Vegan at Restaurants – 8 Tips to Find Plant-Based Meals Anywhere

How do you get vegan dishes in every restaurant? A frequently heard Argument against the plant-based diet is that it is far too strenuous. Many meat eaters and vegetarians feel this way because most restaurant dishes contain animal ingredients and you have to constantly check what is edible.

Fortunately, almost every restaurant has a vegan meal on the menu these days - and if not, I have plenty of tips for you on how to eat plant-based dishes everywhere.

In this article, you'll find out how "vegan in a restaurant" is easy and absolutely stress-free. Simply try out the tips the next time you have lunch or dinner out. Let's go!

8 Tips for Eating Vegan at (Almost) Any Restaurant

As long as you decide for yourself Wherever you go, eating vegan in a restaurant is no longer a challenge. But you don't always have the choice of which restaurant you eat at.

At the latest with a Dinner invitation it could be tricky. That's why I'm going to give you the best tips for both situations.

Tip: Feel free to take another look at the linked post to learn, why so many people live vegan. This also provides the necessary motivation to master possible challenges in restaurants, canteens or at the snack bar with flying colors 🙂

1. Use Apps to Find Vegan-Friendly Restaurants

There may have been a time when it was quite difficult to find restaurants serving vegan meals. But Today it is easier than ever. This is partly due to the following apps, which you can always use before deciding on a restaurant:

• Happy Cow (more under happycow.net)
• Vanilla Bean: (more under future.coop/vanilla-bean)

Both Happy Cow and Vanilla Bean will show you vegan, vegetarian and also vegan friendly restaurants on. You'll also find out where vegan options are available and where operators spontaneously conjure up vegan dishes that aren't even on the menu.

The more users share their experiences, the more helpful the content will be. You can download both apps from the Apple AppStore and the GooglePlay Store.

2. Check the Menu or Call Ahead

You already have one or the other restaurant in your shortlist? Then simply take a look at the menu and The respective ingredients and ingredients of the dishes. For example, check whether the pizza dough contains cow's milk. I was very surprised, at least at first. (See also: Typical rookie mistakes made by vegans)

No matter which restaurant you have in mind - you are sure to find the menu with the sustainable search engine of your trust somewhere on the Internet! And if not: Just call the restaurant and ask - You probably already have your cell phone in your hand anyway. 😉

3. Choose Cuisines with More Plant-Based Options

Eating out at a Greek restaurant can still be a bit of a challenge for vegans today. Fortunately, however, there are a variety of national cuisines whose Dishes mostly without meat and animal-based foods get by. If you know them, you can usually set off without an app, a phone call or studying the menu without having to worry about getting anything between your gills 🙂

Eating vegan in a restaurant is particularly easy for me at Italian, Indian, Chinese, Thai or Vietnamese cuisine. Whether it's bruschetta, vegetable curry, spring rolls or fried tofu - there's something for everyone. But my personal favorite is the israeli cuisinewhere falafel, hummus, couscous and other plant-based dishes are traditional.

4. Veganize Meals

There is no meal on the menu that is completely vegan? Then for better or worse, some creativity is needed to Conjure up vegan alternatives from meaty or vegetarian dishes.

No, don't worry! Even less creative vegans can do it! Here I'll show you which meals are vegan or relatively easy to veganize even in more meat-loving national cuisines:

• Greek: z. e.g. grilled vegetables, dolmades, pita bread and tomato rice.
• Mexican: z. e.g. tacos, guacamole, tortilla chips and enchiladas filled with vegetables.
• Spaniards: z. For example, potatoes wrapped in salt (papas), green beans with onions (judias verde) and roasted green peppers (pimientos).
• Turk: z. e.g. flatbread, lentil meatballs (köfte), bean salad, hummus or stuffed eggplants.
• Ethiopian: z. e.g. bulgur salad, flatbread, braised vegetables and stuffed dumplings.
• Persian: z. e.g. pickled vegetables (torshi), rice with herbs or grilled vegetables and noodle soup with chickpeas.
• Korean: z. e.g. rice, kimchi and radish, bean sprouts and grilled vegetables.
• Bourgeois: z. e.g. potato salad, chips, roasted vegetables, baked potato and salad.
• Snack: z. e.g. falafel kebab, plant-based burgers, chips and grilled vegetables.

In which country's cuisine have you had a hard time coming up with a vegan dish? Feel free to share your experiences in the comments. We may be able to find a solution together.

5. Go Out with Vegan Friends for Support

You haven't been vegan for very long and think you might starve in a restaurant? I'm sure there are a few long-time vegans in your circle of friends. Just go out to eat with them more often to learn from their experiences. Alternatively, you can just ask them for advice.

At some point, you will be that friend to someonewho shows others how easy it is to eat vegan in a restaurant.

6. Politely Ask the Staff for Vegan Options

Worst case! Neither the app nor the menu give the green light? The restaurant you want to go to and are invited, just does not seem to offer anything vegan? Not even fries and salad? Then you can always ask the waiter politely!

So far, I've had a plant-based dish on request in every seemingly non-vegan restaurant. No joke! Often the employees are extremely creative - But sometimes they have already Dishes "out of order" for vegan guests up their sleeves, which have simply not been on the menu yet.

Tip: Not every Lives vegan! Sometimes waiters confuse vegetarian and vegan. If you get this impression, tell them directly that you don't eat dairy products, eggs, honey and so on. Simply to avoid misunderstandings.

7. Stay Flexible and Keep a Positive Attitude

As a vegan, you should be one thing above all else in restaurants: Flexible like a weasel! Because You don't always get what you fancy on your plate. After all, animal welfare is more important than short-term enjoyment.

Therefore, simply prepare yourself, for example, for the occasional Combine side dishes like rice or pasta into a vegan meal to have to. From experience, however, you can get a purely vegetable dish in (almost) every restaurant, at the latest when you ask.

Besides, politeness is the key to happiness. As long as you do not act like a teacher or nagevery good restaurant will try to satisfy you as a guest. If necessary, simply explain briefly and concisely what you can and cannot eat. And then there will be something vegan for you.

8. Leave Reviews and Share Your Experience

It's not always easy for me to find a vegan restaurant or vegan dishes. It sometimes gives neither Internet reviews with references to plant-based meals, nor entries in the apps mentioned in the first tip. So that it it is becoming easier and easier to live veganyou should share your experience in a particular restaurant with other people.

For example by a Google rating or just an entry at HappyCow and Vanilla Bean. In this way, swarm knowledge makes it easier and easier for you and all other vegans to eat vegan in restaurants. The more people do this, the "smarter and more helpful" the apps become.

Eating Vegan at Restaurants? It’s Easier Than Ever!

There really is always a solution! You get better at it with every restaurant visitIt's been a long time to find plant-based dishes - and with each passing day, the number of vegan options in restaurants is steadily increasing. This makes it easier than ever to eat vegan anywhere, even when eating out.

I hope I have been able to help you. Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to recommend the book "Vegan is nonsense!" (is available here*) to your heart. The authors are experienced in discussions and refute all prejudices against vegans in a logical and plausible way. This knowledge will motivate you to find a "vegan solution" even in difficult situations 🙂

"Animals are my friends and I don't eat my friends."

George Bernard Shaw (more at Vegan quotes)

Do you have any questions or can you think of any other tips to make plant-based eating at restaurants even easier? Then I look forward to your comment!

Stay animal-friendly,

PS: Look you with pleasure still something in the Vegan diet blog around! There you will find out, for example, why I have the Dairy industry even more brutal than the meat industry.