In a previous article, the “London Vegan Restaurant Scene Evolution” we took a look at the exponential increase of vegan (and vegetarian) restaurants in the UK’s capital. We found out that there were major changes to the vegan scene in this city in 2015 and 2017, and that the number of vegan restaurants seem to be catching up with the vegetarian ones.
In this article we continue this analysis and try to answer the following questions:
- How is the trend in other European cities? Was 2015 a pivotal year for veganism in Europe in general? And,
- Similar to London, are vegan restaurants growing quicker than vegetarian ones in the rest of Europe?
We’ll throw some light upon the results of Europe as a whole. Following, we’ll discuss the evolution of vegan restaurants in the European cities with the most 100% vegan listings as of 2019; namely, Berlin, Paris, Prague and Warsaw. Keep reading to learn about the growth of vegan restaurants in Europe, with an emphasis on these four cities.
Europe
The first thing we can notice is that there were merely 85 vegan restaurants listed in the whole of Europe back in 2007. In other words, the number of vegan restaurants in the entire continent was less than the number of vegan restaurants in London today!
HappyCow may have missed some listings in their database when it all started, but it’s clear we’ve come a long way ever since, surpassing 2,500 fully vegan restaurants by the end of 2019! Cheers to everyone who has helped, whether it was by adding a listing, updating it, adding a review, or just spreading the word. And a very special kudos to the volunteer efforts of our HappyCow’s Ambassadors, without whom it would be extremely difficult to keep such massive database up-to-date.
Coming back to the data, we observe that the growth is strong and steady. There was indeed a sharper increase of vegan restaurants in 2015 (+50% with respect to 2014), and then in 2017, a year which finished with 500 more vegan listings in comparison to 2016. At this rate, we might even have more than 3,000 vegan eateries in Europe by the end on 2020. Fingers crossed!
Looking at the vegetarian restaurants, we see that their number have also exploded, going from a few hundred in 2007 to almost 4,000 in 2019. However, unlike the London case, it doesn’t seem that the vegan restaurants will be catching up to the fellow vegetarian ones in Europe any time soon (but I hope I’m wrong!).
I haven’t checked the stats for every single European city; but it appears that, while there is a strong growth in vegan numbers in the capital cities; in the rest, vegetarian eateries are still leading the way. So I think it’s going to take a little while until the vegan movement is able to expand beyond the large towns. When that happens, be ready to support them!
Berlin
Berlin ranked No. 3 in the world on HappyCow’s Top 10 Vegan Friendly Cities List 2019; and it was No. 2 among the European cities. While it has about half the number of vegan restaurants if we’d compare it to London, it still has more than 80 vegan eateries in town, which is impressive nonetheless.
2015 was also a rather special year for Berlin, as there was a 50% increase in the number of vegan listings, surpassing the symbolic milestone of of 50 restaurants on HappyCow. After that, the vegan growth was slower, but it seems that it gained a little bit of momentum in 2019 again. Hopefully this will be kept during 2020! Vegetarian listings have also been steadily increasing, so judging by their progression, it’s likely that the gap between them and the vegan ones is still going to stay a bit wide for a few more years.
In any case, Berlin is by all means a fantastic place to visit and get plenty of vegan food! You’d need to stay a month in Berlin, and eat each breakfast, lunch and dinner at a different place in order to try all the options! Doesn’t that sound nice?
Paris
Although Paris didn’t make it on to HappyCow’s Top 10 list last year, this city does have more than 70 vegan restaurants listed. In Paris’ case, both 2016 and 2017 were remarkable years, as we went from having 20-something eateries in 2015 to over 50. Furthermore, by the end of 2019, the number of vegan listings had caught up with the vegetarian ones, which is quite noteworthy, given the love for cheese French people are famous for.
Paris is probably not the first city you’d think of when considering vegan-friendly cities, but it should definitely be on your radar. The city is rather small, and if you stick to the hundreds of listings referenced in HappyCow, you should be able to have a relaxed vegan eating experience. Trust me, I live in Paris.
Prague
Prague was the final city on HappyCow’s Top-10 list, and it appeared for a reason. This city has seen a solid increase of vegan restaurants, with the numbers doubling between 2015 and 2019, a year that concluded with more than 50 fully vegan places referenced in the site. To think that there were only 4 vegan eateries back in 2010.
We can also observe that there was an equal number of vegetarian and vegan listings by the end of 2019, so 2020 should hopefully see the vegan numbers beat the vegetarian ones. Yet another great city to add to your list!!
Warsaw
Warsaw took the No. 6 spot on HappyCow’s Top-10, which is well-deserved if you see its evolution. Until 2009 there was just one single vegan restaurant listed on HappyCow, but by the end of 2019 there were more than 50! Just spectacular! To top that, Warsaw is a city which appears to have embraced veganism quicker than vegetarianism, as ever since 2014 there have been, consistently, more vegan than vegetarian eateries in town.
2018 saw a small decline in vegan numbers; but it seems it was just a small bump in the road, as there was a quick recovery in 2019. Unlike the other cities we have analyzed, in Warsaw the vegetarian listings are the ones trying to catch up with the vegan ones. But let’s hope that doesn’t happen!
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So, after going through this much information (thanks for reading until the very end!), what can we conclude?
Firstly, the number of vegan restaurants have been increasing in Europe since HappyCow’s recording system started. However, I think there’s still plenty of room for growth both in large and -especially- in smaller cities. Second, I hope we can agree that 2017 was a fantastic year for vegans. I wonder when the next big year will come… will it be 2020??
We have also seen that in some major cities the number of vegan restaurants have already surpassed the number of vegetarian ones. Will this behavior be replicated around the world? Only time will tell; but I surely expect so.
We hope this gave you some interesting insight into the growth of vegan restaurants in Europe.
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!!
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This article was researched and written by Ricardo Sapaico.
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