Vegan Restaurants in Christchurch
We both grew up in Christchurch and have since watched the vegan food scene evolve over the years. It wasn’t that long ago that the best vegan option you could get was something like a bland, cheeseless pizza or some soggy fries. Nowadays, there are great options available for everyone! So, in this post, we’ve gathered together our personal favourite vegan restaurants in Christchurch.
Grater Goods
Functioning as both a vegan restaurant and deli, Grater Goods is perfect for some great chats and beautiful, fresh food! Proudly 100% plant-based, this local spot is a prominent restaurant in the vegan community. Their vegan artisan goods are sold widely throughout Aotearoa’s supermarkets and used by other restaurants to cater to the ever-increasing plant-based population. The staff are super knowledgeable about the restaurant’s high-quality wine selection, as well as the weekly chefs’ specials which range from poutine fries to ‘shrimp’ carbonara!
They sell all sorts of dairy and meat alternatives, even vegan charcuterie products like their super popular ‘chorizo’ and sliced ‘pastrami’. These are the perfect addition to a cold sandwich or your dairy-free cheese boards!
Located on Orbell Street, Sydenham, Christchurch
Costas Taverna
Costas; a vibey Greek restaurant with cheerful, fast-paced music, and plenty of ouzo. This is the perfect place if you’re celebrating a birthday!
While we’re here, we love to have an ouzo cocktail (or two) while waiting for our food. We also recommend ordering the falafel platter made vegan, served with house-made hummus, hot pita, and melt-in-your-mouth potatoes. The platter is meant for two, but don’t be surprised if you have leftovers for the next day!
Located on Cranford Street, Redwood, Christchurch
Midnight Shanghai
If you’re looking for somewhere to go for a celebratory meal or fancy drinks in the city, Midnight Shanghai is the place to go. Their eggplant fries are *chef’s kiss* exquisite. I could easily eat two plates of these, trust me. What’s better is that it has karaoke rooms out the back! Party!
There are plenty of vegan items on the menu, as well as a ‘trust the chef’ option if you’re feeling adventurous! This is a smart choice if you’re dining out with a bigger group of people. The more you order the better with Midnight Shanghai. The food never disappoints!
Located on Oxford Terrace, Christchurch Central City
Miss Peppercorn
Our favourite Sichuan restaurant in the city, loved so dearly by us for its consistent flavours, prices, and vibes. You’ll definitely need to book if you’re wanting to eat here since all of Christchurch is just as obsessed with Miss Peppercorn as we are!
The vegan spring onion pancakes always hit the spot after devouring the chilli dumplings. They’ll serve you the best Mapo Tofu you’ve had, leaving you full, satisfied, and ready for a nap!
Located on Nayland Street, Sumner, Christchurch
Two Fat Indians
We recently discovered this Indian restaurant had a separate vegan menu and we’ve been back countless times. Offering dine-in or delivery, Two Fat Indians make your classic butter chicken (swapping the chicken with aloo (potato), hot, buttery naan, and crispy, flavourful samosas!
The staff are lovely and helpful when it comes to vegan options. The location in town also serves a vegan high-tea which we are super excited to try (stay tuned!).
Located at Northlink, Langdons Road, Papanui and Cashel Street, Christchurch Central
Little Poms and Pomeroys
Little Poms is your classic brunch spot. They offer big family breakfasts, quick coffees, and everything in between! While they only have a couple of vegan options on the menu, they are definitely quality meals! If you like mushrooms, the ‘grilled halloumi’ (veganised by removing halloumi) is fresh and tasty, served with toasted bread, a crispy hash cake and crunchy, seasonal veg.
Next door is Pomeroys Pub, which serves a huge, delicious cauliflower burger. It’s no small feat to finish, but at least you’re leaving with a full stomach! Their lack of vegan options is a bit disappointing, but they do well with what they do have. We reckon it’s worth a visit.
Located on Kilmore Street, Christchurch Central City
Super – Vegan Restaurants in Christchurch
Super is a Japanese fusion restaurant and bar located out in Lyttelton with a variety of vegan options for the plant-based community. The dishes on their menu are primarily for sharing, making it a nice place for dining in a large group.
Pictured are the fried tofu bao buns, fried cauliflower, and cauliflower katsu curry. Yes, we love fried things! Super is worth the trek out to Lyttleton for brunch, lunch or dinner. Not to mention, this is one of the few places in Christchurch offering vegan Japanese food!
Located on Norwich Quay, Lyttelton
Tutto Bene
Good, authentic Italian food is hard to find when pasta is so often made with egg, or drowned in parmesan! However, Tutto Bene in Merivale hides a delicious selection of plant-based pasta and pizzas within their menu. With options like eggplant ravioli on a tomato base, Gnocchi ai Tartufo (a melt-in-your-mouth gnocchi covered in a creamy mushroom sauce, topped with vegan parmesan) or fettuccine with tomato and plant-based chorizo. They also offer pizza like your classic margherita with vegan mozzarella, or a Tartufo (mushroom-y goodness).
As well as delicious food, there are plenty of Italian wines to pick from to enjoy with your meal! This is totally the place to go for a romantic first date or even when you’re simply treating yourself to a nice dinner.
Located on Papanui Road, Christchurch
Pot Sticker – Vegan Restaurants in Christchurch
Wake up craving dumplings? Pot Sticker makes some of the tastiest, juiciest dumplings we’ve ever tried. Stuffed with veggies and tofu pieces, you decide whether you’d like them served steamed or fried (we’re suckers for a fried dumpling). They take your order by giving you a paper form to fill out, indicating how many dumplings or bao you’d like, and take it away to get cooking.
They also serve a crispy tofu bao bun, filled with sweet, sticky soy sauce, pickled onions, cucumber, and a decent chunk of fried tofu. As well as a spicy mungbean salad with marinated tofu to add a kick to your meal. It’s not a massive menu anyway, but the three vegan options they have are always delicious, filling, and will have you thinking about when you can eat them again next!
Located on Lichfield St, Christchurch Central City
Table of Munchies
While the restaurant is small, it’s cozy. And the food they serve is both reliable and tasty. Even better is the amount of vegan options on the menu at Table of Munchies! All clearly marked with a green dot, at TOM’s you’ve got a selection of a donburi rice bowl, stir-fried veggies with tofu, rice noodles with shiitake, and even a spicy ramen dish!
But wait, there’s more. If you feel like something smaller, or a couple of plates to share, they also serve a delicious tempura veggie bao, spicy mushroom dumplings, scallion pancakes and of course, the classic crispy spring roll. We’ve come back several times and can’t seem to get enough.
Located at Merivale mall, Christchurch
Mr Wolf
Hot dogs and champagne wouldn’t be your typical pairing, but somehow Mr Wolf makes it work. With a selection of vegan toppings like their speciality house-made sauerkraut and crispy dill pickles, your tastebuds are in for a good time. These guys even make their own plant-based sausages, which can substitute any of the meat options!
If you do not want to combine wine and hot dogs, Mr Wolf also provides other alternatives such as a blooming onion (deep-fried onion) and salt and vinegar tater tots! There are plenty of vegan food options here to either begin or end your night out in town.
Located on Columbo St, Christchurch City Central
Delilah – Vegan Restaurants in Christchurch
The Strip isn’t usually the first choice when it comes to finding vegan kai, unless you’re heading to Lord of the Fries! However, we’ve accidentally stumbled across a plant-based burger at Delilah. As Bob Ross says, it was a happy little accident! We went in ready to settle for a bowl of fries and left with happy stomachs.
Their Wagyu burger can be veganised on request. Swapping out the meat patty with a crispy plant-based chicken-style patty, and the cheese for dairy-free cheese! The beetroot relish and pickles make it that much better. And the fries are decent too! If you’re not in the mood for a burger, they also have salad options, as well as quinoa with butternut pumpkin and kumara.
Located on Oxford Terrace, Christchurch City Central
Le Xom
Having had such a great experience at Le Xom in Sumner, we had to share. The Vietnamese restaurant was buzzing when we arrived. So busy, in fact, we only just managed to get a table! And we were pleased to see there were plenty of veggie items on the menu, and even most of the chicken options you are able to substitute for tofu.
We ordered the crispy spring rolls as a safe option but were VERY pleasantly surprised when they turned out to be some of the best fried spring rolls we’ve had. The crispiness of the outside and the sweet but savoury dipping sauce made them absolutely MOREISH. We also ordered the Salmon Green Curry (swapping the salmon for tofu of course) which was a green coconut curry with veggies, bamboo shoots, and tofu filled with flavour.
Don’t mind us already planning on making this our new regular dinner spot!
Located on Wakefield Ave, Sumner
Slick Burger – Vegan Restaurants in Christchurch
With four vegan burgers to choose from, Slick Burgers is a safe option when you’re craving that burger fix. To start, the bun is light and fluffy, so as not to take away from the goodness of the filling! They even offer a purple wheat flour & coconut milk bun for one of their special plant-based burgers – Mary(vegan)jane.
Their vegan burgers are filled with a variety of dairy-free cheeses, such as cream cheese, colby, or mozzarella. Using a potato & herb patty, or a kumara, pumpkin & potato patty as the base, they bulk their burgers out with pickles, guacamole, roasted veggies, vegan tzatziki and even caramelized pear if you’re feeling experimental. Tasty, cheese-y kai is what you’ll get here!
Located on Ferry Road, Phillipstown, Christchurch
Final Thoughts on Vegan Restaurants in Christchurch
Christchurch has a huge range of amazing restaurants to choose from. Even though there are only a couple of fully vegan restaurants there are still many vegan-friendly places with great dishes. Don’t miss out on the great vegan restaurants in Christchurch and give something new a try!
Check out our post on the best brunch spots in Christchurch and make sure not to miss Riverside Market or Little High Eatery !
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