Vegan-friendly
Lacto
Ovo
Western
Beer/Wine
Malaysian
Non-veg

Serves meat, vegan options available. Coffeehouse and restaurant in an old restored building. Offers healthier food prepared without using MSG and no red meat. Some veg suitable include salads, vegetable soup, veg spring rolls, nasi lemak, curry ramen, curry rice, lontong, tempeh, and pasta. Dairy is used in some dishes - vegans to specify. Relaxed atmosphere with free Wi-Fi access. Live music and events some evenings. Open Mon-Thu 11:00am-11:00pm, Fri-Sat 11:00am-12:00am, Sun 11:00am-11:00pm. Kitchen hours. Bar open later.


Venue map for Geographer Cafe
© OpenStreetMap contributors

33 Reviews

First Review by KLGuy

Mia_e_mia

Points +232

Vegan
27 Oct 2024

Located right by Jonker Street

I found this spot when I wanted a quick escape from the crowded street (and had built up a bit of an appetite too!). The staff were friendly and attentive. The menu offers some unique options and also western dishes like pizza and pasta. I went for the Straits of Malacca salad. It was simple – nothing mind-blowing, but still enjoyable. To drink, I tried the sour plum calamansi juice. I always love exploring local flavors, and this one didn’t disappoint.

Lauraleec

Points +12864

Vegan
23 Oct 2024

Convenience over taste

Was exhausted so this didn't require going too far. Nothing too exciting, a cheeseless pizza but the atmosphere is nice and it's right on the corner of Jonker street. Ask for some olive oil if you order the pizza to drizzle over it so it's not as dry.

vegankuntz

Points +1325

Herbivore
01 Feb 2024

Geographer Cafe, Melaka

I've been twice, over a year apart. Both times after deliberately expressing being vegan, they served me non-vegan food. This place could easily be better if they menu marked items that are vegan by default and customisable as vegan on request. Unless they make that change, I won't be back.

Cons: They repeatedly mess up orders for vegan food, The menu doesn't mark vegan items, All vegan would be even better

Don-

Points +252

Vegan
16 Dec 2023

It’s a pizza place

It’s a pizza place with limited options, there are better restaurants in Malacca for vegans

lydiab96

Points +1170

Vegan
16 Dec 2023

Very tasty

I was trying to avoid this cafe as it’s right in the centre of Jonker street and so assumed it would be very overpriced and touristy but I was wrong.

It has a number of options that are, or can be made, vegan and whilst more expensive than some of the local places I wouldn’t say it was overpriced.

The first time I came I had the Tom Yum soup and the second time I had the Nasi Impain which was made without egg at my request. Both were delicious and the veggie satay with the Nasi Impian was particularly nice.

The staff are friendly and very open to making dishes vegan where possible.

Updated from previous review on 2023-12-16

ANGLEW

Points +34

Mostly Veg
30 Nov 2023

Brown Rice Nasi Lemak

Many vegetarian choices to choose from. Food looks good and taste good!

Pros: Many vegetarian options, Value for money, Delicious food

bryonyhickson

Points +1028

Vegan
06 Jul 2023

Disappointing

The portion sizes were good but the flavour was a little disappointing especially for the price. Was okay but wouldn’t return.

sweetestpotat

Points +591

Vegan
27 Jun 2023

Nice location

Clearly marked vegetarian options, location right on Jonker st which is nice to look out onto. Had live music in the afternoon.

Updated from previous review on 2023-06-26

RhysJones

Points +753

Vegetarian
23 Jun 2023

Nice variety of vegetarian options for a tourist restaurant

The atmosphere was really nice as it's on the main tourist street and opens out on two sides. It was nice to have some local vegetarian options in the old town.

I had the nasi impian which was a spinach and egg fried rice, and came with fake chicken satay. I really enjoyed it and would recommend getting this if you come here. My girlfriend had the vegetarian laksa which didn't quite hit the spot, and maybe tasted a bit too much like something from a tourist restaurant, which I guess makes sense as that's where we were eating...

Pros: Nasi impian, Fun atmosphere

Cons: Vegetarian laksa

LivBerlin

Points +96

Vegan
22 Jan 2023

Good for the area

Quite a few vegetarian options with those with eggs labelled. No soy milk available :(( Very friendly and helpful staff. Pizza was very dry without cheese.

Updated from previous review on 2023-01-22

Pearlypearl

Points +1551

Vegetarian
31 Dec 2022

Good choices of food

A great place to hang out here for main meals or snacks. Service isn’t that wonderful but was ok; no cutlery were given until we asked for it.

LauraR2912

Points +483

Vegan
21 Nov 2022

Good location

Just went for a drink and something small to eat so had the veggie satay.
It was fine and nice location but nothing special.

MishaDhupelia

Points +354

Vegan
31 Jul 2022

Charming place!

I ate here for my first meal in Melaka. It is conveniently situated on Jonker street on a corner and in the afternoon they had live music which was great. I ordered a coconut water and the veggie satay sticks which are made from tofu, with a peanut sauce. They were really great! The menu is marked with vegetarian options as well as those that contain egg so fairly easy to discern what’s vegan.

thetofutravellers

Points +5369

Vegan
29 Jul 2022

Beautiful historical building

The Geographer Cafe is a beautiful place with a historic atmosphere. The staff were very friendly. There are several vegetarian dishes on the menu (both western and Asian) and we asked about vegan options. While the waiter did not know what "vegan" meant, he explained all of the options to us after we specified. This was very helpful and welcoming.
We both opted for the Geographer Curry, which was not our favourite (it just didn‘t taste that well), but it was fresh and filling. There are about four or five other vegan dishes, including the vegetarian Laksa. I think it is best to specify your vegan needs, though, just to make sure.
We wanted to try another dish the following day, but they are closed on Wednesday, so we weren‘t able to.
All in all, it is a great place to visit, but maybe don‘t expect too much from the food - although we have only tried one dish and others might be better.

- Visited in July 2022 -

Pros: Several vegan options, Helpful staff, Great historical building, easy to find

Cons: Vegan dishes not marked, Not our favourite curry

SoyStina

Points +3904

Vegan
21 Jun 2020

Great drinks

Drinks here are great and also the atmosphere. Gets super busy here at night. Food was average and not much vegan options. Wouldn’t come back for food, but for the cocktails!

Pros: Vegan options (few though) , Atmosphere

Cons: Expensive , Super busy at night

Veggie_friend

Points +606

Vegan
17 Feb 2020

Specify vegan

We came here yesterday and had the nasi lemak with no egg. It was tasty, not to special, but a nice filling meal. We also had the veggie satay, the satay was good but the sauce aftertaste was like meat gravy.. so we didn't finished the sauce (also the sauce tasted like rendang - maybe they use the same sauce?- not sure if it is on the menu). I only saw that they had tempeh balls with spaghetti after we ordered, so we came again today (also because of previous reviews). When i checked if there was no cheese in it and no egg, the waiter checked for the cheese and came back and took my order. He must have forgotten to ask about the egg, because a few minutes later he told me the balls do contain a little egg. I switched my order to the nasi lemak (again), my bf had the curry with tempeh. The curry was pretty good. So be sure to specify vegan here! The service was great although the word vegan didn't ring any bells i think. The waiter did take my request seriously, so good service! And i loved the open door seating here. Nice ambiance! I still would recommend eating here. Oh and they have an extensive drink menu! Bf was really happy with draft beers!

Pros: Good service - take your requestsreally seriously , Open door seating, Draft beers

Cons: Don't understand the word 'vegan' yet

serenat

Points +155

Vegan
27 Dec 2019

Tasty and numerous vege options

Had the nasi impian (spinach fried rice with monkey head mushroom satay) and curry Q tempeh. Tempeh was so-so but the fried rice was really fragrant and good although a tad oily. Nice ambiance and good selection of veg options at a touristy area! Was pleasantly surprised at the number of options.

mamba

Points +1359

Vegan
24 Nov 2019

Pleasant place

Geographer Café is a very touristy restaurant on Jonker Street. They have some tasty vegan options and live music in the evenings (at least on the weekend, they played Jazz). Of course you pay more in such a place, but we enjoyed it. On the menu you find a mixture of Asian and Western food, also cocktails.

GrietTheuwissen

Points +188

Vegan
21 May 2019

Okay

Food was okay, but not better than other places & like twice as expensive .. They do have a nice seating area & music, so I guess you pay for that too :).

Pros: Large vegetarian section on menu, Overall nice vibe

Cons: Expensive, Tiny portions, Food is average

Athina

Points +1029

Vegan
04 Mar 2019

wonderful!

many vegan options- the staff also told us what dish can also be "veganised". everything very delicious, fast and not expensive!

Pros: many options, everything very fresh

kevkeegan

Points +100

Vegan
01 Dec 2018

New menu is great

The menu has changed in the six months since we last paid a visit and there’s a lot more choice for vegans and vegetarians. The satay and tempeh meatball spaghetti were both so delicious that we came back to have them again the next day!

MartinTan

Points +51

Vegan
11 Oct 2018

Delicious Vegan Food

Great atmosphere with many vegan and vegetarian option. Food was tasty, no msg used in their food. Portion was good size. We had Nasi Lemak, Curry Ramen, Curry Rice and Tempeh balls(not on menu). We went back twice in two days.

Pros: Lots of vegetarian and vegan options, Reasonable pricing, generous portions, No MSG

JeppoMAX

Points +685

Vegan
27 Mar 2018

An average experience

Shared a salad (pictured, but forget the name; the one with tofu and tempeh) and fresh spring rolls. The latter tasted okay, but half weren't wrapped properly and fell apart when picked up. The salad was served on a plate with ingredients separated, which made it pretty tough to mix...and the "tempeh" had been fried to oblivion. Super hard and can't imagine there was any health benefit there. I guess it's cheaper than the fully vegetarian places around but I was still hungry after the meal.
Just as I was finishing, a woman sitting right next to a "No Smoking" sign lit up a cigarette, the smoke of which was promptly blown into my face by the overly strong fans. I asked what the deal was, and was just told that they couldn't stop customers from smoking. What? This might be some unenforceable UNESCO thing but why bother putting signs up inside if you won't do anything about it? People make dining choices based on things like this. Get serious

Pros: open very late, central

Cons: small portions, tempeh is not tempeh, no smoking signs only for show

Alma_copenhagen

Points +369

Vegan
19 Dec 2017

popular place

This is a really lovely place. The food is really good and the service is excellent. I went there twice and the second time I came it was really busy. However, the food came out quickly which surprised me.
They don't have a large selection of vegan food though.

Chooky

Points +150

Vegan
17 Aug 2017

Great Atmosphere!

We went here for an early dinner on a Thursday evening. It was easy to get a table.

The atmosphere was great and the food was good. The ramen soup I had was a little plain, but the meals of the rest of the family were delicious. They also have a great range of drinks and fresh juices. For 5 people inc non-alcoholic drinks it cost approx $132RM.

RachelRutherford

Points +23

Vegetarian
21 May 2017

I kept going back.

I ate at this place several times during my stay. Their range of vegetarian food is large. Everything I ate was great. Nice atmosphere and lovely staff.

KylieFagan

Points +196

Vegan
23 Feb 2017

Good options for vegans

We went here 2 times and each time the food was nice and had good size portions. They had many options for vegans. I tried the bean curd, which I had for the first time. They made it so well I had to triple check to make sure it wasn't chicken! It made so good and different than anything I have had before.

Pros: good options for vegans, good food choics

Cons: a bit expensive for backpackers




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