Before the world came to a standstill, we had done a couple of articles containing statistics reflecting the growth of vegan restaurants in Europe as a whole. We also took a look at the evolution of vegan restaurants in a few of its major cities. You can find the article about London here and about other European towns here.
We had planned to continue the series with the hope that it would inspire you to travel, but with the arrival of the health crisis, all travel plans were put on hold. Now that the world is sort of recovering, we thought that it might be a good time to slowly get back to sharing some more fun numbers.
This article is, then, an update on the two previous ones. The idea is to start from where we left off, but at the same time, see what the impact of the pandemic was: Did the vegan scene continue to grow despite it all? Keep reading to find the answers.
As a reminder – we will talk about the European continent: London, Berlin, Paris, Prague, and Warsaw (plus, there is a surprise city at the end). Bear in mind that these results are from mid-March (2022), so we would not expect so many changes with respect to the number of restaurants recorded at the end of 2021.
Here’s where we stand after a couple of rough years…
Europe
At the end of 2019 we had a little over 2600 vegan restaurants listed; and by early 2022 the restaurant count had climbed up to 3400. That’s a 25% jump! In other words, we could also say that for every 4 restaurants, 1 new one opened. That being said, we can also observe that the growth in 2021 (8%) was about half of what we had in previous years.
This makes me think that many restaurants were able to endure the crisis in 2020; but 2021 was a tough year and many business owners had to shut down or were simply not able to open. By early 2022, numbers hadn’t changed much.
London
London had an impressive growth: it went from 156 to 209 restaurants in 2 years. That’s a remarkable 33% increase! In 5 years, the vegan restaurant count has doubled! Not an easy feat. Can you imagine having more than 200 vegan restaurants in your city? I have no idea how our Londoner friends are able to choose where to grab a bite!
On top of everything, we can also see that nowadays there are more vegan than vegetarian restaurants! However, in 2014 the gap between them was above 90. The vegan scene in London is just amazing and it’s going to be very hard for other cities to catch up.
Berlin
Berlin is one of those other cities where vegans can feel very welcomed. The growth of vegan restaurants is slow but steady, and by the beginning of 2022 we reached the symbolic threshold of a hundred vegan places. On the other hand, there are still significantly more vegetarian than vegan eateries in town, which makes Berlin the only city in our Top 6 where vegetarian restaurants are more numerous than the vegan ones. However, we can see that the vegetarian numbers did not rise in 2021, so maybe vegans will catch up in the near future?
It’s important to note that this graph only contains information regarding restaurants; but if you check the «Stores & more» category, you will be greatly surprised to find over twenty vegan bakeries, shops and ice cream parlors. Berlin’s got everything you need!
Paris
Paris is always a good idea, they say. And they are not wrong. The city saw a small explosion of vegan restaurants in 2020. Since I live there, I know that it was because many vegetarian restaurants became fully vegan during the pandemic. As a result, we now have more vegan than vegetarian places. It’s a nice feat considering the love for non-vegan cheese and eggs that we French people are known for.
Going into 2022, we lost a couple of places, but I know that there are some new ones opening soon, so I’m positive the number will increase in the near future. And just like Berlin, the figure above does not include the over twenty vegan supermarkets and coffee shops.
Small recommendation, though. Stick to the places you see in HappyCow. Restaurants in Paris are becoming more aware of veganism but the majority (we’ve got tons of restaurants) are still not there yet.
Warsaw
Warsaw is one of the rare cities where, according to the data, veganism has had an edge over vegetarianism for many years now. And it’s great to see that the gap between both has gotten larger. 2021 was a fantastic year as the number of vegan restaurants came close to 70.
So far, 2022 has not been off to a great start but let’s hope they will catch up soon. That being said, Warsaw is not as large as London or Berlin, so if you take a look at the listings in a map, you will see that you should not have any trouble finding food!
Prague
It seems that Prague was a bit impacted by the health crisis in 2021. The number of vegan restaurants, which was once slightly above that of Warsaw, dropped below 60. Going into 2022, the situation was much the same, so let’s see how it evolves through the rest of the year. Incidentally, we can certainly observe that since 2019 there are more vegan than vegetarian eateries, and the gap is still significant so I don’t see vegetarian places catching up there.
In any case, akin to Warsaw, it suffices to check the map to see that there are vegan restaurants pretty much everywhere, so it won’t be easy deciding where to eat next.
Amsterdam
Surprise surprise – look which city slipped in our Top 5 (well, Top 6 now). It’s the lively Amsterdam. With 66 vegan restaurants at the beginning of 2022, it surpassed Prague and it’s just one restaurant shy of Warsaw.
When we did the previous roundup, Amsterdam was very far from the other cities; however, things exploded in 2020, with an incredible growth of 50%, going from 40 to almost 60 vegan places! Not only that, but that was also the year when vegan restaurants beat the vegetarian ones; and at this pace, the gap will only increase.
If you have any information as to what happened in Amsterdam in 2020, please let us know, I’m very curious!
If you find this series of articles interesting, which other continent or city would you like HappyCow to feature next? Let us know in the comments!
And finally, do you want a little help deciding where to go in each of the cities mentioned above?
Check the Top 10 Veg*n Restaurants, as determined by the HappyCow community member reviews:
London
https://www.happycow.net/best-vegan-restaurants/london-england
Berlin
https://www.happycow.net/best-vegan-restaurants/berlin-germany
Paris
https://www.happycow.net/best-vegan-restaurants/paris-france
Prague
https://www.happycow.net/best-vegan-restaurants/prague-czech-republic
Warsaw
https://www.happycow.net/best-vegan-restaurants/warsaw-poland
Amsterdam
https://www.happycow.net/best-vegan-restaurants/amsterdam-netherlands
Related Articles:
– The Growth of Vegan Restaurants in Europe 2020
– London Vegan Restaurant Scene Evolution
– 10 Eco-Conscious Vegan Restaurants In The World
– 10 Fully Vegan Fast Food Chains
– 10 Must-Try Vegan Pancakes In The World
– 10 Best Vegan Taco Restaurants in the World
Check out the rest of the HappyCow blog for vegan tips, guides, interviews, recipes, and more! To find vegan food near you, at any time and place, get the free HappyCow app. Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter to stay updated on all that we’re up to.
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Author: Ricardo Sapaico