RFK Cuisine · Vegan · Sydney
Best Vegan Restaurants in Sydney 2026
Vegan · Sydney · 6 tables ranked · Updated June 2026
Compiled by the Restaurants for Kings editorial team · Published June 27, 2026 · Updated June 27, 2026
Bodhi has been serving vegan yum cha beside St Mary's Cathedral since 1988, which makes it older than most of Sydney's steakhouses. Sydney's plant-based scene did not arrive with the recent wave; it has deep roots, and it now runs from that pioneering yum cha hall to a hatted chef's wharf-side room, a Naples-certified vegan pizzeria and a homegrown burger chain. Australia has no Michelin guide, so this is a list ranked on cooking and value rather than stars, and it spans the range, from a twelve-dollar taco to a sit-down dinner that converts the skeptic at the table. These are the six we send people to in 2026, with the dish to order and who each is for.
1.Alibi
Shannon Martinez's plant-based menu at Ovolo Woolloomooloo, vegan cheeses and all — book the wharf room for a vegan dinner that converts skeptics.
Alibi, the restaurant inside the Ovolo hotel on the historic Woolloomooloo Finger Wharf, has led Sydney's serious vegan dining since 2018, and its menu is built by Shannon Martinez — the Smith & Daughters chef widely called Australia's first hatted vegan chef — alongside executive chef Jiwon Do. Martinez's Spanish heritage runs through the Mediterranean-leaning plates, many built on her own vegan cheeses, labneh and yoghurt, and the room does à la carte plus a weekend high tea. It is the one to bring a doubtful carnivore to. Around A$30 to 50 a head. For plant-based cooking with real technique and a waterfront room, Alibi is the top of this list.
Book the wharf room for dinner; the vegan cheese plates, the Mediterranean mains, and the weekend high tea.
2.Bodhi
Australia's oldest and largest vegan room, yum cha by St Mary's since 1988 — go for a long, garlic-free weekend lunch.
Bodhi Restaurant Bar, tucked into a leafy corner of Cook and Phillip Park under the shadow of St Mary's Cathedral, is the elder statesman of Australian vegan dining — Lee-Leng Whong founded the original concept in 1988, the country's first vegan yum cha, and it is now the longest-running and largest vegan establishment in Australia. The kitchen follows the Buddhist principle of no onion or garlic, and the draw is the trolley: dumplings, char-siu buns, spring rolls and pan-Asian plates, all plant-based, in a courtyard that fills on a sunny afternoon. Around A$15 to 35. For vegan yum cha with three and a half decades behind it, Bodhi is an institution worth the wait for a table.
Book weekend yum cha; the dumplings, the mock char-siu buns, and a pot of jasmine tea.
3.Gigi Pizzeria
Newtown's all-vegan Napoletana, VPN-certified since going meat-free in 2015 — go for the pumpkin pizza and skip the dairy debate.
Gigi Pizzeria, on King Street in Newtown — the strip locals only half-jokingly call Vegan Valley — turned fully plant-based in 2015 when owner Marco Matino decided the menu should match his own ethics, and it remains one of the very few pizzerias in Australia recognised by the Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana. That certification is the point: this is legitimate wood-fired Neapolitan pizza, hand-stretched, blistered, properly leoparded, that happens to be vegan, with dairy-free cheeses, grilled vegetables and good olive oil doing the work. The pumpkin pizza is the one to order. Around A$22 to 30. For vegan pizza that doesn't ask for an asterisk, Gigi is the best in the city.
Book for dinner, it fills; the pumpkin pizza, a marinara, and whatever's on the specials board.
4.Yulli's
Surry Hills' fully vegan share-plate room with its own brewery — go for the small plates and a Yulli's beer with mates.
Yulli's, on Crown Street in Surry Hills since 2008, is the all-rounder: a fully vegan kitchen of Asian-leaning share plates with an eccentric, lived-in room and, unusually, its own brewing arm in Yulli's Brews. The menu runs to flavour-packed small plates built for the table, with a separate gluten-free menu and even vegan wines, and the mood is relaxed and social rather than precious. It has outlasted most of the city's vegan openings by being a genuinely good bar-restaurant that happens to be plant-based. Around A$20 to 35 a head. For a casual vegan dinner with a drink and a group, Yulli's is the Surry Hills standby.
Book for a group; a spread of share plates, the gluten-free options, and a Yulli's Brews beer.
5.Bad Hombres
Surry Hills' all-vegan, all-gluten-free Mexican — go on Taco Tuesday for birria mushroom tacos at twelve dollars a plate.
Bad Hombres, on Reservoir Street in Surry Hills, runs an entire Mexican menu that is both vegan and gluten-free, which it pulls off without the food reading as a compromise. The tacos carry it: birria mushroom, miso eggplant and a plant 'fish' taco among the line-up, alongside a much-loved cauliflower dish, and the twelve-dollar Taco Tuesday special is the city's easiest plant-based win. It is small, loud and fun rather than fancy. Around A$15 to 30 a head, less on a Tuesday. For vegan Mexican that a meat-eater would happily eat without noticing the swap, Bad Hombres is the pick.
Walk in or book Taco Tuesday; the birria mushroom tacos, the cauliflower, and a margarita.
6.Soul Burger
Ex-doctor Amit Tewari's plant-based burger chain, born in Randwick 2012 — go for a no-compromise vegan burger and chips.
Soul Burger started in Randwick in 2012 when founder Amit Tewari, a trained doctor, left medicine over his unease with slaughterhouses and built a wholly plant-based burger joint instead. It has since grown to four Sydney rooms — Randwick, Glebe, Newtown and Parramatta — on the strength of doing one thing well: a proper vegan burger, the kind with a satisfying patty, melting dairy-free cheese and a soft bun, plus loaded fries and shakes. This is the fast-food end of the list, and it earns its place by being genuinely good rather than merely meat-free. Around A$15 to 25. For a no-fuss vegan burger that delivers, Soul Burger is the homegrown answer.
Walk in to any of the four; a signature vegan burger, loaded fries, and a thickshake.
How Sydney eats vegan
Sydney's plant-based scene is older and deeper than the recent boom suggests. Bodhi opened the country's first vegan yum cha in 1988, decades before the current wave, and the inner west — Newtown above all, half-jokingly called Vegan Valley — has long been the city's plant-based heartland, with Surry Hills close behind. What's changed lately is range: the city now runs from a hatted chef's plant-based fine dining at Alibi to a Naples-certified vegan pizzeria, vegan Mexican, a burger chain and everything between. Crucially, the best rooms here are fully vegan rather than vegan-friendly, which is why a meat-eater leaves convinced rather than placated.
A few practical notes for 2026. Australia has no Michelin guide, so reputation is built on reviews, longevity and word of mouth rather than stars. The fine-dining and dinner rooms — Alibi, Gigi, Yulli's — are worth booking, especially at weekends; the casual spots, Bad Hombres and Soul Burger, run mostly on walk-ins. Newtown and Surry Hills are the two suburbs to aim for if you want to graze across several rooms in an evening. For the wider city, use the full Sydney dining guide, and compare notes with vegan in Berlin, another city with serious plant-based depth.
Where not to look for it
Skip these for a serious vegan meal in Sydney
The pub with one token 'plant-based' burger. A single frozen patty bolted onto a meat menu is not vegan cooking, and it usually tastes like the afterthought it is. The fully vegan kitchens on this list — Soul Burger for a burger, Gigi for pizza, Bad Hombres for tacos — build their whole menu around plants and the food is better for it. Go where being vegan is the plan, not a checkbox.
The 'vegetarian-friendly' fine-diner that can't actually go vegan. Plenty of Sydney restaurants will wave you toward a vegetarian dish but fall apart the moment you ask for no dairy, no egg, no honey. Alibi is the opposite, a fully plant-based kitchen with a hatted chef behind it, which is why it's the room to book for a vegan special occasion. For a meal that won't make you negotiate, choose a kitchen that's vegan by design.
Frequently asked
What is the best vegan restaurant in Sydney?
It depends on the occasion. For plant-based fine dining, Alibi at the Ovolo Woolloomooloo is the top pick, its menu built by Shannon Martinez, often called Australia's first hatted vegan chef. For an institution, Bodhi has served vegan yum cha by St Mary's Cathedral since 1988. For the best vegan pizza, it's Gigi in Newtown; for tacos, Bad Hombres; for burgers, Soul Burger. All are fully vegan rather than vegan-friendly, which is the difference.
Where did Sydney's vegan scene start?
With Bodhi, which opened Australia's first vegan yum cha in 1988 and is now the country's longest-running and largest vegan restaurant. Founded by Lee-Leng Whong, it sits in Cook and Phillip Park beside St Mary's Cathedral and follows the Buddhist principle of no onion or garlic. The inner-west suburb of Newtown — half-jokingly called Vegan Valley — became the broader heartland, with Surry Hills close behind, and the scene has grown from that base into fine dining, pizza, Mexican and burgers.
Is there good vegan fine dining in Sydney?
Yes — Alibi, the restaurant inside the Ovolo hotel on the Woolloomooloo Finger Wharf, is the standout, leading Sydney's serious vegan dining since 2018. Its menu is built by Shannon Martinez of Smith & Daughters fame, widely described as Australia's first hatted vegan chef, alongside executive chef Jiwon Do, and leans Mediterranean, with house-made vegan cheeses, labneh and yoghurt. It runs à la carte plus a weekend high tea. It's the room to book to convince a doubtful, meat-eating guest that plant-based can be a destination meal.
Where is the best vegan pizza in Sydney?
Gigi Pizzeria on King Street in Newtown, which turned fully plant-based in 2015 under owner Marco Matino and is one of the few pizzerias in Australia certified by the Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana. That means legitimate wood-fired Neapolitan pizza — hand-stretched, properly charred — that happens to be vegan, with dairy-free cheeses and grilled vegetables. The pumpkin pizza is the signature order. It books up, so reserve for dinner. For vegan pizza that stands on its own merits rather than as a substitute, it's the best in the city.
Do you need to book vegan restaurants in Sydney?
For the dinner and fine-dining rooms, yes. Alibi on the wharf, Gigi in Newtown and Yulli's in Surry Hills all fill, especially at weekends, so book ahead. Bodhi's weekend yum cha is also worth reserving. The casual spots — Bad Hombres and Soul Burger — run mostly on walk-ins and suit a spontaneous lunch or dinner. As a rule, book anything sit-down and treat the burger and taco rooms as drop-in. See the full Sydney dining guide for hours and links.
More vegan and Sydney dining
More from RFK
Browse the full Sydney dining guide, compare the field on the best vegan worldwide, cross to vegan in Berlin and vegan in Bangkok, plan a table for a first date or solo dining, or open the full RFK cuisine index.
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