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The Vegan Food Scene in Norwich : Eat Everything

Tabby Farrar
vegan_brunch_breakfast_norwich_olives_house

When restaurants are using Linda McCartney sausages in their vegan brunches, you know you have to use them too.

Last updated January 2020

People who aren’t from Norwich always look a bit confused when I tell them it’s a really easy place in which to be vegan. Yes, Norwich is in the heart of agricultural wonderland, where lots of people still haven’t realised that fox hunting is despicable and that battery farming is Guantanamo for chickens. But it’s also full of vegans. Because Norwich is full of vegans, it is getting easier and easier to find really great vegan food here.

Whether you’re a meat-eater, a pescatarian, a veggie or a vegan, you’ve absolutely got to go and stuff your face at the assortment of Norwich restaurants and cafes I’ve crammed into the list below. I couldn’t narrow it down to a top ten if my life depended on it, so instead I’ve divided up places I think you should chow down in under handy categories we can all understand, like PIZZA and BRUNCH.

(Or, if you just really want a sausage roll, go to my post all about where to find vegan sausage rolls in Norwich.)

For brunch


Olive’s Cafe –  40 Elm Hill (Left image)
Start strong, I say. The vegan fry up at Olive’s is some next level glorious brunch goodness. Extra points for the smoky tempeh, and for providing so much food that you have to be rolled home like a beach ball afterwards. Olive’s also do vegan milkshakes now, which are worth saving room for, and I’m reliably informed their meat-eater brunches are just as knock-out as the herbivore ones. Guarantee you won’t shut up about the food here once you’ve tried it.

The Plasterer’s Arms – 43 Cowgate (Right image)
The Plasterer’s Arms, who we’ll get to in a minute in the pizza section, also do vegan fry ups now – and they’re fab. They’re good value at £7, for a plate of food that includes Sgaia vegan ‘bacon’, faux black pudding and dairy-free butter for your toast. And let’s not forget the hash browns.

If that doesn’t excite you, maybe the fact they use locally-sourced vegan sausages from Norwich’s very own soya dairy, Tofurei, will? What matters is that this is damn good food, and if you don’t want a full fry up you could also go for a vegan sausage bap or other such larks.

For light bites


Ancestors – 27 Magdalen Street
I finally visited Ancestors recently and now I’m really annoyed I didn’t go sooner. Everything here is vegan, and you can chow down on Buddha Bowls like the one above or brunch treats like scrambled tofu, beetroot hummus and ‘feta’ on toast and ludicrously well thought-out porridge flavours. I feasted on a walnut and cranberry toasted sandwich, and later a mac&cheez toastie, and now I dream about them.

Norwich Market 
If you look at it from the wrong angle, you could be forgiven for thinking that Norwich market is all knock-off handbags and dusty dog beds. Not so! There’s loads of great food in there now, and vegans are spoilt for choice. Here are a few of my favourites:


Tofurei – 12 Pottergate
Pasties, cheeseburgers, sausage sandwiches, sausage rolls… There’s a lot of snacking to be done at Tofurei, and it’s aaaaaaaall vegan. If you’re a cake / donut fan (like anybody isn’t) you’ll be overwhelmed by all the baked goods on offer – and there are even gluten-free options so coeliacs can get stuck in. Many’s the time I’ve popped in for a slice of lemon drizzle and ended up leaving with a whole meal deal and a frozen pizza for later – not to mention that the sinfully good Tyne Chease range is stocked here too.

Kinda Cafe – 23 Castle Meadow
This is another fully vegetarian venue with lots of vegan goodies, and they also organise a number of great little community events. You can pay forward a hot drink or meal for someone in need, and feast happily in the knowledge that there’s a strong emphasis on ethical, fairtrade, locally sourced goods here. The homemade houmous and nutty soysage rolls are a favourite.

Logan’s – 5 Swan Lane
I bloody love  Logan’s. It’s not every omni venue that has a whole range of vegan cheeses, as well as vegan mayo and butter in their repertoire, but these guys aren’t half-arsing it. I’m so addicted to their ‘mozzarella’, roasted veg and pesto panini that I’m now on first name terms with half the staff, and I’d never say no to the jackfruit and avocado baguette either.

Loving Hut, 28 Cattle Market Street
An absolute institution of Norwich vegan dining, the Loving Hut here is a takeaway joint with the classic all-vegan oriental buffet as well as optional menu specials like tofish and chips, burgers and other great stuff. Fill up a box with as much as physically possible, then go eat it in Castle Gardens with a cracking view over the city.

Cafe Bar Marzano @ The Forum
I’d left Marzano off in the first draft of this because I didn’t think offering a houmous and med veg sandwich really made a place deserving of a spot on this list. Y’all will be pleased to hear they’ve redeemed themselves, and anyone in search of a vegan lunch in Norwich city centre can now feast on egg&dairy free cakes and muffins here as well as at least one vegan panini, coffees with oat or soy milk AND the standard token vegan sandwich. Phew.

When you just want cake

Credit: Deerly Beloved Bakery

Deerly Beloved Bakery – Available at Biddy’s Tea Room, Waterstones, The Mitre & Little Shop of Vegans, and made to order for special occasions
Deerly Beloved vegan bakery have won a bunch of awards, and they are very much deserved. As well as being able to pick up their incredible cakes, brownies, blondies and cookies at the various city venues listed above, Deerly Beloved are available for commissions.

If you’ve got a birthday, anniversary, wedding or other event coming up – or you just really want a whole cake instead of a slice – you can order online or over the phone! Keep your eyes peeled for appearances by these guys at Clutter City Market and other local events in Norwich – delectable deliciousness galore.

The Rooftop Gardens – Union Building, Rose Lane

Afternoon tea!! So ritzy, so luxurious. For any afternoon tea you do need to book 48 hours in advance, but trust me, it’s worth it. The vegan afternoon tea at the Rooftop Gardens is phenomenal.

I don’t know how their pastry chef is doing it, but make sure you leave room after your cutesy sandwiches and savoury snacks – the cakes, cookies and scones are truly awesome, and better than most non-vegan bakers could make. You get three tiers of glorious food, and they are all tremendous.

Kind Food – Norwich Market

Gluten free, dairy-free, and fully prepped for vegans. I first went to Kind Food for a lunchtime slice of pizza, but it’s the giant bakewell tarts and rich muffins that keep me coming back. There’s some epic fresh-baked bread on sale here, as well as savoury tarts and plenty of cake.

For pizza


The Plasterer’s Arms – 43 Cowgate (Left image)
Honestly if you told me I could never eat this pizza again, I think I’d cry. The Plasterer’s do a whole bunch of vegan pizzas, as well as the more traditional meat feasty options, and they’re really, really, really good.

From the vegan donner kebab pizza to the Vietnamese-style loaded fries, it’s hard to know where to start. It’s all unfathomably good, to the point that it makes me feel a bit pervy just thinking about it. If you’re like me and don’t think ‘vegan’ is supposed to mean ‘salad’, go get this in your face. (Return for brunch on weekends, if you dare.)

Brick Pizza – 39 Marketplace (Right image)
Brick are the bees knees at pizza, churning out proper stonebaked Italian-style offerings with a whole lotta love. For the veegs, you can grab a massive Marinara for £5 (!!!!) or splurge on the vegan-cheesy, mushroom and pepper delight simply named Vegan for £10. Heavenly.

(Obviously you can get vegan pizza at Ask Italian, Zizzi, Pizza Hut and Pizza Express in Norwich too, but screw them when you’ve got independent gems like this lot)

For roast dinners

Temple Bar – 2 Unthank Road
These guys have always been the instant response given when anyone asks ‘where’s good for a roast around here?’ and it ain’t for nothin’.  Do be aware that there can be long waits, as it’s a small team of people feeding the masses, but the veggie roast is fab.

The Black Horse – 50 Earlham Road
There’s always something delicious and vegan on the Black Horse menu, but their Sunday roast is particularly stellar. It’s great value, it’s Not Just Another Boring Nut Roast and you get to eat it in a properly nice pub. The team here are keen to make sure their veggie/vegan options aren’t just the same old predictable stuff, and you can tell. Get this food in your face. They can also accommodate people who need gluten-free and vegan simultaneously, which is something not many Norwich venues can claim.

For pub classics (and other hearty fare)


The Tipsy Vegan – 68-70 St Benedicts Street
I realise that we did the brunch bit already, and I’ve chosen to illustrate this lot with a brunch photo, but it was REALLY GOOD OKAY.  If  you want Tofish and chips, bbq ‘ribs’ or a big ol’ burger, get yourself to Tipsy Vegan – the first fully vegan restaurant in Norwich.

Their cocktails are killer, and they’ve recently revamped the menu to include sharing boards and new tapas dishes, and eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeverything is veeeeeeeeeeeeeegan. I haven’t managed to save room for dessert yet, but between cheesecake, chocolate tart and donuts, it would be pretty hard to go wrong.

St Andrew’s Brewhouse – 41 St Andrews Street
I really love that the vegan offerings here aren’t boiled down to just one ‘choice’. There’s vegan cuisine on every bit of the Brewhouse menu, from the tofu and black bean sarnie to the jackfruit burger and VEGAN CREME BRULEE. I’ve heard good things about the tagine and the sweet potato savoury donuts, and the fact you can get vegan onion rings is just the cherry on the cake.

Credit: River Green Cafe

River Green Cafe – The Street, Trowse
All veggie, all the time. Most of the menu here is either vegan or can be made vegan, and the mushroom wellington is To Die For. Fantastic burgers, hearty pasta dishes, there’s plenty of choice and you can never pick a bad dish. I don’t know how they get it so right every time, but they really, really do.

Credit: Wild Thyme

Wild Thyme – Labour in Vain Yard
Wild Thyme is a veggie Norwich institution. Previously known as Pulse, the venue itself has a great atmosphere and the menu is completely vegetarian. The breakfast, lunch and dinner menu are all a little different, but all feature plenty of totally plant-based choices – it’s almost a vegan restaurant, really. Shout out to the risotto and linguini from the current lunch/dinner menus, which rocked my world.

Mr Postle’s Apothecary, 2 Upper King Street
The new vegan menu at Mr Postle’s is undeniably kick-ass. From the sweetcorn fritters with egg-free dill aioli to the giant katsu spring rolls and too-big-for-a-human-mouth vegan burger, these guys are doing it so, so right. If you’ve got a hangover kicking around I’d highly recommend the homemade lentil or potato and leek soups, but the chilli-topped fries and mushroom and chestnut pie are also hard to beat.

Erpingham House, 22 Tombland
The newest and biggest of Norwich’s vegan restaurants, Erpingham House is rumoured to be the biggest vegan restaurant in all of the UK. Spread over three floors, from cafe to bar to restaurant, these guys serve up a finer dining take on plant-based cuisine alongside some cracking cocktails. A good date night venue, I was particularly pleased with their risotto cakes and jackfruit curry – but can’t wait to return for the mac&greens.

Moorish, 17 Lower Goat Lane
Moorish has long been Norwich’s number 1 falafel bar, but recently they launched an extensive range of vegan burgers that you can tuck into on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights – and now that I’ve finally tried some, I can confirm, they are the bomb. Even the most delectable, comfort-food dishes on this menu are secretly full of good nutritious stuff, so you can feel like you’re misbehaving while accidentally getting your five a day. Insane.

For classy take-out

Credit: Vegan Wok

Thai Street – 131 Magdalen Street – Call to order
A fine addition to Norwich vegan eating, this venue – formerly all-vegan joint Vegan Wok –  was dreamt up by the masterminds behind Take Thai and rakes in great reviews left, right and centre. You’ll have to call to order, but you can get really creative with the menu options – which are as flavourful and authentic as it gets.

Namaste – 2a Opie Street / 131-139 Queens Road – On Deliveroo
Namaste now have two restaurants, Namaste India on Opie Street and Namaste Village on Queens Road, and most importantly they now have the capacity to do deliveries through the magic of the internet.

This is yet another all-vegetarian restaurant for the list, and again, there’s tonnes of vegan options – I’d highly recommend the Baingan Bharta, a smoky aubergine curry, and the classic masala dosa. If you want, you can pay forward a dosa for someone in need to pick up later.

For stocking up your cupboards

If you’re not eating out and you’re not ordering in, presumably that means you’re going to cook for yourself or something?! As well as the Greengrocer’s on Earlham Road, who also have a vegan-friendly cafe, get yourself to Little Shop of Vegans at 137-139 Magdalen Street and Rainbow Wholefoods in Labour in Vain Yard.

Credit: Little Shop Of Vegans

LSoV are one of the only places in the UK you can get things like the Green Vie dairy-free cheese range (oh man, it’s so good) and MeetLyke faux meats. As well as clothes and beauty products, they also sell fresh goods like Food By Lizzi’s Scotch Eggless, Deerly Beloved Bakery cakes and Little Vegan Cookie Co cookies – and One Planet Pizza. It’s a really easy place to spend your paycheque getting full and happy.

Rainbow aren’t all vegan, but they are an excellent place to buy all your essentials. And by essentials I mean nutritional yeast, hummus chips and giant bars of vego. It’s the ultimate veggie mini-mart, with ethical stock picks and a good range of gems you might not have heard of before.

This post is probably the longest post I’ve ever written, and I know, I KNOW, that there are vegan-friendly restaurants/cafes/shops in Norwich I’ve missed off. If there’s anywhere I haven’t mentioned that you think is criminal to leave off, please do stick it in the comments below!

If you’re looking for things to do in Norwich or just a good Norwich beer garden to sit in, check out my other posts for more information on both.

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