Whether you’re travelling to Bangkok or you’re already a resident, you’ll never have trouble finding vegan-friendly restaurants in the area. Most eateries display a yellow-on-red “Jay” flag to let you know that they serve a vegan menu.
Plant-based restaurants are sprouting up around the globe, with the vegan lifestyle growing each year, and for a good reason, studies show that a meat-free diet can benefit our health and the environment.
The term “Jay” (เจ) – pronounced as “chay”, is a Thai term for vegan, similar to a monk’s diet. A “Jay” diet, however, aside from avoiding meat, also restricts honey, garlic, onion, leeks, or any pungent produce. So keep that in mind when scouting for food.
But of course, with the number of choices, we’ve rounded up a list from plant-based eateries to raw food cafes to help you decide where to eat without meat.
Vegan-friendly restaurants in Bangkok
Vistro
Specialties: Jackfruit larb taco, Indonesian-style Ubud Gado Gado salad, Hawaiian Poke Bowl.
Address: 46/1 Soi Sukhumvit 24, Khlong Toei.
Vistro serves animal-free dishes inspired by different cuisines from around the world.
The restaurant’s all-vegan owners, Navin Sethi, his wife Harsha Sethi, and head chef Stuart Nombluez, share that after learning that the city doesn’t have enough variety for vegan cuisine, they decided to open their own.
Some of the kitchen’s offerings include Spaghetti Carbonada, a plant-based pasta dish using char-grilled portobello mushroom steak, Mediterranean-inspired Habibi Wrap made with wheat tortillas and double marinated Chik’n.
The resto even serves kid-friendly meals like Soy-protein Chik’n Strips, Cheeze Balls, and Beyond Sausage Hotdog. Plus dairy-free, plant-based desserts like their Passionfruit Cheezcake and Red Velvet Donut.
Gluten-free options are also available in selected menu items upon request.
Bonita Cafe and Social Club
Specialties: Nam Tok Salad, Fluffy Pancakes, Faux Turkey Burger.
Address: 100 Soi Pramote , Silom Road, Bang Rak, Silom, Bangkok 10500 Thailand.
The vintage-style cafe is run by a Thai-Japanese couple and offers an extensive selection of Western and Japanese vegetarian and vegan delights.
The cafe’s specialties include Grilled vegan soy meat dressed with Isan (Northeast Thailand) style dressing, made of ground roasted rice, chillies, garlic, mint, shallots, spring onions, lime, soy sauce, coconut syrup, and served with brown rice; or the “rare” vegan Japanese curry made with onion, carrot, potato, mushroom, broccoli, white radish, tomato, and dates, served with Japanese brown rice.
According to its owners, who are also active members of the Thailand 1000 Miles Run Club, their restaurant does not just serve delicious vegan food; it also serves as a peaceful and relaxing space to customers.
PS: The restaurant is also home to three adorable cats
Broccoli Revolution
Specialties: Tea Leaves Salad, Broccoli and Quinoa Charcoal Burger.
Address: 55/6 Charoen Krung 42/1 Alley, Street, Bang Rak.
Broccoli Revolution is an exclusively vegan plant-based eatery and cold-pressed juice and smoothie bar. The cafe says its goal is to achieve balance by providing customers with healthier choices and offering organic vegetables – whenever possible, locally grown.
A few fan favourites include their hearty and unique Tea Leaves salad made from fermented tea leaves with assorted beans, cabbages, tomatoes, garlic and fresh chillies, Broccoli and Quinoa Charcoal Burger, and Pakoras made from shredded carrots, broccoli, and other vegetables coated with breading and then deep-fried.
Naya Elrich-Adam, the restaurant’s owner, spent nearly 11 years overseas before returning to Bangkok after a cancer scare that inspired her to change her health and lifestyle. She opened Broccoli Revolution as a place that she says focused less on business more on education, community, and healthy living.
“People underestimate the power of vegetables. That’s why we need a revolution,” Elrich-Adam shared with Taste of Thailand.
Mango
Specialties: Pad Mee Kao, Falafel.
Address: 13 Thanon Tanao, Wat Bowon Niwet, Phra Nakhon, Bangkok, Thailand.
You can find some of the freshest tofu, Tempeh and noodles at Mango Vegan Cafe, as the restaurant’s owner sources most produce from his farm.
Established in 2014, the vegetarian restaurant serves Western foods like Granola with Nut Milk, salads, Pita, Falafel, and Hummus, or local dishes like Pad Mee Kao with translucent noodles and Tempeh. It also sells dairy-free cakes, smoothies, and coffee.
The space also doubles as an art gallery.
Barefood Bangkok
Specialties: Vegan cashew cheese.
Address: 26 Soi Sukhumvit 61 Khlong Toei Nuea.
Barefood Bangkok specialises in vegan cheese made from cashew nuts.
The restaurant’s owners, Taksina Nuangsri and Italian chef Edoardo Bonoala, started the business wanting to offer delicious, plant-based, non-processed alt-cheese using local ingredients.
The vegan cheeses are available in six different flavours: classic, chilli, truffle, smoked oak wood, smoked jack, and mixed herbs. Available to order individually or as a cheese platter.
Customers can also try the kitchen’s Barefood Cheeseburger made from Tempeh with beetroot, radish, zucchini, koji fungus, mushroom, and flaxseed; or their home-made whole-grain pasta with mushroom porcini sauce.
May Kaidee
Specialties: Green curry, Massaman curry.
Address: 33 Samsen Rd, Wat Sam Phraya, Phra Nakhon.
May Kaidee serves up authentic 100-per-cent plant-based Thai cuisine.
Originally beginning as a street cart in the old alleys of Bangkok in 1988, the restaurant’s founder, May, used traditional recipes passed on through generations, from hundred-year-olds to thousands of years old from various parts of the country.
Customers can enjoy their version of the Green Curry made with Thai eggplants or the Masaman Curry made with red chilli, yellow curry powder, and potatoes. The restaurant also offers a wide selection of soups, salads, noodles, and desserts.
The restaurant says that while it tries its best to source all ingredients locally whenever possible and to make sure that the majority of menu items are gluten-free, including the soy sauce used in their recipes.
The restaurant also operates as a Thai cuisine cooking school.
Veganerie
Specialties: Pulled “pork” burger, Fried spring rolls.
Address: Sukhumvit Soi 11 (G Floor, Ambassador Hotel).
Veganerie started as a bakery from a family who wants to share a “good vegan experience” with everyone.
Tucked behind Benjasiri Park, the space offers a huge selection of plant-based food and drinks from all-day breakfasts, salads, curries, pasta, smoothies, sandwiches, and more.
Some of the eatery’s bestsellers include the Pulled “pork” burger made with smoked mushrooms, and Crisp fried spring rolls stuffed with tofu, greens, glass noodles, and partnered with home-made sweet and sour sauce – perfect with rice.
Rasayana Cafe
Specialties: Hawaiian pizza, Eggplant lasagna.
Address: Rasayana Retreat, 57 Soi Prom-mitr, Sukhumvit 39.
Tucked inside a holistic retreat centre, Rasayana Cafe is a raw plant-based restaurant that serves only unprocessed, uncooked, unpasteurised food made from vegetables, fruits, seeds, and nuts.
According to the eatery, plants are richer in vitamins, minerals, and enzymes that help cleanse and strengthen the body in its raw form. With its ingredients prepared either fresh or heated below 42 degrees celsius, never above.
Customers can enjoy vegan sushi rolls with mock salmon, Eggplant lasagna, or the unique, raw Hawaiian pizza with a crust made from fresh mushrooms!
Aside from serving 100 per cent vegan food, the entire menu is also gluten-free.
Reminder
Finding vegan-friendly restaurants in Bangkok is easy-peasy because the traditional cuisine is primarily composed of veggies. However, you still need to remind them or ask if their dish has animal broth or fish sauce because they occasionally use these ingredients in their cooking.
