Loving Hut (formerly Golden Age, 61 Victoria Street West)
The first place I ate out in Auckland (well besides a Pita Pit, but that doesn’t count) was The Loving Hut. Despite Loving Hut being the largest chain of veg restaurants in the world, this was actually my first time eating at one. I forget exactly which dishes we ordered but there was crispy ‘chicken’, eggplant and tofu and a veggie dish. All of it was delicious but it was very greasy! For some reason I expected Loving Hut to be a bit on the healthier side. But still a great place to go for vegan junk food.
Raw Power Cafe (10 Vulcan Lane)
The name is a bit misleading because this isn’t a raw restaurant as I was expecting. But they did have a raw salad on the menu and fresh smoothies and juice. There actually weren’t a lot of vegan options on the menu but that wasn’t a problem at all because they also have a large selection of salads every day including bean, noodle and green salads. You choose a plate or a bowl and then pile on as much of the salads as you can. I got this the first time we went there was it was great. The salads were delicious and filling without being to heavy. The second time we went I had the scrambled tofu off the menu which was very good. They also had a large selection of vegan desserts.
Revive (33 Lorne St & 16 Fort St)
Revive is the perfect spot to grab a quick takeout lunch. Every day they have a number of different salad options, most of which are vegan, along with a soup and one or two larger items like a frittata or burrito. Everything I tried was great, especially the vegan potato salad which was gorgeously creamy and didn’t taste like any potato salad I’ve had before. They also have a few packaged mostly raw snacks for sale.
Basilicum (41 Elliott Stables, Elliott Street)
Of all the veg restaurants I went to in Auckland, Basilicum had the best atmosphere for a nice sit down meal. It’s located in a neat little area called the Elliot Stables where a bunch of different restaurants share a gorgeous seating space. There were only 4 or 5 vegan entrees on the menu but all of them looked really appealing. I had some fried eggplant to start and the Hakka Fried Noddles for my main. The dish was simple but very fresh and flavorful. They had a decent selection of vegan desserts and they regularly hold vegan dinner nights, so watch out for that!
Revel (146 Karangahape Rd)
This restaurant isn’t as close to down town as all the others and it’s not completely vegetarian but it is worth checking out. Karangahape Rd, referred to as “K street” by kiwis has a hipstery vibe with lots of veg friendly restaurants, cool shops and even a vegan store. And it’s only about a 35 min walk from the city centre. There is also a free bus that you can take from almost anywhere along Queen St up to K St. I had the tofu flourentine for breakfast at Revel. Lightely seasoned tofu, tomatoes and a rich creamy sauce, I savored every bite! I got their chocolate midnight pie to go and it was heavenly. A thick shortbread crust topped with incredibly rich and smooth chocolate.
I was also lucky enough to meet another vegan blogger, Moira from An Auckland Vegan and her partner Erin who were nice enough to let me couch surf there for a night!
