# The daily struggles of being a veggie



## gerrit (Jul 15, 2008)

I was just wondering if there are other vegetarians and vegans here and how you guys are coping in, let's be honest, a country where not eating meat nor fish is still frowned upon. OK, I must give the locals credit that they in the end serve the food we ask for, it's just the weird looks whenever ordering something and explicitly asking if there's no animal products in it... Sometimes if the waiter is a local not used to many foreign visitors you get a look like "Are you for real? You really wanna eat that without fish?!" 

After almost 9 months here I'd say the downside is that vegetarian restaurants seem to be very rare. I have come across exactly 2 so far, and one of them is more like a fastfood/take away thingy rather than a proper dining place. The upside is that, especially in touristic areas, it does seem restaurants at least offer a few veggie options (eg paella de verduras, spaghetti napolitan, ...) even when it's sometimes a bit of digging and searching if the menu isn't properly translated... 

And well, I guess the good old Indian or Chinese restaurant is always an option if the more local restaurants don't offer any meatless dish. Let's just say I've been to worse places (when touring Denmark for a few weeks I ate more Italian food than ever before in my life as all local dishes were full of fish) but it just seems the locals have a very odd attitude towards vegetarians and vegans. Most other veggies I met here were other expats.


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

Cant say I've seen or noticed any veggie restaurants????? Hey, I'm the opposite I'm a carnivore and eat very few veggies!!! My way's probably easier to negotiate, altho I also have issues with flour which can be hard work!!

jo xxx


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## Cazzy (Nov 23, 2008)

The Spanish don't really cater for alternative diets. Our Muslim friends come over quite often and trying to find anything halal or veggie in a restaurant for them is a nightmare. Luckily we have found a halal butchers and the meat is very good quality.


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## Caz.I (Mar 21, 2009)

Well I am not a vegetarian either but I would agree that they are not generally catered for in Spain - it's more of a country for carnivores. Plus, when I first came here I was always amazed to see cafes offering "vegetarian" sandwiches that usually included tuna! 

However, in my town, there is at least one vegetarian restaurant which has a very good reputation, though I have never been myself. Last year, a new health food restaurant also opened up, although I cant remember if it is exclusively vegetarian I know they do a lot of vegetarian dishes. There are also at least two other health food cafes (of the same chain) which have some nice vegetarian salads and snacks. Generally, there are quite a few health food shops around too.


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## thrax (Nov 13, 2008)

gerrit said:


> I was just wondering if there are other vegetarians and vegans here and how you guys are coping in, let's be honest, a country where not eating meat nor fish is still frowned upon. OK, I must give the locals credit that they in the end serve the food we ask for, it's just the weird looks whenever ordering something and explicitly asking if there's no animal products in it... Sometimes if the waiter is a local not used to many foreign visitors you get a look like "Are you for real? You really wanna eat that without fish?!"
> 
> After almost 9 months here I'd say the downside is that vegetarian restaurants seem to be very rare. I have come across exactly 2 so far, and one of them is more like a fastfood/take away thingy rather than a proper dining place. The upside is that, especially in touristic areas, it does seem restaurants at least offer a few veggie options (eg paella de verduras, spaghetti napolitan, ...) even when it's sometimes a bit of digging and searching if the menu isn't properly translated...
> 
> And well, I guess the good old Indian or Chinese restaurant is always an option if the more local restaurants don't offer any meatless dish. Let's just say I've been to worse places (when touring Denmark for a few weeks I ate more Italian food than ever before in my life as all local dishes were full of fish) but it just seems the locals have a very odd attitude towards vegetarians and vegans. Most other veggies I met here were other expats.


Where in Spain are you?


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

SteveHall said:


> The other thing is that very occasionally I just fancy "something else". I have NEVER had a problem going into a Spanish bar and asking for xyz without the z but with extra y. No xxxx about "No substitutions" from some Brit Bars. (Can they really not take a sausage off and add an egg?)
> 
> Spanish fish is superb IMHO and most bars have a menú with some fish for those who can take fish or seafood.


I think this is the answer. It's true that traditional Spanish food is not geared to veggies, but restaurants are usually accommodating and don't mind changing one thing for another. Indian and Chinese restaurants always have veggie dishes and lots of places with newer style menus (not necessarily *nueva cocina*) have veggie options.

You do, however have to specify what you mean by meat because a few bits of ham in the peas might not mean the same to you as a Spanish waiter!!

I think the OP lives in Barcelona and I'm surprised s/he can't find veggie alternatives there.


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## 90199 (Mar 21, 2010)

Not one veggie restaurant on the island of El Hierro. However there are one or two bars that sell veggie dishes, but beware of false friends. Out of a dish of Potaje de Verduras, will surface some spare ribs. A Sandwich Vegetal contains a slice of ham. Sopa de Verduras contains chopped ham.

Ah well this is Spain albeit the Canary Islands, wouldn't change it for the world.


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## thrax (Nov 13, 2008)

Someone here said you live in Barcelona. Try this website which is supposed to be good for veggies www . sincarne . net/


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

If you think living in Spain as a vegetarian is difficult, don't ever live in the Czech Republic! We've asked for plain, meat-free omelettes in restaurants there, thinking that's a safe option, only to find pieces of chopped ham in them. Ham and chicken are somehow seen as not real meat. Quality of fruit and veg is abysmal and as the CR is landlocked the only fresh fish available are farmed trout and the dreaded carp. I eat meat but rarely, OH is veggie but fish-eating and the difficulties of being vegetarian and healthy in the CR was a major factor in our move here.
We have no problems whatsoever here and eat well and healthily. Fish of all kinds, shell-fish, omelettes, tortillas, risottos, lasagne,potato cheesecakes etc. are supplemented by dishes such as spaghetti bolognese, burgers, meatballs and stews made with Quorn mince and chunks from Morrisons in Gibraltar. There is a variety of quite tasty veggie prepared foodstuffs available too, such as 'chicken' and mushroom pies, sausages etc. I'm sure such things are available in many parts of Spain. Quorn is OK but you must spice it up as it tends to be bland.
Then there's all the meat-free soups you can make.....
Being veggie here requires more cooking but as we've got nothing much else to do, it's quite enjoyable.
Tonight's menu: spag bol with Quorn mince followed by fresh strawberries.
Tomorrow: salad and potato cheesecakes probably with strawberries again as they are so plentiful, cheap and delicious now.
Last night I made a dish with prawns and mussels with onions and green peppers in a white wine sauce, with tagliatelle.. It was quite tasty and definitely healthy.


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## ivorra (Sep 24, 2008)

I can confirm that there are many veggie restaurants in Barcelona - at least thirty at the last count. My favourites are the 'Arco Iris' and La Báscula. But I have found that in local, non-vegetarian, bars and restaurants which have a menu del día, they are usually happy to serve first courses instead of a first and second course if there are no veggie options on the second (which is usually the case). Quite often two out of the three or four choices for first course do not contain meat or fish.


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## gerrit (Jul 15, 2008)

I actually lived in Czech Rep. before... The local cuisine is very vegetarian-unfriendly so in the beginning I only ate canned vegetables from Tesco ... After a bit of searching I managed to find 4 restaurants serving vegetarian and vegan food. So once I got that far I managed well but I did always eat the same dishes in the same restaurants and never ate any local Czech dish.

I am in BCN indeed but maybe my opening post wasn't well written. I have no issues to eat: all supermercados have very cheap and tasty lentils, vegetables mixes, peas, chick peas, peas and carrots, beans, ... And the city has a wide range of Chinese, Thai and Indian restaurants and I also found 1 really superb Lebanese restaurant : all of those cuisines cater well to vegetarians. On top of that I found 2 vegetarian restaurants (of which 1 is more fastfood-like though)

What I mean in the opening post is that most of the veggie-catering restaurants, even here in the big city, are offering foreign dishes. Indian food, Chinese food, etc. In a tapas bar or a Spanish local restaurant (offering local food) there is usually not much choice but the spaghetti napolitan or the paella de verduras. Obviously in a big city like BCN there's options enough, however most of them are foreign cuisine, while I find the restaurants offering local foods quite hard with few veggie options.

Also, I do enjoy making day trips along the Catalan coast and in smaller towns like Gava, Casteldefells etc it can be tricky to get the food I want because there will be few or no Indian, Chinese etc restaurants but mainly dining places offering local food. I remember when I was in Gava and Casteldefells first time that they had to prepare a specially composed vegetable salad for me because their menu had simply no options without animal products. Also, while in Barcelona the cosmopolitan aspect has made vegetarianism and veganism somewhat known, once you leave the city and stroll along the smaller seaside towns the local waiters stare at you with an amazed look when you ask for a dish without meat or fish, as if they don't grasp why you'd want to eat it.

Note though that I am practically vegan. I'm a very strict vegetarian (no fish or meat by any means) and try to avoid cheese, milk and eggs whenever possible. Maybe for those who only abstain from meat but still eat fish it'll be easier in the smaller towns. 

In BCN there is an excellent vegan restaurant, yes, totally vegan. I'm sure there must be several, but I haven't traced them yet. I do already have my usual dining spots whenever I feel like a paella de verduras, Indian dish or Chinese dish so I do get what I want  It's just quite odd that apart from the paella de verduras all food I eat is foreign cuisine...

I'd actually like to find a Jewish/kosher restaurant because Jews don't use dairy, so any vegetarian dish on their menu is actually totally vegan. Indian food remains the true delight of vegetarian/vegan food though, but as I said such restaurants are plenty in BCN but are very rare when visiting a smaller town.


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

mrypg9 said:


> Tomorrow: salad and potato cheesecakes probably with strawberries again as they are so plentiful, cheap and delicious now.
> Last night I made a dish with prawns and mussels with onions and green peppers in a white wine sauce, with tagliatelle.. It was quite tasty and definitely healthy.


 
MMMMMMMMMM, I want some of that , please!!


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

Pesky Wesky said:


> MMMMMMMMMM, I want some of that , please!!


I don't cook, I construct! I tend to look at a herb, spice, wine etc. and think 'Wonder how this would taste if I added a bit of that?' Sometimes it works, sometimes -often -it doesn't.
The prawns and tagliatelle dish was surprisingly good, though I says it as made it..


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## guacamole (Apr 25, 2010)

*Veg*

I am vegan and I am from Spain, it was pretty boring to explain why I dont eat animal products to everyone and it was hard to find a veg place to eat, if you live in a big city like Madrid or Barcelona is better, there you can find some veg restaurants or groceries where you can find tofu, tempeh, etc... but if you live in a small town...oh boy!


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## geez (Apr 4, 2010)

Not a vegetarian myself but I've several vegetarian friends in Barcelona have joined them for dinner at various places around town. Sesamo is pretty good food wise but the service is a bit hippy for my tastes. Fresc & Co (buffet-style American chain eatery which I've seen) has loads of options. There's also a great Lebanese place that's about 50/50 in the Raval but I can't remember its name. In the process of looking for it I spotted this dedicated veg site: Barcelona Vegetarian Restaurants. BTW, a Swiss friend of mine commented that Barcelona is a bit of a vegetarian paradise so there must be options out there.


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## MaidenScotland (Jun 6, 2009)

Many years ago I was going to Bournemouth with friends for the weekend and as one of the party is vegetarian I phoned the hotel to ask if this was a problem.." no problem and thank you for telling us in advance" was the reply.
First meal at the hotel my friend is given chicken "I have ordered vegetarian meals"
"Yes this is vegetarian the chicken is corn fed" came the reply.
I presume things have moved on since then lol


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## guacamole (Apr 25, 2010)

MaidenScotland said:


> Many years ago I was going to Bournemouth with friends for the weekend and as one of the party is vegetarian I phoned the hotel to ask if this was a problem.." no problem and thank you for telling us in advance" was the reply.
> First meal at the hotel my friend is given chicken "I have ordered vegetarian meals"
> "Yes this is vegetarian the chicken is corn fed" came the reply.
> I presume things have moved on since then lol




LOL
It happens to me all the time, many people think I can eat ham because ham "is not meat".


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## littleredrooster (Aug 3, 2008)

MaidenScotland said:


> Many years ago I was going to Bournemouth with friends for the weekend and as one of the party is vegetarian I phoned the hotel to ask if this was a problem.." no problem and thank you for telling us in advance" was the reply.
> First meal at the hotel my friend is given chicken "I have ordered vegetarian meals"
> "Yes this is vegetarian the chicken is corn fed" came the reply.
> I presume things have moved on since then lol


Sounds like Faulty Towers has moved along the South Coast.
Remember the Waldorf Salad sketch?


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## gerrit (Jul 15, 2008)

Fresc & Co being mentioned I see ... Actually, that one and Lactusa (another buffet eat-all-you can restaurant, 2 euro more expensive but you can refill drinks as well) are amongst the places where I've eaten most so far.

Last weekend a friend took me to a nice and cheap vegetarian restaurant. I had a nice paella de verduras, a fruit juice and a small dessert for only a 7 euro. Cannot remember the exact street name though. Lebanese food is excellent for vegetarians and vegans, there's a very good one near Maquinista shopping mall (not in the mall though, but halfway the mall and the nearby rail station)


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## thrax (Nov 13, 2008)

gerrit said:


> Fresc & Co being mentioned I see ... Actually, that one and Lactusa (another buffet eat-all-you can restaurant, 2 euro more expensive but you can refill drinks as well) are amongst the places where I've eaten most so far.
> 
> Last weekend a friend took me to a nice and cheap vegetarian restaurant. I had a nice paella de verduras, a fruit juice and a small dessert for only a 7 euro. Cannot remember the exact street name though. Lebanese food is excellent for vegetarians and vegans, there's a very good one near Maquinista shopping mall (not in the mall though, but halfway the mall and the nearby rail station)


I'm an out and out omnivore - if it stays still long enough I'll eat it. I love Lebanese food....


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

thrax said:


> I'm an out and out omnivore - if it stays still long enough I'll eat it. I love Lebanese food....



Theres a great Lebanese bar and restaurant in my town that does the most amazing food and reasonably priced

It fascinates me that its owned by a lebonese guy and his swedish partner, they both speak a little Spanish and a little english, but their kids speak spanish, swedish and english! Their main customers are British and nextdoor to them is a very typical Irish bar, owned by two spanish chaps and frequented in the main by Spanish and German?????? - not an irishman insight!

Jo xxx


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## thrax (Nov 13, 2008)

jojo said:


> Theres a great Lebanese bar and restaurant in my town that does the most amazing food and reasonably priced
> 
> It fascinates me that its owned by a lebonese guy and his swedish partner, they both speak a little Spanish and a little english, but their kids speak spanish, swedish and english! Their main customers are British and nextdoor to them is a very typical Irish bar, owned by two spanish chaps and frequented in the main by Spanish and German?????? - not an irishman insight!
> 
> Jo xxx


That sounds like the perfect eclectic mix...


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## MaidenScotland (Jun 6, 2009)

Lebanese food is acknowledged as supreme in the middle east.


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## gerrit (Jul 15, 2008)

So yesterday I was in this Thai restaurant in BCN. The owners were a Thai couple, no Spaniards, so you'd expect them to not have the somewhat surprised attitude to vegetarian visitors. I asked the waitress for a veggie recommendation and even added "sin carne, sin pescado por favor". She pointed at a dish which included chicken. I had to explain her two times that vegetarians don't eat chicken neither ... I was astonished ; since when is a chicken not an animal anymore?!

That said, once she got it, she was very friendly to make a nice Thai curry where she used tofu instead of meat. But it's quite odd that someone had to be explained that vegetarians don't each chicken, especially when I said "sin carne". I thought a chicken is universally categorised as being an animal?


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## Jauv1 (Mar 1, 2013)

*Good quality halal meat in Alicante*



Cazzy said:


> The Spanish don't really cater for alternative diets. Our Muslim friends come over quite often and trying to find anything halal or veggie in a restaurant for them is a nightmare. Luckily we have found a halal butchers and the meat is very good quality.



Hi, 

we are migrating to AliCante and are looking for places where we can buy Halal meat as well. 

Can you pls give us the address of the halal butchers, so we can get the meat. 
I wonder if we can get Halal Spanish bull meat.. 



With kind regards, 

Ali&Jay& Momin


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

Jauv1 said:


> Hi,
> 
> we are migrating to AliCante and are looking for places where we can buy Halal meat as well.
> 
> ...



whereabouts in Alicante?

we have a halal butcher in Jávea - maybe 2 actually :confused2:


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## fergie (Oct 4, 2010)

I was actually passing the big halal shop today,opposite BBVA bank on the Arenal and for the first time was able to go in, as my husband could look after our dog outside.
They have some nice looking/well kept meat, chicken, lamb and darker meat which i assume to be beef, they also sell lots of fresh vegetables, and packaged dried foods.
The shop seems to be open 7 days a week.


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

fergie said:


> I was actually passing the big halal shop today,opposite BBVA bank on the Arenal and for the first time was able to go in, as my husband could look after our dog outside.
> They have some nice looking/well kept meat, chicken, lamb and darker meat which i assume to be beef, they also sell lots of fresh vegetables, and packaged dried foods.
> The shop seems to be open 7 days a week.


definitely 2 then - the one I was thinking of is up in the town!


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