From juicy vegan burgers to I-can’t-believe-it’s-not-dairy desserts, Abu Dhabi becomes more vegan-friendly with every restaurant we visit. Looking to join the vegan movement this January?
Farewell limp lettuce leaves, hello, haute veggie cuisine – here are our pick of the bunch help you win at Veganuary.
Alkalime
Looking for a brilliant vegan-friendly spot at Mamsha Al Saadiyat? Alkalime is an easy choice. Head here for a brilliant bite of vegan cauli-pizza (we still think about this plate), salad, or pecan pumpkin pie made with sweet potato and coconut milk. Get stuck into these plates before you stick your toes in the sand at Soul Beach.
Open daily. Soul Beach, Saadiyat Island (054 449 1547).
Café 302
Café 302 is one of our favourite laid-back spots with a strong focus on delicious vegan-friendly food. Dishes include crispy tofu quinoa noodles, red lentil and cauliflower burger, kale and wild mushroom wrap, sweet potato fries, salads, soups and more. Coffee aficionados (or snobs, depending on your viewpoint) will find plenty to love here, too.
Open daily 8am-11pm. Al Maha Arjaan by Rotana (02 610 6688).
Carluccio’s
True, Italian food is often loaded with cheese and butter, but don’t be put off visiting popular Italian chain Carluccio’s, as the brand has a top vegan menu. With soups, salads, sides, pastas and desserts, you could eat here every night for a week and have something different. Highlights include pasta arrabbiata, tomato bruschetta, and mushroom soup with truffle. Plus it updates its vegan menu frequently so there’s heaps of choice.
Open Sun-Thu 9am-10.30pm, Fri-Sat 9am-11pm. Eastern Mangroves Promenade (02 441 3814).
COCO Asia
Specialising in pan-Asian dishes and healthy bowls, this popular spot has plenty of vegan-friendly options to try out. Take your pick from light options such as crispy tofu or papaya salads as well as more hearty meals like vegetable pad Thai and yakisoba. We’re eyeing the vegan ice cream, too.
Open daily 11.30am-10.30pm. 3rd Street, Al Khalidiya (02 622 5554).
FoodShed
There’s a friendly, rustic vibe to this cute café, and with excellent coffees and so many super healthy dishes, it always attracts a crowd. Strong vegan options include the cinnamon-spiced vegan pancakes and the whole roasted cauliflower with a tahini-pomegranate sauce. There are several great choices for dessert too including freshly baked vegan cinnamon rolls.
Open daily 7am-10pm. Bloom Gardens, Khalifa Park (02 671 1113).
Jones the Grocer
This Aussie café is super-popular throughout the capital, and while the beef burgers might be raved about, the plant-based options are just as incredible. You can start your day with a wholesome mango coconut chia bowl, grab a bowl of warming lentil or sweet potato soup for lunch, or try a fresh salad or hearty sandwich with a side of sweet potato fries for a weekend treat.
Various locations including Pearl Plaza Tower, Al Khalidiyah (02 639 5883).
LPM Restaurant & Bar
For once we’re not here to wax lyrical about the lamb chops and potato gratin at LPM. We’re here to applaud this chic French restaurant for its vegan menu. Dishes include roasted sweet peppers, quinoa salad and a hearty lentil salad, and it’s all served up in a charming setting on Al Maryah Island. Start booking that vegan date night, pronto.
Open Sun-Wed noon-11pm, Thu noon-11.30pm, Fri 12.30pm-11.30pm, Sat 12.30pm-11pm. The Galleria Al Maryah Island (02 692 9600).
Pizza Di Rocco
Cheese. It’s a staple of a good pizza – in fact many would refuse to even look at one without the essential gooey strings of molten mozzarella or goat’s cheese being devoured. But, ever the innovators, Pizza Di Rocco has a vegan menu using vegan mozzarella and faux meats and it’s sure to get all your cheesy dreams racing. It’s seriously good.
Open Sat-Wed 11am-midnight, Thu-Fri 11am-2am. Various locations includingSalam Street, Al Dharah (02 885 3222).
Sweet Greens
Providing healthy and wholesome meals, Sweet Greens is one of our favourite places for a guilt-free lunch or a tasty smoothie. Promoting a heathy lifestyle, where nutrition meets sustainability, the menu boasts plenty of delicious vegan dishes including wraps, burgers and protein-packed bowls.
Open daily 8am-10pm. The Clubhouse, Rihan Heights (02 633 5563).
The Foundry
Known for its excellent cuts of meat, you might be thinking that the steakhouse has somehow sneaked into this list by mistake. But that’s where you’re wrong, because The Foundry serves the popular Beyond Burger. Containing even more protein than beef and with a fantastic taste, we reckon it will even tempt a few intrigued meat-lovers into trying it.
Open daily noon-3pm; 6pm-11pm. The Southern Sun Abu Dhabi, Al Zahiyah (02 818 4888).
FULLY VEGAN
BLOOM Vegan Kitchen
This delivery-only vegan joint is an environmentally conscious brand which specialises in fresh and healthy homemade dishes. Serving up tasty plates which are all 100 percent vegan-friendly and served in packaging which is 90 percent recyclable, the menu includes nutritious breakfast plates like hummus veggie toast, colourful quinoa bowls, huge mushroom burgers and more. It’s the perfect accompaniment for a night in with a movie.
www.bloomvegankitchen.com.
Wild & The Moon
This super-trendy and super-healthy spot in Qasr Al Hosn is a top spot if you’re looking for healthy vegan food and if you fancy a treat, there’s even a vegan afternoon tea with cashew cream or a range of dairy-free ice creams. The cool café is plant-based, gluten-free, soy-free and dairy-free – who needs dairy, anyway?
Open Sat-Thu 9am-8pm, Fri 10am-10pm. The Cultural Foundation, Qasr Al Hosn (056 188 4073).
VEGAN-FRIENDLY SUPERMARKETS
Carrefour
My City Centre Masdar is an eco-friendly mall which tries to care for the environment in every way possible. So it makes sense that it has also embraced the vegan trend. Not only did the huge Carrefour in this shopping complex become the first supermarket in the UAE not to offer plastic bags at the counter, but it’s made us further admire it by offering a great range of plant-based products. There’s a huge section dedicated to vegan and free-from products, and here you’ll find tasty snacks including vegan vegetable crisps, fudge made from soya milk and every kind of plant-based milk you could wish for (and more, probably). Don’t leave without checking out the frozen vegan burgers either.
Open daily 9am-midnight. Airport Road, Abu Dhabi City (02 449 4300).
Souq Planet
This health-conscious supermarket has an amazing range of frozen vegan products. There’s vegan sausages, chicken strips, veggie balls and of course, every vegan’s favourite patty, the Beyond burger, which is perfect if you fancy staying in and trying to come up with better topping combinations than the big restaurants. Or if you’re craving a sweet treat, there’s vegan-friendly chocolate bars, ice creams, peanut butter cups, and even croissants.
Various locations including Etihad Plaza, Khalifa City A (02 556 3142).
Your Urban Market
Offering an experience that’s very different to that of the usual supermarkets here, doing the food shop is so much more fun when it’s at Your Urban Market (or YUM, if you want to be down with the kids). It’s full of trendy and hipster-approved grocery, healthy lunch options and an amazing selection of fresh juices. We could spend hours in here.
Various locations including Al Bandar Marina, Al Bandar (050 411 8757).
Cruelty-free make-up
Vegan beauty products contain no animal ingredients at all, omitting honey, beeswax, milk, and eggs, so you can look radiant while being safe in the knowledge that your beauty is totally ethical.
Barry M
London make-up specialist Barry M has a huge range of vegan products on sale. In fact, it has an entire section of its website dedicated to vegan-friendly products, meaning you’re safe from having to scan an endless list of seven-syllable ingredients in fear of animal-based ingredients being used. You can order online – choosing from face, eyes, lips or nails – and have the products delivered. However, Barry M is also stocked in major retail stores across Abu Dhabi such as Boots.
www.barrym.com.
e.l.f Cosmetics
Every last item in e.l.f’s range is 100 percent vegan, including its make-up brushes, which are completely synthetic. The company has even been endorsed by leading animal rights organisation, PETA. If that’s not a stamp of approval then we don’t know what is.
www.elfcosmetics.com.
Too Faced
Too Faced is a 100 percent cruelty-free beauty line, with an impressive selection of vegan cosmetics too. Even the make-up brushes are made from soft and gentle ‘teddy-bear hair’, and the list of products is as long as your arm. There are primers, mascaras, liners, lipsticks, bronzers, foundations – you name it.
www.toofaced.com.
The Body Shop
It feels good to know that no animals are being harmed in the pursuit of our vanity and it doesn’t hurt to whack some natural products on your dish once in a while. The Body Shop is famously against animal testing and has worked with Cruelty Free International over the past three decades to promote beauty without cruelty. All of the make-up brushes on sale are vegan-friendly and cruelty-free, and the extensive vegan range extends to moisturising vegan make up made with aloe vera to vegan skincare crafted with essential oils.
www.thebodyshop.com.
Vegan treats
Fruit and vegetables, pulses and grains – they’re not hard to come by. But what about when you’re craving a chocolate breakfast cereal, a cheese feast or – dare we say it – a tuna sandwich? Help is at hand.
Carrefour
Carrefour has a substantial section that’s as dedicated to vegan meats and cheese as we are. While you’re there, have a dally over to the freezer section where you will be able to pick up some Linda McCartney vegetarian sausages and sausage rolls, which are suitable for vegans and absolutely mouth-watering.
Carrefour.ae.
Coco Yoca
Coco Yoca is a raw, vegan, gluten-free range of desserts that you can buy online or snap up at various pop-up events. Founder Turner Francis began whipping up the range of ice creams, cheesecakes, cream cheeses and tarts back in 2014, and has dedicated her life to making sure the vegans of the UAE get their sweet fix. We salute you, Turner, and your matcha mint chip ice cream, too.
www.coco-yogo.com.
Kibsons
As well as delivering a huge range of fruit and veg (including organic options) and wholesale prices, Kibsons has a great vegan department including dairy-free cream cheese, coconut butter and nut yo-ghurts.
www.kibsons.com.
Ripe Organic
The shop prides itself on being a one-stop shop for everything from delicious veggie boxes to vegan-friendly, gluten-free, dairy-free, organic essentials. You can also choose from a specially selected range of farm shop goodies including milk, cheese, bread, chicken, eggs, superfoods, fresh juices and other cupboard staples.
www.ripeme.com (055 543 1282).
Spinneys
One of the city’s biggest and most prevalent supermarket brands, Spinneys has made gradual efforts to incorporate more vegan options into its range of produce. Alongside the usual fruit and veg, you’ll also find unusual varieties stocked exclusively in the brand’s stores, plus more luxury buys such as vegan eggs, dairy-free ice cream and vegan cheese.
8 signs you’re ready to become a vegan
Thinking about becoming plant-based? Here’s how you know you’re ready to make the leap.
When you’re questioning the ethics of avocados
Avocados and vegans go together like peas in a pod. But the plant-based community has been rocked by claims that the trendy, emoji-fied vegetables might not actually be all that vegan after all. It’s because avocado trees are pollinated by bees, meaning they’re technically animal by-products. Cue a fierce debate in the Time Out Abu Dhabi office, with a guacamole line drawn down the middle of the carpet between the two resident plant-eaters (one on #TeamAvo, the other on #TeamBee). Of course, everyone else just rolled their eyes.
When you can no longer look your luxury heels in the eye
We love shoes, but we also like not feeling guilty every time we slip on our footwear in the morning. That’s why we opt to quite literally wear our veganism on our feet, whether it’s faux-leather or fabric.
When you’ve watched Earthlings
We can’t think about this one too much or else we’ll well up and need to dash home and hug our pets. If you’ve not watched it yet (and you really should) Earthlings is a documentary about the way humans use animals for food, entertainment, clothing and science. And after viewing it you’ll never see the world in the same way again.
When you start thinking about what eggs actually are while you’re eating them
It strikes halfway through an omelette. You freeze up while slicing into your eggs Benedict. Or you just can’t fathom another forkful of that previously delicious croque madame. All former egg-eaters have experienced that overwhelming realisation of what they’re actually eating in the middle of breakfast.
When you start salivating while walking past a freshly composted allotment
In The Sound of Music, Julie Andrews gleefully sings verse after verse about her love of schnitzels, cream-coloured ponies and warm woollen mittens. But that’s far too many animal by-products for our liking. Instead, we can’t get enough of the smell of fresh dirt. And where there’s fresh dirt, there’s fresh vegetables. Bring on the carrots.
When you start pitying the work/life balance of bees even after you’ve been stung
While we’re not particularly fans of wasps, we’ll defend bees to the hilt. The second a flash of yellow and black swoops past, we descend straight into a screaming heap – until we realise it’s actually a bee, at which point there’s an immediate sense of peace and calm. After all, they’re only trying to go about their daily honey-producing business. And of course, when they sting it results in a massive abdominal rupture that will ultimately lead to their untimely demise. Poor little buzzers.
When you actually enjoy vegan cheese
French people, look away. Whisper it quietly, but we can’t get enough of vegan cheese. At first it seems deeply unnatural to bite into something made of tofu or cashews that tastes like dairy goodness. But then you’ll quickly realise that you can enjoy those addictive savoury flavours without a single tug of an udder.
When you realise there are crushed beetles in your lipstick
Manufacturers like to play sneaky tricks. Bafflingly, Oreos, Starbursts and Skittles are all vegan, yet on the flip side some apple juice is processed using fish bladders, many jams contain gelatin – and don’t even get us started on figs (many of which contain dead wasps that got trapped inside while trying to pollinate. Yes, really.) Cosmetics aren’t immune either, with many skin creams using snail slime – and as many as 70,000 dead beetles in every pound of red dye that goes into lipstick. Feeling all made up? No, us neither.
