through the Grab, Lineman Food Panda, and Get Food platforms.

Extra pats-on-the-back go to them goes for:

• Being the first to create incredible decadent vegan desserts and have a wide range of comfort foods.
• Making a real effort to decrease their use of single-use plastic in all their locations in the past couple of years.
• Being the first restaurant in Thailand to have the Beyond Burger. This might bankrupt us!
• Their enormous menu and their attempt to have each of their locations a little bit different. Their Silom branch has a really fun Thai street food menu. This is so fantastic for vegan visitors who have not been able to dabble in the street food that’s available everywhere in Bangkok.
• Jah (who creates the recipes) is also doing a fantastic job promoting veganism as a stylish lifestyle choice. Go on, give her a ‘like’.
• They have some great CSR going on. With donations and support from customers, they are providing healthy vegan meals everyday for disadvantaged children in the countryside who otherwise would not have nutritious food.
• Rock on Veganerie crew! Keep doing you!

Nourish​

Nourish has been in Bangkok for just over a year and is an offshoot from another location in Yangon in Myanmar. This place is located just a five-minute walk from the BTS station On Nut so it is really easy to get to. The food is delicious and since they got their aircon, We are certainly going to be heading there for lunch more often when we are in town. They are attached to the mixed martial arts gym Bangkok Fight Lab so you can socialize with the people you were just ‘fighting’ with for a post-workout smoothie. Some of the food highlights that Nourish offers are:

Extra snaps go to the Nourish crew for:

• Taking their commitment to reduce their single plastic use significantly. When you order delivery from them, hardly any of the packaging is plastic and the tiny amount that is plastic is bio-plastic. They had reusable straws and no bottled water way before this became fashionable and easily available.
• Our favourite dishes are the mezze platter (which is enormous) and the peanut choc cups (see images above)
• You can order Meals Packs from them. This is a first-to-Bangkok concept. You can order a ‘snack pack’ (enough food for a snack or a lighter meal), a ‘meal pack’ (which would be perfect for the main meal of the day as there is a lot of food in there) and a ‘day pack’ which has enough food for one person for the whole day. We love this idea. The food is healthy and there are so many combinations within the packs. This is a super option for those that haven’t got time to cook.
• Like Veganerie, they are so supportive of vegan activism too! Tammi the owner is a rockstar in this area!
• We see you Nourish and we LOVE what we see! Thank you!

Vistro

The newest fancy vegan place in Bangkok. Vistro opened in June 2019 and what a welcome addition to the vegan scene it is. At the time of writing they still only have their soft opening menu. Can it get better? We aren’t sure! But we especially love the Old Bay Calamari (made from mushrooms and then deep-fried in a light batter) and the Baja Phish Tacos are out of this world. The brownie and vanilla sound like it is nothing special but make sure you try it (ask for the brownie to be warmed up) and just the vibe, decor, and atmosphere of the place are what makes Vistro such a valuable addition to Bangkok. This place Just a 7-minute walk from Phrom Pong BTS and you can cut through Emporium for extra aircon. At the time of writing, delivery was not available. Watch this space or contact them to see if this changes.

Other reasons for snaps to Vistro

• The couple Navin and Harsha Sethi and the Chef Stuart Nombluez who own the place are motivated to change the world for animals. We love this!
• Their marketing is super stylish and we love the photos and their social media presence.
• They have a Grab and Go section! It’s a perfect idea to pick up your breakfast for the next morning on the way out.
• Like so many other vegan restaurants in Bangkok (while other restaurants are taking their sweet time catching up with) they recognise the problems with conventional single use plastic. They use bioplastic and paper when they can.
• Yay!! Well done Vistro. We hope to see branches all over Bangkok one day!

Barefood Bangkok

I first discovered the talents of Edoardo several years ago. He was working as the talented Italian head chef at The Grand Eastin Hotel who was really interested in raw vegan food and from time to time he would bring out a vegan menu for special events or holidays. Edoardo and his partner Taksina started to dabble in vegan cheeses, indeed, they were the first people in Thailand to sell vegan aged nut cheeses and a number of other fermented products. Now in 2019, you can visit them at their restaurant just an 8-minute walk from Ekamai BTS Station.

Other reasons to give it up for Barefood Bangkok

• They have hosted some very fun events featuring all vegan food. These events are hard to describe but they are basically mini indoor vegan farmers markets in lovely hotel locations with great music.
• They see the potential in vegan food and they are embracing the changing hearts and minds of the people.
• When you visit them at their Ekamai location, you feel so welcomed. Edoardo (a former international head chef) and Taksina (a former flight attendant) take service and customer satisfaction very seriously.

Broccoli Revolution

The opening of Broccoli Revolution kinda snuck up on me. Their first location at the entrance to Sukhumvit Soi 49 felt like a breath of fresh air. Spacious, airy, and filled with plants this was the start of the future of vegan food in Bangkok. Opened by Naya a successful restauranteur with places in Myanmar and Vietnam, this was her first dabble into vegan food and we can see these influences in many of the items in her menu. 

See what we mean? Image used with permission from Broccoli Revolution. Image used with permission from Broccoli Revolution. Image used with permission from Broccoli Revolution. Image used with permission from Broccoli Revolution. Applause for Broccoli Revolution

• Their second location in the stunning Open House (6th floor of Central Embassy) which has a playground for the kiddies. Perfect for Sunday brunch.
• They have been so supportive of activism buying tickets for movie screenings and being a venue for vegan drinks.
• There might be more branches on the cards, we can only keep our fingers crossed that happens!
• They introduced Bangkok to the concept of smoothie bowls!
• They open early for breakfast!

Summing up

Of course, there are so many more vegan restaurants that have been in Bangkok for decades and have paved the way for these wonderful restaurants to exist.  I am sure there are other vegan restaurants in the city that are also doing amazing things, but these are the ones that we frequent the most and many of the people that own them we consider our friends.

I am so grateful they exist for selfish and not-so-selfish reasons and yes, the places we have listed here are certainly not the cheapest places, don’t worry, there are plenty of places in Bangkok for all budgets! For those people who are considering coming to Bangkok, the only worry about vegan food is having to decide where you are going to eat. 

Is there a place we have missed out? We could make it seven or eight vegan restaurants! What are your thoughts? Which vegan restaurants changed the game in your town or city?