vegan
Want lies with that?
With the plethora of burger chains overtaking this city; Burgerlicious, Burger Fuel, Grill’d to name a few, the vegan options still remain slim. This is despite the rush to attract gluten-free, vegetarian and health conscious customers. The Grill’d menu and the Burgerlicious menu both mention vegan-options. Yet the Grill’d menu fails to mention that the fries are pre-coated in tallow and are not vegetarian (we have this from a very reliable source). Burglicious chips are 100% vegan and have been since November 2006, as are the Burger Fuel chips (both potato and kumara). Grill’d can be contacted at feedback@grilld.com.au should you wish to encourage them to use tallow-free fries.
Mexican’t Sydney
The latest addition to the TexMex craze overtaking Sydney is Zambrero Fresh Mex Grill. While we were initially impressed with it as alternative to the over hyped Mad Mex we later discovered that the beans are not vegan (cooked in butter) and the huge organic sign on the far wall applies to the chicken only, everything else is conventional. As it currently stands, if you want a great burrito in this city you have to travel to Melbourne for Trippy Taco, although the Bondi Beach Burrito Co (pictured below) would have an honourable mention if they could work out how to make guacamole.
Whispers from the sea
Our favourite pie shop, the deliciously tasting but hideously named, Funky Pies has expanded their breakfast menu. In addition to the best pies in the country it appears they now serve vegan pancakes and also sell a range of vegan essentials, such as cheezley and other products from the Redwood Foods range.
more vegans in the gaybourhood
For a city of 4 million Sydney lags seriously behind cities of comparable sizes when it comes to vegan options. This becomes increasingly apparent when exploring impromptu breakfast options. Occasionally we’re surprised. Cafe Four Ate Five at 485 Crown St., Surry Hills (next to O-Organic Produce) has stepped up and offers an aptly titled ‘vegan breakfast’ to their menu. With no accompanying description except for ‘changes regularly: ask staff’, we took the plunge and wound up with the following tofu, avocado and rocket scramble. 
While it wasn’t drop dead amazing, it ticked several boxes being fresh, tasty (predominately) organic and a decent size. What it lacked in originality was made up by the friendly staff, the bustling Saturday morning atmosphere and of course our breakfast company.
Vina Vietnamese Vegetarian
A vegetarian, classic Vespa obsessed friend who has a penchant for shooting from the hip once told us “the best things in life start with the letter V”. In the case of Vina Vietnamese Vegetarian (395 King St Newtown), our friend speaks the truth. While we initially were disappointed at the thought of Sydney’s latest vegetarian establishment being another mock-meat joint, a few visits quickly dismissed that thought. Vina is small, friendly, family run establishment on south King Street, serving traditional south Vietnamese cuisine with a mock meat twist. From Pho (pronounced ‘fir’ for those that insist on pronouncing it phonetically) to lemongrass, chilli mock-chicken and rice vermicelli with spring rolls, Vina pull the punches when it comes to competing with the more established mock-meat restaurants in the city. All-in-all we here at VeganSydney haven’t been this excited about mock since Celestial Palace RIP first opened its doors. 
Secret vegan menu @ Cafe Sydney
An impromptu celebration with a bunch of flesh-eaters led us to Cafe Sydney last week. On arrival it dawned it was fine dining and had more animals on the menu than a zoo. Someone else was picking up the tab so the waiter was probed. “Umm…strict vegetarian options?…Oh and dairy allergies too”. Immediate response was “vegan, sure. I’ll get you the vegan menu”. Minutes later a fresh menu was produced. This aptly titled ‘vegan menu’ had a selection of 2 appetizers, 2 mains and 2 dessert options. Cafe Sydney now has now been added to the list of fine dining establishments that serve our kind, right under Tetsuyas. Anyone want to pick up the next tab for the next visit? 
Vina Vegan Vietanamese
Sydney’s latest vegan addition is…wait for it…mock meat! How did you guess? Before we get too cynical thou, this is a refreshing change from the slew of Chinese places that have come to typify vegan cuisine in Sydney.
The latest addition to Sydney is Vina Vegetarian at 395 South King St., Newtown. Vina is a small, family run establishment serving up fresh, mock-meat versions of traditional south Vietnamese cuisine. Prices are cheaper than Green Gormet, staff are friendly and apart from some slow service (it was busy) they get the “I’ll be back” rating in our books.
Photo of the month: Jasmin’s @ Lakemba
Amazing vegan platter at Jasmin’s at Lakemba. VeganSydney’s pick on the best Lebanese in Sydney.
Stick it in your piehole Bondi
Word on the street is there is a new vegan pie cafe in Bondi. Funky Pies is located at 144-148 Glenayr Avenue, Bondi. While the name sounds like it was thought of by a 4 year–or a new ager wanker that thinks fire twirling and dreadlocks are cool–the menu is all vegan, the staff are super friendly and they are commited to running an eco-friendly establishment.
So how do the pies taste? Absolutely delicious! To quote a vege-aquarium friend ‘best pie I’ve eaten in as long as I can remember’. Forget Preston Pies in the outskirts of Melbourne, these are now the best pies in the country–definitely ain’t nothing funky in these pies!. Next time your down in Bondi be sure to support Sydney’s newest vegan establishment and wash it down with some vegan baklava from across the street at Sabba.
Online vegan perfection
Based out of Melbourne is a newish online vegan grocery store aptly named veganperfection.com.au They stock a wide range of grocercies including such delights as vegan ‘Mars’ bars, melting soy cheese, vegan bacon, mock fish fingers, and fake pepperoni, as well as soy cream, parmesan and gelatin-free marshmallows. Having tried several of these products (available from Vegan’s Choice in Newtown) all we can say is YUM!