10 Vegan-Friendly Restaurants In KL & PJ You Can Dine With Your Carnivorous Friends

From vegan big breakfast to vegan nasi lemak rendang and vegan mac and cheese, Kanteen makes no compromises when it comes to serving their plant-based diet customers.

There is a dedicated vegetarian page on their online menu. In it, there are 12 vegan options in total - and another 12 more vegetarian (with eggs or dairy) options. Whatever your friends might be having, chances are there is a vegetarian or vegan alternative of that.

In case you are wondering what kind of vegan cheese they use, the menu says it is made out of pumpkin and cashew. That is how you know the restaurant is a pro.

Cuisine: Western and Asian

Kanteen can be found at:
- Tropicana Avenue, PJ
- Banyan Mont Kiara, KL

Operating hours:
Daily (8am - 10pm)

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Located in a neighbourhood mall in Section 17, Petaling Jaya, the Insta-worthy Superfine KL cafe not only boasts great coffee, but also their meat-free meals. Will you take a look at that 'Roasted Cauliflower And Za'atar Spice'? It looks so delicious!

On their lunch and dinner menus, there are about four to five vegan options in total. More options are available if you can take eggs and cheese. They told SAYS that some of the vegetarian dishes can be made vegan too.

Meanwhile, your friends can have hearty bacon-packed meals there too. Bacon is another thing the store boasts about on their social media.

Cuisine: Western

Address:
Seventeen Mall,
L01-L02, Jalan 17/38,
46400 Petaling Jaya, Selangor.

Operating hours:
Daily (8.30am - 5pm, 6pm - 10pm)

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The 'RGB' in RGB Cafe stands for 'Rather Good Beans'. One thing I love about the restaurant is that they use free-range eggs.

The restaurant might be mistaken as a vegan place since most of the items on the menu come with either a vegan or vegetarian sign, but the restaurant also serves chicken burgers, beef briskets, and Asian dishes with meaty proteins.

If you are a vegan or vegetarian by faith, then you will love this restaurant even more because it has a dedicated 'Garlic & Onion Free' symbol on the menu.

Cuisine: Western and Asian

Address:
35, Jalan Damai,
Kampung Datuk Keramat,
55000 Kuala Lumpur, WPKL.

Operating hours:
Monday to Thursday (8am - 5.30pm)
Friday to Saturday (8am - 11pm)
Sunday (8.30am - 9pm)

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Parklife is a Mediterranean restaurant, something which is not so common in Malaysia. Therefore, you are very likely to discover new flavours here.

Meat is generally used sparingly in Mediterranean cuisine, so you can expect a lot of items on the menu to be either vegan or vegetarian. We are talking about vegan pudding, vegetables prepared in a way you probably never had before, and my favourite of them all - their 'Signature Hummus'. If you come in a group, it is a must to order their vegan/vegetarian platter!

The restaurant's chef, Chef Ling, used to own a restaurant in Osaka, Japan for five years. Prior to that, he had worked in Russia after learning all his skills in London for over 10 years. If you are looking for something different, this is definitely a good place to start.

Cuisine: Mediterranean

Parklife has two outlets:
- The Sphere, Bangsar South City, KL
- REXKL, KL

Operating hours:
- Bangsar South City: Daily (10am - 9pm)
- REXKL: Tuesday to Sunday (10am - 10pm)

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BreadFruits is possibly the homiest restaurant on this list. Once you enter their Desa Sri Hartamas outlet, you will immediately be transported into a wooden house sanctuary.

While the menu only explicitly mentions there are one or two vegan options, many of the items can be made vegan upon request. Just talk to the staff, I am sure they are more than happy to customise it for you.

Among the vegan options are 'One Pan Ratatouille' and 'Vegan Treehugger', which is essentially a big breakfast with avocado. Your meat-eating friends will love the restaurant too, because they have extensive smoked meat and steak options on the menu.

Cuisine: Western

Address:
17, Jalan 26/70a,
Desa Sri Hartamas,
50480 Kuala Lumpur, WPKL.

BreadFruits also has an outlet in Faber Tower, Taman Desa.

Operating hours:
- Desa Sri Hartamas: Daily (9am - 7pm)
- Taman Desa: Daily (10am - 6pm)

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Japanese cuisine is possibly one of the most non-vegetarian friendly cuisines in the world. Therefore, to have a ramen shop serving vegan options, it is really something we will greatly appreciate.

Located in Uptown, PJ, Tomo Ramen Bar has two vegan options. The first option is 'Miso Soymilk Vegetarian Ramen'. Yes, you read that right. Soymilk ramen... Mind-blown!

The other option is called 'Vegetarian Jigoku', which translates to 'Vegetarian Hell'. It is a bowl of spicy ramen.

Cuisine: Japanese

Address:
75, Jalan SS 21/1a,
Damansara Utama,
47400 Petaling Jaya, Selangor.

Operating hours:
Tuesday to Sunday (12pm - 9.30pm)

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Indian cuisine can be extremely vegan-friendly. At Namaste India Hartamas, not only you can have the familiar samosa and veggie pakoda, but you can also have 'Vegetarian Seekh Kebab', 'Vegetarian Kofta', and 'Tandoori Platter' - all of which are plant-based meat made by the restaurant.

In fact, they have many dedicated vegetarian sections on the menu. Although it does not specify which items are vegan, as long as the dishes don't have cheese, they are most probably vegan.

It is best to come here in a big group so that you can try out different curries and small bites.

Cuisine: Indian

Address:
11, Jalan Sri Hartamas 7,
50480 Kuala Lumpur, WPKL.

Operating hours:
Daily (11am - 11pm)

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Sushi Ryu is the only fine dining experience on this list. The reason we included them is because they are possibly the only restaurant in Malaysia that serves the 'Impossible Burger'.

Just take a look at that. Can you tell the difference between the 'Wagyu Katsu Sando' and the 'Impossible Meat Katsu Sando'?

If you didn't already know, the 'Impossible Burger' or 'Beyond Meat Burger' was a global phenomenon over the past few years - but it had never really quite caught on in Malaysia. Impossible Food and Beyond Meat are two US companies that produce high-quality plant-based meat.

Many meat-eaters visit these restaurants to try out the plant-based burgers to see if they taste like real meat. They claim that the plant-based patty 'bleeds' when squeezed, just like how the beef patty does. Based on my experience at Sushi Ryu, the 'Impossible Meat Katsu Sando' does 'bleed'! It's definitely worth a visit.

Cuisine: Japanese

Address:
Unit 3.3, Level 2, Platinum Park Tower 1,
11 Persiaran KLCC,
50088 Kuala Lumpur, WPKL.

Operating hours: 
Lunch (12pm - 3pm)
Dinner (6.30pm - 10pm)

Dress code: Smart and elegant

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Most bars, restaurants, and pizza chains serve vegetarian pizzas, but CRUST raises the bar by offering vegan pizzas.

The restaurant prepares pizzas in the true Italian way - by baking them inside a wood-fire brick oven in the middle of the restaurant where every customer can see it.

Other than vegan pizzas, their burgers come in either the choice of beef, chicken, or falafel patty. Nothing screams meat alternative louder than falafel.

In the past, they even had vegan baked brie that was served with toast. Vegan milkshakes are also available. Basically, many items on the menu can be customised into a vegan dish. So, don't be afraid to talk to the staff.

Cuisine: Italian

Location:
1F-17, 163, Retail Park,
Jalan Kiara, Mont Kiara,
50480 Kuala Lumpur, WPKL.

Operating hours:
Daily (10am - 10pm)

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Here is another restaurant on the list that also serves Mediterranean cuisine. However, they have other Asian delights as well.

The restaurant serves vegan taco, vegan sourdough sandwich, vegan kimchi fried rice, vegan burger, cauliflower soup, and many more.

As for your meat-eating friends, the restaurant has everything from nasi lemak and Hakka noodles to steak stroganoff and lamb shank.

Cuisine: Mediterranean, Western, and Asian

Location:
8, Jalan Kemuja,
Bangsar,
59000 Kuala Lumpur, WPKL.

Operating hours:
Daily (8am - 10pm)

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