In this post, we’ve listed what we think are the best vegan cafes and restaurants in Inverness, Scotland. All of the places featured in this guide have been tried and tested by us and come with our genuine recommendation.
As relatively new vegan residents of Inverness, we’re slowly eating our way around the city. As such, this post will be updated as we discover more vegan-friendly cafes and restaurants.
Inverness has a developing vegan food scene. While the number of vegan-friendly eateries could certainly be better, the options that are already available are very good in terms of quality.
If you’re vegan/plant-based and planning to visit Inverness in the near future, fear not. We’ve got you covered.
Need somewhere vegan-friendly to stay in Inverness?
If you’re trying to find somewhere to stay in Inverness that is 100% vegan, look no further. There’s a vegan B&B right in the city centre. We’ve stayed here ourselves and can totally recommend a stay here.
The rooms are well appointed and very comfortable and the vegan breakfast is plentiful and a delicious way to start a day of exploration in the city and the surrounding landscape.
The proprietors, Jo and Andy, are lovely and helpful. Head over to their website and send them a message to enquire about availability.
Our favourite vegan-friendly cafes and restaurants in Inverness
Inverness has a thriving tourism industry with visitors coming to enjoy the city and the surrounding mountains, lakes, rivers and seas from all over the world. As you’d expect, there are therefore lots of cafes and restaurants and many of them have vegan options.
Here are our favourite vegan-friendly cafes and restaurants in Inverness, all tried and tested by us.
Culture Cafe & Deli
Address: 11 Chapel St, Inverness IV1 1NA
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100% Vegan
There are two 100% vegan food and drink vendors in Inverness. They’re both as good as one another, but their offerings are very different.
Culture is a cosy cafe with lovely natural decor and a chilled-out vibe. A lot of care has been taken on the food offering with a tasty and interesting selection on offer. We really enjoyed the sharing platter which included a trio of salads and any two items from the deli counter. Everything was fresh and delicious.
LGBT+ friendly (thankfully, a common trait in Inverness)
Salt’N’Fire
Address: The Victorian Mkt, Church St, Inverness IV1 1AN
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100% Vegan
Salt’N’Fire is another of Inverness’ 100% vegan food providers. They’re located in the newly opened food hall inside the city’s Victorian Market and therefore, seating is shared with the other food outlets.
Salt’N’Fire serves a variety of takeaway food in recyclable/compostable packaging, inspired by cuisines from all over the world. Every dish is prepared to order and, on the two occasions we’ve visited so far, is fresh and tasty.
We spent around £20 for four small dishes which was enough to share between the two of us. With a portion of nicely seasoned skinny fries, we had kibbeh with a choice of dip (we had baba ganoush), mixed vegetable wontons and muhammara dip with bread.
Opening times are a little bit odd, with surprisingly early closures on Friday and Saturday nights, so check ahead to avoid disappointment. On Friday evenings, a live DJ provides a soundtrack to your meal.
Little Audrey’s Mobile Cafe
Address: Culloden Avenue just off of Barn Church Rd, next to Barn Church
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100% Vegan
Brand new on Inverness’ vegan scene is Little Audrey’s, a 100% vegan mobile cafe. Located in a car park near Barn Church in Culloden (a short ride by car or bus from Inverness), proprietor Carrie-Anne serves a menu of flavoursome sandwiches & soups and irresistible sweet treats. We tried the Caprese Croissant filled with handmade cashew cheese, tomato, basil, pesto and a balsamic glaze. We also tried the Tu’nah sandwich, made with smashed chickpeas. Everything was superb and great value!
Little Audrey’s is currently open 11-4 on Thursday and Sundays. Check on Instagram for menu updates and opening time alterations.
Black Isle Bar
Address: 68 Church St, Inverness IV1 1EN
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We really like Black Isle Bar in Inverness. It’s not 100% vegan, but all of their own brewed beers are, as are many of their food options.
We can recommend the mushroom pizza, which has amazing melty locally-made Left Coast Culture herb-infused cheese on it, served on tasty and crispy base. We had ours with a garlic pizza bread and a mixed salad which comes with a non-vegan dressing as standard, so ask them for the alternative dressing.
Black Isle is a certified B-Corp with a high score for environmentalism. The vibe in the bar is friendly and buzzy and ideal for conversations. If you’re a light drinker, you can order any beer in 1/2 or even 1/3 measures, which we really like.
Xoko Bakehouse & Coffee Shop
Address: 13 Bridge St, Inverness IV1 1HG
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Xoko (pronounced shaw-ko) has rapidly become one of our favourite lunch spots. The food is hearty and flavoursome, the range of vegan options is excellent and the vibe is super chill.
It being a bakehouse, all the breads and pastries are baked on site and are delicious. A range of vegan sweet treats is kept separately behind the cash desk and is clearly marked. On the menu, you’ll find a range of delicious savoury meal options with many inspired by Mexican cuisine. We can recommend the soups (which change regularly) and the dahl.
Xoko is a popular spot so get there early to secure somewhere to sit. A pride flag defiantly hanging above the entrance welcomes everyone with open arms. Yay for tolerance and inclusivity!
25p charge for plant-based milks.
Hou Hou Mei
Address: 18 Tomnahurich St, Inverness IV3 5DD
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A super-popular Asian fusion restaurant, and with good reason. The food here is fantastic!
For vegans, there are plenty of excellent mains, small plates and deserts to choose from, with many of the savoury options relying on tofu, cauliflower and aubergine. Prices are rather on the high end, but thankfully large portion sizes and high quality food ends up making it good value.
We ordered crispy tofu bao buns, sweet and sour cauliflower (which comes with sticky rice), wok-fried greens and Chinese-style dumplings with tofu and kimchi. Everything with flavourful with great textures and we’d certainly recommend a visit here.
Bookings essential.
Perk Coffee + Doughnuts
Address: 36 Church St, Inverness IV1 1EH
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The fabulous vegan cheese by Left Coast Culture that we enjoyed on the pizzas at Black Isle Bar (above) is also featured on the menu at Perk Coffee.
We really enjoyed the mozzarella, sun-dried tomatoes, rocket & pesto toasty and the hummus, beetroot, avocado and rocket sandwich on our visit. Both we good value and tasted great.
The vegan highlight at Perk is their doughnuts. There are usually two vegan options available. On our visit, we sampled both and they were super, super good.
Perk is quite small and there’s limited seating available. If you’re not able to get in, get some doughnuts to take away or, come back later – Perk stays open until surprisingly late when cocktails are also served.
Sùgh Ùr Cafè
Address: 6 Southside Rd, Inverness IV2 3AU
This cute and insta-friendly cafe in the Crown area of Inverness is well worth checking out.
If you’re lucky enough to find a table (there aren’t many, unfortunately), you’re in for a treat. There are lots of really good vegan options here. Think salads, sandwiches, loaded waffles and nourishing bowls with interesting toppings such as cauliflower steak and nut roast.
During our visit, we ordered the Plate Plate (a really good vegan cooked breakfast) and a fruit stack waffle. The food was really pretty, with good flavours and generous portion sizes. We really liked there was no extra charge for plant-based milks (as it should be).
If you’re coming from the city centre, you’ll walk past Velocity (below), so if there’s no room here and you don’t fancy taking away, you’ll at least be able to try at Velocity instead.
Velocity Café & Bicycle Workshop
Address: 1 Crown Ave, Inverness IV2 3NF
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We really dig a social enterprise cafe, so we were always going to like the 100% vegetarian Velocity. The interior is super cool and there are always lots of interesting community events taking place.
While there aren’t many labelled vegan food options on the menu, many can be veganised on request. Thankfully, the cakes and baked sweet treats are a different story – almost all of them are labelled vegan. Yay!
Velocity of outwardly LGBT+ friendly (whoop whoop!)
Love Dosa
Address: 6 Mealmarket Cl, Inverness IV1 1HS
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It’s regretfully rare to find Dosa’s being served in the UK, so we’re delighted that there’s somewhere serving these South Indian staples in the heart of Inverness.
Love Dosa is very well hidden, down a side alleyway with no other businesses on it. If you manage to find it though (the bright orange paintwork helps), you’ll be richly rewarded. This authentic, family-run restaurant is superb.
There are plenty of clearly marked vegan options on the menu (many south Indian dishes are vegan already), ranging from street food snacks to curry-based mains. Judging by what other customers were being served, portions here are huge!
We couldn’t resist ordering our favourite – masala dosas. The dosas themselves were sizeable and served with the obligatory chutneys and sambar. They were great and took us back to our trip around India.
An easy place to recommend.
Blend
Address: 9 Drummond St, Inverness IV1 1QD
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A non-pretentious and LGBT+-friendly cafe with a large menu of breakfasts and lunches, most of which are either vegan or can be veganised on request. We enjoyed a soup of the day with a vegan haggis bagel (pictured above), both of which were great. There’s also a large selection of vegan sweet treats and even a refillable Kombucha station.
Cup & Cone
Address: 6A Southside Rd, Inverness IV2 3AU
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Located within a short walk from the city centre in the trendy Crown area, Cup & Cone is a cute and modern cafe with a large selection of vegan cakes and bakes, provided by nearby Pure Vegan Bakery. There’s also a vegan sausage roll and a filled ciabatta on offer.
Charges 50p for milk alternatives.
Miele’s Gelateria
Address: 92 Church St, Inverness IV1 1EP
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An ever changing selection of vegan gelato and sorbets is available at Miele’s Gelateria. We spoke to staff who confirmed that there will always be a minimum of 4 vegan options at any given time.
On our visit, we enjoyed the Jammy Dodger and Chocolate gelatos which were full of flavour and super smooth. Usually, they have a uniquely Scottish Irn-Bru sorbet, which we’re yet to try. Both the regular and waffle cones are vegan.
Do ask staff if you need anything confirmed – they’re super nice and helpful.
