Armenian cuisine as a whole isn’t always the most vegetarian friendly, but if you’re heading to Yerevan, you will be able to get yourself plenty of delicious vegetarian food. You’ll find local fare, modern fusion cuisine, rich coffees, and plenty of falafel! So where are the best spots you should try out? After spending two weeks in the city, here are our top spots for vegetarian eats in Yerevan!

Vegetarian Eats in Yerevan

Lavash Restaurant

If you want to see your lavash being made in front of you in the traditional tonir methods, this is your place. Try to bag yourself a table near the tonir so you can watch it all going on! Lavash is a traditional Armenian flat bread that is cooked inside a tandoor style oven.

The ghapama from here is a must. This is a traditional celebratory dish where rice, dried fruits and nuts are baked inside a whole pumpkin. Try the muhammara (marked as walnut paste on the menu for us English speaking folks), and the Yerevan wine. A beautiful meal all round.

Anteb

Budget-friendly Anteb serves up West Armenian fare in a casual setting, and absolutely everything we ordered was delicious. Try the garlic paste, muhammara, veg lahmajun, hummus, mtafayeh (spiced, sumac potatoes) and you must get a puffy sesame bread! You get little plates, so you can mix and match and try a bit of everything. We went back twice!

Eat and Fit Healthy Food Cafe

Vegetarian and vegan options here. We’ve had the hummus platter (pots of different flavoured hummus), guacamole bowl, but the real star of the show was the summer rolls with cashew butter sauce. Wow, were these good. Fresh and crunchy with the smooth, creamy sauce – lovely. We also went for breakfast, and I cannot recommend the matzoon (Armenian yoghurt) with granola and fruit highly enough.

Elie’s Lahmajun

This is a really local, budget-friendly place with no frills. It’s a real place with authentic, delicious food. The falafel is crisp and the hummus is so smooth and creamy, it’s like butter!

Hummus Kimchi

Some of the tastiest non-local food we came across in Yerevan. This place specialises in Middle Eastern and Korean flavours, and they do them well! We tried a Korean sticky aubergine dish, and a tahini aubergine dish and both were great. The restaurant is hidden off the main road up a set of stairs, and has a really hipster feel to it. A great spot for something less traditional.

La Poutinerie

Just around the corner from Hummus and Kimchi, is a small hut that serves different types of poutine (a Canadian dish of chips topped with gravy and cheese curds). We combined a visit to both places to have a Korean, Middle Eastern, Canadian fusion meal.

Mama Jan

This is such a cute little place! It feels like you’ve gone to Grandma’s house; it’s really cosy and homely. If you’ve not tried syrniki, give them a go here. You find these cottage cheese pancakes all over the ex-Soviet republics, and here they are served with Armenia’s favourite apricot jam. The sweet and savoury combination here is a really interesting contrast!

Art Cafe

Tucked away in a little courtyard, you will find art galleries, studios and a couple of cafes. Art Cafe serves a few veggie options (we tried the omelette wraps which were huge and really tasty), and they have a quirky outdoor seating area.

Al Darwandy

Falafel wraps, pide, salads. Close to the Cascade, this place makes a great spot to stop for a canteen-style lunch.

Froze Gelato

THE best place for ice cream and sorbet! We went back here several times to try all the flavours, and I can report that every single one was great. The cones used are super crisp and crunchy, not those Styrofoam-textured ones that get soggy really quickly.

GUM Market

Just wandering around GUM Market is an experience in itself. This local food market has rows upon rows stacked high with dried fruit, nuts, lavash, cheeses (some of which are definitely an acquired taste!), fresh fruit and veg. You will be handed plenty of tasters to help you decide on your final purchase.

Drinks in Yerevan

Beatles Pub

Not somewhere for food, but great for a drink. Beatles Pub is an underground bar with plenty of seating and obviously Beatles music and Beatles themed décor. Great for a Kilikia beer or a glass of Armenian wine in a lively atmosphere.

Dargett Craft Beer

Not a budget-friendly bar, but it serves local craft beers with interesting flavours. The apricot beer is of course a must-try (Armenia is apricot country), and there is also a tropical smoothie beer. Yeah, I know what you’re thinking: erm? But it was pretty good! And even though the beers themselves are expensive, if you ask the guy behind the bar nicely, he’ll be able to give you free ‘tasters’.

Kondi Hayat Café

You should definitely head to Kond district while you’re in Yerevan. This is the oldest part of the city, and is authentic, raw and real. The area is very run-down, with dilapidated buildings, but there has been a real effort to brighten the place up with vibrant street art. Kond is full of great opportunities for street photography as well as a great spot for coffee and gata (traditional Armenian sweet cake). Kondi Hayat Cafe has an outdoor seating area with views over the city, and the owner is really friendly. Even though he didn’t speak much English, he came and sat with us to have a chat through Google translate!

Coffee House

You’ll find takeaway Coffee House stands all over the city. The coffee is great and affordable. Make sure you give the baristas your name, so that they can write it on your cups in Armenian!

Melody

Super budget-friendly coffee place at about 200 AMD per Armenian coffee (40p!). Good and strong.

Andrew’s

Another great spot for Armenian coffee. Beautiful interior décor that has a street art type vibe, and a few tables outside too overlooking a park.

Lumen Coffee 1936

Not necessarily my favourite spot for coffee (the one I ordered was quite sour and pricey), but it is interesting just to sit in the cafe. I understand that the space used to be a bookshop, and it still has all the original features. A very small spot with pricey coffee, but a really beautiful place.

Salut

We only had drinks and snacks from here (the cheeseboard is good!), but this place has outdoor seating right at the bottom of the Cascade. Sit here with a drink and some cheese just before sunset and watch the Cascade light up as the darkness sets in.