Dining out can be a challenge for vegans and vegetarians alike — especially if your dining companions lean toward a diet focused on animal-based proteins. Even with restaurants and chefs across Dubai bringing their best plant-based dishes to the table, it’s a common misconception that cutting out meat means a sacrifice of an exciting and fulfilling meal. These seven restaurants are just a handful of options that you can enjoy a meatless meal at — and perhaps get your dining partners to consider a diet with flexitarian benefits while you’re at it.
This trendy vegan cafe was founded on the mentality that food should be good for you and the planet. In order to drive that mission, Wild & The Moon is dedicated to delicious plant-based proteins and dishes that are locally and responsibly sourced. Open for breakfast and lunch, the menu of cold-pressed juices, protein-packed bowls, and all-day breakfast offerings are free of refined sugars, soy, dairy, GMOs, and gluten, so you can fuel your day the right way. Don’t miss the Omega Bowl loaded with mango, passionfruit, sunflower and chia seeds, along with almond “mylk,” roasted buckwheat and shredded coconut.
Healthy eating and global culinary trends meet at the tables of Bounty Beets. Though the menu isn’t 100% plant-based, the menu has no shortage of veggie-loaded options, making it a prime spot for flexitarians, vegetarians, and vegans to enjoy together. You’ll find spiced-tofu scrambled with onions, mushrooms, and spinach on toast with some hummus for breakfast, while the playful and punny Kale-Ing is a vegetarian spaghetti dish fit for lunch or dinner, swirling in a savory kale, sunflower seed, and basil pesto. Finish on a sweet note with one of their cravable desserts.
The Seva Experience is a wellness center with training classes, healing treatments, and a cafe, all designed to feed your body and mind. At the cafe, you’ll find fresh takes on salads and sandwiches that replace animal products with plant-based proteins and alternatives. The No Tuna Sandwich uses a salad of chickpeas and homemade nut mayo to recreate a lunchtime classic served on gluten free bread. On the sweeter side, a matcha tiramisu uses almond flour and a cashew-based cream cheese to inspire a lighter side of the classic dessert.
Thai food has always lent itself to a vegetarian and vegan lifestyle with curries and stir fries using plant-based ingredients to derive their rich flavors. Sukothai appeals to flexitarians with a traditional menu with seafood and meat, but has plenty of vegetarian options to choose from including Gaeng Kiew Warn Pak with mixed vegetables in a green curry sauce with sweet basil. Vegans need not worry about any crossover ingredients like fish sauce, as a dedicated vegan menu features a number of curries, noodle dishes, soups, and more to choose from that highlight plant-based ingredients.
Anyone who says plant-based cuisine is boring hasn’t experienced the artistic craft chef Matthew Kenney presents to diners at Folia. This fine dining experience is focused on bringing innovative dishes to your palate including a beetroot poke in ponzu lime with pickled ginger, kale, macadamia, and mint. For a more traditional approach to vegan entrees, the antioxidant-rich Detox Crunch Salad has a base of organic kale mixed with pomegranate, broccoli, garbanzo beans, cherry tomato, cucumber, and avocado mingling in a tangy orange chia dressing. Consider dining at Folia a dive into what plant-based cuisine looks like when a chef puts an artistic touch on it.
For a healthy and vegetarian take on Indian food, My Govinda’s has an extensive offering of breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Their approach is a balance of traditional and creative takes on Indian dishes, like the kebab, where a typically meat-based dish gets a plant-based update with delicately cooked kidney beans. For a shareable dish, the fondue sizzler replaces meaty options with exotic vegetables to dip in a signature blend of cheese and chili pepper paneer. A step outside of Indian cuisine brings a vegan ratatouille together with steamed basil rice for a rich French classic with an herbaceous touch.
The extensive and eclectic menu at Soulgreen has huge appeal for flexitarians and pescetarians to delight in. With a variety of bruschetta topped with vegetable and fish options, dining companions could mix and match to make a full-on flexitarian meal of shareable plates. However, if you’re looking to indulge on your own, browse the salads for some outstanding choices like the seasonal Spring Bloom Salad studded with strawberries, avocado, and a drizzle of balsamic vinegar. For a more substantial meal, the bowls at Soulgreen are globally inspired like the Italian bowl with eggplant caponata, basil pesto and cashew nuts, traditional Tuscan chickpeas farinata, sweet and sour pepper salad, a mix of cherry tomatoes, and balsamic vinegar topping.
