While we love a succulent steak or juicy burger, we’re also totally onboard with Meatless Mondays. After all, research shows that cutting back on meat is great for your heart and overall health. Plus, it helps the environment because the meat industry eats up huge amounts of water and energy and creates a staggering amount of greenhouse gases. If you’re planning on making Mondays meat-free (or any other day of the week for that matter), these are some of Singapore’s best vegetarian restaurants where you’ll find so much more than just salads.
Sabai Fine Thai
The beautiful waterfront location is just one thing going for this sophisticated Thai restaurant, along with the fact that Chef Samlee was once a chef for the Thai royal family, so she knows a thing or two about authentic Thai cuisine. Skip to the vegetarian section for refined meat-free eats like the deep-fried sweet corn cakes, steamed tofu with bird’s eye chilli, garlic and fresh lime juice, and stir-fried spicy noodles with bean curd, chilli, fresh peppercorns and holy basil.
Sabai Fine Thai, 70 Collyer Quay, Customs House #01-02, Singapore 049323. p. +65 6535 3718. Open Mon – Fri 11:30am – 1:45pm, Mon – Sat 6pm – 9:15pm,
Ananda Bhavan
Established in 1924, Ananda Bhavan is the oldest Indian vegetarian restaurant in Singapore, and they now have five locations across the island. The menus include a delectable mix of South Indian, North Indian and Indian Chinese dishes made with all-natural ingredients. Standouts include the silky paneer butter masala with crunchy cashews and the biryani set meal with an array of tasty sides like veggie kurma, raita and fried vadai.
Ananda Bhavan, 58 Serangoon Road, Singapore 217964. p. +65 6396 5464. Open daily 7:30am – 10pm (and various locations).
Eight Treasures
This Chinatown favourite is located right behind the Buddha Tooth Relic and offers up fresh veggie dishes and ‘meaty’ dishes with soy and plant-based proteins. Take for example the vegetarian Peking duck made with fresh yam and the vegetarian golden squid made with crispy golden mushrooms. Add some seasonal greens like broccoli with monkey head mushrooms and sides like the olive fried rice and you have a delicious and healthy meat-free feast.
Eight Treasures, 282A South Bridge Road, Singapore 058831. p. +65 6534 7727. Open Mon – Fri 11am – 3pm, 5pm – 10pm, Sat – Sun 11am – 10pm
Joie
Head up to the rooftop of Orchard Central and you’ll find this gem of a restaurant surrounded by a lush garden. Here owner Huang Yen Kun and his team of chefs serve up innovative French-Japanese cuisine sans meat. The 6-course lunch set and 7-course dinner set are very reasonably priced and include artful creations like the vegetable sashimi with sea grapes shooter, lime tofu with green curry emulsion and the hearty truffle risotto.
Joie, 181 Orchard Road, Orchard Central #12-01, Singapore 238896. p. +65 6838 6966. Open daily 12pm – 3:30pm, 6pm – 10:30pm
If you haven’t heard of Impossible Foods, then you need to get in on this delicious plant-based meat that’s kosher, halal-certified, and contains no gluten, cholesterol, animal hormones or antibiotics. Even better, it contains just as much iron as beef and tastes just like the real thing. You can try it in signature dishes fat over 300 restaurants in Singapore including Adrift, Bread Street Kitchen, CUT by Wolfgang Puck and Park Bench Deli to name a few. You can now also find dishes on Grain and Deliveroo.
Jim Thompson
Thai cuisine is famous for its dynamic vegetarian dishes, and there’s no better place in Singapore to indulge in authentic Thai food than Jim Thompson. Set in a gorgeous colonial building in Dempsey Hill, this elegant spot has an entire menu dedicated to meat-free eats like fresh spring rolls with a spicy chili-coriander dip, crunchy green mango and papaya salads, creamy curries and rice and noodle dishes packed with veggies and tofu.
Jim Thompson, 45 Minden Road, Singapore 248817. p. +65 6475 6088. Open Mon – Sat 12pm – 3pm, 6pm – 12am, Sun 12pm – 3pm, 6pm – 11pm
LingZhi
The culinary team at LingZhi sources organic produce from specially contracted farms and prepares it in a way so the maximum nutritional value is preserved in every dish. Expect classic vegetarian Chinese offerings like hot and sour soup and crispy ‘Ma Po’ beancurd alongside imaginative creations like Italian squash with poached rock rice and deep fried monkey head mushrooms served in a nest of fiery Chinese chilis.
LingZhi, 541 Orchard Road, Liat Towers #05-01, Singapore 238881. p. +65 6734 3788. Open daily 11am – 3pm, 6pm – 10pm & 238 Thomson Rd, 10 Velocity@Novena Square, #03-09, Singapore 307683. p. +65 6538 2992. Open daily 11am – 3pm, 6pm – 10pm
Loving Hut
With over 200 locations worldwide, you know Loving Hut has to be doing something right. Everything on the menu at this vegan restaurant chain is made solely from plants, so you won’t find any meat, eggs or dairy in the dishes. We love that they have a great representation of locally-inspired dishes like the vegan Nyonya laksa lemak, teochew mee pok, and banana leaf nasi campur. They also have a fab selection of veggie burgers.
Loving Hut, 229 Joo Chiat Rd #01-01 Singapore 427489. p. +65 6348 6318. Open Mon, 11:30am – 2:30pm, 6pm – 9:30pm, Wed – Fri 11:30am – 2:30pm, 6pm – 9:30pm, Sat – Sun 11:30am – 9:30pm
Real Food
Just like the name suggests, this vegetarian chain is all about wholesome food without artificial additives. None of the dishes contain meat and there are a few vegan dishes for those who avoid animal products completely and gluten-free options for those with food sensitivities. The cafes are open all day, so you can pop by in the morning for brekkie, fuel up on salads and sammies at lunch and indulge in hearty dinner dishes and desserts in the evening.
Real Food, 181 Orchard Road, Orchard Central #02-16, Singapore 238896. p. +65 6737 9516. Open daily 10am – 8:45pm (and various locations)
Whole Earth
Whole Earth has been awarded the Michelin Bib Gourmand three years running, making it the first and only plant-based restaurant in Singapore to achieve such a prestigious accolade. The Peranakan and Thai dishes are made with vegetables, legumes, mushrooms and grains, and they feature big, bold flavours that would put any meat dish to shame. We’re huge fans of the Penang rendang with shiitake mushrooms and the Nonya curry.
Whole Earth, 76 Peck Seah Street, Singapore 079331. p. +65 6221 6583. Open daily 11:30am – 3pm, 5:30pm – 10pm
