Vegan in Tenerife – best vegan eats on the island

I know this is the post you all have been waiting for – so what did we eat in Tenerife? Find out what’s vegan in Tenerife in this post! We list all the places we dined at, plus some suggestions for where to eat around the island. From our previous visit to the Canary Islands, I made a post about vegan finds in Fuerteventura and grocery shopping in the islands. I hope you find some useful info there.

In this post, I write about the general food situation on the islands, in addition to where to find vegan food in Tenerife – the biggest and most popular of the Canary Islands.

Vegan in Tenerife

Both Tenerife and Fuerteventura are quite tourist oriented. So unfortunately, most restaurants cater to Western tourists demands and are heavily meat and seafood based. I think this is the case for most popular destinations. The result is unoriginal and un-environment friendly cuisines. Few restaurants stand for any values and just serve whatever the majority is used to. Restaurants located in tourist centres have menus displayed outside, which is useful, so one can decide not to step in at all.

Canarian dish Papas arrugadas – the tasty new potatoes served up with the traditional mojo sauce is vegan by default. You can find this dish in many local restaurants. Other than this, you can find salads, fresh veg and fruit, padron peppers, veggie wraps/pizza (minus the cheese) in many places. For some substantial vegan food, check out the 12+ restaurants listed below!

We mainly stayed in the southern part of Tenerife, in Adeje district (a popular tourist area), where you will find several veggie restaurants. Also, I found plenty of Indian restaurants around and sure dined at some! There are a couple of good food spots in the northern towns as well, if you happen to stay there. We did visit the capital Santa Cruz de Tenerife and the historic town of La Laguna.

Here’s a map where I’ve marked the places of interest 🙂

1- El Med Veg – vegan

Pje Gregorio Guardia, 5, 38612 El Médano, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain

This was our first stop when we arrived on the island! It was the weekend and surprisingly, this vegan cafe was open early – lucky us. They had just what I was looking for – a breakfast/brunch of acai bowls, banana shake and coffee. It was heavy and very filling. We came back here on another day for lunch and tried their home-made falafel. You can get a meal for 8-10 euro. They have desserts for about 4 euro.

Quality of food is pretty good, staff is friendly. I recommend checking this place out! The seating area is small so take-away is also an option – you can go eat at El Medano beach, a 5-min walk away.

When you’re there, make sure to also check out the local zero-waste store Avellana Ecotienda. They have a selection of eco-friendly Canarian products.

2- Bombay Babu – vegan options

C. El Cano, 10, 38618 Granadilla, La Tejita, Tenerife

This was probably the best of all the Indian restaurants in Tenerife that we dined at. They have a huge menu and a lot of vegan Indian dishes. Food was marked with allergens so you may know what contains animal products or not. The staff seem to know what vegan is and we had no issues ordering food here. We went with the Jaipuri masala with soy ‘meat’ and a good old chana masala along with pilau and tandoori rotis – what a feast!

The prices weren’t the cheapest and all this cost us about 35€, but it was a good portion for 2! They have another restaurant in Costa Adeje.

3- Indian Restaurants in Golf Del Sur

Among the other Indian restaurants we tried were those near our hotel Vincci Tenerife in Golf del Sur:

Haweli Indian Tandoori: North Indian fare – pretty basic stuff, nothing special. The quality of food reminded me of cheap budget restaurant type food back in India.. so not the best Indian food around. There were not many vegan Indian dishes on there other than some simple ones – we went with pulao, lentil soup and samosas. I actually liked the lentil soup.

Bombay Dreams: Similar to the one above, I think even run by the same people.. this restaurant is located in a block nearby. You will even find that the menus are quite similar. They had outdoor seating which was nice. We found the quality of food a bit better than the previous one, though. We had lentil dal, veggie curry and Chana masala with rotis. Nice staff and they offered us shots of local liquor on the way out.

4- Pizzeria-Restaurante Torreón – vegan options

Calle La Hondura C.C. Santiago 1, 38683, Log Gigantes

We had some good luck on the afternoon searching for a lunch spot in Los Gigantes, after our Whale watching tour. Came across this pizzeria with a vegan menu! It was advertised on the roadside by the restaurant and we were surprised. Plenty of options – homemade style dishes presented well. Lovely friendly staff. We ordered jacket potatoes, the vegan burger, seasonal vegetables soup and garlic bread. Highly recommend!

5- Govinda’s – vegetarian

Av. Rafael Puig Lluvina, 32, 38650 Playa de la Américas, Santa Cruz de Tenerife

This was one of those Krishna themed restaurants run by devotees, where they serve ‘pure vegetarian’ food (no egg but may contain dairy). Almost everything on the menu was vegan or could be veganised. There wasn’t any staff around when we arrived but someone finally showed up to take our order.

We ordered samosas (again!), and a pizza and burger – not very Indian – they also have fast food on menu. The food was pretty ok, nothing mind blowing. The burger had it’s own unique taste – which I’m not sure I liked. The place may be a bit tricky to find. You have to walk down a set of stairs from the main road and walk towards the end of this avenue. Have a look at their webpage for opening times before you go or give them a call!

6- The Burger Café – vegan options

P.º Guadalajara, 50, 38650 Playa de la Américas, Tenerife

This spot is right next to Govinda’s in Las Americas. The actually have a vegan menu section with burgers, wraps and snacks! Wish we could have checked out this place too but we couldn’t eat 2 lunches. 😂 They also have a branch in El Medano.

Their website and menu can be found here: theburgercafe.es

7- Flo’s Tenerife – vegan options

C. México, Nr3, 38660 Tenerife, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain

We spotted this kiosk on our way to Govinda’s and thought of actually eating here. But at the time, it looked like they only had smoothies, acai bowl and light food, and we wanted a proper lunch. Their usual menu has health food including lots of veggie options.

Their website for opening times: Flo’s Tenerife

8- Eco Eco Brunch Café – vegan

C. Sta. Rosa, 238, 38650 Arona, Tenerife, Spain

I so wanted to check out this brunch spot in Los Cristianos, but it was closed while we were there! They are only open Wed – Sunday between 10AM – 4PM. Be sure to check out their webpage before you go. Right near Eco Eco, you will find another small vegan eatery, called K-vegan. It’s located inside the Passarela Oasis Shopping Centre.

9- BuenaVida – vegan

Centro Comercial Fañabé Plaza, Av. de Bruselas, 20, 38660 Costa Adeje, Tenerife

I can’t believe we missed this place too! It was on my list, but again, it was closed while we were there.. so plan in advance guys. The restaurant is located within a shopping centre. Check the opening times on their google page: I suggest giving them a call before you plan to go. Their menu looks great – Buenavida menu

10- Mel Vegan Fast Food

C. la Marina, nº 73, 38001 Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain

A nice little budget restaurant- fast food joint in town. They have a couple of branches on the island, both in the capital of Santa Cruz de Tenerife. We loved the burger combo for 2 – it came with fries and a drink, at 10,70 EUR. I highly recommend Mel!

They also sell their own brand of vegan products and we bought some burger and sausages to go. More info on their website: Mel Vegan

11- Juliana Kind Food – vegan

Emilio Calzadilla, 1, 38002 Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain

This restaurant serves vegan take-away, offering healthy bowls and soup for lunch. We arrived here for lunch to find out that they SOLD OUT for the day – we didn’t have the best luck with food on our Tenerife trip, did we? Juliana is only open on few days of the week. The kind staff recommend we dine at Umami Good Food restaurant. Just opposite Juliana, we spotted a vegan grocery store Vegan Point! Check it out:

12- Tierra Café – vegetarian

Unit 10 Centro Commercial Playa, Puerto Colon, Costa Adeje, Tenerife, 38660

Tierra is a must-dine in Tenerife. They have a restaurant in Adeje and had another in La Laguna (the one we dined at) which is closed now. You should still definitely visit the old town of San Cristobal de La Laguna, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. We had a lovely lunch at Tierra as you can see below, the bowls were wholesome and filling. Coffee was great and so was the service. Loved the restaurant seating area as well. Although not everything is plant-based, most options are vegan and there are vegan desserts too.

Read why Tierra’s vegan meals are so popular on the Canary Green blog!

Other Suggestions!

Tenerife is a fairly large island, so it may not be possible to try out all the places you’d like to. I’ve listed places around the island nonetheless, most being in the south but few on the northern coast-side. Here are some more options that we think are good:

Umami Good Food is a fully vegan cafeteria with wholesome food! Whole food bowls, smoothies, raw cakes etc. Open on weekdays only as of now.

La Verdulería – we walked by this vegetarian spot when we were in the capital – it was closed and we’d already eaten at Mel Vegan’s. They have a lovely menu, with vegan options marked. Check their page.

Veggie Penguin – a vegan restaurant that’s open in the afternoon Mon -Wed and Fri – Sat. Located in San Cristóbal de La Laguna. They provide healthy plant-based food along with vegan desserts.

Plantae Gastrobar – another vegan restaurant in San Cristóbal de La Laguna serving up fine plates and wine. Open only on few days a week so check timings before visiting!

Sweet Paradise – vegan café in the capital of Santa Cruz de Tenerife! Find some vegan desserts, coffee and light snack here.

Samelo Veg – a couple run veggie restaurant with a small menu of seasonal food options. Located on the south-eastern coast. Stop here for some take away on your way to the capital! Check their opening times before, however.

Hummus Vegan Tenerife – we did not explore the Northern coast of the island at all but found this vegan café listed on HappyCow website. Check it out if you happen to visit Puerto de la Cruz.

Casa Verde – Eco Market serving some vegan bites in La Orotava.

In addition..

You can find a few more vegetarian restaurants in the north, if you look into google maps, more Indian restaurants and also fast-food joints, if that’s your kind of food. The Subway chain of eateries can be found around the island. There’s a couple in Adeje (one in Las Americas). They are now serving meat-free vegan options like the TLC- teriyaki with vegan cheese!

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Our favourite resources for dining and travel planning:

• Abillion – vegan app with useful features like finding vegan dishes and products worldwide. Sign up for free with our invite code ‘VEGANHAVEN’ – add your own reviews and raise $ for donation.
• Booking.com* – a great, reliable resource to find plenty of hotels or apartments worldwide. Book your next stay through links on our pages!
• SkyScanner – useful for finding the best flight route and flight combinations for travels.
• GetYourGuide* – leading travel platform for booking tours, guided sightseeing and adventure activities at a destination. Search their online marketplace and find one to suit you!

*affiliate link through which you can make bookings, at no extra costs – this helps support the blog, thanks!

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Have you been to Tenerife yet? Which were your favourite places? Drop comments below!

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Last updated on September 29th, 2023