Veda chef Raul Tronco Calahorra’s favourite meat-free restaurants

Raul Tronco Calahorra hasn’t always been vegetarian, but a lifestyle change during the pandemic saw him cut out meat forever. He first brought his innovative approach to meat-free dining to Kömune at Ovolo Southside before moving to the hotel group’s Central location to lead Veda , a restaurant rooted in Indian cuisine.

After eliminating meat across its venues for a year in 2020, Ovolo became the world’s first hotel group to commit to a vegetarian-led approach with the launch of its Plant’d initiative last year. “We want to ensure we are doing our bit to help preserve our environment, promote healthy eating and enhance the image of amazing vegetarian and plant-based dining,” founder and CEO Girish Jhunjhnuwala said at the time.

Being vegetarian means you’re concerned about what you eat, whether it’s for the planet, for the animals, or for your health.

Here, Tronco Calahorra shares five of his favourite vegetarian restaurants in the world.

1. Hong Kong: Whisk

I recently discovered this French Japanese restaurant . They’re not plant-based but they have a vegetarian tasting menu. My favourite things were a wakame emulsion with vegan caviar, bamboo root in a super-creamy sauce, and fried agria potatoes arranged into layers. It’s my favourite restaurant in Hong Kong.

2. Tokyo: Daigo

In March, I went to Daigo , a two-Michelin-starred, fully vegan restaurant in Tokyo which serves traditional kaiseki cuisine. There were 24 courses on the perfectly balanced tasting menu. Japanese cuisine respects the core of the product with minimal seasoning: I loved the mushroom soup and the dessert, which featured Japanese strawberries.

3. Bali: Locavore

This place is something else. I love their approach. They make fancy food using only locally grown produce, made with local techniques into traditional dishes. They only serve tasting menus. One is with meat; the other is vegetarian. One dish looked like flowers in a jar. You picked the flower, then dipped it into a hole which contained a delicious gado gado-style sauce. Dessert was ice cream with a pool of extra-virgin olive oil.

NB: Locavore will close at its current location at the end of August 2023, but new restaurant Locavore NXT has been announced. See website for more details.

4. Bangkok: Mia

I went here with my brother, who’s also vegetarian. The food is Thai-European and all very well presented. They serve dishes like fennel and lychee sorbet and edamame tartlette. I remember the vegan butter with charcoal and garlic chips, a dish of deep-fried avocado, burnt cucumber, and dumplings made with daikon wrappings. They’re not afraid to play around with strong flavours. 

5. Barcelona: Restaurant Xavier Pellicer

One of the best vegetarian restaurants in the world is in Barcelona. Everything they serve is organic, and they have vegan and vegetarian tasting menus. Pellicer came from El Bulli back in the day, then grew through Michelin-starred restaurants before opening this place. His focus is: vegetables first, animal protein second. 

Veg in the sky

Meat-free dining gets a bigger spotlight on Cathay Pacific planes as our new partnership with Veda takes flight this month. Chef Raul Tronco Calahorra worked with us to create 18 dishes representing a diverse range of cuisines. “The food had to taste good while being as vibrant as possible,” he says.

The new options will initially be available on long-haul and ultra-long-haul routes departing Hong Kong to Europe, the Middle East and South Africa. The collaboration is the latest step in our mission to champion Asian flavours and Hong Kong brands while offering health-forward and sustainable choices for inflight dining.