Enjoy healthy vegetarian food at these Kyiv restaurants

There was a time when it wasn’t easy to find quality vegetarian food in Kyiv.

Now, those days are mostly in the past. Ethical eating has demonstrated its staying power on the Ukrainian restaurant scene. New establishments offering savory vegetarian or vegan meals and promoting a “good for your health” lifestyle open regularly in the capital.

Here are our top picks for the best recently opened eateries offering vegetarian, vegan and minimally processed food in Kyiv.

Vegetarian, Vegan

Fenkhel Vegan

Fenkhel Vegan is already among the best vegan places in Kyiv. Opened in June 2019, the restaurant seems to have it all: a good location, excellent service and, most importantly, a variety of savory vegan dishes for all tastes and budgets.

On its menu, the restaurant offers 15 main courses, including two types of vegan pizza served with vegetables, vegan shawarma, peppers stuffed with rice, lentils and vegetables, soba noodles and more.

For those craving traditional Ukrainian cuisine, Fenkhel Vegan also serves vegan varenyky (Ukrainian dumplings) with cabbage or mushrooms and even traditional Ukrainian borsch soup with beetroot. Apart from main courses, the restaurant offers five types of vegan desserts such as chocolate raspberry cake, apple strudel with cherries, pear tart and more.

Fenkhel Vegan also serves various smoothies with fruits and vegetables, lemonades, coffee drinks and a great selection of teas, but the biggest surprise is their selection of vegan alcohol. The cafe offers three types of vegan wines along with three types of vegan beer.

The place itself is spacious, with a stylish interior design and lots of greenery inside. Its wall-sized windows offer a great view of the busy city.

Prices: spinach and avocado salad — Hr 145, pizza with vegetables and vegan cheese — Hr 260, eggplant steak with tomatoes and vegan mozzarella — Hr 180, pear tart — Hr 140

14 Volodymyrska St. Mon-Sun — 10 a. m. — 11 p. m. +38098  328 8552

Veganuti

Veganuti is a recently opened fast-food venue located inside the busy Bessarabsky market. Launched on Feb. 14, the small eatery offers vegan meals at reasonable prices.

While Veganuti’s menu is sparse, their food promises to amaze visitors with its quality and taste. The restaurant offers four types of bowls with mushrooms, soba noodles, falafel or berries; two types of hot dogs and a variety of soups and rolls.

Apart from that, Veganuti also offers burgers prepared with the plant-based, meat-like patties from the U.S. start-up Beyond Meat that recently entered the Ukrainian market.

Prices: bowls — Hr 110, hot dogs — Hr 70, soup of the day — Hr 60, burgers — Hr 90, Beyond Meat burger — Hr 150–230

2 Bessarabska Sq. Mon-Sun — 12 p. m. — 8 p. m. +38098  707 8457

Nikogo Ne Yim

Nikogo Ne Yim is another vegetarian fast food place in downtown Kyiv, near Teatralna metro station. The name of the venue means “I don’t eat anyone” in English and hints that it doesn’t serve any meat or fish dishes.

Instead, the venue offers plenty of vegetarian and vegan meals including six types of burgers with popular meat substitutes like seitan, falafel or soya meat, three types of hot-dogs with seitan sausage and six types of rolls with hummus, avocado, seitan, soya meat or falafel.

Additionally, Nikogo Ne Yim may be the perfect spot for those who want to have a quick but healthy lunch. It offers rice noodles with seitan and bulgur or couscous with mushrooms and served with your choice of seitan or falafel.

Prices: burgers — Hr 80–90, hot dogs — Hr 70, rice noodles with seitan and tofu — Hr 90, avocado roll — Hr 90

12 Symona Petliury St. Mon-Sun — 10 a. m. — 10 p. m. +38063  372 2232

Bali Bowl Cafe

Since its establishment in August 2018, Bali Bowl Cafe has become a favorite among Kyiv citizens who favor the venue for its delicious vegetarian bowls, great location, reasonable prices and modern interior design.

Bali Bowl Cafe serves nine types of smoothies of different flavors, including strawberry pineapple, mango, pear or coconut.
But the eatery is known for its savory smoothie bowls made with a thick blend of frozen fruits topped with some fresh berries, oatmeal or granola. On its menu, Bali Bowl Cafe has nine smoothie bowls, including a peanut butter bowl, a tropical bowl, one with passion fruit and more.

It also serves two bowls prepared with spirulina algae or a powder made of acai berries, which are both ingredients known for their health benefits.

Apart from the bowls, the cafe offers avocado rolls, soups and toast with seitan or avocado. Bali Bowl Cafe also promotes sustainability and has replaced plastic straws with paper and reusable metal ones.

Prices: Bali bowl — Hr 425, avocado toast — Hr 120, seitan bowl — Hr 120, strawberry smoothy — Hr 60–75

14 Velyka Vasylkivska St.  Mon-Sun — 7:50 a. m. — 10 p. m. +38097  122 5518

Healthy food

Mira Cafe

Mira Cafe is a chain of healthy food eateries with four venues in Kyiv that offer both vegetarian and healthy meals.

On its menu, the cafe has hot and cold sandwiches with brie cheese, chicken, tuna, salmon, hummus or jamon, and four types of lavash wraps, including a vegan option with tofu, sweet potato and hummus.

There are also 12 lunch meals served in the eatery: salmon with quinoa, beef with soba noodles, curry chicken with rice, hummus with chicken and mushrooms, sweet potato with eggplant and quinoa and more.

To sweeten the pot, one can choose among 15 desserts, including coconut cookies, vegan blueberry cake, banana pudding or dessert with cherry and chia seeds.

Prices: tuna salad — Hr 149, tomato cream soup — Hr 54, hummus with dried tomatoes — Hr 69, chicken sandwich — Hr 110

25 Vozdvyzhenska St., 32 Esplanadna St. — Mon-Sun — 8:30 a. m. — 9 p. m.

20 Yaroslaviv Val St., 22A Mechnykova St. — Mon-Sun — 9 a. m. — 9 p. m. + 38067  743 2322

Green Whale

Green Whale cafe calls itself a healthy food buffet and offers breakfast meals, main courses, soups, bowls and salads at reasonable prices.

Located on the busy Klovskyi Uzviz Street, the cafe has a lot of greenery inside. For its dishes, Green Whale mainly uses local and seasonal products and offers six types of bowls with vegetables, mushrooms and falafel, along with four types of salads with salmon, avocado and nuts.

The main courses include baked chicken or beef with ginger or berry sauce, baked salmon, grilled tofu or paneer cheese and more. Green Whale also serves seven soups such as chicken broth; vegetable minestrone; cream soups with pumpkin, mushrooms, carrots or broccoli and Ukrainian borsch cream soup.

Apart from that, Green Whale also serves various pies, hummus topped with vegetables, eggs or falafel and desserts. Delivery is available as well.

Prices: mushroom bowl — Hr 105, baked salmon — Hr 165, grilled paneer cheese — Hr 69, pumpkin cream soup — Hr 65

4 Klovskyi Uzviz St. Mon-Fri — 8 a. m. — 10 p. m., Sat-Sun — 10 a. m. — 10 p. m. +38097  226 8826

Eat Easy

The latest Eat Easy venue opened in Kyiv on Shota Rustaveli Street in December 2019. It is a small and cozy place that offers healthy food to go.

Eat Easy is a perfect place for those who are not big fans of cooking or simply lack the time to prepare meals. It serves healthy breakfasts, lunches and dinners for all tastes. Delivery is also available and is free for orders over Hr 450.

On its menu, Eat Easy serves various sandwiches with cheese, avocado and spinach along with salads and bowls, snacks like hummus, bread rolls with garlic or parmesan and French pancakes made of flax flour and served with vegetables, chicken, prosciutto or salmon.

Drinks include vegan kefir, kombucha, which is a rare find in Kyiv, as well as so-called alternative milk drinks made of almond or cashew nuts with various flavors.

Prices: poke bowl – Hr 295, hummus with baked vegetables – Hr 175, quinoa and avocado salad – Hr 225

15 Shota Rustaveli St. Mon-Sun – 8 a.m. – 9 p.m. +38 067 375 7785

5 Ioanna Pavla II St. Mon-Sun – 8 a.m. – 10 p.m. +38 067 375 7705

12А Akademika Hlushkova St. – 8 a.m. – 8 p.m. +38 067 375 7744

Source: www.kyivpost.com