5 Unmissable Vegetarian and Vegan Cafes In and Around Bournemouth
With my family’s new home base being in Dorset, I set out on a hunt for delicious vegetarian and vegan cafes in and around Bournemouth. The area isn’t exactly known as a vegetarian and vegan scene compared to more alternative UK cities like Brighton and Liverpool. But there are some real veggie-friendly gems to be found.
Here are my five favourite vegetarian and vegan friendly cafes in Dorset so far:
Mad Cucumber
The jazziest of all the veggie cafes around has got to be Mad Cucumber. This vegan joint is all about colourful and fun foods with staples including bean chilli, veggie curry, vegan burritos and marinated salad bowls. On top of that, there’s an extensive juice list and a whole host of vegan cakes. The cafe is open until 9pm on four nights of the week and hosts a monthly live music night which has a very laid back and friendly vibe about it. (all vegan)
Mad Cucumber, 7 The Triangle, Bournemouth, BH2 5RY
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- Mad Cucumber cafe
Sweet Greens
Sweet Greens is the perfect stop for raw foodies and health conscious vegans. Another vegan-only cafe, Sweet Greens has beautifully crafted grain-based salads and almond milk lattes. The food here is absolutely gorgeous and the wooden, up-cycled decor shows that it took a lot of hands-on love to convert this place. The only downside is that the cafe is a bit out of the way and hard to find unless you’ve got a sat-nav ready car. (all vegan)
Sweet Greens, 175 Charminster Rd, Bournemouth BH8 9QG
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- Want it?
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- Tri-salad bowl
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- Almond milk lattes
Cafe Boscanova
I discovered Cafe Boscanova not while searching for vegetarian and vegan cafes in and around Bournemouth, but for a delicious looking place to have pancakes for breakfast. Touted on TripAdvisor as the best pancakes in all of Dorset, the pancakes here are fat and fluffy with a salty and sweet after taste – I definitely recommend the blueberry pancake stack. After a first visit, Cafe Boscanova fast became my favourite breakfast place. I can’t resist their stewed apple porridge and their homemade granola and yoghurt is also amazing, while Luke is a big fan of their vegetarian cooked breakfast with grilled halloumi. (vegetarian and vegan friendly)
Tip! Don’t miss out on the Early Bird Breakfast deal. If you arrive before 9:30am and buy 2 breakfasts, you get the cheapest one free.
Cafe Boscanova, 650 Christchurch Rd, Bournemouth, BH1 4BP
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- Cafe Boscanova
South Coast Roast
Run by the same guys as Cafe Boscanova, South Coast Roast is the more hipster indie brother located slap bang in Bournemouth town centre. Those out for brunch share a large rustic wooden table in the middle of the cafe, which is strewn with newspapers and coffee mugs. South Coast Roast only has a very small food menu, mostly based on sourdough toast that comes with various toppings from scrambled eggs to coconut jam and grilled banana. Like Cafe Boscanova, the drip coffee is strong and punchy. (vegetarian and vegan friendly)
South Coast Roast, 24 Richmond Hill, Bournemouth, BH2 6EJ
Patisserie Mark Bennett
This artisan bakery is all about the bread. Locals often just come in to buy floury bloomers and wholegrain baguettes, but this place has an extensive sandwich menu that goes way beyond the your run off the mill sandwich shop. For vegetarians there’s traditional cheddar cheese and chutney, and Greek feta and olive. For vegans, the hummus and roasted veg sandwich is a great option. You can choose your own bread to match whatever filling you like, but I always go for a crusty wholegrain baguette. (vegetarian and vegan friendly)
Patisserie Mark Bennett, 33 Church Rd, Poole, BH14 8UF
Places I’ve Not Tried Yet
There are still a couple of other vegetarian and vegan cafes in and around Bournemouth that I’ve been meaning to try but just not got round to yet. Top of my list is the Bournemouth Pizza Co which was recommended to me by Dorset Vegan via Twitter. Zoukinis is another that comes up on all the search results but that I’ve been putting off because of it’s very mixed reviews on TripAdvisor.
Do you have any more recommendations for vegetarian and vegan cafes in and around Bournemouth? I’d love to check them out, so let me know in the comments below!
Sharon
I too can recommend Cafe Boscanova and Mad cucumber, such a great atmosphere in both with delicious delights that just melt in your mouth!
Katie Featherstone
I had no idea Bournemouth had such a thriving alternative food scene. I’m impressed, when I used to go down there it was mostly fish and chips!
Charlie on Travel
Neither did I until I got there and started looking around for them! All of these places are actually really, really fab – and I don’t say that often about cafes in the UK!
Shing
Ooou I bet you enjoyed doing the research for this post Charlie ;-)
That salad from Sweet Greens looks divine, I’ll be referring back to this post if I make a visit to Bournemouth! Though I still eat fish from time to time, I love going to vegan and vegetarian places and taking away recipes for myself!
Charlie on Travel
I sure did! Some of the best vegetarian and vegan food I’ve had in the UK was in these restaurants! When my family moved down to Dorset I actually had no idea that there was going to be any kind of veg/vegan foodie scene, especially not raw food and just general deliciousness!
That’s great that you still enjoy veg/vegan food :) I ate fish on and off for a while – though not very often – right up until I moved to Taiwan 3 years ago with Luke actually. I finally made the decision to go completely vegetarian then :)
Karianne
Thanks so much for this list! I have close friends in Bournemouth and visit them regularly – but haven’t been there since I became vegetarian! I am looking forward to going back soon and trying out some of these tasty looking places!
Charlie on Travel
Hey Karianna – it’s a cool area to visit, and an especially good one to go out for brunch as a vegetarian! Hope you get to try some of these places when you’re next down :)