Hong Kong’s best vegetarian cafés

Vegetarians, vegans, and flexitarians looking to explore more of Sai Wan’s cool café scene will find nowhere more serene and soulful than Good Good, a vegetarian Japanese café-slash-restaurant with an on-site grocery and lifestyle store for after-meal browsing. Its crispy tempura rice set ($118) is a year-round crowd-pleaser, but look out for seasonal specials like curry udon and maple pecan Mont Blanc, too.

Good Good, 2A Second Street, Sai Ying Pun

With its minimalist interiors, colourful drinks, and creatively presented fusion food, this Tsim Sha Tsui eatery ticks all the trendy café boxes while also being entirely vegetarian-friendly. Its beverage menu covers everything from bright fruit slushies to fine Chinese teas and various coffee drinks, while the savoury dishes run the gamut from light salads and soups to burgers, pasta, and fried rice made with meat substitutes.

For something that’ll feed you and look great on the feed, try the creamy pumpkin barley risotto ($128), which comes served inside the gourd itself. More of a dessert person? Have the oolong affogato with green tea pudding ($88), Thai milk tea shaved ice ($72), or caramel apple waffle with vanilla gelato ($98).

2DP, The Lamma Tower, 12–12A Hau Fook Street, Tsim Sha Tsui | (+852) 3705 9590

Never underestimate how filling a smoothie bowl can be! Pleasing to the eye and equally—if not more—delightful to sample, the purplish-pink swirls offered by Supabowl make for a healthy refreshment that doubles as stunning visual content. Choose from a blended base of açaí (starting from $40) or pitaya (starting from $40) that is free from chemical preservatives and artificial sweeteners, and add on mix-and-match toppings like fruit and granola to your heart’s content. Slab on some of their homemade almond butter as a final touch—we highly recommend it.

Supabowl, locations across Hong Kong Island

If you find yourself on a day trip to explore the nooks and crannies of the Sham Shui Po neighbourhood, check out Years, a Japanese-inspired joint that serves up comforting vegetarian fare. Despite its small size, it’s big on flavours and filling portions, making it the perfect lunch spot for rumbling tummies.

From their menu, we love the katsu curry risotto ($98) that features an OmniPork patty, as well as the Portobello mushroom burger ($98) after a long day of trawling through Sham Shui Po’s many markets. It’s popular with locals, especially on weekends, so try to show up early to grab a seat at this petite café—alternatively, you could try your luck at the Years’ other Sham Shui Po location, which is just a few blocks away, or visit their Tsuen Wan branch.

Years, locations across Kowloon and New Territories

A short while after closing its doors in this very spot, the renowned Cong Sao Star Dessert has returned, re-emerging with sweet treats from its familiar menu and new vegetarian dishes to boot. Aside from indulging in Cong Sao classics like the longan sorbet with nata de coco ($35) and sweet tofu with mango sorbet ($31), opt for tucking into their new main dishes and savoury snacks. Everything from cha chaan teng-style baked vegetarian pork chop rice in tomato sauce with cheese ($50) to the homely eggplant vegetarian minced pork with rice ($52) can be had here.

Cong Sao Veggie Express, Shop W003–W004, West Wing, TKO Gateway, 2 Sheung Ning Road, Tseung Kwan O | (+852) 2668 6778

If you do want a bite of plant-based “meats,” however, there’s one place that does it better than anyone else. As one of Hong Kong’s largest vegetarian dining proponents, Green Common can be found in almost all corners of the city, running its grocery concept alongside its casual café to encourage its customers to make eco-conscious decisions.

Menus differ slightly between restaurant locations, with both Chinese and Western dishes up for grabs, so the flavours will not be too far out of the left-field. We favour the Omnipork K-ramen ($56) from the Landmark outlet, made with slabs of Omnipork luncheon meat and spicy noodles, and the Beyond Black Burger ($112) that comes with a rich black pepper sauce, sautéed mushrooms, and a Beyond patty.

Green Common, locations across Hong Kong

Veggie Spinner is a hidden gem in Tai Hang that serves Western café fare made vegan and vegetarian. Its owner insists on making everything by hand, including pizza dough and soups, so you know everything is crafted with heart. It’s precisely this can-do spirit that has attracted a loyal band of customers that love their Lavash rolls ($53), fresh detox juices, and endlessly customisable pizzas. Make sure to keep an eye out on their Facebook page as they set their own opening hours and sometimes focus more on catering events instead.

Veggie Spinner, 144 Tung Lo Wan Road, Tai Hang | (+852) 2802 6126

Located by the furniture store of the same name, Ovo Café is artfully decorated in bushels and pots upon pots of beautiful plants and flowers. Featuring comforting dishes peppered with local and international flair, like the oriental nachos ($75) made from crunchy fried wonton wraps or the lion Caesar salad ($88) tossed with hot spring egg and lotus root, dine on some hearty yet healthy dishes under the gorgeous overhanging flora.

Ovo Café, 1 Wan Chai Road, Wan Chai | (+852) 2527 6011

Located on-campus at the University of Hong Kong, this meat-free bistro brings to the forefront the joys and advantages of a vegetarian diet, all whilst offering scrumptious fare for affordable prices. Its interiors incorporate green elements, showing chandeliers made from recycled plastic bottles that watch over old-school wooden chairs donated by local schools. Operating on a pay-by-weight buffet option with an extensive selection of sides and nibbles that rotate every day, each set comes with refillable rice and Chinese soup to boot. Enjoy your meal with a steaming cup of syphon coffee (starting from $26) or their signature walnut soya milk.

Bijas Vegetarian Restaurant, Central Podium, Run Run Shaw Tower, Centennial Campus, Pok Fu Lam Road, Mid-Levels | (+852) 2964 9011

For a no-fuss option, Sprout Deli (小苗子) has got you covered. You will find standard breakfast and afternoon tea sets here that include Hong Kong-style favourites like soy sauce chow mein and ham & egg macaroni soup. Its lunch hour follows the simple formula of a choice of three sides grouped with a generous serving of rice, in addition to items like wraps, raw vegan selections, and heaping salads. For a spot of shopping after your meal, you can even grab your groceries by browsing around their shelves full of organic imports and supplements.

Sprout Deli (小苗子), 181 Hennessy Road, Wan Chai | (+852) 2333 6207

Nestled amongst the historical Blue House area in Wanchai, this calm little spot is a social enterprise eatery helmed by the Saint James Settlement. Emphasizing the natural goodness of locally grown food, their cooking makes use of seasonal produce and ecologically friendly crops. With customer wellbeing being central to their focus, their menu excludes MSG flavouring and limits use of salt, oil, and sugar.

The deliciously nourishing five elements tumeric rice ($62) and homemade veggie wonton noodle ($55) are some star dishes to try out, though do be warned that most of their selections tend to be changed up every several weeks.

Local Ginger Veggie Bistro, G/F, 8 King Sing Street, Wanchai | (+852) 9062 8345