No meat? No problem. If you’re on a mission to discover delicious and wholesome vegan and vegetarian eats in Hamilton, check out these 13 eateries.
Democracy on Locke
202 Locke Street South
This popular Locke Street coffee shop offers a flavourful lunch and dinner menu of animal-free ingredients. Choose from mains like the chickpea smash melt, falafel pita, and pierogi pizza, plus apps and salads.
Must-try: Their most popular item is cauliflower wings: crispy cauliflower tossed in a choice of spicy Sriracha lime sauce, bourbon BBQ, sweet and sour, or sweet apple garlic sauce.
La Luna
306 King Street West and 650 Concession Street
Dig into authentic Lebanese food at one of their various locations with vegetarian options like tabouli and fattoush salads, lentil soup and vegetarian rice. For a hand-held snack, bite into a pita stuffed with three deep-fried falafel patties and vegetables, drizzled with tahini.
Must-try: The Vegetarian dish gives you a taste of everything yummy: hummus, eggplant, falafel, fried cauliflower, grilled tomatoes and mushrooms.
Synonym
328 James Street North
This licensed cafe and book shop serves strictly vegetarian and vegan eats. The carefully thought-out menu includes a juicy pretzel burger with tahini roasted potatoes and a Reuben sandwich with house-made tofu pastrami. For dessert: treat yourself to black sesame ice cream.
Must try: The Green Couscous Bowl is full of good stuff: baked falafel with Israeli couscous, house-made chimichurri, avocado, cucumber, zucchini, broccoli, spinach, salsa verde and tahini and sprinkled with toasted pumpkin seeds.
Berkeley North
31 King William Street
This popular restaurant on King William Street’s Restaurant Row features lots of shareable plates where vegetables are the star: tomato toast, mushroom dumplings, teriyaki eggplant, and avocado salad. For lunch, build your own bowl with greens and couscous or quinoa as the base, and toppings like falafel, cashews, fruits and veggies of your choice.
Must-try: The Berkeley North Salad is loaded with greens, pearl couscous, pickled carrots, cucumbers, pomegranate, avocado and lemon vinaigrette. Add falafel to top it all off.
Green Bar
236 James Street North
Vegan, wholesome and fresh is the ethos behind this quick service downtown cafe. Beverages include smoothies and kombucha while the Green Bar Burger with a walnut and sundried tomato patty and Broccoli Mac N’ Chz are just two of the dishes you’ll find.
Must-try: Vegan tacos are made with an organic corn tortilla, refried beans, pickled jalepeño, avocado, and pico de gallo, served with brown rice.
Burnt Tongue
10 Cannon Street East and 182 Locke Street South
Warm up with a tasty bowl from Hamilton’s famous soup restaurant. The menu changes daily but there’s always vegetarian and vegan options. Think Porcini Mushroom, Thai Green Curry and Cauliflower, and Split Pea. They also serve exceptionally good fries, salads and sandwiches.
Must-try: Thai Squash with peanuts and green onion and Egyptian Lentil with crispy chickpeas are two veggie faves.
Mulberry Coffeehouse
193 James Street North
This cool and comfortable downtown coffee shop is always veggie friendly. Vegetarian and vegan paninis are served on house-made focaccia (options include a black bean and sweet potato burger and roasted vegetable panini). For something warm and comforting, the chili and daily soup are always vegan. On the sweet side, try the double chocolate oatmeal cookies, macarons, and cupcakes.
Must-try: The vegan tahini pizza is topped with sweet potato, balsamic onions and sprouts.
NaRoma Pizzeria
178 Nebo Road
This pizzeria offers five mouth-watering vegetarian pizzas including the traditional Margarita, Melanzane (eggplant) and Funghi (mushroom). In true Naples and Rome fashion, dough is made with time and love. They also have delicious salads and soups.
Must-try: The Terra vegan pizza is topped with black olives, garlic oil, red onions, red peppers, and zucchini.