Welcome to our final post from Spain (for now, at least!) We're coming to you from the stunning city of Granada, the famous home of the Alhambra! I can't even describe quite how stunning this city is (you'll have to go and see for yourself!) but honestly, we really loved it here. No matter where you are in the city, you can see this incredible palace and fortress complex; I remember the moment we glimpsed it for the first time and wow, it really was breathtaking!
A visit to the Alhambra is a must while you're in the city - though it's important you book early and make sure you're on time! We headed over for the earliest time slot and it really paid off: from getting photos without too many other people in the background, to the obvious positive of walking up in the early morning before it gets hot! There is so much to love here - there's even a big group of cats that live happily within the complex, I was in my element saying hi to them all!
Eating Vegan in Granada
“If you were to visit just one city in Spain, it should be Granada” - Ernest Hemingway
Though the Alhambra is incredible, there's a lot more to this city than just that. It's a hilly place, but mesmerising to walk around: we wandered different alleyways every day and got so many unique experiences because of that! But one of the best things about this city, for us, was of course the food. From incredible tapas to one of our top vegan restaurants in the world, read on, then watch the video at the bottom of the page to learn all about the strong plant-based scene in Granada.
1st: Restaurante Vegano Hicuri
Plaza de los Girones, 4, 18009 Granada, Spain
Okay, I have to tell you that we both absolutely fell in love with Restaurante Vegano Hicuri. This popular vegan restaurant has a really friendly yet eclectic feel to it, with great prices and some of the most delicious food we have found in the whole of Spain. We had only planned to visit once while we were in Granada, but everything was so incredible that we had to go back... three times!
Like many places across Spain, Restaurante Vegano Hicuri offer a Menu Del Dia on weekdays, during specific lunchtime hours. Though you are also able to order from the main menu, this allows you to order a three course lunch meal and drink for the set price of €15pp (approx. £12.83 or $16.34). I'm sure you'll agree what excellent value this really is! We calculated the savings we made by ordering from the Menu Del Dia, and Mike saved €5.55, while I saved a whopping €12!
On our first visit to Restaurante Vegano Hicuri, Mike ordered the gazpacho, followed by a chicken-style burger with fries, and some fresh fruit for dessert. I went for a bit more of a culture clash, choosing the Andalusian salad to start, a seitan tikka masala for my main, and chocolate custard for dessert. It's no exaggeration when I say that these dishes were absolutely to die for. We were impressed immediately by Mike's tangy and refreshing gazpacho and my hearty and comforting Andalusian salad (which consisted of a variety of ingredients including potatoes, tomatoes, and fresh oranges!) but it was the main courses that really blew us away. My tikka masala was really creamy, with melt-in-the-mouth seitan chunks, while Mike's burger was sumptuous and really well constructed. And the chips! Honestly, I fully stand by our estimation that these might be the best chips in Granada! Soft and fluffy on the inside with a crisp outside... these chips really need to be tasted to be believed! The dessert choices were really impressive: there was a choice of fresh fruit (Mike went for some refreshing watermelon slices), plenty of bakes, and the thick and luxurious cocoa custard, which was topped with desiccated coconut. We were so full, but it was so worth it!
But that was just our first visit! Over the next five days we visited a further two times, and were more and more impressed with every meal we ate there. Though we didn't order the Menu Del Dia again (we had a lot more food to fit in while we were in Granada), we stand by the excellent value of this menu! Mike's impression of the burger he tried on his first visit was so high that he actually sampled almost their whole burger menu over our three visits. His favourite was the Hicuri burger (€11 - approx. £9.41 or $11.98). This unbeatable burger came with a beef-style patty topped with pickles, vegan bacon and cheese, mayonnaise, and more! Mike is a huge fan of burgers generally, and this was absolutely top of the burgers he has sampled across the world... and I was so happy that he kept ordering burgers, because it meant that I kept being able to pinch a chip from him!!
I had a little more variety to my choices, choosing their lasagne (€10.50 - approx. £8.98 or $11.44), and the cordon bleu (€12 - approx. £10.26 or $13.07), on our successive visits. The lasagne was probably my favourite, with a really tasty sauce, delicious thick layers of imitation mince, vegetables, and pasta, and that thick and delicious layer of vegan cheese and bechamel sauce on the top. This lasagne was genuinely one of my highlights of Spain... but the cordon bleu came so close to this lofty status too! A chicken-style breaded seitan fillet was topped with a creamy, mushroom-packed sauce, and served with those amazing chips. It was hearty, it was sumptuous... it was oh so good.
And a quick mention to the carrot sticks and olives served as a tapa while you wait too... that vegan garlic sauce was incredible!!
2nd: El Piano
C. Santiago, 2, 18009 Granada, Spain
If you've been following our blogs or videos, you might recognise El Piano as the tapas bar that we visited to try the legendary Andalusian dish, Albóndigas en Salsa.
This delicious dish combines hearty homemade meatballs in a rich tomato sauce, which was packed with diced Mediterranean vegetables (€16.95 for a full plate of eight meatballs - approx. £14.50 or $18.46 - though half plates are available too). These meatballs were so incredibly filling, and so incredibly flavoursome! The sauce was tangy, tomatoey, and full of so much flavour - we also ordered some crispy flatbreads (€1.95 - approx. £1.67 or $2.12) to mop up some of that tasty sauce!
Because we ordered some drinks here, we were also served a tapas dish (if you haven't read our vegan tapas in Granada blog yet, traditionally you'll get a tapas dish for free if you order a drink in Spanish bars... though this tradition is significantly in decline across Spain now!) This dish of mixed vegetables combined with savoury flat noodles added a delicious twist to our meal: I loved the flavours of this dish, and would totally order this if we ever returned to El Piano.
So we really recommend a trip to this funky tapas bar: with a piano in the corner, we can imagine this having a lively, music-filled atmosphere by night. In the day, this is a really chill and friendly place to hang out, with a fully vegan menu and salad bar, and a great value Menu Del Dia too... so you can get your fill of plant based Spanish cuisine whatever it is you fancy!
3rd: La Goma
C. Gracia, 40, 18002 Granada, Spain
One of the coolest parts of tapas culture in Spain is the tradition of being served a free tapa with each round of drinks. Now considered a little expensive or wasteful, this practice is in decline - and as a result, it can be especially hard to find somewhere serving tapas that is completely vegan. However, we weren't going to leave Spain without trying to find somewhere that delivered on what we were looking for. And that is how we came across La Goma, featured in our Vegan Travel: Tapas blog!
La Goma is a completely vegan tapas bar in the centre of Granada. We had a great time experiencing their plant-based take on this legendary part of Spanish culture, and particularly loved being able to experience the joy of a completely random tapas dish arriving at our table! We ordered three rounds of drinks during our trip to La Goma, coming to around €15 each (approx. £12.83 or $16.34). We decided to sample some real Spanish drinks, beginning with a glass of Tinto de Verano each (my absolute favourite drink in Spain!), followed by a local vermouth, and rounding the night off with a glass of Spanish red wine. It was such a joy to know that that alcohol was vegan too!
We were served three tapas dishes over the course of the night, beginning with what turned out to be our favourite. This macaroni pasta dish had a lightly spiced sauce, with big, juicy chunks of aubergine, a nice dollop of vegan sour cream, and a generous dusting of paprika. The serving was generous, and it really warmed us up ahead of a few drinks! Next came a delicious ratatouille, served with cous cous, followed by a dish of the local dish salmorejo. To read more about what we thought of each of these dishes, check out our full vegan tapas blog. Overall, what a great place to hang out: with a lively atmosphere, excellent food, and local drinks, we could have spent all our evenings here!
4th: El Ojú
C. Gral. Narváez, 4, 18002 Granada, Spain
If you're looking for some healthy vegan junk food in Granada, El Ojú have got you covered. We visited one evening to grab something filling and indulgent, and were really impressed by all the choices they had on offer. From vegan pizzas and nachos, to tacos and burgers, the staff at El Ojú cook your choice of dishes fresh to order. Simply scan the QR code (you can hook up to their WiFi if you don't have European data!)
We started off with a bowl of their nachos, which came with a great vegan cheese melted on top! The nacho chips themselves were nice, and we were surprised (but in a good way) by the bolognese like topping, made with soya mince. We would have preferred for the sauce to be layered throughout, but overall this was a really tasty start to the meal, and for €4 (approx. £3.42 or $4.36), a fairly inexpensive one too.
We both really fancied the Heura chicken-style burger (€10.90 - approx. £9.32 or $11.87), and paid an extra €2 each to add vegan cheese and bacon. While we both really enjoyed the Heura pieces, we weren't big fans of the thick, creamy sauce that they were mixed into. It had almost a gelatinous, cottage cheese like consistency, which we really weren't expecting in a burger. The bread was soft, but the bacon and cheese were super crispy, which made them much less pleasant to eat. The textures of the burger were pretty overpowering on the senses, especially when it came to the extreme number of tomato slices layered along the bottom! The presentation of this dish was excellent though, and I loved how the three sauces were neatly presented next to a perfectly parallel pile of chips. The chips tasted great, and we appreciated the artistry of the meal.
Overall, while we weren't huge fans of our main, this was our bad for ordering the same thing - there were plenty of great sounding dishes on the menu, so I'm sure we would have had a lot more luck with something else! If you're looking for some homemade comfort food, El Ojú is definitely worth checking out while you're in Granada; the staff are really friendly, the restaurant is comfortable, and all in all it's a place with a great ethos to support while you're in town.
Where is your favourite place to get plant-based food in Granada? Are there any new places or old favourites that we've missed? Leave us a comment to let us know (and others who might be visiting too!)
Recommendations
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Where should I stay?
After our trip to Barcelona, we were relieved to discover that accommodation is much more affordable in Andalusia! There is an excellent choice of hotels, hostels, B&Bs, and everything in between in Granada! If you are looking for an inexpensive and social experience, El Granado Hostel is one of the most popular in the city, with frequent events and excellent facilities!
For a more private experience, check out Rooms VITA, which boasts modern and comfortable rooms with en suites, helpful reception staff, a bar on site, and a great location. It's no wonder this place gets such consistently high reviews and ratings!
Tours & Experiences
Granada is all about the Alhambra! So even if you didn't manage to secure your tickets in advance, there are loads of tour companies offering guided and skip-the-line tickets too. You can find some of the most popular Alhambra and Granada tours on the left.
However, there's a lot more to this stunning Andalusian city than just its famous fortress and palaces. Have you been to see a flamenco show yet? This is one of the most highly rated flamenco shows in Granada. With the performance style originating amongst the Gypsy families that have a strong history here, what better place to sample this part of local culture and heritage?
Please note that the tours displayed on the left are automatically selected for their popularity by Viator, not chosen or recommended by us. Please check whether any food or drink based tours are suitable for your dietary requirements, and any animal-based experiences are ethical, before booking!
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