23 min read
This post was written about 7 years ago, so most likely contains out-dated information.
I go out with my (non-vegan) family once a week to get together, catch up and enjoy some fine cuisine, and over the last year or so we have eaten at nearly all the vegan-friendly restaurants in and around Perth. This wonderful weekly practice is where the inspiration for this "best of " list comes from.
The Rules:
So here's what you came for: the most comprehensive list of only The Best Vegan Restaurants and Cafes in Perth for 2017, by someone more than qualified to make such a list. For your slight convenience, I have listed them in a roughly descending order.
Note: I have no personal or business affiliation with any of these places.
Cnr High St & Montreal St, Fremantle
It was hard to choose a place to top the list, but the experience at the Heavenly Raw Cafe is so unique that it seems like anything below the top wouldn't do it justice.
We weren't even sure we were at the right place initially. As you enter it feels more like a small plant farm or community garden than a 100% vegan restaurant, and if it wasn't for the signage you can see from the road, it would easily be confused as such. But as you make your way through the lush vegetable garden you begin to notice tables and chairs strategically placed under the shade of overhanging trees and large shrubbery and will eventually come across a building that houses the kitchen and main restaurant area.
Inside, my eyes went straight to their range of all vegan desserts - including vegan versions of common chocolate bars like mars, snickers and Twix. Next to those is some equally mouth-watering cakes, muffins and enormous plant-based patties that change daily, all sitting in a glass display cabinet in front of the open kitchen.
After ordering from the menu inside at the counter we went back outside and took a seat at a table in the shade. There are a deceiving amount of tables here and because it's not set up like a regular cafe with an "open floor plan" where you can easily watch everyone else eating, it can be hard to judge initially how many tables there are. My family and I found that this unique layout of trees and garden in between a lot of the tables gave a lot of privacy without feeling too isolated.
Aside from the beautiful design of the cafe, you'll be happy to know the food here was excellent too. Expect a large selection of raw foods (surprise surprise), such a wraps, burgers, falafel's, pizzas, sandwiches, pasta and salads. They have a kids menu and a few non-raw options that include nachos, burgers, soup and a rice bowl. They do takeaway meals like whole raw pizzas, huge whole cheesecakes, kale chips, flax crackers and more.
Drinks range from fresh juices, delicious smoothies and cold-pressed latte's to hot chocolate, pots of tea and organic, fair trade coffee. All served, of course, with your choice of almond or soy milk. I had the raw "Twix" bar for desert, and it was appropriately convincing!
Other notable aspects of FERN's Heaven Raw Cafe complex is their Monday and Wednesday night soup kitchen dinner by donation, their raw cooking classes held every Sunday, and their communal jam room! Check their website for more details and booking.
It was hard to pick something to top this list, but the overall experience here at FERN's Heaven Raw Cafe was too memorable for it to be anything else. More than just a (mostly) raw (entirely) vegan cafe, they do a great job at bringing the community together through a whole range of health and environmentally conscious events and have also created an incredibly relaxing atmosphere while dining on their mouth-watering range of more-ish, healthy foods.
✓ 100% Vegan, 90% Raw cafe
✓ Best, most relaxing and unique atmosphere providing privacy amongst nature if you want it, without feeling isolated
Opening Hours:
181A High St, Fremantle
It was hard choosing a 'number one' for this list, but it was definitely going to be between FERN and the Raw Kitchen. There's something about Freo! As you can see, in the end, I went with FERN, but if I were to ignore the venues and just focus solely on the food itself, 'number one' would have probably gone to the Raw Kitchen.
Situated inside the City of Fremantle, the Raw Kitchen is much easier to get to if you're like me and don't have a car, and much easier just to stumble upon as you're walking the streets of Freo. The venue is deceptively large, from the street it looks like any other restaurant or cafe, but step inside and you will see its actually an old warehouse that has been slightly remodelled to become a massive open dining area, complete with a mini-retail store and large bathrooms. The retail store contains books on healthy living, quite a large range of cruelty-free "lifestyle" products like soaps and creams as well as environmentally friendly knick-knacks for your house such as metal straws and teapots. Definitely worth a look on your way out or while you're waiting for a table.
You can read my initial review of the Raw Kitchen on the Vegan Travellers Guide to Perth, Australia (down the bottom), but I have since been back a couple times and been just as impressed with the food.
All the food here is 100% vegan and probably about 60% of it is also raw. There is just one tea on the menu that contains honey, presumably done intentionally so the place can not be advertised as a "vegan restaurant" (even though it gets that rep anyway) and potentially turn customers away who have preconceived ideas of what vegan food is like. As strange as that seems, this small oddity does not retract from the experience at all and certainly seems to be working for them, and it always seems to be busy inside.
Raw options on the menu are shown with an (R) symbol and I would definitely recommend the raw zucchini pasta, raw nachos, dehydrated kale chips (raw) for entrée and any smoothie, with added dates. My desert of choice is always, and probably will always be, the sticky date pudding with caramel vegan ice cream. Absolutely delicious and you wouldn't even know it's vegan.
If you go to the toilets upstairs you might notice a large unoccupied room where they hold yoga classes a few times a week. Usually, there are flyers there with the times and prices of the sessions. You may also notice another isolated upstairs area seemingly dedicated to holding a drum kit, bass guitar and bass amp. Apparently, they have live music here too, though I have never been here at the right time.
From memory the Raw Kitchen was slightly more pricey than FERN's Heaven Raw Cafe, but remember the Raw Kitchen is a restaurant, Heaven Raw Cafe, is just that, a cafe, which means you go to the counter to order your meals, they don't regularly come by your table to check everything's okay. This is not a negative thing, it just makes for a different experience (which adds beautifully to the more isolated, personal atmosphere of FERN) and justifies a higher price here I think.
✓ 99.9% vegan (one tea with honey - that's it), about 60% raw
✓ Huge, spacious venue in a good location with great food
Opening Hours:
5 / 567 Beaufort St, Mount Lawley
no website | facebook
A strong third place, Veggie Mama is Mt Lawley's greatest and has one of the most refreshing ranges of food I've come across.
What makes it so great, aside from the food itself, is that from walking into the store, up to a few steps and over to the counter you can see almost everything "on the menu" sitting on display in the cabinet. I say "on the menu" because the menu is mostly just a backup for what you can see, in case you want to quickly grab a table before someone else does and safely order from there.
The cabinet is split into two sides, the left with their curry's and warm meals such as brown rice bowls and sausage rolls, and the right side contains their amazing selection of salads and burgers. All items are listed (both on the menu and written on the glass cabinet front) with three letters after them, E, D, and G, standing for egg-free, dairy-free and gluten-free respectively. Most things are egg and dairy free, slightly less are gluten free and there are only a couple non-vegan choices. Everything is vegetarian, though, there is no flesh on campus.
The most things that aren't vegan are the desserts. As is standard at all good western vegan restaurants, there is another, much smaller cabinet with desserts in it. Veggie Mama has both raw deserts and non-raw ones, and I always go straight for the caramel slice (which is incredible) so can't comment too much on anything else, but their dessert cabinet is noticeably smaller than a lot of other places. This is not the end of the world, though, because where Veggie Mama shines in, as the name would suggest, their vegetable based curry's and their salads that are as mouth-watering as they are bright, fresh and colourful.
The real health secret of a vegan diet is in the consumption of unprocessed, whole plant foods, and making scrumptious combinations of these is exactly what Veggie Mama does best. After just one meal here, no one can say eating healthy can't also be memorably delicious.
✓ 100% vegetarian, approx. 80% vegan
✓ Fresh, healthy meals based on whole plant foods that you can mostly see in person before ordering
Opening Hours:
366 Albany Hwy, Victoria Park
Whenever I think of vegan places in Perth, I always think of the Loving Hut. Maybe it's because it was the first all vegan restaurant I went to, or maybe it's because it's so much more than just a restaurant.
The Loving Hut is an international chain of entirely vegan restaurants that exists in over 200 major city locations in all continents all over the world. Each restaurant is individually owned, so has their own menu, but their unified mission is to give people access to "great tasting, high quality and healthful pure vegan food along with speed, value and convenience". Sounds accurate to me!
The Perth edition is a small restaurant/cafe right on Albany highway. Upon walking inside you will immediately notice the mini-market-esque shelves to your left and the line of fridges to your right, all containing 100% vegan snacks like ice creams, chocolates and other sweets as well as lots of other supermarket style products like pet food, motherless milks and undoubtedly some of the best vegan "meats" in Perth. For such a small store, they really do pack a LOT of goodies in there. They also have something very unique: a "vegan starter kit". Which is essentially a folder containing all the information you would ever need on health, environment and ethics to kick-start your vegan career with furious passion. Very cool. And it's free.
On the menu you'll find quiches, the fresh daily salad, raw mango wrap, a selection of bagels, wraps and sandwiches that change daily but always includes their classic foot-long vegan meatball sub with marinara sauce and vegan cheese. Additionally, there is also a range of "baked goodies" that varies, but their website states some of the things you might find when you come include "pizza scrolls with vegan pepperoni and cheese, vegan hot dog rolls, cheesy Vegemite scrolls, sausage roll with organic tofu & walnuts." Is your mouth watering yet? Mine is.
On top of all this, you can order a "combo meal" that changes daily but includes six different hot dishes. Which usually includes some great curries, including Thai green curry, and some more that have tofu and sometimes fake meats made of mushroom, and lots of vegetables topped off with white or brown rice. And that's just lunch. Some dinner examples include roast veg lasagne, Japanese bento set (which has some great katsu "chicken"), spaghetti bolognese, nachos and more. These change every two weeks.
There's also a lot of fresh juices, smoothies, coffees and teas. Not to mention what is probably the most expansive vegan dessert cabinet in a restaurant in Perth, which holds cakes, cookies, gluten free brownies, raw cakes, raw macaroons, vegan soft serve ice cream and sundaes! My mouth is watering even more now... Last time I went here for lunch I ate so many desserts that I felt so sick after I literally couldn't eat anything for the rest of the day. As weird as it sounds, that's probably the biggest compliment I could give a dessert range!
On top of all this, you can also get what are - without question in my mind - the best vegan pies you will ever eat, which you can buy hot or frozen. They have about five different flavours, and the "Aussie" one is the most convincing vegan meat pie I've ever tried, though it's obviously much healthier than Mrs Macs!
There's no doubt that the Loving Hut in Perth is physically a small store, but they have a such a massive range of delicious foods that it more than makes up for it. I recommend sitting outside on the street if the weathers accommodating, and buying some stuff to take home.
✓ 100% vegan
✓ Great mini mart you'll want browse with the best fake-meats in Perth
Opening Hours:
6 / 26 George Street, Mandurah
Praise Jah that my dad lives in Mandurah, or else I would have never got to experience Mandurah's only 100% vegan restaurant: Something Raw. Nestled in the suburbs, this somewhat-raw cafe now gives me a reason to want to go to Mandurah... aside from seeing my dad.
To quote from the Something Raw Facebook page, "Our dishes are 100% natural, mainly organic and contain no animal, gluten, wheat, refined or processed products." I can not think of a much healthier description for food than that! Their range of fresh meals are all prepared on site in their open kitchen that you can see from most inside tables.
In the cabinets at the counter are an oh so tempting selection of raw desserts that will have you thinking of dessert before you've even ordered your mains. Some desserts are made on site and some are by local companies who specialise in raw desserts, but if you're anything like me and are in touch with your natural sweet tooth, whichever you choose you'll be wanting some more to take home with you for later!
Meals are split into breakfast options (8:30 - 11:30) and lunch options (11:30 - 3:00). Within these time zones, the menu is split into the following categories: Something Sweet, Something Raw, Something Warm, and Something Extra (sides) with their main meals listed in the appropriate categories. There is also 'Something for the Kids' in breakfast and lunch.
Additionally, there is an all day drinks menu consisting of cold pressed juices, smoothies, coffees, teas and super-food shots. As with all cafe's of this kind of quality (like most places on this list) the food here is in the "moderately high" price range.
Breakfast includes a range of toppings on their homemade 7-grain sourdough toast, salad, banana bread, crepes, muesli, porridge or a selection of acai and choco "bars". Lunch includes more crepes and banana bread, fajitas, curry, nachos, wraps, raw tacos, raw zucchini noodles, far felafels. On top of these and the kids-menu is a small take away menu.
There is no venue in Mandurah that compares to the quality of food at Something Raw, so treat your body to something incredible next time you're down there and fill it up with something truly healthy from their great menu.
✓ 100% vegan, 70% raw
✓ Fresh, healthy & delicious
Opening Hours:
135 Scarborough Beach Rd, Mount Hawthorn
This quaint little cafe right on Scarborough Beach Road is run by two sisters "who share a strong passion for creating awareness around the benefits of enjoying a balanced nutrient fuelled diet" their website says.
To be honest, I've only been here once. I don't get out this way much, there's no reason for me to be in Mt Hawthorn, but my memory of Juju Berry is all positive. From the friendly staff member (which I believe was one of the owners - who was more than happy to tell me about all the food and answer all my questions) to the decor and, of course, the meals themselves, were all top notch.
We sat out by the road because it's a very small venue and there were already a few people inside. I remember the food being very fresh and tasty, which makes sense because they make a point of their site to list out all the local "farms and friends" who supply them with their local fresh produce.
They specialise in cold pressed juices and smoothies, and this is where JujuBerry+Co really shines, so they understandably have a pretty big selection of these to choose from. But there's also a symphony of plant-based dishes, smoothie bowls, raw treats and vegan meals on offer, which changes regularly so check them out or like their facebook to get notified of the latest treats.
✓ 100% vegan, 100% gluten free
✓ Support lovely local business who also support local businesses!
Opening Hours:
Barrack Square, Jetty 4 Riverside Dr, Perth
The undisputed champion of the Vegan Backpackers Guide to Eating in Perth, Annalakshmi is just as much a great choice for locals who love Indian cuisine.
Full-on buffet style, Annalakshmi on the Swan is a grab-a-plate-and-serve-yourself type restaurant, but unlike most places like this, the decor and location are as good as anywhere else you've read about here. Annalakshmi is located next to the Bell Tower and Elizabeth Quay, overlooking the Swan River, and in terms of just location, I would place it above anything else on this list. I recommend going here at night to get the most out of the views, as our beautiful "City of Lights" is on full display after dark in this part of town.
One of the major selling points of Annalakshmi is their pricing: it's entirely by donation. You eat what you like, and pay what your heart feels. This beautiful ideology they have had since their inception (and at their other international stores) comes from their Hindu based belief that everyone should have access to healthy food at an affordable price. And thankfully, this doesn't mean they skimp out on quality. Nothing here is ever too spicy (they intentionally use minimal amounts of hot spices) and the main dishes are always vegan, Buddhist style vegan actually, without onions or garlic as well animal products.
What's on the menu here? Curry's. And rice. You get two long grain rice's to choose from (Indian style, so always white, one has spices that change daily and one is plain) which are always cooked to perfection and very soft. Next, they have a tomato based soup (which I never eat as I don't like soup unless it's freezing cold). Then comes their famous potatoes (which normally has me coming back for seconds) and a dahl that changes regularly, but is often my favourite thing here. The final dish changes daily but is always some sort of vegetable-based curry. There is a dessert option as well that always changes, but more often than not contains dairy so I always ask them about it first, but when they do have the vegan option, I make the most of it. There is also cold water, orange juice, black tea and coffee.
Yes, you get ALL this food, as much of it as you can eat, and you pay how much you think the meal is worth, all while dining at what is, in my opinion, the best location to eat at in Perth. Truly excellent.
NOTE: Hish went here without me once and one of the curries obviously contained milk (it was very white). In years of coming here weekly, this is the only time I've ever heard of this. So don't be afraid to ask the friendly staff if all the meals are vegan tonight, I still do sometimes.
✓ 100% vegetarian, 95% vegan
✓ Best location, and you 'pay what your heart feels'
Opening Hours:
194 William St, Northbridge
I really love Govinda's. Maybe it's because I live only a five-minute walk away, or because of my curiosity about the Hare Krishna "faith" that runs this restaurant, or maybe it's just because it's some of the best all-vegetarian Indian food in Perth.
I love Govinda's so much that I go here way more than nearly anywhere else on this list and feels weird putting it last here. It is noticeably more affordable than any other place I've listed here (except Annalakshmi of course) so if you disregard price, it almost does deserve to go last here. But really, who disregards price? Nearly no one. So with everything taken into account, consider this list "going out with a bang".
Govindas is a buffet style restaurant where they serve the food for you, but if you want more you just ask for an extra scoop or two or come back for more after. The main dishes consist of perfectly cooked Indian style white rice, a main vegetable curry that changes daily, some of the best dahl I've ever had (haven't been to India yet though), a nice tomato chutney, pakoras, side salad and a whole range of delicious deep fried things that aren't included in the main meal.
On each table is a different book for you to browse through after your meal that has to do with some part of their religion. If you like any of these books they have more for you to take home after you give them a small donation (five dollars is plenty).
Govindas is not as "fancy" as most of the places on this list, and this is reflected in the price tag: an all-you-can-eat meal is only $12 for adults or $10 for students. But it's all you can eat, so I always leave feeling like I got more than my monies worth here.
Note that Govindas is not completely vegan, although I eat here without a problem. Generally, it's only the desert that has milk, one of the drinks, and very rarely they put some cheese in the main vegetable curry. When ordering I always say "just the vegan stuff please" and I'm all good to go.
✓ 100% vegetarian, 80% vegan
✓ Eat as much as you like!
Opening Hours:
HONOURABLE MENTION:
49 Herdsman Parade, Wembley
I said at the beginning of this post that the list wouldn't include restaurants that serve animal flesh. And the list doesn't... But due to numerous immensely positive experiences, I absolutely I had to include The 'Pear'fect Pantry on this page, so here it is as an 'honourable mention'.
Aside from its tongue-clumsy name - and the fact that it's not 100% vegan - The 'Pear'fect Pantry is hard to fault. In fact, if I didn't impose the restriction on this list that animal flesh was a deal breaker, The Pearfect Pantry would have probably been on top.
I've been there with my family more than anywhere else on this list, and every time, everything I've had has been great, and everyone else has always said the same thing. The staff are very friendly, the location is pretty unique (hidden in the suburbs behind a laundromat - look for the portable sign by the road) and the range of food is pretty damn wide.
They are famous for their "Vegan Big Mac's", which after consuming you will see why their so famous with Perth vegans... cause it's very convincing! The taste is very similar to McDonalds original Big Mac - they especially nailed the patty and the sauce - only its much fresher and obviously healthier, being devoid of animal fats and proteins. It's served with wedges and some nice dipping sauce on what I would describe as a chopping board. If you're a burger fan I would definitely recommend ordering it if they have it available when you go (they do sell out often). If they don't, get the vegan nachos with vegan pulled pork, they're a very close second!
All the smoothies I've had smoothies are great, including the $10 vegan Oreo shake, they have some Kombucha in the fridges that are pretty good too, though not the best I've ever had. In the cabinet when you walk in is a selection of food ready to eat, such as lasagnas, wraps, sandwiches, and other burgers, some being vegan and some not (the photo above was taken on a very vegan-friendly day!), but there is also a menu with more options. As standard on the bench next to where you pay is a hefty stack of cakes that changes regularly, but matter what genius concoction they have made on the day that you go (like strawberry cream cheese cake or caramel popcorn, with real popcorn!), you can eat whichever tickles your taste buds the most, because they are always all vegan friendly.
As I said in the introduction, I go out to eat at a restaurant with my non-vegan family once a week, and in the year or so of doing this, this is by far the place we've all unanimously enjoyed the most. Sometimes they will order vegan food with me, but for when they don't want to, 'Pear'fect Pantry is perfect because, according to my families reviews, the non-vegan food is also made to 'pear'fection. (Sorry, I had to.)
✓ Normally about 50% vegan, 50% not
✓ Definitely the best place in Perth for bringing family and friends who aren't vegan yet (and don't want to be forced to eat healthier, even for just one meal) because everyone will get an incredible meal.
Opening Hours:
I would like to make a dedication here to Cloud Nine, which was a great vegan restaurant in North Perth, and was definitely going to make the list, but is now closed down permanently. We will miss you!
Roark and Co was going to get a full review in this list also here... but at the time of writing this they're in the process of relocating to Fremantle, and will apparently reopen on the 13th of March. I don't know if I'll get a chance to check it out before going travelling again, so a review of the new place might have to wait 'til next summer when we return. You can read my slightly older review for Roark and Co here (at the old Perth city location). How much of the menu has changed with the move, I don't know, but I'm sure they'll keep everyone updated on their facebook page.
Note: All the above images were taken from the respective restaurants' facebook page, I did not take any of them or do not own or try to claim any rights to any of them.
