Very good vegetarian-friendly restaurants in Calgary

Steak may be the city’s signature dish, but vegetarian and vegan eating is easier to come by than ever in Calgary. Though few restaurants purport to be veg-only, many, including a few on this list, take care to serve their veg-lovin’ clientele very well.

Very good vegetarian-friendly restaurants in Calgary
Ian Doig By

Buddha's Veggie

1
100-5802 MacLeod Trail SW, Calgary, AB T2H 0J8

The menu at Buddha’s Veggie features a very lengthy list of regional Chinese and Asian dishes. From Szechuan veggie shrimp and veggie ginger beef to Shanghai noodles with veggie ham, it’s all deliciously meatless. However, if you simply must have it, an alternate carnivore-friendly menu is available.

This business is featured in the following Smart Lists:

Cafe Koi

2
100-1011 1 St SW, Calgary, AB T2R 1J2

This lovely little downtown dining room serves Asian-fusion cuisine and features live lounge-friendly jazz and open-mic musical performances most nights of the week. Ask for the big ol’ Buddha bowl with curry coconut veggies and seared tofu, Szechuan-inspired Miss Shanghai with noodles, veggies and chili-fire sauce or go with vegetarian and vegan versions of the restaurant’s other entrees.

This business is featured in the following Smart Lists:

Happy Veggie House

3
109-303 Centre St Sw, Calgary, AB T2G 2B9

A long-time fixture in Chinatown’s City Plaza, Happy Veggie House offers an array of Chinese vegetarian dishes. A small food counter, it’s menu is surprisingly lengthy. Dishes include appetizers such as dumplings and deep-fried won tons, soups from hot and sour to mock shark fin. Vegetarian mains include chow mein dishes, noodle stir fries, hot pots such as vegetarian curried lamb and hot plates such as vegetarian seafood with satay sauce.

Heaven Artisan Gf Cuisine Inc

4
119-1013 17 Ave SW, Calgary, AB T2T 0A7

This Venezuelan restaurant’s main cuisine hook is its completely gluten-free dishes. However, the house specialty is arepas, and Heaven Artisan serves three vegan versions with fillings such as roasted red pepper with tapenade and arugula. As well, the vegan taco trio plate features three soft rounds topped with black beans guacamole, hummus, lettuce and tapenade.

This business is featured in the following Smart Lists:

Taste of Himalayas

5
38-240 Midpark Way SE, Calgary, AB T2X 1N4

Serving a selection of regional Indian dishes, the Moti Mahal menu includes more than a dozen vegetarian main plates. These include palak, a spinach puree simmered with tomatoes, onions, ginger and garlic, Mumbai alu, a tomato and tamarind curry with a warm hit of spice as well as vegetable poriyal, which features a coconut-curried potatoes, cauliflower, carrots and peas. Its two locations can be found in Midnapore Mall and in Bankview.

This business is featured in the following Smart Lists:

Casbah Restaurant

6
720 11 Ave SW, Calgary, AB T2R 0E4

This Beltline Moroccan restaurant easily features the city’s most sumptuous setting in which to enjoy vegetarian dishes. Though there’s plenty of meat and seafood on the menu here, its meat-free dishes are many. These include couscous Sahara prepared with caramelized onions, figs and pecans, khoudra tajine prepared with mixed veggies, chick peas and olives in saffron reduction as well as dinjal tajine, a stewed root vegetable dish simmered in eggplant reduction.

This business is featured in the following Smart Lists:
More from Ian Doig Ian Doig
Ian Doig’s week may include dim sum lunch with friends, rummaging through indie bookstore shelves as well as scribbling in his notepad at Calgary shops and farmers’ markets. It most often concludes with a relaxing Friday evening pint of locally brewed craft beer.
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