LIST: Top vegan spots in the Philippines according to PETA Asia
Driven by environmental and ethical concerns, plant-based dining is booming around the world, including the Philippines.
Recently, PETA Asia, an organization protecting animal rights, recognized 65 Filipino businesses for their exceptional vegan offerings. The winners of the 2024 Vegan’s Best Awards are commended for creating delicious and healthy vegan food that benefits both people and animals.
This year, it named Siargao Island the Best Vegan-Friendly Tourist Destination in the country because of its vegan and vegan-friendly restaurants.
"Siargao stands out for not exploiting animals for entertainment, making it a paradise for compassionate travelers," PETA Asia said.
It also named The Grid at Powerplant as the Most Vegan-Friendly Food Court and White Banana in Makati as the Best Vegan-Friendly Bar.
Explore a few of the award-winning businesses below. Find the full list here.
Greenery Kitchen
Awarded as the Best Vegan Filipino Restaurant, Greenery Kitchen is known for its mouthwatering vegan renditions of traditional Filipino dishes such as sisig, dinakdakan, inihaw na liempo, dinuguan, palabok, and caldereta. It also has the Best Vegan BBQ and Best Vegan Palabok.
Located at E. Pascua Kasilawan, Makati City, the restaurant delivers lunch and dinner meals for P300. It also offers 5-day lunch and dinner package meals for P1,500.
The store is open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Forget Meat!
What if we told you you could enjoy this classic meaty pasta dish while being kind to your health, the planet, and our furry friends?
Forget Meat! is another vegan restaurant that recently won the Best Value for Money and Best Vegan Pinoy Spaghetti awards.
According to PETA, the restaurant captured the hearts and taste buds "by providing its customers with affordable yet delicious vegan food."
Aside from spaghetti, they also offer traditional vegan Filipino food such as Paksiw na Bangus, Puso ng Saging with Sotanghon, Dinengdeng na Saluyot with Labong, Tofu Sisig, Sinantolan and Beaf Cabbage Stir-fry, among others.
The restaurant is located in Ususan, Taguig and is open on weekdays from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. and closed on weekends. They also deliver.
The Good Choices
Whether you're craving a hearty breakfast or baking a delicious treat, vegan eggs offer a versatile and compassionate solution.
The Good Choices earned the title of Best Vegan Egg for its innovative and cholesterol-free vegan egg. As per PETA, it provides a healthy and ethical upgrade to recipes that call for eggs.
The restaurant, located in Pinyahan, Quezon City, offers eggs and other Filipino household staples like tocino, longganisa, burger patties, and bacon.
The Good Choices is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and on weekends from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Green Bar
Traditionally, doughnuts rely on ingredients like eggs, milk, and butter, but bakers like Green Bar have found ways to achieve that signature fluffy texture without using any animal products.
Green Bar in Legaspi Makati took home the award for Best Vegan Doughnuts this year, "delighting consumers with various animal-friendly doughnuts in numerous delectable flavors."
Moreover, the restaurant proves that burritos, usually made with beef, chicken, or cheese, can also be made vegan. And for that, they also bagged the Best Vegan Burrito award.
Green Bar offers Breakfast Burrito (P450), which contains scrambled tofu, potatoes, seltan sausage, spinach, and hollandaise and is served with Pico de gallo. Meanwhile, Red Burrito (P485) contains slow-cooked chipotle seitan, rice, beans, queso mix, bell pepper, and cilantro wrapped in a flour tortilla.
The restaurant is open Sunday through Thursday from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Friday and Saturday from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m.
101 Hawker Food House
Craving Singaporean dishes? Try the 101 Hawker Food House. It was honored as the Most Vegan-Friendly Singaporean Restaurant for its vegan versions of traditional dishes such as laksa and nasi goreng.
The restaurant, located at the Beacon Tower, Arnaiz Ave., Makati City, serves Prawn Laksa (P230) and Singaporean Laksa (P180). Its version of the Nasi Goreng set comprises seafood fried rice, three pieces of fried chicken, and a sunny-side-up egg.
Customers can visit the restaurant from Monday to Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. It also offers delivery.
Ube Mama
No matter the craving, there's always room for dessert. Ube Mama, which won Best Vegan Dessert, is known for its irresistible dairy-free ube ice cream bowl.
It has two branches: D'Mall Palengke in Boracay Island and Great Northwest in San Juan, La Union.
NUNÒ Vegan Filipino Kitchen
NUNÒ Vegan Filipino Kitchen bagged the Best Vegan Sandwich Spread award for its liver spread.
With the power of plant-based ingredients, this spread becomes an entirely new experience, offering a delightful and creative way to enjoy a classic while adhering to a vegan lifestyle.
Aside from the liver spread, NUNO offers chilli, beef, tuna, and ham spreads.
It is open from Monday to Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Bahay Kubo Kitchen
Bahay Kubo Kitchen offers all-Pinoy, plant-based frozen and ready-to-heat and -eat food. It recently bagged the PETA's Kind Business Award for its "dedication to animals, environmental sustainability, and promoting a compassionate lifestyle."
As its name suggests, the restaurant, located at Commonwealth Ave. in Quezon City and Nueva Ecija, serves traditional Filipino dishes, including Adobo sa Gata, Kaldereta, Tofu Sisig with Garlic Tapa, Kinunot, Chicken Tiniim, and Chicken Pininyahan.
Berde Eats
Berde Eats also clinched the PETA's Kind Business Award. It is a local-first all-vegan grocery delivery service located in the South (San Pedro Laguna) and Metro Manila (Makati City).
The Makati branch delivers from Tuesday to Saturday, while the San Pedro, Laguna branch delivers from Monday to Saturday via Lalamove. Flat rates start at P69, and none are higher than P299.
It comprises different vegan products, including vegan meat and fish, gluten-free products, pantry staples, snacks, and desserts.
Aside from Berde Eats and Bahay Kubo Kitchen, About Life also bagged PETA's Kind Business Awards.
The Vegan Dinosaur
The Vegan Dinosaur in Davao City, which offers vegan bowls, won the Best Vegan Nourish Bowls.
According to its website, the restaurant fosters a healthy and cruelty-free approach to Australian Cafe Culture by serving 100% plant-based comfort food.
Aside from nourishing bowls, it also offers cold-pressed juices, organic cacao beans, raw treats, and smoothies and also uses zero-waste solution products.
Miuccia Luxe Cakes
Vegan cakes can be just as moist, fluffy, and indulgent as their traditional counterparts and Miuccia Luxe Cakes is proof. It won the Best Vegan Cake for its exquisite, dairy-free, egg-free cakes.
The vegan dessert boutique company based in Quezon City focuses on wedding cakes and sugar flowers, as well as celebration cakes and plant-based desserts.
Miuccia Luxe Cakes is open from Monday to Saturday from 10 a.m to 4 p.m.
unMEAT
Meat has been a staple in human diets, but as the world shifts toward more sustainable, ethical, and health-conscious eating habits, vegan meat has emerged as a game-changer. Now, there's unMEAT, a plant-based protein brand designed to "look, cook, feel and taste like meat without the meat."
It won PETA's Best Vegan Meat award for its variety of delicious veggie meats, such as burger patties, tapa, chicken nuggets, and corned beef. It can be found in supermarkets nationwide and in Lazada and Shopee.
The price starts at P120.
