Berlin Budget Vegan: 10 Places To Get Vegan Meals In Berlin for Less Than €10

In 2013, when we were last in Berlin, there were a couple of good places for a Berlin budget vegan food. Since then, the Berlin budget vegan scene has gone totally insane, in a good way.

There are signs for vegan food wherever you look and it would be a year’s work to try all the options available. As with any food scene that goes trenderiffic (curry wurst, I’m looking at you), bad apples are popping up everywhere, threatening to spoil the bunch.

We made it our mission to find the best vegan cheap eats in Berlin and taste them for you. We also scoured the streets for nearby alternatives, in case your chosen Berlin budget vegan restaurant is mysteriously closed when you get there.

(This happens all the time in Berlin! Plan ahead.)

From least expensive to most, here’s all the Berlin budget vegan food we tried, with honest opinions about each option.

Momos, Mitte

Vegan & Vegetarian
Fehrbelliner Str. 5, U Senefelderplatz

Photo via Momo.

This tiny lunch spot is hidden away on a residential street. It’s popular with office workers on their lunch break, so expect the tables to be busy if you go between noon and 1:30pm. Inspired by a trip they took to Nepal, Marc and Martin serve plates of small dumplings called momos. Veggie-friendly adventurers, our favourite kind of people!

The dumplings come in six flavours (2 veg, 4 vegan) with a choice of three dips and three plate sizes. The piping hot little pockets were tasty and filling; a medium plate of 14 momos made a terrific lunch.

Price for a vegan meal:
Plate of 14 fried momos with dip: €6.90

Did you know? If you like tall, fit German men with friendly smiles, you will want to visit Momo. Trust me.

Nearby: Cold-pressed juices, healthy shakes, and vegan salads are on offer at Daluma, Weinbergsweg 3.

Il Casolare, Kreuzberg

Vegan Options (if you ask), Serves Meat
Grimmstr. 30, Berlin, Kottbusser Brücke

If you have a hankering for a traditional Italian pizza, but the closest you can get to Italy is Berlin, then Il Casolare has your back. Il Casolare is staffed by exceptionally grumpy waitresses, who give the impression that speaking to customers is way below their pay grade. Fortunately, the food makes up for the unpleasantries. It’s not a vegan pizza place and you won’t find anything vegan on the menu, but just order one of their selection of veggie pizzas ohne käseand you’ll be transported straight to Italia with the first bite.

Il Casolare has two sister branches in Berlin. Il Ritrovo in Friedrichshain (Gabriel-Max-Str. 2) and I Due Forni in Prenzlauer Berg (Schönhauser Allee 12).

Price for a vegan meal:
Generous personal pizza: about €7

Did you know? Rumour has it that Quentin Tarantino eats at Il Casolare when he is in Berlin.

Nearby: Just across the river at Erkelenzdamm 49 is Viasko, which will break your budget, but will also fill your belly with vegan delights.

Sushi Cube, Kreuzberg

Vegan Options, Serves Fish
Zossener Str. 18, U Gneisenaustr.

Packed out pretty much every time I’ve been there, Sushi Cube won’t win any awards for swift service or relaxed dining. But, it does have an amazing selection of veggie and vegan sushis on the menu at a terrific price. We found it impossible to ask our busy waitress for a glass of water, let alone to find out if the tempura batter has eggs in it, so ask before you order. If it does, there are lots of options that don’t involve any batter at all.

Did you know? In summer, you can enjoy your sushi out on the sidewalk tables – oh so European.

Price for a vegan meal:
Two filling sushi rolls: around €8

Nearby: Planet Veganus is a small vegan bistro just around the corner on Schenkendorfstrasse 1.

Pêle-Mêle, Neukölln

Vegan
Innstr. 26, Geygerstr.

After failing to eat at Sfizy (randomly closed until some day in February) and Let it Be (doesn’t open until 4pm), I found myself at Pêle-Mêle, a homey little restaurant on a side street in Neukölln. What was going to be just a back-up plan turned into one of the best budget vegan meals I had in Berlin.

The veggie-burger is a homemade green spelt patty topped with fresh, crisp veggies on a sesame bun. And it was damn tasty. After lunch, I treated myself to a slice of hazelnut chocolate cake for dessert, which was iced with a caramel-like peanut butter topping. Yum.

Did you know?
Pêle-Mêle does an organic vegan gourmet brunch every Sunday from 10am to 3pm. This is a must-eat on my list for next time we’re in Berlin.

Price for a vegan meal:
Veggie burger: €6.50
Side of potato wedges: €2.50

Nearby:
The pizza at all-vegan Sfizy is supposed to be great. Next time we’re in Berlin, maybe I’ll have an update for you.

Tianfuzius, Schöneberg

Vegan & Vegetarian
10777 Berlin, U Viktoria-Luise-Platz

There was a time, about three months into our cycling trip through China, that I thought I would never be able to eat Chinese food again. That time has passed, so I was excited to find out about Tianfuzius, a vegetarian Chinese restaurant in upmarket Schöneberg. Tianfuzius is decked out to impress the well-to-do locals, with a modern, chic take on an ancient Chinese villa. You could easily spend €50 per person on a splash-out meal here.

But, just like the upscale vegetarian restaurants in China, the dim sum section of the menu offers affordable filling options on a budget. They have a range of dumplings including Xiao Long Bao, Bao Zi, and Jiao Zi for less than €5 a plate. While my order of Bao didn’t compare to the fluffy cloud-like buns of perfection that came from street vendors in remote villages in China, they were pretty good. At least I could be sure I wasn’t going to bite into a bun full of pig!

If you want to splurge, come and try the Mapo Tofu and Green Beans with Mountains of Chilis (my name for them) that we so fondly remember from our time in China.

Did you know? Tianfuzius also offers a lunch box special (Japanese Bento style) for less than €10.

Price for a vegan meal:
Soup plus an order of dumplings: €9

Nearby:
It’s a bit of a trek, but Chay Village on Eisenacher Str. 40 does veggie and vegan Vietnamese food and is the closest good option in the area.

Cat Tuong, Prenzlauerberg

Vegan
Kastanienallee 89, Schwedter Str.

Our meal at Cat Tuong was easily the best we had in Berlin. We were excited to have the chance to sample some Vietnamese delights without having to pick through our food for random bits of pork or tiny dried shrimp! The menu made us want to come back multiple times, because there was so much we wanted to try.

The crispy Banh Xeo pancake was as tasty as we remember from the market in Ha Noi and our main courses were rich and flavourful, while being completely different from each other. The best part about Cat Tuong’s meals is how they use thin slices of seitan and mushroom to recreate the delicate pieces of pork (or chicken or dog) so prevalent in Vietnamese cooking.

Price for a vegan meal:
One main dish: €9

Did you know?
Cat Tuong is a famous Vietnamese actress (but the word also means something like “Fortune”).

Nearby:
Fill up on vegan salads, wraps, and scrumptious fries at Fast Rabbit on Eberswalder Str. 1.

Bonus Listing: Vegan Grocery Store Veganz

Vegan
Locations in Kreuzberg, Friedrichshain, and Prenzlauer Berg

As proof that Berlin has been possessed by vegan insanity (hooray), there is a chain of vegan grocery stores in the city. Yes, you heard that right. A CHAIN of VEGAN grocery stores. Anyway, they sell every vegan product you’ve ever heard of but can’t get in your town back home.

Gardein? Yup, with more varieties than we could ever find in Canada, where the stuff is made! Beyond Meat? You betcha? Veganaise? Yes, again with more different kinds than I knew existed. Plus, there are oodles of types of Europeanvegan cheese slices and yogurts which are actually good!

While there is a minor snobbery among Berlin’s vegan populace about vegan

 “products” (yes, yes, we should all eat raw beans and kale the whole time) for travellers with access to a kitchen, Veganz is tha bomb! Combine some of their non-meat products with a plate full of veggies from the Turkish market and you have a tasty, nutritious vegan meal for well under €10.

Want even more budget vegan

 Berlin?

There are about 476 (give or take) budget vegan places we didn’t get to try in

 Berlin, not to mention all the high-end vegan restaurants in Berlin.

Check out these blogs for even more Berlin budget vegan restaurants (plus some fancier ones for splurge nights):

13 FANTASTISCH Vegan Restaurants in Berlin Not To Miss
The 10 Best Places to Eat in Berlin for Vegetarians & Vegans
Berlin Vegan Guide

♥  Happy adventures (in vegan eating), Stephen & Jane

http://www.myfiveacres.com/

Top 10 Reasons To Visit Bavaria

High-tech and traditional, conservative and innovative, quaint and quirky – there’s much more to the Free State (as Bavaria is known) than the stereotypical Lederhosen and felt hat image.

World-class museums, thigh-slapping beer halls, speedy cars, Alpine vistas, dreamy castles, belly-filling food, top-notch beer…there are hundreds of reasons to visit Germany’s southeast corner – here we list the ten most compelling.

1. The Alps

Geography may have handed Germany’s south a mere sliver of the Alps, but the region certainly makes the most of its peaks, many of which are but a short train ride from central Munich. The ski resort of Garmisch-Partenkirchen is the place to head for the best fun in the snow, as it sits under Germany’s highest mountain, the Zugspitze, the top of which can be reached by train.

Pin this imageThe Bavarian Alps in winter © canadastock / Shutterstock Images

Surrounded by Austria on three sides, the Berchtesgadener Land in Bavaria’s far southeast keeps all the region’s clichéd Alpine promises, providing dramatic mountain scenery, great hiking and Germany’s prettiest lake, theKönigssee.

2. The beer

Munich has often been called 'the city of art and beer’, and when you are done with the art by day, the evenings belong to the 1L steins of frothy brews in typical beer halls such as the Hofbräuhaus, the Augustiner Bräustuben and the Weisses Brauhaus. Of course the best time for disciples of the hop to make a pilgrimage to the Bavarian capital is during Oktoberfest (annually late September to the first weekend in October), during which around six million litres of beer are slurped. Outside Munich the beer is just as good, better in fact, according to drinkers in Franconia(Bavaria’s northern region), where countless village breweries pump out an astonishing variety of Landbier (small-scale regional beers) not available anywhere else.

3. The castles

Every Bavarian town and hilltop seems to host a medieval noble pile or two, but it’s to three 19th-century follies commissioned by Bavaria’s King Ludwig II that most outsiders flock. Rising out of Alpine forest near the town ofFüssen, Schloss Neuschwanstein is Germany’s most popular tourist attraction, its dreamy turrets and dramatic location having inspired Walt Disney’s Sleeping Beauty castle. Ludwig’s other two sugary creations are theHerrenchiemsee, a Versailles-inspired palace on an island in the Chiemsee, Bavaria’s biggest lake, and compactLinderhof in a remote Alpine location near Oberammergau.

Pin this imageSchloss Neuschwanstein, King Ludwig II's towering masterpiece © canadastock / Lonely Planet

4. The cars

Bavaria is home to some of the highest-octane names of the motoring world – BMW in Munich and Audi inIngolstadt. Munich’s space-age BMW Welt (BMW World) is a petrolhead’s dream come true, a huge free exhibition of the company’s latest models which can be sat in, fiddled with and admired from the driver’s seat. Next door is the excellent BMW Museum, and intriguing tours of the nearby factory can be easily arranged.

5. The traditions

From the world-famous Oktoberfest and Christmas markets to Oberammergau’s once-a-decade Passion Play and the glass-blowing traditions of the Bavarian Forest; from the beer-brewing monks of Andechs and folk-costumed bashes in Alpine taverns to Bayreuth’s Wagner obsession – Bavaria is a place where culture and traditions form an easily accessible link with a colourful, folksy past.

Pin this imageGolden glass and crystal Christmas ornaments on sale at Christkindlesmarkt, Nuremberg © AnkNet / Lonely Planet

6. The museums

You could devote many months to Bavaria’s exceptional museums, some of which rank as the best of their kind inEurope. It would be easy to while away a week ‘doing’ Munich’s art museums alone, including the world-class Pinakotheken (Alte Pinakothek, Neue Pinakothek and Pinakothek der Moderne). The Deutsches Museum is a highly enjoyable repository of the technical past, while Nuremberg boasts the Deutsche Bahn Museum, Germany’s top railway museum, and the Nationalmuseum, the country’s most comprehensive exhibition of Germanic culture. Of course, Bavaria witnessed one of the most sinister chapters in European history – the rise of the Nazis – and many places such as Berchtesgaden’s Dokumentation Obersalzberg and Nuremberg’s Reichsparteitagsgelände – where the largest Nazi rallies were held in the 1930s – relate that dark story.

7. The shopping

Traditional Bavarian folk costume makes for a truly unique souvenir. Central Munich’s Loden-Frey sells the real deal, but those on a budget should head for Holareidulijö which sells second hand outfits. Nymphenburg porcelain is another popular take-home item, best sourced at the Porzellan Manufaktur Nymphenburg factory shops. Glassware from the Bavarian Forest area, Nuremberg gingerbread and new and antique beer steins are other mementoes to take home from a Bavaria trip. More unusual shopping experiences are provided by Käthe Wohlfahrt shops, where you can source your Christmas decorations all year round, a surreal experience in July when the mercury is pushing 30ºC.

Pin this imageIntricate porcelain can be bought at Nymphenburg Porcelain factory shops © Michael Zegers / Getty Images

8. The lakes

Between Munich and the Alps, many picturesque foothill lakes reflect quaint villages and onion-domed churches in their glassy waters. Easily accessible by S-Bahn from Munich, the Fünf-seen-land is an area of five lakes including the pretty Lake Starnberg, a popular, gentle retreat for stressed out city folk and the place King Ludwig II mysteriously drowned in 1886. Southeast of Munich, the Chiemsee is a great place to mess around in boats, but top marks among the region’s lakes must go to the Königssee, Germany’s most stunningly beautiful body of water, which is cupped by alpine slopes. Take an electric boat along its length.

9. The food

Bavarian cuisine may not enjoy worldwide renown, but the region’s meat-heavy menus are the perfect accompaniment to the unsurpassed beer. Eating out is not all about soaking up the beer, however. Munich has a thriving culinary scene, with vegetarian, vegan, Asian and Michelin-starred gourmet restaurants, and boasts more Italian eateries than most cities in Italy. Out in the sticks things are more traditional, though there’s still a lot of variety, especially where tourists congregate in numbers.

10. The romance

Running along the western edge of Bavaria, the Romantic Road is Germany’s most popular tourist route, extending for 350km from Würzburg in the north to Füssen in the south.

Pin this imageThe impossibly quaint Rothenburg ob der Tauber © CALLE MONTES / Getty Images

It’s a ribbon of quaintness punctuated by perfectly preserved walled towns such as Rothenburg ob der Tauber,Dinkelsbühl and Nördlingen. The route is travelled by millions of visitors over the summer; go in winter when a blanket of snow adds some authentic romance to these special places.

by Marc Di Duca , www.lonelyplanet.com