Antwerp's 10 Best Vegetarian Restaurants

Aahaar is an Indian restaurant hidden within the streets of Antwerp’s Diamond Quarter and frequented mainly by locals. It boasts a complete menu of vegetarian dishes and a buffet that doesn’t leave you wanting for choice. The food here is authentically Indian and very spicy, and the menu includes dosas and vegetable dishes as well as a mango lassi drink to tone down the food’s fire; worth ordering if you’re not used to spicy food.

Among the vegetarian-vegan restaurants in the city, Bites and Wines stands out as the go-to for a delicious and filling vegan meal. It lives up to its motto, ‘onschuldig genieten’, which roughly translates to ‘guilt-free pleasure’, serving not only healthy but also animal-friendly dishes that will wow you with their beautiful presentation and tastiness. Only one or two main dishes are served each day and the menu is constantly changing and constantly interesting, thanks to the creativity of the chef.

With the European gourmet burger craze well underway, burger diners have been trying their best to serve up something for vegetarians too. De Burgerij does this with ease, offering vegetarians a selection of yummy, meatless burgers served with a side of fries. The restaurant is so popular that there are two in Antwerp; one in Berchem and the other at the port with a view over the MAS museum.

Belgium’s first raw food restaurant, Eten vol Leven (‘food full of life’) is a health-conscious spot that serves vegetarian food only. Eten vol Leven’s menu is broad, from breakfast to salads, soups, pizza, zucchini-spaghetti, wraps and delicious desserts. Drinks include fresh juices, smoothies, and nutmilk-shakes. This small restaurant is great for curious vegetarians who want to try out a raw food diet.

Run by a former Nepalese mountain guide, Kioku is a restaurant spreading the joys of Asian cuisine through the Japanese, Thai and Nepalese dishes on its menu. There are a number of vegetarian options, including vegetarian maki and temaki that somehow retain the wonderful flavors of sushi, minus the fish. Vegetarian dimsum, loempia, curry and tempura add to Kioku’s range of options for vegetarians, each created with the same care as the meaty ones.

Dining at an Ethiopian restaurant not only satisfies the taste buds, it’s also a fun social activity to sit around a table and dig into a common plate using only your hands and a piece of injera flatbread. Little Ethiopia offers just that experience, and is the only Ethiopian restaurant in Antwerp, making the vegetarian dishes on its menu unique to the city. The restaurant has the main staples of Ethiopian cuisine and its vegetarian versions include ye-misir wat (red-lentil stew).

Umami is a savory taste among our five basic tastes: sweet, sour, bitter and salty, and also the name of the Japanese restaurant specialising in contemporary Asian cuisine in Antwerp. Umami’s interior and overall style is sleek and modern. The vegetarian options on the menu are elaborate and the dishes are visually attractive. Dishes include vegetarian sushi rolls, a potato and pea samosa with mint sauce and tomato salsa, and a wakame seaweed salad with organic soba noodles and green tea dash.