11 of Europe’s best restaurants for vegan fine dining

When London hotel Claridge’s parted ways with its longtime chef last month after he suggested introducing an all-vegan haute cuisine menu, it seemed plant-based cuisine had a way to go to reach haute cuisine heights. . But the backlash against Daniel Humm’s departure was vociferous, especially from the millennial-dominated market for veganism, whose maturing diners are rapidly gaining purchasing power and looking to shift away from the cheap, cheerful eats that have largely fueled the plant-based revolution. The Green Star of veganism is on the rise, with Michelin creating the eponymous category in 2020 to reward restaurants that go above and beyond in ‘sustainable dining practices’, their lists topped by numerous plant-based venues. And with the British government planning to ban the trade in foie gras, aided by the insights of London-based vegan fine dining restaurant Gauthier, which has pioneered tasty alternatives, plant-based fine dining is grabbing headlines and loyalty. of the most demanding diners.

1. Lucky Leek

Berlin Germany

Leading the way since 2011, Lucky Leek not only has vegan options, but serves completely plant-based fine dining menus. Receiving a Michelin Bib Gourmand in 2019 for quality and affordability, this Berlin address has blazed a trail for the city’s now vast offering of vegetable-centric restaurants. The three- to five-course tasting menus have a European feel, with a few forays into Asia (Balinese spiced tofu with sesame cucumber, coconut sambal, and green pancake, for example).

Typical dishes: vegetable consommé with potato and watercress ravioli, pear and chilli risotto with tandoori cabbage and nori tempeh rolls, as well as almond cheese, the star cheese of the vegan dish. Three-course tasting menu from €39 (£33).

2. Ark

Copenhagen, Denmark

Holder of a Michelin Green Star, this elegant Copenhagen dining experience features sustainably produced Scandinavian furnishings, local and seasonal dishes, and an Australian-Danish team in the kitchen that claims to offer “a 100% full-time plant full of heart”. based concept. Sit down to Ark’s five- or seven-course tasting menu paired with Nordic-inspired cocktails and natural or biodynamic wine.

Typical Dishes: Mushrooms are often the stars, grown nearby but rich in Japanese flavors. Try the blue oyster mushroom, oyster leaf, and umami glaze. Seven-course tasting menu from DKK699 (£80).

3. Market cuisine

Zürich, Switzerland

Zurich’s Marktküche (‘market kitchen’), an upscale farm-to-table venue that is home to a Michelin Bib Gourmand and a green star, focuses on fresh vegetables, with chef Tobias Hoesli seeking out sustainable regional producers and using almost 100% Swiss products. Diners can expect homemade breads and pastas, as well as the inherent element of surprise: you choose the number of dishes and trust the staff to organize your gastronomic journey.

Typical dishes: forest mushrooms in puff pastry with truffled potato muslin. Four-course tasting menu from CHF79 (£65).

4. The greenhouse

Stockholm, Switzerland

Pickling, fermenting, harvesting and smoking – all the Nordic culinary boxes are ticked at this vegan landmark under Stockholm’s Skanstullsbron bridge in trendy Södermalm. Locally sourced ingredients are accompanied by natural and biodynamic wines, craft beers and seasonal cocktails at this high-end restaurant, which is located next to one of the most popular nightclubs in the city. On Saturdays it’s open until the wee hours of the morning, with three-course menus plus “a deluxe snack” served to discerning clubbers from 11:45pm, though those looking for a quieter dining experience can arrive earlier in the evening.

Signature Dishes: Two charcoal grills inform flavors in dishes like smoked broccoli with grilled corn and whipped tomato miso butter. Three-course tasting menus from SEK380 (£32).

5. Liberty 1875

Pitlochry, United Kingdom

Dine and sleep in a completely plant-based environment at the UK’s first vegan hotel, which opened in the Perthshire Highlands in 2018. Everything from the alcohol in the craft cocktails to the upcycled furniture and cleaning products is vegan , while the heating comes from the 100% renewable Ecotricidad. Saorsa 1875’s kitchen is run by Italian-born, British-trained chef Luca Sordi, who caters nightly “supper clubs” at a communal dining table, showcasing seasonal, local and forage produce with changing set menus. daily.

Typical dishes: sautéed ‘scallops’ with glazed eggplant with tamari miso and seaweed. Five course set menu £55.

6. jewel

Milano, Italy

Joy is the (translated) name and mission statement of Europe’s first vegetarian restaurant with a Michelin star, awarded in 1996. Serving world-class “natural cuisine”, this pioneering plant-based Italian restaurant has aimed bringing joy to both diners and the planet since it opened in 1989. Today, the recently Green Star-awarded local Milan’s no-brainer offers three tasting menus based on organic dishes, 80% of which are vegan, made with products coming largely from farms around Lombardy.

Typical dishes: Joia’s two-course lunch menu highlights dishes like Sicilian risotto with artichokes and homemade miso (€12.50/£11 including drink). The lasagna, meanwhile, is legendary.

7. Humus x Hydrangea

Brussels, Belgium

Run by Flemish chef Nicolas Decloedt (“Best Vegetable Chef” according to the Gault & Millau culinary guide in 2020), this beautiful Brussels spot serves seasonal, local and organic plant-based dinners. Humus x Hortense’s weekly changing tasting menu ‘resounds to the rhythm of 24 micro-seasons’, guided by a roots-to-leaf, zero-waste approach, from food to cocktails to crafts (Alain Berteau Belgian chairs; soft furnishings adorned by the Brussels fashion brand Facon Jacmin).

Typical dishes: roasted parsley root, red potatoes from Flanders, fermented vegetable sauce. Five-course tasting menu from €78 (£66).

8. SHE

Ares, France

On the Atlantic coast, near Bordeaux, ONA (Origine Non-Animale: ‘origin free of animals’) became the first French vegan restaurant to receive a Michelin star, early last year. While an increasing number of upscale French kitchens now serve plant-based menus, ONA has been vegan since its inception in 2016. Run by chef Claire Vallée, this venue was born thanks to a crowdfunding campaign and a loan from a green bank, and has also earned a Michelin Green Star for its ethical practices.

Signature Dishes: 11-course tasting menus offer dishes that combine ingredients like tonka bean and chaga mushrooms, plus acorn, iyokan (Japanese citrus) and butternut (€116/£99).

9. Gauthier Soho

London, United Kingdom

This West End restaurant is run by the French chef of the same name who pioneered ‘faux gras’, an ethical alternative to the controversial goose liver delicacy. Gauthier’s concoction of mushrooms, lentils, walnuts and cognac now outsells the foie gras itself, which used to top menus here before the restaurant went vegan in 2019. Beyond pate, French cuisine ranks high. featured elsewhere on the menu, in a reinvented Tatar dish, for example.

Typical dishes: in addition to a pot of ‘faux gras’ with toasted sourdough, try the truffle tortellini with golden enoki and truffle ‘cream’. Nine course tasting menu from £70.

10. tian

Vienna, Austria

With three Gault & Millau touches and a Michelin star, this Viennese spot might just be the most popular vegetarian restaurant in Austria, with plenty of entirely plant-based options too. The menus are made up of regional products and delicacies from their own garden, and there are pairings with organic juices, along with organic wines that seek to increase the flavor profile of each dish.

Typical dishes: the eight-course ‘Paseo por la huerta’ menu, which can be ordered vegetarian or vegan, features butternut squash with cedar and ginger, and kale with parsley root and shitake (€139/£119).

11. Gron

Helsinki, Finland

Following COP26, authorities in the Finnish capital announced that the city will be meat-free at official functions, and while vegan restaurants are still rare, some gourmet addresses are adding notable plant-based tasting menus. Case in point: Gron, a Michelin-starred restaurant in the city center, offering an eight-course vegan menu focused on premium organic, plant-based Scandinavian produce, where fresh and fermented ingredients take center stage.

Typical dishes: tuber terrine with candied lingonberries and roasted potato velouté sauce infused with fermented black pepper and parsley. Eight-course menu €92/£78.