Vegetarian restaurants in Jakarta
The phrase ‘vegetarian dishes’ typically evokes images of leaves and beans laid haphazardly on top of each other when really, the culinary world has evolved way past that stereotype. With meat substitutes, vegetarians no longer have to rely solely on salad bars to fill their tummies.
Make no mistake, these plant-based meat substitutes aren’t playing second fiddle to the real thing. If you’re a vegetarian who’s been wondering what plant-based meat tastes like, these 8 vegetarian restaurants in Jakarta offer dishes with meat substitutes to cure your curiosity.
1. BlueZone Center – modern vegetarian cafe with a kombucha bar
Kombucha bar at BlueZone Center
Image credit: @bluezone.id
The Senopati area, affectionately referred to as Senoparty by Jakarta urbanites, has always been the place to go if you’re looking for trendy bars and Friday night karaoke. But amid all that partying lies BlueZone Center, which will fuel you up with healthy drinks and meat substitute burgers.
Vegetarian Barnyard Burger with Beyond Meat, egg, and charcoal bun
Image credit: @bluezone.id
While they have their own salad bar and acai bowls, the highlight is their vegetarian Barnyard Burger (Rp. 85,000 ~USD5.75), The burger uses patties from Beyond Meat, a US producer of plant-based meat substitutes, and it’s just as juicy as actual beef burgers minus the guilt. Doesn’t hurt that its charcoal buns look pretty on your Instagram feed too.
Bottled kombuchas from Booch Bar
Image credit: @bluezone.id
BlueZone is also unique in that they have their own kombucha bar named the Booch Bar. If you’ve never warmed up to the tangy taste of kombucha, their Mockscow Mule (Rp. 65,000, ~USD4.46) mocktail of lime juice, mint, and lemon ginger might just convince you otherwise.
For those sticking at home during COVID-19, BlueZone has also made several of their kombucha concoctions and plant-based frozen food available through Tokopedia. If you happen to live around the area, the cafe is also available for deliveries through Grab.
2. Waytuki Vegetarian – flavorful, authentic vegetarian Indian food
Inside Waytuki Restaurant with Indian-inspired murals
Image credit: @suresh_idea
Tucked away in Pasar Baru, often referred to as Jakarta’s Little India, Waytuki Vegetarian restaurant serves up food packed with rich flavors characteristic of South Indian cuisine. One visit and the phrase ‘bland vegetarian food’ will never come out of your lips again.
Vegetable Chicken Curry and Mutton Manchurian
Image credit: @njomany
To start with, go with the Chicken Curry (Rp. 38,000, ~USD2.60), a classic Indian cuisine of chicken stewed in a tomato-based sauce spiced with ginger, garlic, and chilli sauce that’s almost always a hit. Pair it up with a plate of Garlic Naan (Rp. 20,000, ~USD1.37), oven-baked flatbreads with added garlic, that are commonly eaten by dipping them in curry sauces.
If you’re more into rice-based dishes, Waytuki also serves Mutton Biryani (Rp. 50,000, ~USD3.42) that’s big enough to serve two. For the strictly vegan, some dishes can be ordered without dairy, which is highly uncommon given the central role of yoghurt in Indian cuisine.
The restaurant is still open for business during the pandemic but if you’re still wary of stepping out of your home, you can order their flavorful cuisine through GoFood and Grab.
3. Vegetus Muara Karang – classic Chinese food, all meat-free
Image credit: @novadiana3763
At a glance, Vegetus Muara Karang looks just like plenty of other Chinese family restaurants in Jakarta – except that Vegetus serves 100% vegetarian food so vegetarians feeling left out of Chinese banquets can get a taste of the juicy pleasures of mock pork.
Vegetarian Grilled Pork with soy-based meat
Image credit: @vegetarianinfo
For starters, try out the vegetarian Prawn Spring Rolls (L) (Rp. 100,000, ~USD6.77) but do remember to keep ample room in your tummy. You don’t want to miss the vegetarian Grilled Pork (L) (Rp. 100,000 ~USD6.77) made of soy – Muslims can enjoy a taste of the normally haram cuisine here.
The restaurant recently opened another location in Gading Serpong and both outlets accept delivery orders from GoFood. If you live further away, Vegetus has also made several of their frozen plant-based meat available through Tokopedia.
4. Dharma Kitchen – classy restaurant with a huge variety of vegetarian food
Dharma Kitchen at Central Park mall
Image credit: @dickyrahadiann
Vegetarians and the experience of flipping through restaurant menus with meat-laden food used to be joined at the hip, but that kind of thinking is practically foreign to Dharma Kitchen. Serving food from different national origins, this kitchen is where you could dine every day for a week and still have plenty of options left.
Blackpepper Steak with tempeh-based meat
Image credit: @dharma.kitchen
There’s the western Blackpepper Steak (Rp. 68,000 ~USD4.62), Chinese Roast Duck (Rp. 68,000 ~USD4.62), and even Indonesian Ayam Kremes, or fried ‘chicken’ with crispy coconut flakes (Rp. 78,000 ~USD5.29).
Ayam Rawit, boneless ‘chicken’ with green chillies
Image credit: @archipelago_vegan
For vegetarians who might’ve been used to sticking to just one type of cuisine because your options are limited, Dharma Kitchen is a blessing. In fact, we’d go as far as saying that the place is worth a visit not just for vegetarians but also for foodies on the hunt for quality food in general.
Lucky for us, Dharma Kitchen is now offering a selection of their frozen plant-based meat substitutes on Tokopedia. And of course, you can order straight from their outlets in Central Park Mall and Pluit through both GoFood and Grab if you so choose.
5. iVegan Pizza – vegan pizza with soy cheese
Image credit: @madera.home
Pizzas without pepperoni and cheese might sound blasphemous but we’re more than happy to live in that world as long as they’re as good as iVegan Pizza. That’s right, their pizzas aren’t just meat-free, but they’re also not using any animal byproducts such as cheese in their pizzas.
Blackpepper Pizza with soy-based meat substitutes
Image credit: @iveganpizza
Being vegan, however, doesn’t make this restaurant’s Ham Pizza (Rp. 87,000, ~USD5.90 for a large pizza), with soy-based ham and cheese, any less delicious. Ditto with their Seafood Pizza (Rp. 87,000, ~USD5.90 for a large pizza), which uses plant-based proteins sourced from Loving Hut, a growing vegan food franchise that also operates in Indonesia.
So far, iVegan Pizza has just one outlet in Gading Serpong. If you’re lucky enough to live in the area, their vegan pizzas are available for deliveries through GoFood and Grab.
6. Namy House Vegetarian – low-cholesterol vegetarian Nasi Padang
Selection of side dishes at Namy House
Image credit: @sidartabuntoro
For us foodies, paradise is where we get to eat as many Nasi Padang dishes as we want without having to worry about our cholesterol levels. Well, heaven just came to us in the form of Namy House Vegetarian, an affordable vegetarian Padang restaurant located in Grogol.
Nasi Padang with vegetarian rendang and egg with chili sauce
Image credit: @kuponpergikuliner
With guilt-free Nasi Rendang for only Rp. 25,000 (~USD1.69) and Nasi Gulai Cincang, or chopped mock beef with curry sauce, for Rp. 21,000 (~USD1.42), we dare you to find a better healthy food deal in the entire city of Jakarta.
If that’s not enough, you can add as many side dishes as you want in true Nasi Padang style but here, there’s less worry of blocking your arteries. It’s hard to imagine that anything could ever replace rendang cooked the traditional way with beef, but Namy House might’ve just accomplished the impossible.
For those living in the area, you’d be happy to know that they’re accepting delivery orders through both GoFood and Grab.
7. Alpukat Bistro – Indonesian street food for vegetarians
Image credit: Billy Pratama Hans
The pleasure of eating meat isn’t just about the taste as when it comes to chicken satay, it’s also about the sensation of biting the meat off of the skewers. Thanks to Alpukat Bistro in Tanjung Duren, that’s one thing that vegetarians can now get to enjoy as well.
Nasi Beyond Pecel Lele with fried mock catfish, chili shrimp paste, and lalap raw vegetables
Image credit: @vegetariancullinary
For starters, try out their Sate Chi Chi Madura (Rp. 39,000, ~USD2.65), or ‘chicken’ satay served with peanut sauce. Also of interest is their Nasi Beyond Pecel Lele (Rp. 24,000, ~USD1.63), or fried ‘catfish’ served with rice and chili shrimp paste, as the muddy taste of regular catfish can be a bit of an acquired taste.
Chi Chi Kung Pao vegetarian chicken
Image credit: @kuliner.vegeku
As they serve a variety of plant-based meat substitutes, Alpukat uses cute code names to categorize their dishes: Moo Moo for beef substitutes, Chi Chi for chicken substitutes, Gala Gala for prawn substitutes, and Jala Jala for fish substitutes.
This affordable bistro is perhaps single-handedly responsible for encouraging students of the nearby Tarumanagara University to maintain a healthy diet. If you’re interested, Alpukat is accepting delivery orders from both GoFood and Grab.
8. The Silk Route Restaurant – upscale vegetarian restaurant with a revolving floor
Image credit: The Silk Route Restaurant
Sitting on top of the Sainath Tower in Kemayoran, the revolving Silk Route Restaurant offers a unique vegetarian dining experience. True to the historical silk route that connected Europe and China by way of India, the restaurant offers a mix of Italian, Indian, and Chinese food.
Vegetarian Chicken in Szechuan Sauce
Image credit: The Silk Route Restaurant
Here, you’ll find Chinese Mock-Duck Blackpepper (Rp. 85,000, ~USD5.77) and Vegetarian Chicken in Szechuan Sauce (Rp. 85,000, ~USD5.77) sitting alongside Indian paneer and Italian pasta.
A selection of Indian cuisine with the Pratha as the centerpiece
Image credit: The Silk Route Restaurant
As equally spectacular as the views is the plating, which is to be expected from a fine dining establishment. It’s a shame the restaurant’s not been discovered yet by more Jakartans as both the ambiance and the quality of the food is exemplary.
While you’ll be missing out on the restaurant’s spectacular views for now, their upscale vegetarian dishes are available for delivery orders through GoFood – good for family gatherings or parties.
Vegetarian restaurants in Jakarta with meat substitutes
Going vegetarian doesn’t mean you have to give up on some of the finer things in life. With a little culinary magic, these vegetarian restaurants in Jakarta show that there’s more to being vegetarian than just plates of beans and leaves.
For more dining options besides vegetarian restaurants in Jakarta, check out these articles:
Cover image adapted from @sikokodonat and @bluezone.id
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