Billie Eilish says eat vegan food. Here’s where you can in Vancouver

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When Billie Eilish’s Hit Me Hard And Soft tour comes to Vancouver on Dec. 3, she hopes you eat right.

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She has teamed up with Google Maps to nudge people to certain restaurants at her tour stops — all plant-based.

“Every action matters, no matter how big or small. Together, we can truly begin to heal our beautiful planet,” she says, hoping people make sustainable choices when they come to her shows. As well, she says, take a bus, walk, or choose fuel-efficient routes to get there.

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Fans know she has been a vegan since she was 12, and before that was raised a vegetarian. Now, she promotes animal-free sustainability on different platforms — opening a vegan restaurant (Argento, in Los Angeles), launching a vegan perfume, Eilish 2.0, which I presume, avoids using animal products or animal testing, and agreeing to wear an Oscar de la Renta gown only if the fashion house stopped using fur.

For the Vancouver stop on her tour, she gives the thumbs up to these plant-based restaurants: Aleph, Chi Vietnamese, Chickpea, Kokomo, To Live for Bakery and Cafe, Mila, Viet Family, and Virtuous Pie.

To support Eilish’s advocacy to help our suffering planet, here’s my sustainable choices of both vegetarian and vegan restaurants.

Aleph (vegan)

1889 Powell St. | alepheatery.com

Owner Haitham El Khatib says Aleph is not only the first letter of the Arabic alphabet — in literature, it’s a point where the universe becomes one and where people find familiarity, no matter their differences. That’s his message at this Middle Eastern vegan restaurant. Dishes like hummus, falafel, shakshuka, muhammara, and saj flatbread baked on a drum cooker knows no borders in the Middle East.

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Anmol Sweets and Restaurant (vegan and vegetarian)

#108 – 8363 128 St., Surrey | anmolsweets.com

The best thing about Anmol is the size of its charitable heart. They offer free meals to people who are “hungry and have no money to pay.” The honour system works, they say. At the restaurant, you’ll find Indian sweets, Northern Indian dishes and street foods. They also offer a monthly tiffin box service for pick-up or delivery. The dal makhni (black lentils, red kidney beans) and shahi paneer are the best sellers.

Chau Veggie Express (vegan and vegetarian)

5052 Victoria Dr., Vancouver | 1689 Johnston St., Vancouver | chowatchau.ca

Regulars are sad to learn there are changes afoot. Chau is now only offering take-out until the end of January, so fill up on a Rickety Rickshaw Bowl, Golden Temple Soup, or Red Sand Dunes Soup while you can. They are keeping mum about the future as nothing’s certain, but Lonsdale Quay has posted a “coming soon” for Chau Veggie Express at its North Shore food hall.

Chi (vegan)

1935 West Fourth Ave., Vancouver | chiplantbased.com

This isn’t your typical mom-and-pop Vietnamese restaurant — not with a $100 tasting menu, a $65 “Let Us Cook For You” chef’s menu, and a la carte offerings such as truffle charcoal noodles, truffle crispy kinako rice, and a banh tieu doughnut filled with whipped butter and Newfoundland dulce.

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Chickpea (vegan)

4298 Main St., Vancouver | ilovechickpea.ca 

A popular food truck got the message when people loved their Middle Eastern food so much. So now there’s a bricks and mortar with wider offerings. On tap are rice bowls, burritos, filled pitas, salads and mains with sides.

Do Chay (vegan)

1392 Kingsway, Vancouver | dochay.ca

Vietnamese food isn’t the same without fish sauce, so what’s a vegan restaurant to do? Do Chay makes its own “ish” sauce with fermented mung beans for that essential salty funk. Try the house-made tofu with black truffle sauce, ginger, spring onion and onion confit oil. Ditto, the eggplant with fermented black garlic sauce and greens over crispy bottomed rice in a claypot.

Down 2 Earth Plant Parlour (vegan)

8912 202 St., Langley | theplantparlour.ca

Cheerful, bright and cozy, this place offers dishes like burgers, pastas, flatbreads and a West Coast board with carrot lox and hickory chive “cream cheese”. And I want to try the “calamari” made with hearts of palm and king oyster mushrooms.

Eternal Abundance Organic Market and Eatery (vegan)

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1025 Commercial Dr., Vancouver | eternalabundance.ca

More hippy than hipster, this is a vegan market, bakery and restaurant. It’s a really healthy place to be with its many smoothies, salads, rice bowls, stews and soups, nori rolls and breakfast items that run until 2 p.m. daily.

Kokomo (vegan)

3435 Commercial St., Vancouver | 2028 Vine St., Vancouver | 3270 Edgemont Blvd., North Vancouver | 121 Brew St., Port Moody | heykokomo.ca

Kokomo food (salads, bowls, wraps, smoothies) stands out for its bold flavours and colourful presentations. Turmeric coconut laksa broth is winter sunshine. The Coastal Macro Bowl is a layering of brown rice, greens, marinated tempeh, roasted squash, cucumber, ginger pickled cabbage, edamame hummus, and drizzles of Thai ginger dressing. Kokomo is not only vegan, the food is gluten-free, dairy-free and nut-free.

To Live For Bakery and Café (vegan)

1508 Nanaimo St., Vancouver | tolivefor.ca

Here’s something I never expected — vegan croissants, better made than many butter croissants. This smart and chic bakery-cafe offers some breakfast sandwiches amid the viennoiserie, cookies, bars, buns, scones, cupcakes and cakes. The kicker and surprise upon opening was that nearby construction workers became regulars.

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Mila (vegan)

185 Keefer St., Vancouver | milaplantbased.com

The peanut butter cup pie is locked in my memory. It’s mouthwatering and so was the mushroom and “sausage” tagliatelle with pistachio pesto cream. The menu wanders the world — sushi, red curry dumplings, dan dan noodles, mushroom and root veg wellington. It’s supported by a strong selection of craft beers and thoughtful wines and cocktails.

The Naam (vegan and vegetarian)

2724 West Fourth Ave., Vancouver | thenaam.com

Founded in 1968, The Naam is the city’s longest-running vegetarian restaurant, run by the second owners since the 1980s. The business and property recently went up for sale but, this time capsule of hippy Kitsilano had a reprieve. Other vegetarian places have pulled ahead in the food department but the nostalgia here is tasty.

Sweet Cherubim (vegan and vegetarian)

1105 Commercial Dr., Vancouver | sweetcherubim.com

It’s not as long-lived as The Naam but this cafe and next-door store has been around since 1980 and the owners are all about sustainability and health. The deli counter is packed with pre-cooked dishes, mostly Indian, but with intruders like moussaka, lasagne and quinoa cranberry salad.

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Mayuri (vegetarian)

12677 80th Ave., Surrey | mayuri.ca

The menu is mostly South Indian with more than 20 dosas to prove it, along with vadas, idlis, and utappams. The thali combo plate on weekends is a bargain at $13.99.

Sun Bo Kong (vegan)

1363 Kingsway, Vancouver | sunbokong.com

There have been other iterations of this Buddhist-based Chinese restaurant — as Bo Jik in 1991, followed by Bo Kong in Richmond and Vancouver. Dishes are healthy and come in inflation- and belt-busting portions. Ken, the exuberant owner, creates a super friendly vibe.

The Workshop (vegan)

296 Pemberton Ave., North Vancouver | plantbasedworkshop.com

Run by three health-obsessed siblings whose father passed away from early-onset Alzheimer’s, the cafe focusses on health and sustainability via Japanese noodle dishes as well as a variety of sandwiches and ready-to-cook Japanese dishes.

Viet Family (vegan)

1414 Commercial Dr., Vancouver | vietfamilyvegan.ca

The vegan “meats” are really convincing — the “beef” in the pho looked like it came from a cow as did the delicious pork belly with vermicello. They use a vegan fish sauce for the signature Vietnamese note in dishes.

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Virtuous Pie (vegan)

583 Main St., Vancouver | virtuouspie.com

Sister restaurant to Mila, this one specializes in vegan pizzas. The CBR pie (walnut pesto, sundried tomatoes, “chicken”, broccoli, cashew mozzarella, “bacon” garlic ranch, arugula) gets the biggest love from customers. They’re known for the small batch vegan ice cream, too.

Get more restaurant recommendations in our other dining guides:

• These 18 Vancouver restaurants are Hollywood North favourites
• Where to eat pizza in Metro Vancouver?
• Where to eat sushi in Metro Vancouver?
• Where to eat breakfast in Metro Vancouver?
• Where to eat ramen in Metro Vancouver?
• Where to eat Italian in Metro Vancouver?
• Is it Happy Hour yet? The 10 best places to check out in Metro Vancouver
• Cheers: Here are the 10 best restaurants for happy hour in Vancouver

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