Vegan/Vegan friendly restaurants in Paris?

leaveiton

Sorry if this has been asked before, I did a search and couldn't find much.

I'm going to Paris in a couple of weeks with my boyfriend who's vegan. We've found a couple of nice vegan/vegetarian restaurants already, but I was just wondering if anyone knew of anywhere that would cater for both a vegan and a meat-eating diet? Preferably somewhere reasonably priced. Thanks

fillefatale

leaveiton wrote: »

Sorry if this has been asked before, I did a search and couldn't find much.

I'm going to Paris in a couple of weeks with my boyfriend who's vegan. We've found a couple of nice vegan/vegetarian restaurants already, but I was just wondering if anyone knew of anywhere that would cater for both a vegan and a meat-eating diet? Preferably somewhere reasonably priced.Thanks

Good luck with that, its hard enough to find meat eating places that cater for vegetarian diets. Most restaurants/cafes there I've found use eggs for the non meat option.

Also be wary of the opening times of places, I went to find a few veggie places on Sundays and they were all closed

Raminahobbin

The best website I've found for looking up veggie restaurants on is HappyCow. It's quite detailed and will specify if restaurants serve meat AND veg options, or just veg options. The search I did for Paris had a few mixed restaurants so you should have no bother

theinferior

Raminahobbin wrote: »

The best website I've found for looking up veggie restaurants on is HappyCow. It's quite detailed and will specify if restaurants serve meat AND veg options, or just veg options. The search I did for Paris had a few mixed restaurants so you should have no bother

Agreed!

Also, if you have a smartphone, install the happycow app. Wherever you are, it can point you in the direction of the nearest vegan/vegetarian/veg. friendly place. It can give you directions and everything

SilverLiningOK

Lots of vegan/vegetarian restaurants in Paris tend to be of the mock-meat/tofu variety and are not so good. Hunting down places that do falafel was my best bet when I visited about 2 years ago. Lebanese and Indian places are also worth a go. Sit down meal are tricky as they just don't really get the idea of not eating meat/fish/dairy in such a strong omnivore food culture. Supplementing with bought fruit, nuts and bread is best way not to go hungry. Any venture into restaurants can lead to disappointment. Emergency supplies of dried fruit, nuts, rice cakes, oat cakes and vegan energy bars are a must in a place such as Paris. Paris can be enjoyed by having coffees and drinks if not food.

fillefatale

SilverLiningOK wrote: »

Lots of vegan/vegetarian restaurants in Paris tend to be of the mock-meat/tofu variety and are not so good. Hunting down places that do falafel was my best bet when I visited about 2 years ago. Lebanese and Indian places are also worth a go. Sit down meal are tricky as they just don't really get the idea of not eating meat/fish/dairy in such a strong omnivore food culture. Supplementing with bought fruit, nuts and bread is best way not to go hungry. Any venture into restaurants can lead to disappointment. Emergency supplies of dried fruit, nuts, rice cakes, oat cakes and vegan energy bars are a must in a place such as Paris. Paris can be enjoyed by having coffees and drinks if not food.

I used Happy Cow prior to my trip 3 years ago and all the places were closed/had odd opening hours or had unappealing offerings as you've pointed out above. My only luck was with falafel places as well!

Interestingly Gordon Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares profiled a vegetarian restaurant in Paris a few years ago. It didn't last too long though!

SilverLiningOK

fillefatale wrote: »

I used Happy Cow prior to my trip 3 years ago and all the places were closed/had odd opening hours or had unappealing offerings as you've pointed out above. My only luck was with falafel places as well!

Interestingly Gordon Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares profiled a vegetarian restaurant in Paris a few years ago. It didn't last too long though!

France is not a culture that understands vegan/vegetarian diet in the widest possible way. The government even seem to have views on it - http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/wordofmouth/2011/oct/26/french-government-banning-vegetarianism-schools

My own view is that I choose to eat a vegetarian diet, so I can't expect everywhere to cater for me. When I jury service a few years ago, the designated lunch place did not suit me at all, unless I was prepared to eat a plate of overcooked vegetables every day. So I brought my own lunch and ate it at the table. I told the police officer looking after us, that I was doing it and there was no fuss.

When I visit somewhere new, I take the same approach. There's usually something I can bring me for an emergency, just in case. Out there, people seem to think that vegetarians don't like food and threat them accordingly. I love food but don't necessarily like what others think what I might tolerate by taking away the meat/fish and serving up what's left.

Travelling is not only about the food, so a survivalist mentality usually serves well. This doesn't always suit ones travelling companions though. I have sat in McDonalds while others eat and look after myself elsewhere.

fillefatale

SilverLiningOK wrote: »

France is not a culture that understands vegan/vegetarian diet in the widest possible way. The government even seem to have views on it - http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/wordofmouth/2011/oct/26/french-government-banning-vegetarianism-schools

My own view is that I choose to eat a vegetarian diet, so I can't expect everywhere to cater for me. When I jury service a few years ago, the designated lunch place did not suit me at all, unless I was prepared to eat a plate of overcooked vegetables every day. So I brought my own lunch and ate it at the table. I told the police officer looking after us, that I was doing it and there was no fuss.

When I visit somewhere new, I take the same approach. There's usually something I can bring me for an emergency, just in case. Out there, people seem to think that vegetarians don't like food and threat them accordingly. I love food but don't necessarily like what others think what I might tolerate by taking away the meat/fish and serving up what's left.

Travelling is not only about the food, so a survivalist mentality usually serves well. This doesn't always suit ones travelling companions though. I have sat in McDonalds while others eat and look after myself elsewhere.

Well, yes. But when I can, I aim to eat in suitable places, other times, I suck it up.