Vegan cafés and restaurants in Cologne

Lots of people still think a vegan diet is boring and tedious. But Cologne’s restaurant scene is living proof that eating out is easy for vegans nowadays and, what’s more, the food’s full of variety, vitamins and taste! An increasing number of cafés and restaurants offer vegan dishes or have gone completely vegan. In this post, I’ll tell you which cafés/restaurants are worth a visit.

Kaffee & Kuchen is located close to Friesenplatz, on Venloer Straße. Opened in 2006, the idea behind this place is “slow food and full taste”. Owner Adele Hahn-Dilthey offers a number of vegan options, including open avocado sandwiches, fresh berry porridge and colourful smoothie blends. There’s a different lunch menu every day, always including one vegan dish. All of the food is healthy, delicious, freshly prepared and not too expensive. My favourite choice for lunch is the Buddha Bowl, with bulgur/quinoa, caramelised beetroot, ginger, carrots, toasted chickpeas, homemade hummus and salad for €10.80.

Venloer Straße 19, 50672 Cologne
Web: www.kaffeeundkuchen.net | www.facebook.com/KaffeeundKuchen.Koeln
Opening hours: Mon-Fri 8.30am-7pm, Sat 9am-7pm, Sundays and public holidays 10am-6pm

Jess has been serving vegan-only cuisine in an individual vintage atmosphere in Cologne’s Belgian Quarter since 2018. She became a vegan herself a couple of years ago and you can really sense how passionate she is about her café. Be it sweets like carrot cake, raw cakes, hearty quiches, smoothie/savoury bowls or homemade muesli bars – it’s all made fresh and you can taste it.

Brüsseler Str. 29, 50674 Cologne
Web: www.vevi-cafe.eatbu.com | www.facebook.com/vevi.cafe/
Opening hours: Mon + Weds-Sun 9am-5pm, closed on Tuesdays

Tucked away in a small courtyard in the centre of Cologne is the haven that is Toni Pham’s Chum Chay. It has a small but superb selection of Vietnamese starters and mains that are not too much to cope with, and there are two set menus every day too. Everything is vegetarian and most of it is vegan. I can highly recommend the banana flower salad, the homemade lime juice and “PHO XAO SOT ME”, comprising organic tofu with ribbon noodles, onions, carrots, runner beans and shiitake mushrooms served with a tamarind sauce, sesame seeds, peanuts, fried onions and herbs.

Friesenwall 29, 50672 Cologne
Web: www.chum-chay.de | www.facebook.com/chum.chay.koeln
Opening hours: Mon-Sat 12 noon-11pm, public holidays: 3-11pm, closed on Sundays

The Sattgrün buffet restaurant in the centre of Cologne is Peter Zudrow’s fifth vegan restaurant. Guests can look forward to a huge range of crunchy salads, antipasti, hot soups, exotic vegetable curries, delicious pasta dishes, hearty vegetable stews and roasted vegetables, topped off with scrumptious cakes and puddings. All the food and drink is vegan, cholesterol-free and lactose-free, with no genetically modified ingredients.
Although it’s a buffet-style restaurant, it’s not an all-you-can-eat place. You can choose between three plate sizes, with prices ranging from €9.90 to €13.90; a bowl of soup costs starts at €3.90.

Ludwigstraße 11, 50667 Cologne
Web: www.sattgruen.com | www.facebook.com/sattgruen
Opening hours: Mon-Sat 12 noon-10pm, closed on Sundays and public holidays

At Peacock Green, which opened in November 2018 , there’s a lunch buffet every weekday from 12.00. Caro, the owner, cooks fresh daily and you can tell! The products are high-quality and regionally sourced. The lunch buffet is extremely popular so it makes sense to get there early before things start to run out. The Peacock Green Déli is worth a visit in the morning too, when Caro serves up smoothie bowls, Bircher muesli und open rolls with toppings such as vegan mince, for example.

Luxemburger Str. 109, 50939 Cologne
Web: www.instagram.com/peacockgreendeli
Opening hours: Mon-Fri 9.30am–3pm, closed on weekends and public holidays