Hotspots in Warsaw

Since I love to travel and know how hard it can be to find (healthy) vegan places I will share with you where I eat when traveling. I’m kicking off with Poland. I have been visiting the capital of Poland regularly and have seen a major change. Poland is one of the few European countries that didn’t suffer a major recession in recent decades. And that is visible! Not only on Warsaw’s streets and shops but also the restaurants are amazing. Polish people take food seriously and this results in high-quality food, but with (still) relatively low prices.

I enjoy visiting Warsaw because I like the Eastern European culture, the energy, the hipsters, and the eagerness to do better. I believe Warsaw is trying to race to replace what was lost. In case you think Warsaw is a massive communistic capital that never changed, you couldn’t be more wrong.

When it comes to Polish food, you can only imagine the amount of meat, cheese, and bread they eat. So the first couple of times I visited Warsaw I only ate in one super popular restaurant, but unfortunately disappeared due to (what I think) the huge competition that came up in the last three years.

Unlike 5 years ago, when vegetarian travelers to Poland had to survive on a diet of potatoes, today, vegetarian and vegan places are easy to find. Hipsters and tourists enjoy the outdoor seating possibilities of small restaurants, which offer a wide selection of local seasonal organic vegan food. In Warsaw, a lot of the local people who visit vegan places are not vegan. The vegan restaurants are visited by as many vegetarians or vegans as meat eaters who know where good food is served.

And again, the prices are very reasonable. The focus is on fresh foods and daily specials. Most restaurants don’t believe in microwaves and the way they make use of herbs (Polish traditional style) makes it all taste so delicious. Such is the latest in Poland’s culinary evolution.

If you’re heading over to Warsaw any time soon, I can recommend visiting these places. As you will see I’m a fan of breakfast and brunches. Also on the go juices are my favorite!

Mango Vegan Street Food

healthy warsaw
Mango Vegan Street Food is just amazing! Each and every dish contains mango. That may sound odd when you think about hummus, but it’s really tasty. For my favorite meal of the day (lunch/brunch) they serve the best oatmeal with coconut milk porridge ever. I went back for a small late lunch though and I have to say their hummus was very tasty as well. These people know what they are doing.

The name and styling of it all is so creative and new. Not the standard ‘girly white flowery’ styling, but a more trendy approach to eating clean and vegan. They have a nice terrace, which is cozy and warm on summer days.

healthy warsaw

Mango Vegan Street Food
Bracka 20 Street
Warsaw

 Be My Juice

healthy warsaw

Winter can be cold in Poland and summers can be hot, so no surprise there are many shopping malls in Warsaw. Although I prefer to wander around and explore all the city has to offer, sometimes you just end up in a shopping mall. My favorite is Galeria Mokotów. It’s huge, but even better the top floor is full with restaurants such as a hummus place and my favorite juice bar ever: Be My Juice. I know, the name is cheesy, but the juices are amazing. I love their herbal juices, they always have the best ones. They change up their menu a lot, but keep their favorites (good move). They also have pastries, fruit salads and ice cream. While sipping on your juice you can wander around and visit many (new) boutiques. All possible brands are represented. Not too bad for a rainy day.

healthy warsaw

Be My Juice
ul. Wołoska 12

02-697 Warsaw

Tel Aviv

healthy warsaw

Tel Aviv is in the same neighborhood like Mysa and it seems this area is a very popular place for the trendy people in Warsaw. It’s not so touristy and the atmosphere is nice and laid back.

healthy warsaw

Tel Aviv was originally a kosher restaurant, which turned into a vegan/vegetarian place. Tel Aviv is loved for their hummus and falafel. They use local products or as they say: “buy locally and think globally”. I’m not a big falafel girl, but the hummus is delicious! The most amazing hummus variations are served: dried tomatoes, red beets and cloves, mint, or black olives.
healthy warsaw

Their gluten-free corn flour bread is baked on special paper to avoid contact with the flour that might have come off the pita bread (wow!). Most people will go for the falafel with Amba sauce (delicious sweet-sour sauce of mango, ginger and curry) and Spanish alcohol-free wines (fermented like normal wines but then de-alcoholized).

I love their lemonades. I asked for the ‘lemonana’, which is basically fresh mint, ice and lemons, but they have many variations for you to try.

Tel-Aviv Café+Deli
ul. Poznańska 11
00-680 Warsaw

Krowarzywa

Krowarzywa The Green CreatorI’m not a ”burger kind of girl”, because vegan burgers are very often just unhealthy vegan fast food, but I gave Krowarzywa a try.

Help save a cow – that’s the translation of the name of this eco-friendly burger place. This is not a place to sit down for a quit lunch. It’s tiny, busy and the energy level is high. It’s all about the burger here. You will find old people among high school students, locals and tourists. All queuing for that perfect vegan burger. Although the staff is busy, they’re also fast and each and every burger is super tasty. So despite its small size, the place has a lot to offer. The burgers are always made fresh on the spot for you. They don’t use sodium glutamate, all is non GMO and based on seasonal products. The buns are based on vegetable milk (not gluten free as far as I know) and the sauces are home-made as well (I love the garlic sauce!). Their gluten free burger is a dream come true!

Vegan WarsawWhat else do they serve?
You can choose from bulgur with chard, black sesame and Polish herbs, lentils with tofu, radishes and herbs, nuts with leek, herbs, tofu or maybe nettle with millet groats and tofu. For drinks you can have a smoothie or kwas chlebowy , this is a fermented beverage made from black or regular rye bread. For vegan fast food this place is excellent. Definitely the best vegan burger I have ever had. The price? Just a few euros per burger…

Krowarzywa
Hoża St. 29/31 & Marszałkowska St. 27/35

00-516 Warsaw

healthy warsaw

UPDATE 2016

There are so many vegan places opening up. The competition is high and each and every time I’m in Warsaw I feel like I’m in a ”yet to discover new vegan Berlin kind of city”, if you know what I mean. When it comes to the other previous recommendations, I still enjoy Be My Juice a lot, but I don’t visit the places with falafels and burgers that much anymore. These are my current favorites.

LOKAL VEGAN BISTRO

healthy warsaw Lokal Vegan Bistro is a great place. It’s always crowded, but I always leave with a happy and full tummy and the prices are very good! They don’t serve hardcore healthy vegan food with for example fresh juices, but all is vegan, yummy and filling. I always eat here before a flight back home, because I know this place will not leave me hungry after two hours. Eating here is yummy, and quick (you pick up your plate/order next to the kitchen so there are no waiters).

Lokal Vegan Bistro
ul.Krucza 23/31

Restauracja Ambasada

Restauracja AmbasadaRestauracja Ambasada The Green Creator

This place is my absolute favorite, because Restauracja Ambasada got everything you can wish for. Healthy vegan (raw) food, a great location, great ambiance, super friendly staff and amazing food. This place feels like home and I could live there. They have a shop and rooms too and a gorgeous garden. This place is a dream. I honestly can’t say what’s my favorite dish, because everything is delicious (the juices, starters, soups, desserts) and all made with so much love.

Foksal 1,
00-366

THINK LOVE JUICE

healthy warsaw

Another place I recently discovered is Think Love Juice. Although the portions are smaller and the prices higher I really enjoy having breakfast or lunch at this place. The styling of the place is amazing, the location is good, the food is not the average kind of vegan food (think buckwheat cotelettes) and the juices are delicious. A true healthy vegan hotspot! PS. They serve amazing kale chips.

Think Love Juices & Vegan Foods
ul. Francuska 14
Saska Kępa

The video above gives you a good impression of my favorite places of 2016 in Warsaw. In this video these great delicious breakfast were also featured :

Healthy as Hell
Koszykowa 59, 00-667

Niezłe Ziółko (vegan options)
Krucza 17, 00-525

This inspiring documentary (with English subtitles) shows just how booming vegan food in Warsaw is. I think  still have a lot to discover. Do you know more addresses? Let me know below!

photos by the green creator (c) (copyright) / Instagram Think Love Juice/ Facebook Lokal Vegan Bistro