Image Source: Instagram/ E'woke and Vegans of Telangana
I have an experiment for you. Go vegan for a day.
No, hear me out before trying to think of a way out of this. Go vegan for a day and visit any food spot in Hyderabad. Your options will be a salad or a juice at the very least.
In a city world-renowned for its meat-heavy biryanis, slow-cooked haleem, and spicy kebabs, attempting to eat plant-based sounds less like a lifestyle choice and more like a punishment. Back in 2019, when PETA named Hyderabad India’s “Most Vegan-Friendly City,” locals raised their eyebrows. Seven years later, the scene tells a far more complicated story, one that alternates between surviving on dry lettuce leaves and stumbling upon brilliant jackfruit biryanis.
To understand where Hyderabad’s vegan movement actually stands today, I spoke to three people living on its frontlines, and their insights reveal a city caught between grassroots persistence and culinary reinvention.
When Hyderabad took the PETA title in 2019, it seemed like a plant-based boom was imminent. But reality hit hard soon after.
“Honestly, it’s a mix of feelings,” admits food blogger Sharmistha. “Around 2019, we had about five or six 100% vegan cafes running. But over the next four or five years, most of them closed down. The number of strict vegans was small, and there simply was not enough general awareness to keep those businesses afloat.”
The struggles faced by fully vegan venues are not unique to Hyderabad, but in a city so deeply attached to its meat culture, the pressure is magnified. Yet Suraj Seetharama, founder of Vegans of Telangana, notes that a shift in strategy has actually made the city more accessible than ever.
“While 100% vegan cafes face tough business realities across the country, plant-based options in mainstream restaurants have grown dramatically,” Suraj tells Siasat.com. “Our volunteers directly visited local cafes, asking them to include labelled vegan options, and we are seeing cafes adopt it too. Today, dozens of menus also display the vegan symbol.”
For the few dedicated spaces that have survived, staying open has required setting romantic notions aside in favour of pure business discipline. Mohan Chowdhary, owner of E’woke in Sainikpuri, offers an unflinchingly honest look at what it takes to run a fully plant-based kitchen.
“The secret is not an inspiring one,” Mohan shares. “We lost a lot of money, spent our savings, and sacrificed immense time along the way. In normal circumstances, even E’woke wouldn’t have survived. It took sheer grit, perseverance, and business acumen.”
Mohan quickly realised that relying strictly on ethical vegans wouldn’t keep the lights on. “In our early days, we thought people would come simply because we were vegan,” he says. “Reality hit fast. You survive only if casual diners, including non-vegans, walk in and love the food enough to come back.”
Today, E’woke holds its ground alongside health-focused spots like Vibrant Living by serving familiar comfort foods, from plant-based meatballs and cheesy pizzas to seasonal vegan haleem.
Food blogger Sharmistha took that exact philosophy into her own kitchen, launching the cloud kitchen The Flavour Therapy with her mother. Rather than pushing restrictive health menus, they recreate nostalgic childhood favourites- using peanut curd and her mother’s classic family chicken recipes to make jackfruit biryanis, jackfruit 65 and meaty jackfruit pickles that win over vegans and non-vegans alike.
While restaurants navigate the economics, activists are focusing on changing minds at the foundational level. Vegans of Telangana spends its weekends conducting park outreach, street awareness campaigns showing dairy industry practices, and hosting monthly Vegan Bazaars.
“The response over the last three years has been driven largely by young people and Gen Z,” says Suraj. “They grasp the issues quickly and can look at things from the victim’s point of view, both regarding animal welfare and the climate crisis.”
So, if you actually take the challenge to go vegan in Hyderabad today, where do you turn beyond basic salads?
Sharmistha emphasises that much of local dining is naturally accommodating if you know how to order. “Our basic South Indian street food is naturally plant-based as long as you skip the ghee or butter,” she notes. “Pan-Asian spots like Burma Burma stand out with extensive, clearly marked vegan menus, offering everything from vegetarian sushi to dim sums.”
She also went on to share her personal top picks across the city: E’woke’s Vegan Meatball Curry, Butter Chicken, Mock Meat Pizza and Haleem; Burma Burma’s Mock Meat Skewers; and Gabru Di Chaap’s Vegan Karari Chaap.
Hyderabad’s vegan journey is not a simple boom or bust- it’s a maturing movement.
As Mohan puts it, “Setting aside arguments about tradition, common sense tells us the planet can’t sustain current meat consumption. For vegan movements to thrive, both businesses and consumers must make conscious, compassionate choices.”
This post was last modified on September 26, 2026 5:52 pm