Veg-Friendly Non-Chinese Restaurants in Beijing Pt.1

In honor of World Vegetarian Day on Oct 1, we're taking a look at some of Beijing's best vegan- and vegetarian-friendly spots in the capital. Yesterday, we took a look at a few Chinese restaurants, and today, we'll be turning our attention to non-Chinese eateries.

Nowadays, there are more and more restaurants across Beijing offering vegetarian and vegan offerings. There are so many, in fact, that we'll be splitting this post into two, with a follow-up one running tomorrow. 

Please note: Some of these establishments have multiple locations; for brevity's sake, we've listed one for each. You can check Dianping for more locations.

Duli

Shanghai-based vegan bistro Duli opened their first Beijing branch in the Friendship Store Complex back in April this year. They specialize in plant-based fusion dishes, with creative offerings like Mapo Tofu Hummus (RMB 79), Corn and Cauliflower Fritter with Bao (RMB 89, pictured above) and Tom Yum Wanton Soup (RMB 72). They also host regular guest chef events with previous ones including Migas Mercado's Chef Miguel and Swiss chef Michaela Frank. If you want to keep up-to-date with all Duli events, you can search “Duli度粒” to follow their official WeChat account.

Duli
1/F, Friendship Store Complex, 17 Jianguomenwai Dajie, Chaoyang District
朝阳区建国门外大街17号友谊商店园区内1层商铺
Hours: 11am-10pm
Phone: 185 1953 8158

The Veggie Table

Next up is The Veggie Table, which has been a staple in Beijing's vegetarian dining scene for over ten years. Located on Wudaoying Hutong, they serve up a range of burgers, pasta, pizza, salad and more. A few of our top recommendations are the Falafel Sandwich (RMB 88), the Mushroom Burger (RMB 78) and the Organic Basil Pasta (RMB 78). They also have some rather interesting vegan milk options with a Vegan Milk Tea (RMB 46) available and for Harry Potter fans, a Vegan Butter Beer (RMB 48).

The Veggie Table
19 Wudaoying Hutong, Dongcheng District
东城区五道营胡同19号
Hours: 11am-9pm
Phone: 010 6446 2073

Slowboat 

Winners of our first-ever Veggie Burger Cup, with their Lotus Lane Bean Burger (RMB 52, pictured above), Slowboat's veggie burger offerings clearly impressed our judging panel, with their Dongsi Doufu Burger (RMB 50) also coming in at #11 and Mock the Morning (RMB 59) at #14. The winning Lotus Lane Bean Burger features a high-protein homemade bean patty atop a crispy bed of shredded lettuce, house pickles, crunchy fried onions and a slice of tomato, all drizzled with a special sauce and served on a house-baked black sesame bun.  

Aside from burgers, Slowboat has a variety of vegan and vegetarian salads and sides. Every week, they also do their Meatless Mondays deal, where, with the purchase of any drink, you can get buy one get one free on all veggie burgers and salads. 

SLOWBOAT (Sanlitun branch)
6 Nansanlitun Lu, Chaoyang District
朝阳区南三里屯路6号
Hours: Sun-Thu, 11am-midnight; Fri-Sat, 11am-2am
Phone: 010 6592 5388, 178 1215 6182

Gung Ho! 

New Zealand Pizzeria Gung Ho! is a great restaurant for those with dietary requirements, offering vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free and other options. Starting with the pizza, they’ve got numerous different vegetarian and vegan pizzas on the menu, such as the Black Truffle (RMB 119), Four Cheese (RMB 99), The Ubergene (RMB 99), the Vegan Pepperoni (RMB 99), the Porcini Mushroom (RMB 119), and for those who are fans of durian, the Aroma Durian (RMB 109). Along with pizza, they have a range of veggie salads, pastas, tons of snacks and more.

Gung Ho! (Sanlitun branch)
1/F, Bldg 3 China View, Gongrentiyuchang Donglu, Chaoyang District
朝阳区工人体育场东路2号中国红街3号楼1层
Hours: 11am-11pm
Phone: 010 8487 1663

Arrow Factory 

Arrow Factory has always been a pioneer when it comes to vegetarian and vegan food in Beijing, crafting creative dishes to delight the veggie community. One of their most impressive has to be the Vegan Breakfast (RMB 80) with two herby OmniPork slices, baked beans, mushrooms, sautéed potatoes, grilled tomato, avocado toast and scrambled tofu (please note it’s only available on weekends). They also have a DIY breakfast where you can mix and match any veggie or vegan items of your choosing to create your ideal brunch. 

Aside from brunch, they have some banging vegan burgers, such as the El Vegan Ranch Hand (RMB 85), a Mexican-style burger with a Beyond Meat patty topped with sour cream, ranchero salsa, OmniPork chorizo crumble, vegan cheese, coriander, tortilla haystack, guacamole and sriracha sauce, which came #5 in our Veggie Burger Cup. They also have the Vegan Cheese Burger (RMB 68), which ranked #12 along with plenty of other veggie and vegan options like the Vegan Margherita (70 RMB), Vegan Lasagna (RMB 78) and Falafel Wrap (RMB 75).

Arrow Factory
Waijiao Apartment, 1 Xindong Lu, Chaoyang District
朝阳区新东路1号外交公寓亮马河南岸
Hours: 11am-midnight
Phone: 010 8532 5335

Side Street

Side Street has three vegan burgers on their menu and one veggie burger, all of which ranked in our Veggie Burger Cup. On the vegan front, there is the Cheezy Beast Burger (RMB 88, ranked #4), Hutong Hipster (RMB 55, ranked #9) and Beyond Meat Burger (RMB 88, ranked #13). Then there is the veggie  Country Roads (RMB 65, ranked #7). The Hutong Hipster (pictured above) is a particular favorite of ours, with its spicy potato spinach patty topped with red onion, tomato, lettuce and a smattering of green sauce and spicy and sour sauce. 

Along with burgers, Side Street also does a few veggie and vegan bowls, salads and appetizers like their famous Potato Fireballs (RMB 48) or Cauliflower Manchurian (RMB 55). They also recently launched a new weekly deal called Veg Out Tuesday, where every Tuesday all vegan dishes are 20 percent off. 

Side Street (Jianguomen branch)
Bldg N28 2/101-102 17 Jianguomenwai Dajie, Chaoyang District (behind Nola)
朝阳区建国门外大街17号楼2/101-102（Nola后面）
Hours: 11am-midnight
Phone: 135 2195 8643

Pebbles Courtyard

Tucked away on Wudaoying Hutong, Pebbles has long been an ally of the veggie community in Beijing. On the tortilla front, they've got Vegetarian Enchiladas (Mex RMB 65, Tex-Mex RMB 75), Pebbles Quesadilla (RMB 58), Shroom-Nitas Tacos (RMB 55) and Chorizo con Papa Tacos (RMB 65) featuring a Beyond Meat chorizo. They also have a range of veggie and vegan appetizers, and on Tortas Wednesdays, the Vegan Ahongada (RMB 58) is also available.

Pebbles Courtyard
74 Wudaoying Hutong, Dongcheng District
东城区五道营胡同74号
Hours: Tue-Thu, 5pm-10pm; Fri-Sun, noon-10pm
Phone: 010 840 40767

READ: Veg-Friendly Chinese Restaurants in Beijing

Images: Unsplash, courtesy of the venues, Dianping