Vegan Scene

Reflecting Warsaw’s dynamic, modern spirit, the city is officially ranked by the HappyCow portal as the ninth most vegan friendly cities on the planet – we need a telephone book to list all the worthwhile restaurants, so instead make do with a slimmed down selection of Insider stars…

Yatta Ramen BBQ

Nowolipki 15

Filled with cartoon-like illustrative art and generous slashes of neon, Yatta are the latest Japanese venture to try their hand in this area. Highly competent in their execution, the busy, youthful vibe reflects the mood, philosophy and quality of the food. Heaped with pickles, spring onions and squirts of chili mayo the Soboro fries are essential. Given their name, the ramen is of course the main reason to visit, but do also scope out their ribs and chicken skewers. There’s something good happening here, and it’s not just the people of Muranów that know it!

BOCA BOCA

Mikołaja Kopernika 25

Anchored by a geometric mural that declares ‘Guilty Pleasure’ in glowing pink letters, this pocket-sized locale exudes a sense of fun. Written up on the blackboard, the menu casts it net over the biggest comfort foods known to man, and these include empanada – small, tasty pleasures with a puff pastry shell holding the goodness together inside. And there’s the Not Dog, a vegan hot dog forged from marinated carrots, onions and red cabbage. But the undisputed star? Behold their chimichanga!

Edamame

Wilcza 11 of all of Warsaw’s vegan options.

La Vegana

Zgoda 4

The menu is a bamboozling work of Byzantine complexity, but think of that as a charming quirk – as it turns out, it contains treasures galore. Alive with fragrant, fresh flavors, the nem rolls, tofu bulgogi and yuba cha (fried tofu skin) all come recommended, as does the house kimchi: a pungent, tangy mass of spiced, fermented cabbage. The pho, meanwhile, completes your plunge into gentle happiness.

Peaches Gastro Girls

Mokotowska 58

Cooped up during lockdown, flat mates Monika Mazurek and Klaudia Górak began scouring the web for exotic recipes and veganizing what they found. Sharing their creations with friends, the positive feedback led them to open Peaches, a place with a cool, scuffed courtyard and radical orange interiors. Substituting meat with Portobellos, their tacos are as authentic as they come, while the wontons deserve their own gold medal.

Uki Green

Koszykowa 49A

Brought to you by Taira Matsuki, the owner of the outrageously successful Uki Uki, the menu includes alternatives such as kimchi-cheese gyoza dumplings, spiced soy meat and ‘vegan eel’. The real plaudits, however, are reserved for the ramen. Tag yourself up in an interior that’s big on Japanese wood joints and concrete finishes.

Vegan Ramen Shop

Finlandzka 12

VEGAN SUSHI

Sushi without its star ingredient sounds ridiculous, but this vegan sushi joint manages to out-maneuver its traditional competitors by replacing below-par fish with fresh, vegetarian produce: pak choy, shiso, avocado, eggplant, oyster mushrooms, asparagus, etc. In HappyCow’s rankings, it scores the highest

We’ve heard some describe Vegan Ramen Shop as serving “the best noodles in the world!” They’re definitely memorable, and the spicy miso ramen will for sure convert those suspicious of this claim. Eat them in a mega cool room divided up by stacks of ‘levitating shelves’ adorned with Japanese nick-nacks. Also in Muranów (Jana Pawła II 52/54) and Mokotów (Kazimierzowska 43).