03 Jan The Green Lion: Vegan pub food in Sydney

I was so excited to finally head down to The Green Lion pub, somewhere I’d been meaning to visit for ages. – By Deni

But I was stuck for what to order… Burgers, tacos, pizza, dogs, seafood, lasagne, mac and cheese, seafood, cheesecake… Everything on the extensive menu sounded amazing. And I wanted to try it all especially as it’s all vegan.

Not only that, but it’s awesome quality food, too.

I loved the food at the Green Lion – DENI KIRKOVA / BIKINI GIRLS DIARY

Finally settling on the two top items on the main meal and burger menus (shared between two!) we were not disappointed.

The Aussie burger was giant and came with all the extras like pineapple and egg, coleslaw on the side and sauces too. The aoli was the best.

The ‘egg’ was incredible: realistic supple texture to the white with a mild flavour, and a crumbly, soft middle made from sweet potato.

The seafood platter featured calamari, cod and prawn replicas made from plant-based mock-meats imported from Asia. The calamari was my favourite; very rubbery and squid-like. I used to really love this before I went vegan so it was a cool novelty to try a vegan version.

The calamari was my favourite; very rubbery and squid-like – DENI KIRKOVA / BIKINI GIRLS DIARY

The Aussie burger was giant and came with all the extras like pineapple and egg – DENI KIRKOVA / BIKINI GIRLS DIARY

Both meals cost $23 each and came with heaps of good chips which we couldn’t finish, especially as we went for cheesecake after.

We had this with Tonicka Kombucha which was perfect, they have a few flavours, but of course you can get yourself a glass of wine too.

The passionfruit cheesecake came with mixed berries, salted caramel ice cream and raspberry coulis, and the chocolate one had biscuits on top, chocolate ice cream and also berries.

Apparently the Pavlover is amazing but we really fancied cheesecake…

Owner Bhavani has taken great care to ensure the food meets high standards for all, and she says 75% of her customers are actually non-vegans. Despite this, she holds lots of successful vegan events at the premises.

We went for cheesecake after, one passionfruit and one chocolate. Both were super tasty – DENI KIRKOVA / BIKINI GIRLS DIARY

The passionfruit came with mixed berries, salted caramel ice cream and raspberry coulis – DENI KIRKOVA / BIKINI GIRLS DIARY

The Green Lion pub bistro is quite inconspicuous and based upstairs in the Red Lion pub on Darling Street in Rozelle, somewhere I’d never been before but ventured into especially to eat here.

The Lion is well-known online on Facebook and Instagram, and many of their customers come from out of town especially to eat here.

Rozelle is actually a lovely area, spacious, airy, very lush and green and close to the sea with outdoor pools nearby, so it’s definitely worth a day trip.

It’s around an hour’s walk or 20-minute bus ride from Sydney’s central business district.