Guiding Through Paris as a Vegan
Guiding Through Paris as a Vegan
By: Asha Swann
I was exceptionally lucky to spend the entire month of January 2020 in the beautiful city of Paris. While I was there, I picked up a few key ways of navigating through the city’s mouth-watering cuisine. You don’t need to be lifelong vegan to navigate your way through Paris. When I first began guiding through Paris as a vegan, I managed to compile some of my best tips and tricks to maneuver through the City of Lights, all without sacrificing the great food and culture!
Fruit markets and grocery stores
From what I saw in Paris, even in the winter months you will find vendors selling their fresh fruit and vegetables. If you don’t feel all too comfortable ordering a meal in French, then these markets (as well as grocery stores) will be your best friend. Guiding through Paris as a vegan doesn’t have to be difficult. I accidentally found myself wandering into organic grocery stores when I was just walking around. These stores have shelves full of nutrient-dense plant milk. Soy, rice, hazelnut, cashew, oat, almond, hemp, and macadamia nut milk came in many different flavours. And it’s not just the specialty grocery stores that have them, the big chains like Monoprix and Carrefour have great choices, too. The most surprising thing I found? Fresh vegan tortellini and ravioli! When you’re navigating the grocery stores, I really recommend taking a few extra minutes in the refrigerator aisle. I ate incredible strawberry coconut-milk yogurt nearly every day for breakfast and immediately fell in love with almond-milk hazelnut pudding. Lastly, if you’re shopping for processed foods, be sure to check out the bold ingredients—all major allergens (soy, dairy, gluten, etc) will be clearly noted.
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Ordering food
During my time guiding through Paris as a vegan, I definitely had an advantage in restaurants because I speak a moderate amount of French. Not everything, but it’s very important to learn a few keywords when navigating a menu. Viande is meat in general, but more specific words types of meat you’ll see on a menu are le poulet, le jambon, la dinde, le boeuf, l’agneau, and le foie. It goes without saying that cheese and meats tend to be the most common part of French cuisine. But more and more restaurants are adapting to an ever-increasing demand for plant-based products. I travelled through many different districts, or arrondissements, and I found that there are actually lots of vegan-friendly restaurants! Guiding through Paris as a vegan honestly has never been easier. I stumbled across vegan pizzerias, vegan pubs, vegan pastry shops, and tons of cafes with dairy-free milk choices. Something important to note as well is that there can be a few different words that translate to mean vegan, such as végétale, végane, végétalien/végétalienne. Some really incredible and unique vegan and vegetarian restaurants have been popping up over the last five years, so really take your time to discover new spots in the city. The HappyCow app will really come in handy here.
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Restaurants you won’t want to miss
Guiding through Paris as a vegan doesn’t mean you’ll be stuck bouncing between the same three restaurants. I made it a goal of mine to go to as many different places to eat as possible. Honestly, it was a huge success. Here are a few of my personal favourites:
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L’As du Fallafel:
The best falafel I’ve ever had was right here in Paris. It’s hidden away in the Marais district. If you aren’t sure what to look for, you might walk by it. But believe me, this place is worth searching for. And the best part? The vegan falafels are so popular, they’re now listed first on the menu.
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VégéBowl:
I was so happy to stumble across this cozy Asian restaurant in the 9th arrondissement. If you’re a fan of mock-meats like I am, then you’ll love it here. The restaurant is about 95 percent vegan and a small portion is vegetarian, but don’t let that scare you. The few items that aren’t vegan, happen to be clearly labelled. My favourites were the homemade bubble tea, the “duck” clay pot, and the lotus cakes.
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Comptoir Veggie:
The menu at Comptoir Veggie was so light and refreshing I could go there every day! There are lots of smoothies, and rotating sandwiches on the menu here. You can really taste how fresh all the fruit and veggies are. Some of my favourites were the waffles, buddha bowls, and chocolate cake.
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Le Grenier de Notre Dame:
When I ate here, I had the most mouth-watering seitan dish with a glass of wine. Another incredible thing about this restaurant is the location. It is just a five-minute walk from the world-famous Notre Dame cathedral and borders the Seine river. You won’t want to miss this beautiful summer patio, either!
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Bakeries and pastry shops can be a little bit harder than finding vegan restaurants. But don’t be discouraged, there were three spots that I regularly went to for a sweet treat. To have incredible vegan croissants, tarts, cakes, cookies and more, be sure to look for VG Pâtisserie, Vegan Folies, and Cloud Cakes.
Overall, guiding through Paris as a vegan isn’t nearly as difficult as I thought it was going to be. There have been so many new restaurants that have opened up in recent years. It is undeniable that the demand for more vegan and vegetarian options in Paris is growing. Bon appetit!
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Heading abroad? Get the best experience from a local with a Veganary Mini-Tour! While you’re travelling, be sure to check out some of the best vegan-friendly hotels. Make your experience totally unparalleled by visiting some of these record-breaking vegan restaurants.
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