Vegan Finder

Yes, and it keeps growing. Brisbane has dedicated vegan restaurants, cafés, bakeries, food trucks, and market stalls spread across suburbs like West End, New Farm, Fortitude Valley, and Everton Park, with an equally strong cluster on the Gold Coast.

It's not (yet) Melbourne-sized, but it's easy to eat well as a vegan here every single day of the week.

100% Vegan means the entire menu is plant-based — order anything, no questions needed. Think Vegan Restaurant, Dicki's, The Green Edge, U-Tong, El Planta, Veganyumm, Vege Rama, Archie AM:PM, Doko Demo V, Izakaya Midori, Nurcha, Rosebed & Finch, Tian Ran, Jing Si Books & Cafe, JR Vegan Thai, Kindest Cakery, Kindest Kitchen, or Charlie's Raw Squeeze.

99% Vegan (a lighter green label) means the whole kitchen is plant-based and the only non-vegan item is an optional add-on: dairy milk for coffee. That's Vega Cafe and Cardamom Pod Brickworks — order anything from the food menu, and just skip the dairy milk.

Vegan-Friendly means the venue serves non-vegan food too, but has clearly marked vegan dishes on the menu — like Tea Master, Sweet & Green, Netherworld, Antica Pizzeria, or King Tea.

Go somewhere the food is familiar first, vegan second. Vegan Restaurant's Chinese takeaway classics, Dicki's all-day brunch, Netherworld's loaded fries and burgers, or a vegan pizza at Arrivederci Pizzeria all land as "just really good food" rather than a lecture on veganism — which is exactly the point.

West End, South Brisbane, Paddington, New Farm, Fortitude Valley, and Everton Park each have multiple venues in our directory. If you're happy to drive a bit further, the Gold Coast has become a real hotspot too, with several fully vegan restaurants opening there recently.

This guide is Brisbane and surrounds focused, but if you're travelling further afield, I Travel For Vegan Food is a solid resource covering vegan-friendly spots across Australia and worldwide.

The earliest fully vegan business we have been able to document in Brisbane is The Green Edge, founded by Amanda Jane Benham in 2008 and still going strong in Windsor. It started the all-vegan model that most of the city's vegan places follow today.

A word of caution: nobody keeps an official register of vegan firsts, and vegetarian venues (including Buddhist and Hare Krishna kitchens) existed long before. So this is "the earliest we can prove", and if you know of an earlier one, please tell us.

The Green Edge (2008) is the oldest 100% vegan place in Brisbane itself that is still operating. Right behind it come Loving Hut in Mount Gravatt and Vege Rama in the CBD, both from 2009.

If you count the wider region, Tian Ran in Mermaid Beach, on the Gold Coast, has been serving an all-vegan Buddhist-style menu since 2000.

The Green Edge in Windsor. It is a bistro, café, deli, juice bar, ice cream shop and grocery store in one, it is 100% vegan, and it is the place most connected to Brisbane's vegan community, which is why it carries our "most popular" badge.

Popularity is not only a review count. Charlie's Raw Squeeze has more reviews (about 5,100 against about 4,350), but most of them come from delivery apps and are pooled across four stores. The Green Edge has the community, the breadth and the history.

Charlie's Raw Squeeze, with about 5,100 reviews added up across Google, Uber Eats, DoorDash, HappyCow, Tripadvisor and Yelp. Roughly 4,000 of them are on Uber Eats, and the count covers its four stores.

Second is The Green Edge with about 4,350 reviews, and its mix is much more balanced between Google, Facebook and the delivery apps. Numbers are the ones shown on each venue page and are updated regularly.

By average score, Dicki's comes out on top, with a weighted average of about 4.86 out of 5 across seven platforms and nearly 2,800 reviews. That is also the highest final rating in our guide (9.2 out of 10).

Vegan Restaurant is only a hair behind. We use our own final rating, which weighs the average against the number of reviews so that a place with ten perfect reviews does not beat one with thousands of very good ones. See how ratings are calculated.

Vegan Restaurant has the best delivery average, 4.90 out of 5 on Uber Eats and DoorDash combined, backed by around 1,700 delivery reviews.

It is a very tight race: Veganyumm (4.895) and Dicki's (4.887) are practically level. All three are great choices when you want vegan food at home.

Based on current figures, there are an estimated 110,000 to 150,000 vegetarians or vegans living in Greater Brisbane, of whom roughly 28,000 are fully vegan. There is no official head count, so this is an approximation.

How we got there: Greater Brisbane has about 2.8 million people. An ABC report on the survey data found that only around 1 per cent of Australians are vegan and about 4 per cent are vegetarian or vegan, which gives roughly 28,000 vegans and 113,000 vegetarians or vegans. The Australian Bureau of Statistics' National Nutrition and Physical Activity Survey and its food group consumption data point to a somewhat higher share, up to about 5 per cent, which gives the top of our range (about 150,000).

Two other sources help with context. Roy Morgan's research on vegetarianism uses a wider definition (people who eat all or almost all vegetarian food) and shows a steady rise, which on that definition would put the number in Queensland well above our range, so treat ours as a conservative estimate. And in AWOL's ranking of Australia's most vegan-friendly cities, the Sunshine Coast and the Gold Coast do especially well per person, so South East Queensland is a great place to be vegan.

Two places we have listed have closed: Yavanna (2026) and You Came Again (2025). We keep their pages as a record and mark them as closed.

Places change quickly, so before a long trip check the venue's own page or social media. If you spot a closure or a new opening, let us know on the Contribute page.

For each vegan place we collect public reviews from Google, Facebook, HappyCow, Uber Eats, DoorDash, Tripadvisor, Yelp and OpenTable. The stars and review counts you see are combined from all of them.

The final rating (shown on a scale of 0 to 10) is not a simple average. It blends two statistical methods, a Bayesian Prior and the Wilson Lower Bound, and it gives more weight to platforms with more reviews, so places with only a few reviews are not ranked above places with thousands. Each venue page links to every source so you can check for yourself.

In one sentence: a strong rating needs both a high score and enough reviews standing behind it. Want the details? Here is how it works, step by step.

1. Bayesian Prior: the safety belt

A venue with only a few reviews can easily land an unusually high or low average, because a handful of experiences weigh a lot. To reduce that, the observed rating is gently pulled towards 3.5/5, our "we're not sure yet" point. The fewer the reviews, the stronger the pull; as reviews accumulate, the pull fades and the real rating takes over.

The Prior is calculated separately for each platform, and it is combined with Wilson only once, so the same uncertainty is never applied twice.

2. Wilson Lower Bound: the confidence floor

Wilson gives a more conservative estimate when the sample is small. We adapted it to a 1 to 5 scale and calculate it directly from the observed rating, not from the rating after the Prior, which is what keeps the Prior from being counted twice.

Each platform's score is 30% Bayesian Prior + 70% Wilson Lower Bound. Wilson gets the larger share so that a strong rating with plenty of reviews keeps most of its value, while small samples stay protected.

3. Review Confidence: how much a platform counts

Next we decide how much influence each platform should have, using Review Confidence. It has diminishing returns: going from 1,000 to 2,000 reviews matters a lot, going from 4,000 to 5,000 barely matters, because the evidence is already huge. Our confidence curve reaches approximately:

7.7% at 100 reviews · 34.0% at 500 · 58.4% at 1,000 · 86.2% at 2,000 · 96.5% at 3,000 · 98.8% at 4,000 · 99% at 5,000 (the maximum, more reviews do not raise it further).

This is not a claim that a rating is 99% likely to be right. It is a transparency and weighting mechanism showing how strongly the review volume supports a platform's result. Hover over (or tap) any rating on the site to see its confidence percentage.

4. Combining the platforms

Google, Facebook, HappyCow, Uber Eats, DoorDash, Tripadvisor, Yelp and OpenTable have very different audiences, volumes and habits, so each is processed independently first. Then the platform scores are averaged using their Review Confidence as weights. A platform with a handful of reviews has little influence, one with thousands has a lot, and the biggest platform can never drown out all the others just because of its raw count.

5. The published rating

The combined result is converted from the internal 0 to 5 scale to the published 0 to 10 scale, and that is the number you see on the site (the stars are just this number shown out of 5). The published rating has a minimum of 8.0/10. That is a floor on the published scale, not the statistical Prior: inside the model, results can still go below 4.0/5, and 3.5/5 remains the uncertainty point.

Behind the scenes, venues are ranked (for example under "Best rated") using the same result before it is rounded to one decimal, so two places that both show 9.0 are still put in the right order.

6. Why this is fair

A 4.8/5 backed by 4,000 reviews keeps most of its value, while a 4.8/5 from a few early reviewers is treated cautiously: the Prior pulls it down, Wilson trims it, and its platform gets little weight. These protections work together, and as reviews grow the venue gradually escapes them.

No single number tells the whole story. The model combines the quality of the rating, the quantity of evidence, statistical uncertainty and consistency across platforms, so that a strong rating is supported not only by how high the score is, but also by how much evidence stands behind it.

Dicki's in New Farm does all-day breakfast with specialty coffee on a relaxed, dog-friendly balcony. The Green Edge in Windsor is also a great breakfast spot, with specialty coffee and a full café menu alongside its deli and ice cream shop. Archie AM:PM in Carseldine has plant-based bagels and creative coffee in a social-enterprise café. For something lighter, Charlie's Raw Squeeze covers juices, smoothies, and açaí bowls across its Brisbane locations. If a mixed menu works for you, All Day in West End is a specialty-coffee café that marks its plant-based dishes, including the Woodlands on Toast.

Dicki's and Archie AM:PM both do a great all-vegan brunch. Vega Cafe in Spring Hill serves brunch classics by day (and shifts to a Thai-inspired kitchen at night). Over in the Gold Coast, Cardamom Pod is known for açaí bowls, smoothie bowls, and Indian-inspired vegan pancakes. All Day in West End has a mixed menu but marks its vegan brunch dishes, from the Woodlands on Toast to a Yellow Veg Curry.

Vegan Restaurant, U-Tong, Loving Hut, Vege Rama, Neon Ramen, Izakaya Midori, Greenhouse Canteen, and Tea Master all serve lunch, ranging from quick takeaway bowls to a proper sit-down break. On mixed menus, Vegeme, Vegan Thai-riffic, Ma Pa Me, King Tea, Phat Boy, Hai Hai, and All Day also have vegan dishes at lunch.

No venue in our directory runs a formal afternoon tea service yet, but you can easily put one together yourself — grab pastries from Veganyumm, Made With Love Bakery, or Sweet & Green, then find a coffee spot like Dicki's or The Green Edge for a relaxed 3pm treat.

U-Tong (Thai), El Planta (Mexican), Neon Ramen (Japanese), and Vege Rama (buffet) all make for a solid Brisbane dinner. On the Gold Coast, Doko Demo V, Izakaya Midori, and Greenhouse Canteen are all worth the drive for a proper sit-down plant-based meal.

For a mixed-menu dinner with real vegan choice, try Antica Pizzeria or Arrivederci Pizzeria for Italian, Ma Pa Me for Southeast Asian, Phat Boy for Thai, or King Tea for Chinese share plates.

Late-night vegan options are the hardest to pin down — most of our cafés and restaurants wind down by evening. Netherworld's retro arcade bar tends to run latest as a bar-and-games venue, and Ma Pa Me in South Bank is open seven days from 11:30am until late, with a separate vegan menu. For anything else, check the specific venue's closing hours before heading out, since these shift regularly.

Charlie's Raw Squeeze covers juices, smoothies, and açaí across its Brisbane locations. For specialty coffee, Dicki's, The Green Edge, and Archie AM:PM are all fully vegan cafés, and All Day in West End is a specialty-coffee café that marks its plant-based dishes. For something stronger, see our answer on vegan wine, beer, and cocktails.

Most beer and spirits are naturally vegan, but some wines are clarified ("fined") using animal products like gelatine or egg whites, so not every wine is automatically vegan-friendly — look for a "vegan" or "unfiltered" label, or ask.

For a drink out, El Planta's margaritas, the cocktail menus at Greenhouse Canteen and Izakaya Midori on the Gold Coast, and Netherworld's craft beer selection are all solid, vegan-friendly options.

Mixed-menu bars like Hai Hai, Ma Pa Me, and King Tea also have cocktail lists — ask the staff which drinks are vegan.

GrassFed's mobile trailer is built entirely around vegan burgers and loaded fries. Dicki's and Archie AM:PM both serve them café-style, and Doko Demo V on the Gold Coast pairs Western burgers with its Southeast Asian menu. Prefer a pub vibe? Netherworld's retro arcade bar has excellent vegan burgers and wings alongside its craft beer and pinball machines.

For Italian-style vegan pizza, start with The Green Edge in Windsor: it has a big pizza menu and an Italian vegan chef, Marianna Bombardini, who also makes delicious Italian focaccia.

Beyond that, Piante Pizza is a fully plant-based Neapolitan pizza trailer working the Brisbane, Gold Coast, and Sunshine Coast market circuit. Archie AM:PM has plant-based pizzas on its café menu, Doko Demo V serves it on the Gold Coast, and Sweet & Green does savoury focaccia and pizza slices at its pop-ups.

For a sit-down pizza night, two Italian restaurants have a dedicated vegan menu: Arrivederci Pizzeria in Milton (a vegan menu with eight vegan pizzas — vegan cheese included — and a monthly Vegan Night) and Antica Pizzeria in Wilston (wood-fired Neapolitan-style pizzas, with its own vegan menu).

Want more than pizza? See our answer on vegan Italian food, pasta, and gnocchi. In a hurry, chains like Domino's, Pizza Hut, and Crust have vegan pizzas with vegan cheese — see the "Few vegan options" section on the Eat & Drink page.

Three Brisbane restaurants go beyond pizza. Arrivederci Pizzeria in Milton has six vegan pastas (including a vegan carbonara), plus vegan desserts and gelato. Antica Pizzeria in Wilston has a dedicated vegan menu with antipasti such as vegan focaccia and zucchini flowers with olive tapenade, pasta, and desserts, including the "Vagamisu", a deconstructed vegan tiramisu.

Spaghetti House in South Brisbane marks its vegan dishes on the online menu — from garlic focaccia and bruschetta to pizza, pasta, and gnocchi (the basil pesto vegan gnocchi is a favourite) — and is listed under "Few vegan options" on the Eat & Drink page.

For fully plant-based Italian, The Green Edge in Windsor has an Italian vegan chef, a big pizza menu, and focaccia. Nonna's Nightmare, the fully vegan Italian restaurant in West End known for its pizzas and pastas, closed in 2024 — so it's no longer an option, but it's worth knowing about if you hear it mentioned.

Plenty of options, by cuisine: U-Tong for Thai (Clayfield) and Vegan Thai-riffic for Thai in North Lakes, Vegan Restaurant and Loving Hut for Chinese, Neon Ramen and Izakaya Midori for Japanese, Tea Master for Taiwanese, and Vege Rama and Cardamom Pod for Indian-leaning menus. Doko Demo V on the Gold Coast blends Southeast Asian dishes like pad thai and okonomiyaki with Western favourites.

On mixed menus, Ma Pa Me in South Bank has a separate vegan menu of Southeast Asian dishes (tofu bao, nasi goreng, pad Thai, jackfruit rendang) and a $65-per-person vegan banquet; King Tea in Paddington serves Chinese share plates with a strong vegan side, from XO cauliflower to vegan dan dan noodles; Vegeme in South Brisbane is a vegetarian Asian-inspired kitchen with many dishes marked vegan; Phat Boy in the CBD has a separate vegan Thai menu of noodles, fried rice, and tofu stir-fries; and Hai Hai has vegan miso ramen and a tofu bao at its Paddington and West End bars.

El Planta in South Brisbane is the guide's dedicated vegan Mexican spot — plant-based tacos, burritos, nachos, and margaritas in a colourful, lively setting. It's currently the go-to; we'll add more as we find them.

For a quick chain fix, Guzman y Gomez, Mad Mex, and Zambrero all have vegan options — see the "Few vegan options" section on the Eat & Drink page.

NAÏM in Paddington serves modern Middle Eastern and Mediterranean food — hummus, carrot falafel and shared platters — with plant-based options, including plant-based meatballs, on a mixed menu, so ask which dishes are vegan. We don't yet have a fully vegan Middle Eastern venue in our directory, so let us know if you find one worth adding.

Dicki's, The Green Edge, Archie AM:PM, Vega Cafe, and Cardamom Pod Brickworks (at Vega Cafe and Cardamom Pod, the only non-vegan item is dairy milk as an optional add-on for coffee) are all vegan cafés, and Charlie's Raw Squeeze is a vegan juice bar with café-style food. If a mixed menu is fine, All Day in West End also has a strong vegan-friendly coffee-and-food offering.

For custom celebration cakes: Veganyumm (Brisbane's first fully vegan bakery) and Pippa's Pantry (Camp Hill, limited Friday–Saturday hours). On the Gold Coast, Made With Love Bakery makes everything from scratch, from cinnamon scrolls to quiches, and Sweet & Green brings French patisserie to the market circuit. For something cold, try Charlie's Raw Squeeze's "nice cream" bowls or the ice cream shop inside The Green Edge. For a sit-down dessert, Arrivederci Pizzeria has vegan desserts and gelato, and Antica Pizzeria serves a vegan chocolate cake and the "Vagamisu", a deconstructed vegan tiramisu.

OMG! Decadent Donuts is the one to know — every single item is both vegan and gluten-free, so there's nothing to double-check on the menu.

Several of our 100% vegan bakeries and cafés also bake donuts as part of a wider menu, including Veganyumm, The Green Edge and Made With Love Bakery.

For a mixed menu, Happy Dough and Brooklyn Donut & Coffee Co are vegan-friendly — not every item is vegan, so check which flavours are before ordering.

The Green Edge in Windsor has its own 100% vegan ice cream shop built into the bistro, café and deli — the easiest spot for a proper scoop. It also happens to be a great breakfast option, alongside its coffee, juices and all-day menu.

For "nice cream" (frozen banana-based soft serve), try Charlie's Raw Squeeze or Coco Bliss on our Eat & Drink list (mostly vegan — it now also serves chicken wraps, so double-check the order). Antica Pizzeria pairs vegan gelato with its dedicated vegan pizza and pasta menu, and mainstream chain Cold Rock Ice Creamery has vegan flavours if you're out and about.

More than 20 of the venues in our directory run a fully plant-based menu — among them Nurcha, Rosebed & Finch, Tian Ran, Jing Si Books & Cafe, JR Vegan Thai, Kindest Cakery, Kindest Kitchen, Vegan Restaurant, Dicki's, The Green Edge, U-Tong, El Planta, Veganyumm, GrassFed, Loving Hut, Vege Rama, Archie AM:PM, Doko Demo V, Izakaya Midori, Charlie's Raw Squeeze, Vega Cafe, and Cardamom Pod Brickworks.

For the complete, up-to-date list, filter by "100% Vegan" on the Eat & Drink page.

Tea Master, Sweet & Green, Netherworld, NAÏM, All Day, Vegeme, Vegan Thai-riffic, Phat Boy, Arrivederci Pizzeria, Antica Pizzeria, Ma Pa Me, King Tea, and Hai Hai all serve non-vegan food alongside a clearly marked vegan selection — great when your group isn't all vegan. That's only a sample: the Vegan-friendly section of the Eat & Drink page lists all 37 places.

The size of the vegan selection varies: Arrivederci Pizzeria, Antica Pizzeria, Ma Pa Me, and Phat Boy have a dedicated vegan menu, while Hai Hai has a smaller set of vegan dishes — check each venue's page for what's on offer.

Places with even fewer vegan options, including restaurants and big chains, are in the "Few vegan options" section on the Eat & Drink page.

Not every place is vegan-friendly, but some have a small, clearly identified vegan selection — handy when the group has already picked a spot and you need a plan B. The "Few vegan options" section on the Eat & Drink page lists them separately from the vegan-friendly venues.

In Brisbane: Adda @ Oxford, Alchemy, Anna's Banh Mi Co, Bisou Bisou, Cheeky Poke, Chu The Phat, Fattoush Bayside, Felix For Goodness, Himalayan Cafe, Mons Thai, Naga Thai, Olive Thyme, Pepe's Mexican, PepperJack Sandwiches, Pho Queue, Porkees Vietnamese Deli, Putia Pure Food Kitchen, Ruby My Dear, Snag & Brown, Southside, Spaghetti House, Tarbouche Mezza Bar, Taro's Ramen, Thai Pan Kitchen, Unbearable Bagels, and Zero Fox.

Chains: Betty's Burgers, Cold Rock Ice Creamery, Crust Pizza, Domino's, Fish Bowl, Grill'd, Guzman y Gomez, Mad Mex, Motto Motto, Nando's, Oakberry, Oporto, P'Nut Street Noodles, Pizza Hut, San Churro, Schnitz, Soul Origin, Subway, Sumo Salad, Vapiano, Zambrero, and Zeus Street Greek.

Menus change often, especially at chains, so confirm with the staff before ordering. Hungry Jack's isn't on the list: its Plant Based Whopper is not suitable for vegans.

Ask staff directly and mention hidden ingredients that trip people up — fish sauce, honey, ghee, butter, and eggs in pasta or bread. Most Brisbane kitchens are used to the question.

Easier option: stick to venues tagged "Vegan-Friendly" in this guide. They already mark their vegan dishes clearly, so there's no guesswork.

Yes — El Planta, Veganyumm, Plant Baked, Sweet Nectar, Vega Cafe, Vege Rama, Made With Love Bakery, Greenhouse Canteen, Izakaya Midori, Tea Master, and Cardamom Pod all list gluten-free options, and Piante Pizza is also nut-free. On mixed menus, Antica Pizzeria (with gluten-free pizza bases), Arrivederci Pizzeria, Ma Pa Me, Phat Boy, Vegeme, and All Day also list gluten-free options.

If you're coeliac rather than just avoiding gluten, always double-check cross-contamination directly with the venue.

Piante Pizza is explicitly nut-free as well as vegan. Beyond that, always contact the venue directly if you have a severe nut allergy — plant-based kitchens often use nuts for cheese, cream, and protein substitutes, so cross-contamination is a real risk even when a dish looks nut-free on the menu.

Tofu, tempeh, and legumes show up across the board — U-Tong's Thai curries and stir-fries, Neon Ramen and Izakaya Midori's tofu-based ramen and rice dishes, and Vege Rama's buffet all make it easy to load up on plant protein. GrassFed's and Doko Demo V's burgers are also built around protein-rich patties. On mixed menus, King Tea builds its vegan dishes on tofu, mushrooms, and vegetables, and Ma Pa Me's vegan menu includes tofu bao and jackfruit rendang.

If you're after something post-workout, Brisbane Vegan Run Club's weekly runs usually wrap up with coffee or brunch — worth joining if fitness and community both matter to you.

Loving Hut in Mount Gravatt is explicitly budget-friendly. Vege Rama's buffet is great value since you pay for what you actually take. Market trailers like GrassFed and Piante Pizza also keep prices reasonable for what you get. On a mixed menu, Arrivederci Pizzeria runs a monthly Vegan Night with vegan mains for $15.

Most of our venues do takeaway, including Vegan Restaurant, Veganyumm, GrassFed, Loving Hut, Piante Pizza, Pippa's Pantry, Sweet & Green, Archie AM:PM, and Made With Love Bakery. Vegan Thai-riffic and Vegeme also do takeaway. Check the "Takeaway" tag on each venue's page to confirm.

Several of our venues partner with delivery platforms like Uber Eats, and Vegan Thai-riffic in North Lakes offers delivery as well as dine-in and takeaway. Since availability and coverage areas change, the safest bet is to check the "Order Online" or delivery links on each venue's own page in this guide before ordering.

Most of our sit-down spots are built for dining in — Dicki's, The Green Edge, U-Tong, El Planta, Vege Rama, Neon Ramen, and Izakaya Midori all have proper seating and table service rather than being grab-and-go focused.

Yes — GrassFed (burgers & loaded fries) and Piante Pizza (Neapolitan pizza) are both mobile trailers trading at markets and events across Brisbane, the Gold Coast, and the Sunshine Coast. Sweet & Green is a French vegan patisserie doing the same market-and-pop-up circuit.

Since they move around, check each venue's page for their socials and current schedule before heading out.

Most of our sit-down cafés and restaurants trade through the weekend — All Day in West End and Ma Pa Me in South Bank are both open seven days a week — and market-based venues like GrassFed, Piante Pizza, and Sweet & Green regularly set up at Sunday markets around South East Queensland.

Opening hours shift seasonally though, so always check the specific venue's page or Instagram for that week's hours before you go.

The Green Edge in Windsor is the standout — a full vegan grocery store alongside its bistro, café, and deli, all under one roof.

Beyond that, Brisbane's major supermarkets now carry solid plant-based ranges — just check the label for the vegan or "suitable for vegans" mark.

The Gold Coast trio of Izakaya Midori, Greenhouse Canteen, and Doko Demo V all have a proper restaurant-and-bar feel, good for birthdays or a special dinner. In Brisbane, El Planta's cocktails and lively atmosphere and Neon Ramen's modern bar-restaurant vibe both work well for something a little more festive. For a mixed-menu night out, Antica Pizzeria's wood-fired trattoria in Wilston and Ma Pa Me's cocktail list and vegan banquet in South Bank are both good picks.

Any 100% Vegan venue removes the usual "can everyone actually order here" negotiation. Vege Rama's buffet lets everyone pick their own plate, and El Planta's shareable tacos and nachos are great for a group that wants to order a bit of everything.

Two approaches work well. Go fully vegan somewhere the food is genuinely satisfying on its own merits — GrassFed's burgers, El Planta's tacos, or Doko Demo V's pizza rarely feel like a compromise to non-vegans. Or pick a mixed-menu spot like Netherworld, Tea Master, Antica Pizzeria, Arrivederci Pizzeria, or King Tea, where everyone just orders what they like off the same menu.

Vege Rama's buffet is ideal for picky eaters since kids can choose exactly what they want. Loving Hut and Vegan Restaurant both serve familiar comfort-food flavours (fried rice, "chicken", noodles) that go down easy with children. Dicki's relaxed, dog-friendly café is another easy, casual option. Arrivederci Pizzeria, a family-run pizzeria in Milton, also has vegan pizzas and pastas that suit kids just as well.

Vege Rama's buffet is ideal since kids can point at whatever looks good. Loving Hut and Vegan Restaurant serve familiar, mild comfort-food flavours (fried rice, noodles, "chicken") that go down easy, and Dicki's casual café setting is relaxed enough for a wriggly toddler.

El Planta's lively atmosphere, shareable plates, and margaritas make for an easy, low-pressure first date. Neon Ramen's modern bar-restaurant setting works well too, and on the Gold Coast, Izakaya Midori and Greenhouse Canteen both have a cosier, sit-down feel. For a mixed-menu dinner date, Antica Pizzeria's wood-fired Italian setting in Wilston is another easy pick.

Now that the ice is broken, it's worth stepping it up a notch. On the Gold Coast, Izakaya Midori and Greenhouse Canteen both have a proper sit-down restaurant feel for a longer dinner. In Brisbane, Neon Ramen's modern bar-restaurant setting, U-Tong's Thai menu, or a wood-fired Italian dinner at Antica Pizzeria are great for round two.

If the first date was tacos and margaritas at El Planta, mix it up completely the second time — a different cuisine keeps things interesting.

Vege Rama's buffet format handles groups without any fuss — everyone serves themselves. El Planta's share-plate Mexican menu is built for a table of people ordering together, and Netherworld's arcade bar gives a group something to do while they wait on food and drinks. On mixed menus, King Tea has dedicated vegan banquets for groups and Ma Pa Me offers a $65-per-person vegan banquet.

Dicki's, The Green Edge, Archie AM:PM, Vega Cafe, and Cardamom Pod all have the specialty-coffee-and-relaxed-seating combination that works well for a low-key business catch-up or a laptop-and-coffee session.

Netherworld's arcade bar is a fun, casual spot with vegan burgers and craft beer if you're after a pub setting. If you'd rather do the exercise yourself, Brisbane Vegan Run Club (see our Community page) organises weekly runs around Brisbane that usually wrap up with coffee or brunch.

The Green Edge's bistro-café-deli setup and Dicki's relaxed balcony are both easy places to slow down with a coffee and a book. Vega Cafe's laid-back Spring Hill spot is another good option if you want a quieter corner.

Dicki's in New Farm is explicitly dog-friendly, with balcony seating that's easy to bring a pet along to. For other venues, it's always worth checking with the café directly, since outdoor seating policies vary and change.

Offering to bring a dish is the easiest way to guarantee there's something you can actually eat — and often the best way to introduce people to vegan food without a lecture. A box of treats from Veganyumm or Pippa's Pantry, or takeaway from Vegan Restaurant or Loving Hut reheated at home, both travel well and tend to win people over.

Giving the host a heads-up ahead of time also helps — most are happy to accommodate once they know, and it takes the pressure off figuring it out on the day.

Head to our Community page and filter by "Meeting" — it lists active groups like Brisbane Vegan Meetup, Brisbane Vegans, Brisbane Vegans Unite, and Brisbane Outdoor Vegan Adventurers, all built around getting vegans together in real life.

UQ Vegan Society is great if you're a student, Vegan Board Games is a relaxed monthly meetup, and Brisbane Vegan Run Club combines exercise with a post-run coffee.

Start with Vegan Singles Brisbane and Surrounds on Facebook — a group specifically for vegans in Brisbane looking to meet someone, also listed on our Community page. Veggly is a dedicated vegan and vegetarian dating app worth trying too.

On mainstream apps like Hinge, Bumble, or Tinder, search bios and prompts for "vegan" or check their interest tags/filters before matching — it saves you from a first date (or a first kiss) that tastes like meat.

Action for Animals Community, Brisbane Animal Save, and Vegan Action Brisbane are all active in Brisbane, organising vigils, outreach events, and advocacy campaigns. Filter by "Activism" on our Community page to find their socials and get involved.

Cranky's Farm in Mount Cotton and Farm Animal Rescue in Dayboro are both sanctuaries for rescued farm animals, with regular open days and volunteering opportunities. Filter by "Sanctuary" on our Community page for details and how to visit.

Simple things go a long way: follow small vegan venues on Instagram, leave honest reviews, choose them first when you're deciding where to eat, and tell your friends when you find one you love.

If you're a business owner or freelancer, check out Hire a Vegan to work with vegan professionals, or our Contribute page for other ways to help this project and the wider community grow.

Start with the Vegan Kit. Its "Try Going Vegan" section lists free programmes like Veganuary, the 30 Day Vegan Pledge, and 10 Weeks to Vegan, with tips, recipes, mentorship, and community support. No pressure — just good food and good vibes.

Then put it into practice: pick a fully vegan spot from our Eat & Drink page, join a group on the Community page, and follow a plant-based dietitian like Amanda Benham or Lex (Leah) Higl on our People page for advice you can trust.

Vegans don't eat meat, fish, dairy, eggs, honey, gelatine, or anything else made from animals — including ingredients that hide in labels, like casein and whey. Everything else is on the menu.

And that's a lot: vegetables, legumes (beans, lentils, chickpeas), grains and seeds, nuts, fruit, mushrooms, plant milks, tofu, seitan, meat and cheese alternatives, pasta, chocolate, and ice cream — as long as they're free of animal ingredients. It's not monotonous and it's not expensive; it just takes a little willpower and creativity.

Want the full list by food group? Vegpedia's What do vegans eat? covers it (in Portuguese). To see it on a real plate, browse our Eat & Drink page.

The Documentaries section of our Vegan Kit has the essentials. Dominion (filmed mainly in Australia), Earthlings, and Seaspiracy are the classic starting points, while Lucent, Pignorant, Seantience, Nightmares of Nature, and AI & Animals go deeper into specific topics.

They're not easy to watch — but they might be the most important films you'll ever see. Watch with a friend, and keep a plant-based snack handy for afterwards.

The Vegan Kit has a Thinkers You Should Know section (Peter Singer, Tom Regan, Gary L. Francione, Martha Nussbaum, and more) and an Animal Ethics & Research section with organisations like Sentience Institute and Animal Ethics.

For the local picture, see Veganism in Australia: AnimalKind, Animals Australia, Vegan Australia, and The Vegan Society of Queensland are all listed there.

Yes — well-planned plant-based diets are considered nutritionally adequate for all stages of life. The one non-negotiable is vitamin B12: vegans should take a supplement or eat fortified foods. Our Vegan Kit answers the health question in more detail.

For personalised advice, talk to a dietitian. Amanda Benham (evidence-based dietitian and founder of The Green Edge) and Lex (Leah) Higl (Brisbane sports dietitian) are both on our People page.

For laughs, start with Jakob Alan Guy — better known as Humane Vision — a Brisbane comedian with a sharp, funny take on veganism. Amanda Ducks' recipe feed is a constant stream of "I need to make that right now", and Lauren McGeachin shows that a vegan life of travel, diving, and gym sessions is anything but boring.

Meet them all (and more) on our People page.

Brad King (founder of Farm Animal Rescue), Chay Neal (Executive Director of Animal Liberation Queensland, now AnimalKind), Rico Andrade (President of The Vegan Society of Queensland), and Lauren McGeachin are a great place to start. Julio Cesar Prava, the founder of this guide, also shares infoactivism and sentientism.

Find them all on our People page, and when you're ready to get involved in person, see our Community page (filter by "Activism").

Lexie Lou shares restaurant recommendations and recipes, and Andy from I Travel For Vegan Food (based in Brisbane) maps vegan eats around the world. Heading to the coast? Jane from Vegan on the GC covers the Gold Coast.

For local events and people to eat with, Cameron Green and Catherine Laurence organise Brisbane Vegan Meetup. You'll find everyone on our People page.

Amanda Ducks shares easy vegan recipes (she even has an ebook with over 80 of them), and Renata Halpin shows how to veganise everyday recipes and takes virtual tours of Aldi, Woolworths, and Coles. Lexie Lou also shares recipes alongside her restaurant picks.

And if you'd rather let an expert do the baking, Pippa Blatch's Pippa's Pantry in Camp Hill is the place. All of them are on our People page.

Cassandra Haddad is a vegan strength and fitness coach who helps plant-based women build muscle and confidence, and Lex (Leah) Higl is a Brisbane sports dietitian and competitive vegan powerlifter. Both are on our People page.

For company, Brisbane Vegan Run Club on our Community page organises weekly runs.

Amanda Benham founded The Green Edge, co-owned with Cale Drouin, who also co-founded Cale & Daughters (now Made With Plants). Pippa Blatch runs Pippa's Pantry, and Pratana "Gifty" Langkapinth and Prince Khamkaew co-founded Vega Cafe.

Meet the people on our People page, then support them with your next meal from Eat & Drink.

Yes. Kelly James tattoos at Fox & Moon Tattoo, Queensland's first 100% vegan tattoo studio, and Christina Meyers teaches yoga on the Gold Coast. Both are on our People page.

For a wider range of vegan professionals and services, browse our Hire a Vegan directory.

By Instagram followers: Freelee the Bananagirl, the Queensland-based raw-vegan YouTuber and author, with roughly 443,000 followers, followed by The Veronicas' Jessica Origliasso at around 275,000.

By worldwide fame: The Veronicas. The Brisbane-born twin sisters Jessica and Lisa Origliasso have had global chart hits, and Jessica is a vegan, so they are the best-known Brisbane names in the plant-based world.

Follower counts are approximate, taken from public profiles and they change every day. Meet these and other local names on our People page.

Yes. Julio Cesar Prava covers graphic design, web design, social media and video editing, and Lexie Lou works freelance across writing and social media management. Both take on clients outside the vegan community too.

Find them, and more vegan professionals, on our Hire a Vegan directory.

Yes. Mandy Pentland, co-founder of this guide, pet-sits alongside her hospitality and event work, and Gabi Heather is a dedicated pet sitter — both reachable by DM on Instagram.

See Mandy's full listing on our Hire a Vegan directory.