Vegan food in germany?

May 20, 2005 6:39 PM

What kind of vegan food options exist in Germany?

I'm supposed to go to Germany (Nuremberg, specifically) for a work assignment. I understand that meat and dairy play a large role in the German diet. As a vegan, will I actually be able to find more than salads over there? Are there any restaurants that serve non-animal based meals? Are there any useful phrases I should memorize to keep misunderstandings to a minimum?

posted by cmonkey to food & drink (14 comments total)

http://www.naturkostladen-lotos.de/

http://www.phantastisch-vegetarisch.de/

The meat thing gets to a lot a Germans, too. Remember, Hitler was a vegetarian....
posted by IndigoJones at 6:54 PM on May 20, 2005

Oh, and by the way, congratulations. Nurnburg is a lovely town. Really.
posted by IndigoJones at 7:10 PM on May 20, 2005

I don't want to start a derailment here, but Hitler was not a vegetarian.
posted by hydrophonic at 7:18 PM on May 20, 2005

There are a ton of vegans in Germany, and you'll have no problems finding vegan food in a city like Nuremberg if you ask a few people. Nuremberg is a really cool city -- enjoy yourself!
posted by nixxon at 7:22 PM on May 20, 2005

For your sake, I hope these other people are right. When I visited Germany and Austria, I don't think I was served a single meal that didn't contain pork.
posted by Faint of Butt at 7:25 PM on May 20, 2005

I travelled around south Germany with my vegan girlfriend for a little over a week last year. In the major cities there are many health food stores (often labeled "Bio" or organic). Falafel at Lebanese restaurants where always easy to find but vegan (or even vegetarian) choices at traditional German restaurants is very unlikely.
posted by Staggering Jack at 7:33 PM on May 20, 2005

Argh! I apparently can't type tonight.
posted by Staggering Jack at 7:45 PM on May 20, 2005

It should be fairly easy to find vegan food in the cities, and nearly impossible in the countryside.
posted by cali at 8:25 PM on May 20, 2005

(often labeled "Bio" or organic)

Keep in mind that "Bio" does not necessarily imply that it's vegan. Bio-Milch (milk) is one example. If you're not sure what something is, carry a dictionary, and look for a list of ingredients (Zutaten). There's a good vegetarian restaurant in Munich called Prinz Myshkin (I believe it's in the Sendlinger Tor area), and I remember seeing vegetarian restaurants scattered around. I haven't been to Nuremberg, so I don't know what they have there.
posted by oaf at 8:18 AM on May 21, 2005

I stand corrected. Thank you hydroponic
posted by IndigoJones at 8:34 AM on May 21, 2005

hydrophonic, sorry
posted by IndigoJones at 8:35 AM on May 21, 2005

dude falafel is EVERYWHERE in germany and it's friggin' great. Added bonus: you can buy beers at the little roadstand shops and drink them outside. YAYS FOR OPEN CONTAINER

my first trip to europe coincided with the end of my veganism (because I was thinking it would be a problem, and because I wanted to be able to sample a wider range of foods there). The vegan thing is doable there; you're probably just not going to be eating a lot of german cuisine.

watch out for what should be vegan sushi -- the avocado rolls i bought in berlin had mayo in em.
posted by fishfucker at 8:24 PM on May 21, 2005

As a fellow vegan, I can offer my sympathy, and not much more. As far as travelling in the western world goes, I've always counted on the time-tested pretzels and V8 combo whenever I'm in unfamiliar territory.
posted by rabble at 1:22 AM on May 22, 2005

I just came back from Germany and have to say that I was surprised at how often cafes offered a meal of asparagus and boiled potato. It was asparagus season and they offered huge, fat white ones with hollandaise (or not) and boiled potatoes. Great meal!

I think you should be able to find salads and things, might take a bit of hunting, but I found more variety on the general menus than I had initially expected.

Also lots of turkish places with non-meat offerings in every city I visited.
posted by altobarb at 5:17 PM on May 25, 2005