Rotorua Restaurants and Cafes
Recently we spent a few nights in Rotorua on the way through to Tauranga. So we obviously had to scope out the vegan food scene while we were there! Our favourite places for kai were Okerefalls Craft Beer Garden and the funky little food truck FTP Vegan Eats which we found at the Rotorua Night Market. As a city known for its appeal to tourists, Rotorua restaurants have got the vegan community sorted.
Abracadabra Cafe & Bar
The sunny outdoor seating and marked vegan options make Abracadabra the ideal summer spot. We can 100% say they cast a spell on us (ha-ha…get it?) with their mango and passionfruit yoghurt smoothies, keeping us craving them to this day. This vibey cafe and bar should be your next choice when you need to quench your thirst or fill your puku with plant-based goodness!
We ordered the vegan nachos, served with a veggie mix over corn chips, topped with cheese, salsa and guac. To stick with the theme we also ordered the vegan burrito! A tortilla filled with rice, capsicum, mushrooms, cheese, and spiced just right. They also have a Mediterranean platter and other falafel dishes if you’re not quite craving chilli beans.
Located on Amohia Street, Rotorua
Artisan Cafe
Artisan Cafe is your classic small-town coffee stop. Usually, these are pretty lacklustre in vegan eats. But not here! Artisan has plenty of wholesome plant-based kai to offer the community.
The Vegan Stack filled us right up with two chunky house-made hashbrowns stacked with sauteed mushrooms, fresh guacamole and a capsicum sauce. And the Vegan Buddha Bowl was loaded with chickpeas, veggies and pineapple salsa to top it off.
Or, if you’re in for a sweet treat to go with your hot drink, they also have a couple of slice options in the cabinet! The standard vegan bliss balls, a peanut butter slice and a raw raspberry slice. Heaps of choices here for the plant babies of Rotorua!
Located on Tutanekai Street, Rotorua
Atticus Finch – Rotorua Restaurants
Another place to add to the list of Rotorua restaurants that can accommodate us tree-huggers is Atticus Finch. This bar’s got ritz, serving delicious kai on the slightly more expensive side. Mainly sharing dishes with smaller portions, Atticus Finch is perfect whether you’re dining for lunch or dinner. They’ve got a nice selection of vegan eats, enough so you can come back twice and try something new each time!
Our favourite dish was the spice-crusted tofu salad (pictured) with roasted cherry tomatoes, fennel and a tangy dressing. We froth over a marinated tofu. After this, we had to see what the Disco Fries were all about. It’s hard to go wrong with potatoes, but we genuinely drooled when the waffle-shaped fries were served. And a peanut sauce for dipping? Yes, please. We also ordered a larger share plate, but the curries were a bit bland so we weren’t stoked about that one. Although we’d love to hear everyone else’s thoughts!
Located on Tutanekai Street, Rotorua
BailwalG Pure Vegetarian Restaurant
On a budget but still want to eat something mouth-watering? BailwalG is seriously tasty, affordable, and nearly entirely vegan. Here you can order almost any Indian dish you can think of. From pakora and bhaji to Indo-Chinese like chowmein or chop suey. They even have soups, dal, and several types of dosa! Like we said, use your imagination, and they’ve got it!
This restaurant was bustling with customers which we took as a good sign. Reliable and delicious food is what we’re constantly on the hunt for, so we are always excited when we find places like this!
Located on Tutanekai Street, Rotorua
FTP Vegan Eats
We were lucky enough to discover FTP Vegan Eats at the Rotorua Night Market while we were in town! FTP is a fully vegan food truck with a mission to feed the good people of Rotorua with plant-based yummies. And they are succeeding! With a variety of juicy, cheesy burgers to pick from and loaded fries to go with them, any omni is sure to give veganism a second thought!
We tried the Classic Chicken burger, which was simple but drool-worthy. Tartare sauce and a crispy fake chicken patty with crunchy veggies made it a way too easy-to-eat burger. And the Big Boi (pictured), a burger loaded with pineapple, beetroot, DF cheese, BBQ sauce and tofu bacon. Ummm, yum?? With burgers between $14 and $16, both your tummy and your wallet will be pleased!
Located at the Rotorua Night Market, Tutanekai Street, Rotorua
Okere Falls Store
Okere Falls Store ended up being our favourite place to eat during our stay in Rotorua. We were blown away by the quality of the food and the overall good vibes. Being both a general store and a cafe and beer garden, it’s a super popular spot for vegans and omnis alike! Here you can purchase anything from Proper Crisps to Teeshirts, Deoderant, and even artisan breads.
They have a large outdoor beer garden (with a huge range of craft beers) with beautiful native trees and is located right next to the lake and zipline. Even better is that just around the corner you can walk the Okere Falls track. Grab yourself a hot, well-deserved vegan pie or sausage roll from the cabinet after your walk!
Located on State Highway 33, Okere Falls
Final thoughts on Rotorua Restaurants and Cafes
In the end, we found that there were way more vegan-friendly restaurants in Rotorua than we originally thought! Markets tend to be a hit-or-miss when it comes to finding plant-based kai, but after finding FTP Vegan Eats we’ve decided to keep an open mind! We can’t wait to come back.
Thanks for reading through! Give us a follow on our socials to see what tasty vegan food we find next.
If you’re up in the North Island, check out what we ate in Tauranga, or our Wellington favourites!
