For so many years, following a vegan diet was considered a lifestyle followed by only fringe dwellers and flower children. Not. Any. More. It is a movement, and it is undeniably here to stay! With that said, I’m going to share my top three favourite vegan restaurants you have to experience in Sydney, Australia.

Gigi Pizzeria

Gigi Pizzeria has been delivering traditional Italian flavours to Newtown’s famous street for just under a decade. Now offering a recent surprising exception to the traditional cheesy & meaty Italian cuisine, you all know. In 2015, the famous pizza restaurant removed all traces of animal products from their menu and went entirely vegan.

Around the same time, I turned vegan, which for me was very timely because I was [am] infatuated with Pizza and Italian food generally. If I am being completely honest, I didn’t go in with high expectations. I imagined it would be dry and lacking in flavour. I was very wrong. Without the heavy cheese, or any morsel of dairy, it felt lighter, fresher and I could taste all of the flavours, so much more. That was when I knew being vegan wasn’t going to be so hard.

Mattino (owner of Gigi’s) commented on the restaurants sudden transition, “People freak out when we say we're taking the meat and cheese off. ‘How's it going to be without those products?’ People just haven't thought about how many different combinations, and how many beautiful things, there are to use that don't derive from animals.” Mattino is exactly right, and honestly whether it be for ethical, environmental or health reasons, consuming more plant-based products have been repeatedly proven as the way of the future. 

Website: http://www.gigipizzeria.com.au/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gigipizzeria/

Verd

Verd, verd, verd. So many great things about Verd. Verd is 100% plant-based and located in Barangaroo, Surry Hills and Manly so it is quite accessible around our big lovable city. Verd believes in plant-based eating for two great reasons, one, our health and two, our environment. Social responsibility is becoming more and more popular for smaller business, especially in hospitality, for example keep-cups and boycotting single-use plastic. Verd is a brilliant example of this. The eatery chain uses decomposable and recyclable packaging and compost all of their food waste to reduce their carbon footprint. They also only use plant-based, local, non-GMO ingredients and make all of their food daily!

Do you want to eat more plant-based foods but love the taste of bacon? Try Verd’s Tempeh bacon. You Verd it here first!

Website: https://www.verdsydney.com.au/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/verdsydney/

Vegan Lebanese Street Food

Coming from a half Greek family, I am very in touch with Mediterranean and Middle Eastern food, so when you mention Lebanese street food – veganised – I am already there. According to their Instagram, VLSF is the first Vegan Lebanese restaurant, which is pretty cool in itself. VLSF aims to redefine what ‘fast-food’ stands for, making it clear that fast food does not have to be unhealthy. The VLSF team wants to ensure the public know how healthy and diverse Lebanese fast food can actually be, using only locally grown, and chemical free produce in their food products.

Website: https://veganlebanese.com.au/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/veganlebanesestreetfood/