Mention the words vegan and Greece in the same sentence and anyone who has ever visited the country will tell you how superb the herbivorous options are. Edible plants, it’s true, spring up like weeds through cracks wherever there’s a vacant patch of earth, and the corner stores – or supermarkets as they are generally referred to – are fronted by trays of brightly coloured, often supersized, fruit and vegetables. Baby figs drip from the trees, vivid orange apricots crushed underfoot lie in their own juice on the pavements, and lemon and lime trees grow wild.
So self-catering is a great option in Greece for those of us who love the veg. As well as fresh produce, gigantes beans, olives and oat milk, often in a range flavours, are widely available in even the smallest of villages.
But while recently spending two weeks on the stunning island of Lefkada, there were inevitably points when I wanted a night off cooking and also times when I simply craved a great fat coconut-oil-oozing veggie burger and chips; processed vegan products, along with sweet treats, simply aren’t on the shelves at all. I’d been there before, thus though my tooth isn’t really all that sweet, I’d squirrelled a few cereal bars and a packet of biscuits or three into my suitcase to tide me over. I also found that many of the shops had, if you cared to dig deeply enough into the ice-cream fridges, the odd vegan Magnum smiling up from the depths. That was enough to keep me going.
I was there on retreat, staying with a group, and there were, therefore, times when I had little to no say in the choice of restaurant. When this happened, I would immediately be directed towards several dishes that appeared to be vegan-friendly, although my advice would also be to check and double check with the waiter, being quite specific about what you can’t eat. Generally vegan-safe and incredibly tasty is gemister. This traditional meal in its veggie incarnation consists of peppers and huge tomatoes stuffed with rice and vegetables and baked in an oven for around 25 minutes and often served surrounded by long roasted potatoes. The other commonly seen food is briami, which is basically a Greek roasted ratatouille. With both of these, as with the ubiquitous Greek salad, be sure to ask in advance about feta, which pops up everywhere.
When I had more free choice in terms of eating venues, there were a few places I kept going back to. There are no dedicated vegan cafés on Lefkada, but, if you hire a car during your stay, the Happy Cow app easily guides you to a place with suitable options within 45 minutes or so of your starting point anywhere on this small island. Without a car, the island’s main town – also called Lefkada – is easily reached by public transport or taxi from wherever you’re staying.
My personal favourite-find choices begin in Lefkada town, with the restaurant Arodo, located at Dimitri Golemi 10. This super-friendly restaurant serves traditional Greek fare, is situated right by the harbour with the ever-present hills in the distance, and has around 15 clearly labelled (VG) vegan options, small dishes and mains, on the menu. On seeing such comparatively vast choice, we excitedly ordered so much food that the waiter told us politely but firmly, “Stop, this is too much.”
The staff were knowledgeable and the owner told us that he loved vegans because “they are so strong”. Even after cutting down on the chow, our starters were bread and garlic bean dip (on the house), mushrooms, spicy peppers, chickpea patties and courgette fritters. For mains we had pasta with olive oil and garlic, and stuffed tomatoes and peppers with rice. This was my favourite, and my largest, meal of the holiday, if not of my year.
Our original plan had been to visit Chop n Roll round the corner for dessert, again a Happy Cow recommendation. In the end we were too full for ice cream, but it looked like a potentially interesting place if you manage to keep enough space in your belly. Specialising in Thai stir-fried/rolled ice cream, it offers vegan coconut version with toppings such as raspberry, pistachio, Oreos and mango. The reviews that I’ve read have been mixed. It’s the kind of pudding, apparently, that you either love or hate. You’ll find it at Ioannou Mela 16.
Next on my list of favourites comes Sivota Bakery.
We were hungry to the point of hangry when we arrived, having somehow managed to miss lunch, and it now being around 3.30pm, so it was a godsend to find this place in the little picturesque village of Sivota, and again we sat outside right by a small marina. There were a few vegan options clearly marked, including a burger, and overnight oats. We lunched on the vegan gyros with the most amazing curly, crinkly, crispy chips, and took away a hefty hunk of banana bread for later – the only slab of vegan cake we managed to find on the whole trip.
I was based in Nikiana, and located there is, perhaps, my number one eatery on the island: Apico. With vegan options for any time of the day, we were catered for from breakfast to midnight. They offer a club sandwich, two dairy-free pizzas, and a magnificent burger and chips. Particularly impressively, this is a restaurant that really gets vegans, to the point where they made it clear, without my asking, that I should avoid one specific salad as the dressing contained honey. And ultimately my needs being understood without the necessity for constant explanation is the most important thing of all.
Bardo Burner 