Austria is not well known as a vegan friendly destination, and indeed I’ve encountered many people in Austria who don’t know what vegan means, and in fact use the wrong German word to describe the diet (correctly, it’s vegan, as in English, but I was on more than one occasion called veganisch, which apparently sounds like an alien race).
Graz, however, is something special. Austria’s second largest city after the capital Vienna, with a significant student population, it feels very young and progressive. It may in fact be the hipster capital of Austria. I spent a week in Graz while teaching English, and tried out as many of the vegan and vegan friendly eateries as time permitted. For me, these were the highlights of vegan Graz.
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Graz Vegan Restaurants
Ginko
This all vegetarian, 100% organic place serves a wide range of tasty food, mostly in a buffet style where you pay by weight. Everything is clearly labeled as being lactose, egg or soya free, and the choice of entirely vegan food is extensive, and even includes some sparkly cupcakes and raw chocolate cake.
sparkly vegan cupcake! How could I resist?
The self-service buffet includes Medeterranean and Asian influenced cuisine, as well as salads, and more typical central European dishes in vegetarian or vegan form. It’s a great place to fill up on healthy, varied food for a reasonable price. For a small plate by weight, a cake and a drink, I paid just €8.07 (£6.77).
plate by weight at Ginko
- Address: Grazbachgasse 33, 8010, Graz
- Foursquare; Facebook; website
Café Erde
Café Erde is an entirely vegan restaurant, which offers lunch menus Mondays to Saturdays and has a regular menu including some vegan versions of typical Austrian dishes such as schnitzel with tofu or seitan the rest of the time.
The lunch menu is €6.20 for a main with a side salad, or €7.90 with a soup, and changes every day. Drinks and desserts, which I couldn’t tell were vegan, are extra. I had a vegetable lasagne with a yeast cheese replacement, and my omnivore colleague who ate with me said it was probably the best vegetarian lasagne he’d ever had.
- Address: Andreas Hofer Platz 3, 8010, Graz
- Foursquare; Facebook; website
Mangolds
Another great place for lunch, where like Ginko, you pay by weight of your food and eat in an bright, open area with communal seating. While not entirely vegan, there are many dairy and egg free vegetarian dishes including many salads, pasta dishes and curries.
plate by weight at Mangolds
There are also several freshly made juices and deserts to choose from (not paid by weight) and the vegan options clearly marked. For a medium plate by weight, a dessert and fresh juice, I paid €10.12 (£8.49).
soy tapioca pudding with hazelnuts and grapes
- Address: Griesgasse 11, 8020, Graz
- Foursquare; Facebook; website
Schnurrbart
This very hipster café/bar has a small range of sweet and savoury vegan crêpes, as well as a daily vegan soup and a couple of cakes.
Thai style crêpe with sautéed carrots
Overall, a nice place to relax in the old part of town for a small meal, ideally with some moustachioed hipster friends.
- Address: Paulustorgasse 6, 8010, Graz
- Foursquare; Facebook
Recommended Hotels in Graz
Apartments
There are many sites for apartment rentals in Graz, with AirBnB probably being one of the most popular. Prices are generally comparable to budget hotels, especially if you’re willing to get a room in a shared apartment. Book AirBnB →
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Sign up with AirBnB and you can receive a free $40 credit to use on your first booking!Since I was only in Graz for a week, I of course didn't get to try every vegan place. For more information on more places (in German only), check out this site.
19 Comments on “Vegan Graz | Best Restaurants, Food Tours, Hotels & More”
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Awesome! I didn’t know there were any vegan places in Austria, but obviously so happy that there are! Thanks for the round-up of restaurants – I hope we can visit some of them someday!
Oh yes, and this is just the tip of the iceberg! I’m working on vegan guides to other parts of Austria, and when I get round to do one for Vienna, I’m sure there’ll be heaps of choice!
They all look delicious! I wouldn’t have expected vegan food in Austria…I’ve never been there, but it conjures up visions of schnitzel and not much else 🙂
There’s certainly a lot of schnitzel…in fact, it’s so popular I’ve even come across vegan versions of it!
Wow! That looks like a paradise to me! I’ve never been to Graz, not yet at least, but it’s nice to see that there are plenty of choice for vegetarians and vegans. I’m vegetarian but tasting myself to become slowly vegan. Thanks for sharing! 🙂
Wonderful! Hope you get to make it there too; it’s a really cool city besides the great veggie/vegan food scene.
Guys, loving your site!
I also like to travel and love vegan food, so this is a real pleasure.
I don´t want to agree that we little austrians don´t know what vegan is. 🙂 There is a revolution going on and a lot of “normal” restaurants are labeling their food with vegan, gluten-free and so on. And especially in Vienna you can have everything your vegan heart is dreaming off…
You might have just met the wrong people… 😉
Cheers from graz
Martina (vegan-in-graz.at)
PS: Would have loved to meet you guys and hear some traveller stories…
Yes, I agree, it is easy to find vegan food in Austria…if you’re in a city! The places where I met people who were not sure what ‘vegan’ meant were in tiny, tiny villages in the countryside, but that will be true in every country, more or less! Sorry, I didn’t mean it offensively, that was just my experience. I really liked Graz, and would love to go back, so maybe we can meet there one day!
Don´t worry it was just a joke 🙂 Actually, the whole vegan thing becoming kind of mainstream just started in the last 2-3 years. I don´t know how it is for other countries?!
But we can agree: Austrians sure love their Schnitzel… 😉
All the best for your future travelling. Have fun.
Glad to hear that Graz is such a vegan-friendly place!
Yes, it was a nice surprise!
I was disappointed that we didn’t make it to Graz (the train tickets were crazy at that time, few years ago). Thanks for sharing these vegan eats in Graz, so lovely to see that on the blog now!
Graz is a cool city, hopefully you can get there next time!
It looks like Graz is well suited to vegans. There is a great selection of eating places here. I love the choice for Mangolds, so much colour I bet it tastes amazing.
This idea of paying by the weight of food reminds me of my trips to Brazil. Mind you the comparison tends to end there since they love to eat meat.
Haha! Yes, I really love the pay-by-weight model, as it feels like you’re paying for exactly what you want.
I was visiting a local friend who was also vegetarian so had no problem finding vegetarian food in Austria. A little too much bread for my liking but that’s always the case with Europe!
Right?! Hahaha! Austria (at least in the cities) is really not too bad for vegetarians, and it’s also definitely getting easier for vegans to travel there too.