When you visit a new place, especially as a vegan, it can be hard to know where to find vegan-friendly and plant-based food options. Having moved to Newquay in Cornwall in 2021, one of Cornwall’s most popular summer tourist destinations, we have been checking out some of the local vegan-friendly offerings. We have much more to explore but have found a lot of choices so far.
So if you’re in Newquay and looking to grab a bite to eat that’s plant-based then read on. Here are the places we’ve tried so far and keep an eye on this blog post as I’m sure we’ll be sampling many more soon!
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Vegan-friendly places to eat in Newquay
Here are lots of cafes, restaurants, eateries, fast food outlets, juice bars and more that have vegan options. This list will be regularly updated as we discover more great vegan places to eat in and around Newquay. Great for locals, tourists and holiday-makers alike. I hope you find something vegan to suit your tastebuds!
Sprout Health Foods (and cafe)
You’ll discover Sprout Health Foods store just off Bank Street in a very picturesque building ‘The Old Printhouse’. There’s a garden cafe which is undercover and like a secret garden to the side of the building. They have lots of vegan food ideas, smoothies, ice cream and delicious coffees with plant-based milk.
The Hangout (Watergate Bay)
A seasonal food van overlooking the amazing Watergate Bay, up on the cliffs, a short stroll up the coastal path from Watergate, or a slightly longer stroll if you’re coming from Whipsiderry. Friendly staff and a few vegan options such as smoothies and milkshakes with plant-based milk.
Sailors Arms Newquay
Perhaps one of the most famous places in Newquay due to its nightclub?! Most people who have been to Newquay for clubbing will know Sailors. However, The Sailors Arms is their pub and restaurant right next door to the nightclub which has a huge menu with loads of vegan options as of October 2022.
They are a family-friendly venue in the daytime with an outdoor terrace with panoramic views across the Atlantic from Towan Beach to Watergate Bay and beyond. There’s cosy seating inside and a fully stocked bar.
On our first visit, we tried the vegan burrito, vegan burger and vegan loaded fries. You can check out my Sailors Arms restaurant review from our first visit. They have loads of vegan options so if you’re looking for vegan pub grub then this is a great place!
Harbour Chippy
What a find! A chip shop that cooks in vegetable oil and has a dedicated vegan menu with chip shop favourites! This is on Fore Street in the central part of Newquay, not far from the harbour which is a great spot to eat your chips if the weather allows! I recommend the battered vegan sausage and chips with curry sauce.
They are open seasonally. In 2021 they stayed open until the week before Christmas, closing until March 2022. However, they sometimes shut earlier depending on how busy the winter season is.
In the summer of 2022, they were open from 12 pm to 8 pm each day.
Canteen at The Orchard
Surrounded by orchards and growing plots where they grow their own food which is served in the cafe, as well as wildflower meadows to encourage wildlife, this is a great find just outside of central Newquay, next to Newquay Tretherras senior school.
There are vegan options daily and plant-based milk available for hot drinks. We had the pleasure of a delicious iced tea in the summer, with plenty of space outside for the kids to run free.
They cook the most amazing vegan cinnamon buns on site each day!
Kahuna Restaurant
Oh my, one of our favourites! We haven’t actually eaten in the restaurant itself yet as we don’t get evenings without our children and the restaurant is only open evenings, but we have had a takeaway a few times (which you must collect)! It’s always delicious!
They sell Pan Asian food and we enjoy the curries and noodles. Nearly all the items can be selected to be made vegan with a choice of vegetables, tofu or tempeh. The tempeh is delicious!
Rowes
This is our favourite pasty shop so far with lots of vegan options.
In 2021 there were wholemeal veg, Thai curry, curry and steak vegan options.
In 2022 they seem to have dropped the vegan steak bake but added other new vegan flavours such as vegan ‘chicken’ and pepperoni, vegan red Thai curry and vegan ‘chicken’ fajita.
We are big fans of their pasties!
(They also do a vegan roll, but it’s pretty flavourless so we don’t recommend it. Instead, go to Beach Bakery at Towan Beach for the best vegan sausage roll in Newquay, or if they’ve sold out we recommend Morris Pasties for a vegan sausage roll.)
Beach Bakery
The beach bakery is at Towan Beach (where you’ll find the amazing island house). They have the best vegan sausage rolls we’ve found so far in Newquay! They also do a vegan blueberry muffin which our daughter loves!
There are milkshakes and warm drinks with vegan milk available.
Kook
A smoothie and juice bar on Fore Street with SO many options and they are customisable.
I love the Kook Classic juice (carrot, apple, orange) with added ginger.
Or the immunity smoothie minus the yogurt
Also the Very Berry smoothie with banana or sorbet instead of yoghurt. Yum!
Open seasonally. Although in 2023 they plan to open all winter season!
Trerice Barn Cafe
On the outskirts of Newquay is Trerice Manor and Gardens which is a National Trust location, if you have a pass. Or you can pay to enter. They have a barn cafe with a few vegan options including a vegan pasty, vegan ciabatta sandwich, vegan soup, vegan cookies and ice cream when we visited in 2022.
To get a discount on your National Trust annual membership when you first sign up, make sure to check out TopCashback as they often have a great deal. Use my link to sign upforo TopCashback for free and see the latestsavingsg at National Trust here: https://www.topcashback.co.uk/ref/victoriasully/national-trust
Lusty Glaze – pizza on the beach!
YUM!
From around midday to sunset you can enjoy the Lusty Glaze bar and stonebaked pizzas with gluten-free options and vegan cheese available too!
Our gluten-free friend was really impressed with their dough!
Our vegan pizzas were delicious in summer 2023 and we can’t wait to go back!
Roo’s Beach Coffee Hut
Just next to Porth beach is Roo’s coffee hut where you can grab a hot drink with plant-based milk and there is a selection of vegan-friendly pastries too.
Blend
Another one of our faves, only available in the summer months. A plant-based food truck located in the car park at the top of Lusty Glaze Beach selling delicious smoothie bowls and drinks. Yum!
Check out their story at https://blend-cornwall.co.uk/
Independent food and drink at Prow Park
Prow Park is a business village located within an industrial estate in Newquay, outside of town, near Morrisons and Macdonalds. They have several independent eateries, some takeaway only, and some with a small amount of seating.
You can find the current list of vendors at https://www.prowpark.com/eat-drink but here’s what we’ve tried that’s vegan-friendly and we recommend so far:
Cornish Lunchbox (Prow Park)
We have sat here a couple of times, me and Ben, for lunch dates while the kids are at school. They have loads of delicious vegan-friendly meals. We’ve tried the salad boxes and polenta chips and they are delicious.
Check out the latest menu at https://www.cornishlunchbox.com/
Poco Loco (Prow Park)
We picked up a takeaway from here when a friend was staying and can’t believe it took us almost two years to try out this place. It was SO GOOD. Between us we had burritos, poke bowls and fries. Everything was amazing and we can’t wait to have more!
Order online at https://pocolocoburrito.co.uk/
The Boathouse
Located on the harbour beach in Newquay, this is a relaxed eatery with many street food vans that you can order from directly at your table, allowing everyone to pick a different dish from various vendors.
We have enjoyed vegan pizza and fries, washed down with local cider from the bar!
Find out more at https://streetfoodonthebeach.co.uk/
Set Cafe (Inside Heron Tennis Centre)
We’ve had numerous smoothies from Set Cafe which can be found in Heron Tennis Centre. As vegans, we have had smoothies and vegan chocolate brownies, though they don’t always have a vegan cake. There have been jacket potatoes with beans and fries or sweet potato fries. Once they had a couple of vegan options on the special board, but not always, so it’s a bit hit-and-miss here for main meals for vegans.
More places we’ve tried and recommend in Newquay for vegan food
We have also been to a few other places around the outskirts of Newquay for vegan food and some popular chain restaurants.
Here are our recommendations:
Stable – Fistral
If you can get a seat by the window or outside on the balcony, then you have amazing views overlooking Fistral beach and the ocean. Great vegan pizzas, maybe our favourite vegan pizzas if we had to choose!
WAX – Watergate Bay
We have been to the nearby Watergate Bay WAX where I enjoyed a quinoa sweet potato salad and Ben had a vegan burger. The portion sizes are great and they support local producers.
Concho Lounge
This is part of The Lounges chain and they have a large vegan-friendly menu from breakfast through to dinner. We LOVE the vegan burgers!
Pizza Express
Right next to Great Western Beach in Newquay, is Pizza Express where you can eat in or I recommend grabbing a takeaway which you can take to eat while looking out to sea on a nice day. There are benches overlooking Great Western Beach just behind the restaurant.
Slug and Lettuce
Me and Bella went here for a mummy and daughter treat and were pleasantly surprised at how lovely the decor was inside. It was really quiet too as it was after school on a weekday – we were the only people inside, like VIPs! I’m sure it gets more packed in the summer season, but we went in winter. They have lots of vegan food choices from burgers to tacos.
Costa
Costa usually has a vegan toastie and rocky road cake, as well as a vegan-friendly flapjack.
Boots
Central in town, Boots has vegan-friendly sandwiches as part of their popular meal deal.
Vegan options in Newquay at well-known takeaway chains
You’ll also find many other chain takeaways you recognise in Newquay with vegan food options such as Macdonalds, Burger King, Subway and Dominos for when you’re feeling extra naughty and junk foody!
Papa John has opened in 2022 in Newquay too which does delicious vegan ‘chicken’ nuggets, but for a takeaway pizza we’d have to say Dominos is better! The Papa John vegan cheese really sticks to your teeth!
Vegan-friendly places to eat near Newquay
In the surrounding areas around Newquay, you’ll also find some delicious vegan food. Here are some of our faves:
Roots, Perranporth
Very similar to Sprout, but in Perranporth! A delicious hotpot served each day, we’ve had curry, vegan sausage rolls, cakes and more. We also love the vegan cinnamon buns!
The Watering Hole, Perranporth
A pub in the middle of the beach, surrounded by sand! Great if you want to sit outside and have kids that want to play in the sand at the same time! We’ve enjoyed vegan burgers here.
Check out their website at https://www.thewateringhole.co.uk/
The Village Chip Shop, Cubert (Near Holywell)
They cook in sunflower oil and they have vegan sausages. Grab your chips just before sunset and drive on down to Holywell, our favourite beach, to enjoy watching the sunset by the striking rocks.
Find them at https://www.thevillagechipshopcubert.co.uk/
How to find vegan food when visiting a new area (4 top tips)
It can be tricky when you are not familiar with an area to find cafes that offer vegan-friendly food. Luckily, the internet and social media make it really easy to find what you are looking for. Here are some of the best ways to find plant-based eateries as a tourist:
- Use online booking websites: These types of restaurants are designed to make your life easier. Whether you’re looking for afternoon tea, Christmas lunch, bottomless brunches or a simple evening meal for two, restaurant booking apps like Squaremeal help you filter by your location, dietary choices and type of meal to find something suitable.
- Search Google for ‘vegan food near me’: This is something we regularly do when we visit a new area, although their listings can sometimes be out of date and we’ve turned up a couple of times to a location only to find it closed! So double check the business’s personal social media pages or websites!
- Search the location as a hashtag on Instagram: If there’s one thing people love to share on Instagram, it’s delicious meals and cool restaurants. Follow me on Instagram here! Simply search for the location such as #newquay on Instagram and I bet you’ll soon stumble across people sharing the places they’ve eaten at. You can even get more specific with #newquayvegan or similar.
- Pop in and ask: One of the great things about the vegan community is it’s largely not competitive among businesses and they all love supporting one another. If you’ve found a vegan eatery then simply ask if they have any other recommendations for eating out as a vegan and I bet they’ll be happy to share.
Beware of seasonal places and opening times!
One important thing to note is for a coastal resort and tourist hotspot like Newquay, many of the restaurants and cafes that are small and independent will only be open seasonally. Sometimes their plans for opening and closing can vary depending on how busy the tourist season is.
Places we can’t wait to try in Newquay for vegan food
There are lots of places in Newquay that we know do vegan food and we can’t wait to try them when time and funds allow 🙂
Here are some of the places that are next on our radar:
Seaspray (Fistral Beach)
Wow, what a setting! Especially when the tide is in, crashing underneath! Seaspray is at South Fistral in Newquay and boasts an amazing sea view from the windows or deck. We have spied vegan breakfasts on the menu, and vegan burgers, as well as some takeout vegan options like sausage rolls from the hatch on the ground floor.
Great Western Surf Cafe
This looks like a laid-back cafe with a great view and some vegan options. When I viewed the menu last there was a vegan katsu curry. One of our favourite meals so we’ll be visiting soon!
Basket
A gorgeous little cafe and I’ve been recommended their vegan salad so this is also on our list!
Miso Miso
A Japanese/Pan-Asian restaurant with lots of vegan options on the menu. We’ve not noticed it open in the day, so it must be evening only. One for when the kids are a little older perhaps or when we can one day go out for a meal on our own in a couple of years!
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This is great to know. We visited Newquay this year.
Hope you had a great time! We’ll be adding more to this list ASAP as we have visited a lot more places now 🙂
These look really good. Thanks for including photos of the menus, I enjoyed reading those!
I love the Rowes vegan pasties.
They’re so good – we’re obsessed!
Lots of great finds and good tips on finding places!