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Cuisine

Vegan cuisine in Saalbach Hinterglemm

Yes, ve-gan!*

Vegans don’t always have it easy with alpine cuisine even despite the booming trend of plant-based diets. That why we went and looked for restaurants offering vegan options in Saalbach Hinterglemm.

A slice of orient in Hinterglemm
Café Oriental welcomes us with a vibe straight out of the Arabian Nights fairytales. Crossing the bridge in the center of Hinterglemm, we feel like we’ve entered another world. Persian rugs, meter-high plants, lounge chairs and hanging chairs adorn the garden and bring a unique flavor to the alpine surroundings. The sweet smell of a hookah pipe drifts over from a neighboring table while we scan the menu for vegan options, and it doesn’t take long for us to find what we are looking for.

We order a falafel- and a hummus-arbes-snackification and are surprised with a lovingly-designed wooden box. Inside we find delicious tahina (sesame-dip), zhoung (Yemeni spice-paste with cilantro) harissa (spicy sauce), an Israeli-style salad, pita bread, falafel and hummus.

Zero waste, organic and vegan
The organic restaurant “The Resi” lures us in with its promise of a “Cosmopolitan Alpine Kitchen”. At breakfast, the menu features acai bowls with berries, soja yoghurt and a variety of different toppings, breakfast wraps and -burgers as well as shakshuka (an Israeli vegetable stew). All of that is topped off with Fairtrade coffee and organic milk alternatives that make for a perfect vegan cappuccino to start the day.

We return in the evening, excited to find out what the dinner menu holds. We’re not being disappointed and find the “Yes, ve-gan!*”-symbol next to 20 of the 28 options. That means that more than two-thirds of the menu are perfect for vegans and those who want to give it a try. The food is excellent and ranges from classic vegetable stews, Tom Kha Pak, gyozas, baked tofu, ramen, cabbage rolls and zoodles all the way to churros, brownies and traditional “Pinzgauer Muas”.

Create your own Incredi-Bowl
Another great option for vegans and fans of a plant-based diet can be found at the Schwarzbacher. At Schwarzbacher, we create our own favorite bowls by picking from a large selection of amazing ingredients. There’s two of us so we decide to try as many options as we can. We both pick soja bites as our protein source, but things vary widely from there on out as we have a choice of 35 different ingredients including jasmine rice, pearl barley, quinoa, or zoodles as base. The choice between ingredients like mango, chickpeas, pomegranate, kimchi, and a whole variety of local vegetables means that we’re having a very hard time deciding on what to order. Leek-teriyaki-dressing, popcorn-ponzu or beetroot-ride? Salty caramel peanuts, ginger, citrus-infused rice-crunchies, smoked popcorn, or roasted onions as topping? We’re happy that our waiter is so patient because it takes us a long time to choose from all the options. The time was well-spent, though, as our own bowl creations taste absolutely fantastic.

Where else to go?

Almost every hotel, restaurant and hut offer vegan food on request. But there are a few that are already set up with vegan dishes on their menu. For example: