Opinion Top vegan restaurants on the Gold Coast for plant-based eats

Looking for delicious vegan food on the Gold Coast? Check out these must-try restaurants, cafés, and hidden gems with amazing plant-based options.

The Gold Coast has had a glow-up when it comes to plant-based food! There are now plenty of 100% vegan restaurants on the Gold Coast, with cafés running up and down the coastline and a massive range of spots offering tasty veggie options. You just need to know where to find them 😉

Whether you’re a Gold Coast local or just beachside for a visit, here are the top vegan restaurants on the Gold Coast every plant-based foodie has to try!

Fully vegan restaurants on the Gold Coast

Easy House

Markeri St, Mermaid Waters

I’m not one to play favourites, but let’s just say there’s a reason Easy House is right at the top of this list 👀

This small but mighty family-run restaurant puts the ‘yum’ in yum cha! Easy House serves 100% vegan (and absolutely drool-worthy) Cantonese cuisine, including a wide variety of traditional mains and smaller dishes that are all kinds of hearty, saucy, and indulgent.

The seemingly endless menu has something to suit everyone’s tastes. My top picks for snacky sides are the XO noodles, sesame prawn rolls, and coriander dumplings. If you’re after something more filling, try the eggplant hot pot, wonton soup, or mapo tofu. 

Alternatively, just cover your eyes and pick something from the menu at random – you honestly can’t go wrong.

Check out Easy House Vegan on Instagram

Izakaya Midori 

Woodland Dr, Reedy Creek

Izakaya Midori is currently the Gold Coast’s only vegan Japanese restaurant, and I can only assume this is because they’ve nailed the brief so well that no one else dares to compete!

Situated just a short drive from the bustling main street, Izakaya Midori is a nostalgic little haven full of cosy wooden accents, cute knickknacks, and authentic Japanese charm. While the staff are absolutely lovely, their incredible culinary creations are the real stars of the show.

The nasu miso den (seared eggplant in sweet miso sauce 🤤), smoked edamame, aka ramen, and spicy lime karaage are true standouts on the menu – but honestly, anything you order will hit the spot.

Check out Izakaya Midori on Instagram

Doko Demo V

Sunlight Drive, Burleigh Waters 

If you’re looking for a vegan food utopia with a wide variety of global cuisines on the menu, Doko Demo V is the place to go. 

Browsing the menu is like taking a round-the-world trip. The restaurant has a just-stepped-into-vacation-mode vibe, with lush jungle plants everywhere you look, a Bali-style thatched roof framing the main bar, and strings of festoon lights glittering invitingly outside.

Reliable crowd-favourite dishes include vegan bang bang popcorn chicken, sizzling Mongolian beef, Korean chicken salad, Balinese curry, lamb souvlaki gyros, Peking duck, and okonomiyaki. But they also do an amazing range of breakfasts, pasta, burgers, wraps, fruity cocktails, shakes, and desserts.

We have no doubt that Doko Demo V’s unmissable multicultural menu will keep you coming back for more (and more and more!) 

Check out Doko Demo V on Instagram

The Cardamom Pod

3/3 Brolga Avenue, Southport 

This classy café is perfect for an upscale vegan brunch on the coast. Housed in the Brickworks Centre, The Cardamom Pod is always buzzing—not just because of its handy location and airy industrialist aesthetic but also because of the “clean and conscious plant-powered” food the team specialises in.

The Cardamom Pod’s ethos is that they want to help everyone eat their way to a better world, and it sure helps that every dish tastes and looks aspirationally beautiful, too! That cake cabinet is a true work of art 😍

I can never resist the flourish Buddha bowl – which is just as wholesome and delicious as it sounds – but the pancakes and pod big breakfast are also great options. The colours, the flavours, the textures: All on point! 

Check out The Cardamom Pod on Instagram

Greenhouse Canteen  

Gold Coast Highway, Miami   

Greenhouse Canteen is a firm Gold Coast favourite for so many reasons. Firstly, it’s stunning and a little fancier compared to some of the other options on this list. And they also have a sister venue, Greenhouse the Bathhouse, right next door! ✨

Their tranquil restaurant venue in Tallebudgera Valley boasts sunlit white walls, lofty ceilings, and lush rainforest views – and their fully vegan (and gluten-free) menu is pretty hard to beat, too. 

All the food here is fresh, wholesome, and bursting with expertly-mixed flavours. The menu focuses on wholefood plant-based offerings that are relaxed yet nourishing—– ideal for powering you through an oh-so-taxing afternoon sprawled out on the beach later. 

My go-to dishes include cauliflower wings and Korean rice cakes to start or jackfruit and vegan sour cream enchiladas to share. If you still have room for something sweet, don’t go past the Rocky Road brownie or pecan pie.

Check out Greenhouse Canteen on Instagram

The Fox’s Pantry

Golden Four Drive, Tugun 

What if I told you that tucked away in an unassuming BP station in Tugun, you could wander into a cute, classy, 100% vegan convenience store that offers delectable treats like cheeses, chocolates, pasta, sandwiches, wraps, and even – wait for it – vegan croissants?!

And then… what if I told you that this gleaming little plant-based oasis was open 24/7?!

It might sound too good to be true, but I promise you, The Fox’s Pantry is very real! Whatever the hour, you will not regret making a sly little side trip to poke around and stock up on some essentials. (Yes, pastries absolutely count as essentials.)

Check out The Fox’s Pantry on Instagram

Blendlove

Ferry Rd, Southport

This whole food-centric plant-based eatery boasts a menu practically bursting at the seams with colourful breakfast and lunch options. Talk about eating the rainbow! 🌈

Blendlove is cooking up everything from a vegan big brekky to hash browns, hearty burgers, nachos, pancakes, fruity chia puddings, and raw cheesecakes. One of their most popular dishes is their ‘no-eggs benny’, which features piping hot falafels slathered with vegan hollandaise sauce, served with a side of smoky rice paper bacon. 

If you have space, be sure to check out the drinks menu, too! Blendlove’s Banoffee espresso smoothie will forever have my heart, but the salted peanut butter and chocolate one is also divine.

Check out Blendlove on Instagram

Tian Ran Vegetarian

Gold Coast Hwy, Mermaid Beach

If you’re looking for a casual, cosy dining experience that leans towards the classic Asian takeaway vibe, you can’t go wrong with Tian Ran Vegetarian. (Fun fact: Tian ran translates from Mandarin to mean ‘nature’ – how appropriate for a fully plant-based restaurant! 🌿)

All the ‘meat’ on the menu is completely vegan and tastes so convincing that you’d never guess it was made from cleverly seasoned soy, wheat, yam, seaweed, and mushroom-based ingredients. 

Top picks from the menu include Tian Ran’s vegan fried chicken drumsticks, salt and pepper tofu, sweet and sour chicken, noodle dishes, stir-fries, hot pot, and home-style fried rice – but that’s just scratching the surface. There’s something for everyone!

Check out Tian Ran Vegetarian on Instagram

Siam Purity

Pacific Fair Shopping Centre, Broadbeach

This fairy light-studded Thai restaurant is in such a dreamy location, with a breezy open balcony that looks right over the river! Although, honestly, you’ll probably be staring at your plate most of the time anyway because of how tasty everything is. 

Siam Purity initially offered a mixed menu but officially shifted to fully plant-based back in 2020. Their now 100% vegan menu includes all the classics you’d expect from a Thai restaurant, including generously portioned stir fries, ‘chicken’ satay skewers, dumplings, ‘pork’ buns, curries, bright salads, and crispy starters – as well as milkshakes and a tempting selection of desserts. 

And just in case that’s not enough to persuade you, the waiter diligently serving up all these vegan delights is none other than an adorable, musical robot 🥲

Check out Siam Purity on Instagram

Gold Coast restaurants with great vegan options

The Milkman’s Daughter

Alfred St, Mermaid Beach

This vegetarian café has heaps of vegan-friendly options on the menu! The Milkman’s Daughter is known for their all-day breakfast and lunch selection, which is updated seasonally but always includes plenty of nourishing, wholesome dishes to power you through the day. 

Their past vegan offerings have included red velvet waffles, lemon ‘ricotta’ pancakes, shakshuka, fritters, and loaded coconut porridge, just to name a drool-worthy few. 

And the vibe here is just as beautiful as the meals. Pull up a chair at one of the breezy tables outside, or head indoors to cosy up in one of the vine-covered white booths that look like little igloos! 

If wellness, an aesthetic interior, and tasty vegan options sound good to you, The Milkman’s Daughter awaits.

Check out The Milkman’s Daughter on Instagram

Govindas Pure Vegetarian

James St, Burleigh Heads & Griffith St, Coolangatta

For low-key, affordable vegan eats, Govindas Pure Vegetarian is the easy choice – and they now have not one but two convenient locations on the Gold Coast. 

Everything on the menu is vegetarian, and there are lots of vegan-friendly and gluten-free dishes available too. Just ask the staff if you want to double-check anything!

The soulful selection of meals changes daily – just to keep things feeling fresh – but there will usually be several hot dishes on offer, like curries, rice dishes, potato bakes, dhals, and pies. You’ll also have your pick of various desserts, salads and satisfying Indian sides, including samosas and kofta balls. 

Check out Govinda’s Pure Vegetarian on Instagram

Dalas Kitchen

Gold Coast Hwy, Mermaid Beach & Fifth Ave, Palm Beach

Dallas Kitchen is a gourmet salad bar that does not only incredible on-the-go lunch bowls – full of roasted veggies, toasted nuts, hearty grains, and punchy dressings – but also several vegan-friendly sandwiches. (I feel it’s important to note that these are made on house-baked focaccia 🤤)

Note: There are a couple of dishes that contain meat on the menu, but most of the options are vegetarian and customisable to be vegan-friendly.

Check out Dalas Kitchen on Instagram

Khao Piyo

Nerang St, Southport

Craving Indian street food? Khao Piyo is a fully vegetarian Indian restaurant boasting many clearly labelled vegan options – including traditional plant-based dishes like samosa, roti, and vegetable curries, as well as some more Western-leaning options like vegan burgers. 

The vibe is very casual, but the smells emanating from the kitchen more than make up for the simple setting!

Check out Khao Piyo on Instagram

See Yö Cafe & Bakery

Gold Coast Hwy, Mermaid Beach

This completely gluten-free café also happens to offer a treasure trove of vegan-friendly brunch options, including Vietnamese-inspired dishes, artisanal breads, cakes, muffins, pastries, smoothies, fresh fruit juices, and more. 

See Yö is groovily decorated and colourful inside and out – their dog-friendly backyard is the perfect place to catch up if you’re bringing a furry friend along.

Check out See Yö Cafe & Bakery on Instagram

Looking for more vegan restaurants on the Gold Coast? There’s more where that came from!

Are you keen to discover even more vegan restaurants on the Gold Coast? Check out Vegan on the GC on Instagram, run by a lovely foodie called Jane, who’s made it her mission to spread the word about plant-based businesses in the area. 

Happy culinary treasure-hunting – I hope you strike gold! 🌱

Delicious plant-based food is truly everywhere these days – there are options practically around every corner! For more inspiration, check out our bonus tips for dining out and how to order vegan at fast food chains near you.