Dining Out As A Vegan: What To Order & What To Avoid
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The vegetable soup is almost never vegan. That was my first proper lesson in eating out, and it came with a side of chicken stock. 🫠
For chain-specific advice, including the truth about McDonald’s fries, see our is fast food vegan guide.
After ten years of this I’ve stopped scanning menus for the word vegan. Here’s what I do instead.
🚩 1. Watch Out For Hidden Ingredients
The dishes that catch you out are never the obvious ones. It’s the plate of vegetables with something quietly added.
The usual suspects:
- Chicken or beef stock in soups, risotto and anything with rice
- Butter or cream in mashed potato and most vegetable sides
- Honey in salad dressings and glazes
- Egg wash brushed on bread and pastry for shine
- Anchovies in Worcestershire sauce, Caesar dressing and some pasta sauces
- Fish sauce in Thai and Vietnamese food, including the vegetable dishes
Stock is the one I’d learn first. It’s invisible, it’s in everything, and nobody thinks to mention it.
If you want the full list of names to watch for, PETA keeps a thorough one. You won’t memorise it, but a skim helps the odd ones stick.
🍽️ 2. Pick Restaurants That Already Cater To Vegans
The easiest wins are cuisines where plants were always the point, not an afterthought.
Indian and Ethiopian food is the best of the lot, because half the menu is already vegan and nobody has to be asked for a favour. Lebanese and Middle Eastern for falafel, hummus and tabbouleh. Mexican for bean tacos and guacamole, with the refried beans checked for lard.
Thai and Vietnamese are great once you’ve asked about fish sauce, which is in more of the vegetable dishes than you’d hope.
🌱 3. Ask Specific Questions
Is this vegan? is the worst question you can ask, because half the time the server genuinely doesn’t know and says yes to be helpful.
Ask about one ingredient instead. Is that made with butter or oil? Is the stock vegetable? Anything in the dressing besides oil and vinegar? Those get real answers because they’re answerable.
Asking nicely also gets you a lot further than announcing your diet. Kitchens will often build you something off menu if you’re pleasant about it.
🥦 4. Go For Naturally Vegan Dishes
Anything that was already vegan before you walked in is safer than anything modified for you. Chana masala, dal, veggie sushi, grain bowls, pasta with olive oil and garlic.
Fewer substitutions means fewer chances for something to go wrong in the kitchen. Same logic applies to the drinks order, since wine isn’t always vegan either.
🌱 5. Be Ready With A Backup Plan
Ten years in and I still have a bar in my bag. Not because I expect disaster, but because the one time you don’t is the set menu at someone’s wedding.
A GoMacro bar or a Larabar survives being sat on. Roasted chickpea snacks and almonds do the same job if you’d rather something savoury.
It’s the difference between a nice evening and going home to make toast at eleven.
✅ The Bottom Line
Pick the cuisine before the restaurant, ask about one ingredient rather than the whole dish, and keep a bar in your bag. That’s the entire system.
You’ll get it wrong occasionally. Everybody does, and it matters far less than you think it will. Here’s the longer version for tricky restaurants.
🛒 What Lives In My Bag
Ten years in and I still carry a backup. Not because I expect disaster, but because of that one set menu at a wedding.
- GoMacro bars: survives being sat on, which is the actual requirement.
- Larabars: dates and nuts. For when you want something sweet instead.
- Roasted chickpea snacks: savoury, and more filling than a bar.
- Almonds: the difference between a nice evening and toast at eleven.
- Nutritional yeast: genuinely useful in a small pot when the only vegan option is plain.
- Tamari: the seasoning most plain restaurant vegetables are missing.
