Christchurch guide
The best vegetarian & vegan food in Christchurch
Christchurch eats well without the meat — and this isn't a list of places with a token salad. These are the kitchens where meat-free is the whole idea: fully vegan cafés, pure-vegetarian menus a hundred items deep, and plant-based takes on Korean and Kiwi classics.
13 veg-first spots across the city — from the vegan cafés of the central city and Addington to a strong run of South Indian kitchens through Riccarton and Papanui, where the vegetarian menu isn't a section, it's the menu.
Menus move with the season and the chef, so the veg options shift — if you're after something specific or feeding a crowd, a quick look at the current menu or a call ahead never hurts.
Venue data checked weekly · Updated August 2026
The picks
- 01Barefoot Eatery · Cafe · Central City
A relaxed brunch spot at The Welder — coffee, all-day brunch and an easygoing courtyard setting.
- 02The Lotus-Heart · Restaurant · Central City
A St Asaph Street fixture with a pure vegetarian menu that roams the globe — curries, dosa, burgers — and a tea list that runs to pages.
- 03Water Drop Vegetarian Cafe · Cafe · Riccarton
The café at Riccarton's Fo Guang Shan Buddhist temple — an entirely meat-free Chinese kitchen, open daytimes six days a week.
- 04Portershed Specialty Café & Store · Cafe · Addington
A specialty cafe and store in an old Addington brick building — serious coffee, a tidy food offering and shelves worth a browse.
- 05Welcome Chinese Vegetarian Cafe · Cafe · Riccarton
Chinese vegetarian and vegan cooking in Riccarton — mock meats, tofu and the familiar dishes made meat-free.
- 06Eden Alley Korean Restaurant and Café · Restaurant · Riccarton
A Korean restaurant-cafe in Riccarton — bibimbap, BBQ, stews and Korean cafe sweets.
- 07South Of India · Restaurant · New Brighton
South Indian cooking in New Brighton — dosa, idli, biryani and the southern curries, a change from the usual north-Indian menu.
- 08Chanakya South Indian Cusine · Restaurant · New Brighton
South Indian cooking in New Brighton from a chef with 15-plus years behind him — dosa, biryani and curries across veg, meat and seafood, done with care.
- 09Adipoli South Indian Kerala cuisine · Restaurant · Woolston
Kerala South Indian cooking in Woolston — dosa, appam, fish curries and the coastal flavours of southern India, a genuine point of difference.
- 10Pothichor · Takeaway · Riccarton
South Indian and Kerala food in Riccarton — dosa, appam and the spicier southern dishes, dine-in or takeaway.
+ 3 more on the map below ↓
Keep exploring
Common questions
- What's the best vegetarian food in Christchurch?
- Try Barefoot Eatery, The Lotus-Heart, Water Drop Vegetarian Cafe, Portershed Specialty Café & Store, Welcome Chinese Vegetarian Cafe. These are the kitchens where meat-free is the point, not the concession — fully vegan cafés, pure-vegetarian menus, and the South Indian tables where the veg dishes carry the menu.
- Are there fully vegetarian restaurants, or just veg-friendly ones?
- This list is the real thing — fully vegan and pure-vegetarian kitchens, plus a handful where the vegetarian menu is the main event. Most cafés and restaurants around town do decent veg options too; these are the ones worth crossing town for.
- Is there much for vegans too?
- Yes — several of these are entirely plant-based, and the pure-veg Indian kitchens mark vegan dishes clearly. Worth flagging when you order, since what's on changes with the kitchen.