A plant-based affair: 3 vegan dining options near Potts Point

Plant-based diets are all the rage in Australia!

Roughly 400,000 Aussies jumped on the vege-wagon between 2012 and 2016, according to Roy Morgan. The research also found that Sydney was the number one Australian capital for meat-free diets – which makes perfect sense to us, considering the brilliant vegan dining options in and around Potts Point alone!

If you're heading to Sydney and looking to maintain your vegan or vegetarian diet, check out these restaurants near the Macleay Hotel.

1. Yellow

Our first pick for meatless diners is only 120 metres down the road from our front door – that's barely a minute's walk!

It's also an exclusively plant-based restaurant, meaning there's no need to worry if the sight of a steak turns your stomach. Yellow opened in 2014, but didn't make the switch to a meat-free menu until two years later. 

Yellow's avoidance of animal-derived proteins isn't strictly about ethics – but more intended to shine a spotlight on the incredible culinary potential of vegetables. 

Sunday to Friday you'll get to order a la carte options such as butternut pumpkin served alongside a browned miso butter and saltbush to complement its sweetness. On Saturdays, things get switched up a little and diners are treated to a vegetarian or vegan degustation menu – available in five or seven courses. 

For seven courses, you'll pay $95 per person with the option of matching wines for another $85. We can't recommend wine pairing enough, as Yellow's intricately crafted wine list features forward-facing wines from some of Australia's most progressive producers.

2. Otto Ristorante

The dining district on Woolloomooloo's Cowper Wharf has a plethora of reputable restaurants, but few cater to herbivores as well as Otto Ristorante.

Being right on the water, Otto is truly representative of the Sydney dining experience, and its place here has clearly influenced its modern Italian menu. Sit out on the wharf for a early supper and watch the evening sun shine off the water and light our beautiful Sydney in golden hues. 

A complete vegan menu is available to diners at Otto, although it does also serve non-vegan food. Seasonality is crucial to Otto's ethos of freshness and vibrancy, meaning the menu is subject to change. To give you an idea of what to expect, we love their insalata di trapanese, which features bursts of sweetness and acidity from tomatoes and pomegranates on a a backdrop of undeniably refreshing mint salad.

Dessert is also on the vegan menu at Otto – expect creative inventions using coconut or cashew in lieu of dairy products. Look out for a vegan pavlova, which comes with coconut custard and tropical fruit sorbet.

3. Bodhi

For an unforgettable plant-based Chinese lunch, Bodhi can't be missed.

Seven days a week you can enjoy a traditional yum cha menu, minus the meat! From 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., a massive selection of dumplings, buns, noodles and much more are brought to your table gradually in plates of three to allow for constant grazing.

We'd especially recommend a lunch here if you've just made a diet change and are really missing meat. Numerous dishes utilise various meat substitutes – from faux prawn to plant-based chicken. Make sure to try the 'prawn' har gow dumplings and fried glass-noodle spring rolls.

Bodhi is a little bit out of the way from the Macleay, but the 311 bus, which leaves right from our doorstep, will drop you off only 220 metres down the road.

Eating ethically and still enjoying your holiday couldn't be easier in Sydney – and we're here to ensure that. Talk to the team at the Macleay Hotel to organise your accommodation near Sydney's best vegan restaurants.