Vegan in Berlin: Froindlichst

Posted on December 1, 2025 by Jenny
A big plate with hash browns, baked beans, tofu omelette, sausages, bread, spinach, tomatoes, mushrooms, butter, and sauce

Here’s one of the other new spots from our summer trip to Berlin. There was a time when we always went for an all-you-can-eat buffet brunch in Berlin, but it’s been many years since we’ve done that. Possibly covid ended that trend, or maybe we just need to do more research. This time we went for a regular Sunday brunch and were very pleased!

A plate with three crispy hash browns, a pot of sauce, and a burger containing tofu omelette, avocado, and vegan bacon amongst other ingredients

Dr HH had the breakfast burger, which included some omelette, bacon (a little difficult to bite through), avocado, and smoked salmon. All the components were good and worked well together – but maybe they would work better on a plate rather than squashed into a bun. I suppose that’s what you get when you order something in burger format then! The hash browns on the side were also tasty.

A big plate with hash browns, baked beans, tofu omelette, sausages, bread, spinach, tomatoes, mushrooms, butter, and sauce

I had the full breakfast, and really enjoyed it. The sausages were a little softer than I would have liked, but tasted great. The mushrooms and tomatoes were nicely warmed through – I have no patience for the raw tomatoes you often get on a European breakfast. The beans were good but a bit saucier than I personally like – fortunately, they were contained in a little pot. The spinach was quite boring and doesn’t really belong on a breakfast plate for me. The hash browns were perfect, and the omelette was sensational, so thin and well flavoured. I could have eaten a lot more of that, and it makes me think I should experiment with omelettes a bit more at home. My only real complaint was the bread, which I would consider a very German bread and not really agreeable to my British palate – one of those dark, dry, seedy breads.

The restaurant was so busy I think they were turning people away, so definitely book a table if you plan to visit. I would definitely recommend this for a good brunch. I’d love to go back and try the pancakes!

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Vegan in Berlin: Iro Izakaya Vegan

Posted on November 24, 2025 by Jenny
Two Japanese starters

This summer we made our traditional pilgrimage to Berlin to enjoy the thriving vegan scene. With only a few days there, it’s the eternal dilemma of whether to stick to the same tried and tested hits of previous visits or give something new a try. We ended up with a balance of the two. I think every time we visit we see this big sign for vegan Japanese food, and this time we finally paid it a visit. Yes, it’s a fully vegan Japanese restaurant!

Three pieces of pale fried tofu

For starters, Dr HH and I shared two dishes. The mochi agedashi sounded like a really fun idea, combining the soft and tasty tofu agedashi with a fun mochi texture. Unfortunately though the texture was not actually enjoyable to us, too chewy. Still, it’s always fun to encounter something new, and I’m happy we got to try it.

Three pieces of deep fried balls of mock meat

We quite enjoyed the vegan karaage. It had a lovely crisp coating, but the meat was a little under seasoned for us and the texture inside could use more bite, it was a bit mushy. The coating did help with some texture though, and I enjoyed it more than Dr HH did.

A bowl of curry with rich sauce, large chunks of root vegetables, rice, salad, and mock meat in breadcrumbs

For his main course, Dr HH had the Japanese curry. The sauce was tasty and had those familiar notes of a classic Japanese curry, but it was quite a small portion. He liked the katsu chicken here a lot more than the chicken in the karaage, in terms of both flavour and texture.

A bowl of ramen

I am powerless to resist a big bowl of noodles and broth, so I had the tantan ramen, and really enjoyed it. The broth was rich and well spiced. The noodles were plentiful, making it a filling dish. And the toppings were quite good, particularly the soy meat.

Be warned that the only card payments they accept are from German bank cards. If you don’t have one, you need to pay with cash.

All in all, it was good but not perfect. It’s a nice restaurant, stylish and spacious with very fast service. Honestly, I’d be thrilled if this place existed in Prague, where vegan Japanese pickings are very slim indeed!

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Vegan in London: Club Mexicana Soho

Posted on November 17, 2025 by Jenny
Two trays each containing three tacos

Club Mexicana had been on my London wishlist for a long time before we finally managed to visit on out trip in June. There’s always too many eateries to squeeze into one weekend! We don’t get a lot of vegan Mexican options in Prague, so I was very excited to try this place and it certainly met my expectations.

The menu is fairly small, which is no bad thing in my opinion. We weren’t that hungry but ate as much as we could manage!

A tray of nachos with melted cheese and various seasonings

We shared the classic nachos to start, and they were really good. As a starter, this was plenty – we had considered getting the loaded nachos, but this was enough for us. There was a really pleasant mix of textures and the flavours were well balanced. The cheesy sauce was lovely.

A taco with some meaty strips and garnishes

We each got three tacos. Dr HH got the al pastor, which is described as like shawarma but he didn’t really pick up on those classic shawarma flavours. I was deterred from this one because it includes pineapple, but he said it was unobtrusive.

A taco with mince, cheese sauce, red onion, pickles, and more garnishes

I got the cheeseburger, which really did capture the essential flavours of a classic burger. The mock meat was really good.

A taco with strips of battered mushrooms and various garnishes

We both got the buffalo mushroom, which was quite spicy but not too overpowering. The mushrooms were really tender, just perfectly cooked.

A taco with a large piece of mock meat, red onions, and other garnishes

We agreed that the best taco was the BBQ short rib. The meat was exceptional! It had a nice crispy edge and more tender centre, and the flavours were fantastic. We were really impressed. I’d love this to be available in Prague!

I wish I’d had room to try the churros for dessert, but alas, I was full. Maybe we’ll try a return trip next year!

This branch is quite small, and was busy when we went on a Sunday lunchtime – it looked like there was a bit of a wait for tables, so I was glad we had a reservation. There weren’t too many tables indoors, but there was outdoor seating too in a bustling courtyard shared with other eateries. The staff were really friendly and service was fast. I heartily recommend this place, and hope someone brings exciting vegan Mexican food to Prague!

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Vegan in London: Okja

Posted on November 10, 2025 by Jenny
A takeaway box containing four pastries

Back in June, we made a quick weekend trip to London to see Beyoncé (who was predictably excellent) and fill out bellies with some good vegan food. I’m still always delighted by the prevalence of vegan options in the UK. There are great options in Prague, but you do have to go looking for them. In London, every eatery we walked past seemed to have something vegan – and there was even a fully vegan bakery just a ten minute walk from our hotel, so we headed there for a tasty breakfast one morning and got two pastries each.

A citrus pistachio swirl

Dr HH got a citrus pistachio swirl, which he loved. It was soft on the inside with good crispiness on the outside. There was plenty of good flavour from the cream. It was sticky, messy, and delicious.

A pesto and cheese bun topped with sesame seeds

He also got a pesto and cheese bun, which had good textures and a pleasing amount of cheese, but very little pesto. Perhaps he was just unlucky though.

A chocolate hazelnut swirl

I got a chocolate hazelnut swirl, which was as big a success as the pistachio one. There was plenty of tasty chocolate hazelnut spread, which was very decadent.

A morning bun

And I also tried an intriguingly-named morning bun. Like the others, it was crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. It was filled with delicious flavours of cinnamon, cardamom, and orange zest.

We also got a takeaway coffee and hot chocolate (very rich and delicious – a bit much on top of two pastries!) and these were also good.

There’s no seating inside so we ate everything on one of the handful of seats they have outside the shop, as the June weather was favourable. It would be a nice little cafe if there was space for indoor seating, but as it is, it’s an excellent bakery and I hope we’ll be back for more delicious pastries soon!

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Vegan in Switzerland: Bakery Bakery

Posted on November 3, 2025 by Jenny
A coffee cup with Bakery Bakery written on it

And saving the best for last, here’s an all vegan bakery! We visited branches in Zürich, Bern, and Basel – I believe there are branches in other cities as well, though regrettably not Geneva.

Bakery Bakery was possibly my favourite thing about my visit to Switzerland. The baked goods were excellent. The first branch we tried was in the train station at Zürich. It has no seating, so it’s takeaway only. As well as pastries, they also serve hot drinks and have a small selection of chocolate,  chilled meats, and cheeses for purchase. We only had eyes for the pastries though. Here’s what we tried.

Inside a sausage roll, with a sausage on a bed of mustard
A sausage roll topped with seeds

Sausage roll: great pastry with nice seeds on top for texture, but the sausage was like a hot dog (not my preferred style, and quite different from a British sausage roll). There was loads of mustard in the pastry case alongside the sausage. It was an unpleasant surprise for mustard haters like Mother HH and me, but presumably fine if you like mustard.

A cheese tart

Cheese tart: this is one of the best things I’ve ever eaten. The pastry was rich, crisp, and crumbly. The filling was delicious, really creamy and cheesy. It felt like a really high quality vegan cheese. Absolutely divine. We are a lot of these in our week long trip!

A cinnamon snail

Cinnamon snail: the cinnamon flavour and filling were really nice. It was a bit nutty, and very sticky. The pastry was nice, but note that this is a snail that is more like a pastry than a bread, so it may or may not be home you like your snails.

A croissant with a small cookie baked in at each end

Crookie: this is a croissant with two cookies baked on top. It was not very visually appealing to me, but it tasted really great. The cookies on top looked pale, but were baked and had a bit of nice crisp. The croissant was filled as well with lots of chocolatey, cookie spread. It was extremely decadent and delicious, it certainly filled us up!

A cookie with lots of chocolate chips

Cookie: it was quite hefty, a really good size and thickness. It was absolutely packed with chocolate chips. It was quite a soft cookie, which is just how I like them.

I highly recommend this place to anyone passing through the city centre!

We also paid a visit to a branch in Bern, which was a nice cafe with seating available. Of course, we got more cheese tarts, but we also tried a few other items.

A thin rectangular pastry topped with seeds

Lauch speck strudel: it had too much leek and not enough meat for my liking, which was a bit of a shame and prevented it from being truly great. The pastry was really nice though.

A ring doughnut topped with chocolate

Donut choco nut: this was nice but not mind blowing, as the texture was a little bit chewy. The chocolate coating was the highlight.

A bready looking croissant with some chocolate drizzles

Chocoggigipfel: this croissant filled with chocolate was more bready than pastry. The chocolate cream inside was absolutely delicious, really rich and thick. It was very tasty.

The last branch we visited was in Basel train station. We ordered from the takeaway window, but there was an additional counter and seating for dining in. It had the same baked goods as the other branches, and we didn’t try anything different here.

Overall I wasn’t overwhelmed by the number and range of vegan options in Switzerland, so it’s quite surprising to me that they have this thriving chain of fully vegan bakeries. I wish this would catch on in other countries – especially if they had those cheese tarts!

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Vegan in Switzerland: Nooch

Posted on October 27, 2025 by Jenny
Four crispy sushi rolls topped with tuna

I’m rounding out my Switzerland posts with a couple of reviews from places that we visited in multiple cities, starting with Nooch. We visited branches in both Zürich and Basel. The menu was at least very similar in both branches, if not identical. It is an east Asian chain with quite a few clearly labelled vegan dishes. It was a very popular spot in both locations – you can easily book a table online if you wish.

A big bowl of carbonara topped with tofu cubes and mushroom

All three of us at one point ordered the mushroom miso carbonara – in fact, it was so nice that Mother HH and I ordered it twice. It didn’t really taste of miso, but it was nicely spiced (warm, not hot), creamy, and quite light, with plenty of sauce to keep everything coated. There were loads of tasty mushrooms and some fairly bland tofu, but everything else had flavour.

A bowl of rice and sticky chicken pieces

Dr HH also tried Beijing nights, which was a sweet and sour chicken dish. The chicken pieces had nice texture inside, but the sauce reduced the crispiness of the coating, which is always a risk.

Four crispy sushi rolls topped with tuna

He also got the tuna sushi, for the novelty factor – Prague is sorely lacking in exciting vegan sushi. There was plenty of tuna, which was flavoursome and seemed quite authentic (to someone with very little tuna experience). The crispiness of the roll was a little lacking, but it was still a tasty bite.

This chain was a solid option for us – the meals were tasty, service was pretty fast, and there were decent vegan options. If you’re traveling with meat eaters it might be a crowd-pleasing option too.

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Vegan in Zürich: Roots

Posted on October 20, 2025 by Jenny
Three waffles topped with salad, served with cheesy dressing and avocado

We spent quite a bit of time in Zürich, and were looking for nice central locations for vegan meals. A few different branches of Roots popped up on Happy Cow, and we went to Linthergehasse. It was extremely busy at lunchtime, we had a short wait for a table. There were a few breakfasty items on the menu and even though it was lunchtime, those were the dishes we fancied.

A large bowl of joghurt topped with granola, pomegranate seeds, and compote

Mother HH ordered the yogurt and granola, which came in a surprisingly large bowl. There was a lot of plain yogurt, along with a rhubarb raspberry compote that managed to be very well balanced, neither too sharp nor too sweet. The granola had lots of nuts and seeds and plenty of coconut. There was a good pop of pomegranate seeds too. Mother HH is a huge fan of yogurt and granola, and this exceeded her expectations.

Three waffles topped with salad, served with cheesy dressing and avocado

Dr HH and I both got the savoury waffles. Again the portion sizes were generous: we got three waffles each. They had a nice texture and came with various garnishes. The pickled cucumbers were pleasant, and I also loved the generous wedge of avocado. There was loads of salmon (which is difficult to spot in the photo) and it was very flavoursome, probably the best vegan salmon I’ve had in a restaurant. The five seed crunch added some lovely texture. The creamy cheese dressing was not to my personal taste (a bit too sweet), but Dr HH liked it. 

Because it was so popular, it wasn’t a totally restful atmosphere in which we wanted to linger. But for a quick and tasty lunch, it’s definitely recommended.

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Vegan in Geneva: Gives a Fork

Posted on October 13, 2025 by Jenny
Six pani puri with four pots of fillings

Finally, some really creative and exciting vegan options in Geneva! Gives a Fork was our top pick in the city. It’s all vegetarian, but the vegan options are plenty and are clearly labelled. There are small plates, tacos, and main dishes. We followed our server’s advice and got three small dishes and two taco dishes to share (one of the small dishes was a vegetarian one for non-vegan Mother HH, so I’m not reviewing it here). That made for a slightly light meal for us – if we’d come in hungry, we definitely would have needed one more plate.

A bowl of battered fried mushrooms topped with creamy sauce and garnishes

We loved the chan clan, which was crispy mushrooms with satay sauce. The coating was very crispy and thin, and the satay was really flavoursome. The mushrooms weren’t swimming in sauce, so they kept their crispiness and had a nice texture.

Six pani puri with four pots of fillings

The pop it like it’s hot was also really good. It is basically pani puri. All the components were nice and tasty, especially the potato and spicy chutney. It was a bit lacking in texture though, we thought that some potato chunks would have been better than a smooth puree.

Two tacos topped with mock meat, guacamole, and garnishes

We also got the rendang and harmony tacos. I’m not sure why there were two layers of taco! The rendang was really well seasoned and I loved the texture of the meat.

Two tacos topped with black beans, beer battered tofu, vegan labenh, and garnishes

And perhaps my favourite was the happy tacos. The beer battered tofu was excellent, the batter was so well seasoned. The other components were tasty too, it was a well balanced bite.

There is indoor and outdoor seating. Service was welcoming and fast. It was a popular spot, so you might want to book a table. I assume every vegan in Geneva is in here!

The meal perfectly fuelled us for another amazing/traumatic football match that night as we watched England take it down to the wire, about one minute from losing the semi-final, before a last minute goal and a cool Chloe Kelly penalty (is there any other kind?!) sent us sailing through to the final. Top food memories, top football memories!

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Vegan in Geneva: Takeaway Food at the Train Station

Posted on October 6, 2025 by Jenny
The view of the lake at Montreux

With all our travelling in Switzerland, we spent quite a bit of time at Geneva train station picking up snacks for our journeys. Happily, there are some decent options.

There is a Dunkin counter in the station (I believe there was no seating, but I could be misremembering) which was very convenient for picking up a quick breakfast or snack for the train. Vegan options are clearly labelled. 

A box of six doughnuts

We tried the Lotus biscoff bomb, which was unsurprisingly very sweet. The filling seemed like Lotus spread straight from the jar, so it was a little firm, but it was tasty and definitely delivered on the Lotus flavour.

The chocolate sprinkles was also a bit too sweet, but I have a sweet tooth so I enjoyed the chocolatey flavour.

The original glazed was nice and simple, and the vanilla sprinkles was also quite sweet.

I think there was just one other vegan option on our visit, strawberry sprinkles. All of the doughnuts were fluffy and soft. Every day we visited, they had the same options.

We also picked up some sandwiches at Brezelkonig to take away for a packed lunch on a day trip. This is a bakery we saw pretty much everywhere we went in Switzerland, including probably every train station. The vegan options are labelled, though quite limited – there were no pretzels available when we were there, and just 1 or 2 sandwiches.

A long pretzel bun filled with salad leaves, mock meat, and a bright yellow curry sauce

We tried the planted curry sandwich, and really enjoyed it. The bread was pretzel-like, as we hoped: it had a nice crust and texture and was fluffy inside. The curry sauce was nice, it had quite a curry powder taste to it, but it was pleasant. The chicken pieces had a nice texture and were ok cold. They were not the most flavoursome I’ve ever had, but the curry sauce made up for that.

For a sandwich shop at a train station, I thought this was pretty good.

A castle on the lake at Montreux, with mountains in the background

One of the train journeys which we acquired snacks for was a day trip to Montreux, which I recommend as a pleasant little town on the lake. There were not many options on Happy Cow, so we relied on our train station picnic. It was really lovely to walk along the lake from the station to this castle. As always in Switzerland, the scenery was just so special!

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Vegan in Chamonix-Mont-Blanc: Sesame

Posted on September 29, 2025 by Jenny
Snowy mountain peaks shrouded in cloud below a bright blue sky

Even though Switzerland is famous for its mountains, the only mountain we visited on our trip was actually across the border in France. We took a bus to Chamonix-Mont-Blanc and spent a day there enjoying some spectacular scenery.

There are a few options listed on Happy Cow and we settled on Sesame, which I believe was the only vegetarian place in the town. We understood that all but one dish (halloumi fries) on the menu was vegan, so we stopped by for a late lunch. It was a very small menu, and for us personally it was a bit unexciting, but it served us well enough.

A bowl with salad, two shards of pita, falafel, couscous and salad

I had the falafel bowl, which was ok. There were three falafel, which were quite dry but well seasoned. It was a slightly scant portion of hummus, and under seasoned for me. The tabbouleh was fine, quite fresh and flavoursome. There were only two small triangles of pita, that was disappointing. For the advertised roasted veg, I only got three bits of butternut squash that were slightly underdone, they still had a little too much bite. There was some good seasoning on the salad dressing and spicy sauce. For me there was far too much salad!

A bowl of hummus with shards of pita

Mother HH got the hummus and focaccia from the smaller plates section. She received pita, but we saw them baking focaccia later, which made me wonder if the restaurant is more geared towards evening service, when everyone staying in the town has returned from a day in the mountains. The hummus was served with oil and seeds, and it was very smooth. She enjoyed it.

A burger with cheese

And Doctor HH got the burger. It was a meaty, juicy patty. There was a good chunk of cheese but it tasted just like Violife, which is not too exciting to long term vegans like us. There was very little sun-dried tomato, and he would have enjoyed more. The sauces were well seasoned, and it was all in a good robust bun. If you want fries, you need to order them separately (we did not get any, but we were asked if we wanted them).

A slice of pale cheesecake topped with raspberries

We really wanted chocolate marquise for dessert, but they were sold out of all but one dessert: cheesecake. I’ve been underwhelmed by too many vegan cheesecakes so I resisted, but Mother HH tried it. The base was nutty and that was the main flavour she detected. The cheesy part was a bit bland or overwhelmed by the base, and it was semi frozen (again, making me think they’re focused on evening service). She liked it though.

Service was great, really welcoming and unrushed. There was lots of outdoor seating, but we sat indoors in our usual attempt to avoid smokers.

Cable cars going down towards the ice cave
The view from the train up the mountain to the glacier

As for the scenery, it was really incredible. We took a train ride up to a glacier and then took a cable car down to an ice cave, which was extremely cold.

A view down through the clouds at the town below
The viewing platform at the very top of the peak
A snowy peak shrouded in cloud

After the bad weather of the morning cleared, we also took two gondolas up to the mountain top. This was absolutely the most terrifying moment of my life. I’d never been up a proper mountain before, though I have read a lot of terrifying accounts of people climbing Everest and have a (very healthy, in my opinion) lot of fear about the perils of high places. The only thing more terrifying than the gondola ride was actually emerging at the top and looking down on the world below. Fortunately, the freezing temperatures gave me something to think about besides my absolute terror!

Anyway, there’s nothing like a thrill to make you feel alive! I’d still recommend it, even to cowards like me, because it was such a new experience to be up a real mountain surrounded by snow on a hot summer day. And there’s enough vegan food to make it a viable option too.

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