My Favorite Vegetarian Restaurants in Kuala Lumpur

Disclaimer: These are my personal favorites from all the restaurants I got to try out during my extensive travel in Kuala Lumpur. The list is mostly concentrated around KL Sentral area as that's where I spent time the most. This is no comprehensive list and there's definitely many more great places to try out there!

To give a little bit of context, I got to travel extensively in Malaysia during late 2019 and early 2020 (definitely before the pandemic hit!). During my journey there, though I visited many amazing places like Langkawi, Cameron Highlands, Batu Caves, etc., I spent a lot of time in KL Sentral area and this is where I had my most extensive gastronomical journey. From native delicacies to exotic foods like vegetarian meat (yeah, you heard that right haha!), I got to try out so many different cuisines. As you might have also experienced, finding vegetarian food is sometimes tricky during travel but Malaysia was a pleasant surprise for me in this aspect. Here, I'm putting down the best places from my list of restaurants I got to try out.

MTR

This is a fully vegetarian restaurant serving South Indian cuisine. I have a special place for this in my list as MTR was first started in Bengaluru, India, which is my hometown. The food served is amazing as well and I personally loved the Masala Dosa, Vada dipped in Sambar and Curd Rice. The food is a bit on the pricier side but if you are craving for some South Indian food, you can't go wrong with this place!

Mr. Naan & Mrs. Idly

This restaurant is one of the most frequented by me during my entire journey in KL. It served a wide variety of vegetarian Indian food, everything from Roti - Daal Makhni to Pizza Dosa. The menu is quite extensive and has Chats, Beverages and Sweets along with regular dishes on offer. The place is quite economical as well and I highly recommend visiting this place but do keep in mind though that it gets very busy in the evening and you might end up waiting quite some time to get a table.

Franco

As their tagline mentions, this restaurant provides a premium dining experience with very a nice ambience. Options for vegetarians are slim and from what I remember, only few Pastas and Puff Pizzas are available as main dishes in vegetarian variants. The staff are super friendly though. (They always accommodated my request for not adding Broccoli to my Pasta and making it extra spicy haha!) If you are in NuSentral mall or KL Sentral area and visit this place, don't forget to try their Spicy Fries.

Original Penang Kayu Nasi Kandar

This restaurant is good for trying some native cuisine and has an extensive buffet from which you can select your choice of Curry, Condiments and Gravies along with White Rice. Vegetarian options are extremely slim here but if you are someone who can make do with Rice and Daal with some vegetable gravy and condiments (like in pic. above), then this place will not disappoint you! You can also get delicious Maggi Goreng (Maggi noodles with a Malaysian twist) here but make sure to mention that you want the vegetarian variant. They have extensive beverage options as well and my recommendations would be Tender Coconut or Lemon Ice Tea.

Salad Atelier

If you are looking for some healthy options, this place is a good choice. The concept is similar to Subway, you get to choose the ingredients and dressings for your salad or wrap and you also have many options for sauces to go along with your salad. I loved both the salads and wraps here, my favorite combination being Fusilli Pasta base with cherry tomatoes, sweet corn, Nachos chips, mixed capsicum, Jalapenos, cashew nuts along with any vegetarian dressing!

Rawsome, Bangsar

To be honest, I have never visited this place in person but have ordered a lot from this place and in general, i like majority of the vegan offerings they have! They mostly have salad bowls and healthy dessert options with the options ranging from completely vegan to bowls based on blood types. My favorite pick for this place would be the Vegan Ramen Salad with some Spicy Korean sauce.

Namaste India

This is a premium restaurant serving Indian cuisine as the name suggests. Though I have only ordered from this place, the food is of good quality and tastes delicious. It also comes in good packaging which is a big plus! If you are craving for some Indian food, especially North Indian specialties, then this place will definitely cater to it.

WTF

Like the quirky name, this place serves some interesting dishes. Apparently, WTF stands for "What Tasty Food" and this place definitely serves some tasty vegetarian food. It's a vegetarian restaurant and you have extensive Indian dishes to choose from along with what they call western fusion dishes. They also have an interesting "Surprise Me" option in their menu if I remember properly and if you end up choosing it, they pick a random dish and serve it for you! Since majority of the dishes are good, I'm sure you won't regret choosing this option if you are bored or want to try something new.

Some honorable mentions

Le Meridien, KL

I got to dine at Favola, the upscale Italian restaurant inside the hotel. The restaurant has good vegetarian options and a good wine selection if you are into that. The ambience and overall dining experience is amazing and if you are ready to splurge, then definitely give this place a try. I also got to try out Gastro Sentral, the resto-pub for casual dining. Though the vegetarian options here are extremely slim, the food served is fancy and I have to give brownie points for the top-notch presentation!

I also got to stay at this place for some time and it was a very good experience, in terms of staff and amenities. While staying here, I did try out breakfast buffet at Latest Recipe, which had a small but tasty vegetarian spread. It mostly consisted of Indian dishes and usually had Idly and Dosa with some Gravies and Chutneys. The buffet is good for your daily breakfast needs at best!

KGB, Bangsar

If you are craving for some burgers and fast food, definitely visit this place. As their name suggests, Burger is the main dish in the menu along with the typical fast-food sides like French Fries, Onion Rings and cold drinks. You have a decent list of vegetarian options to pick from and I got to try out one of the Mushroom burgers and it was pretty good!

Absolute Thai

This was one of my most favorite Thai places during my journey and I loved the vegetarian Phad Thai here. This place has a separate vegetarian menu with good number of options though you might have to ask for it specifically and your mileage may vary in terms of availability of the dishes. They also serve very good beverages here and I would also recommend trying out the tender coconut if it's available.

On a closing note, I have to say my journey in Malaysia was truly amazing. Got to meet so many amazing people (of whom many have become good friends), try out many different cuisines and experience the hustle and bustle of the fast paced city life. I'm definitely looking forward to visit again in the future!