Vegan anywhere

Arguably the vegan capital of Europe: fully vegan supermarkets, vegan döner and currywurst at ordinary street stands, and hundreds of restaurants with plant-based menus rather than a single token dish.

One of the highest vegan densities per head in the world. Most restaurants mark vegan dishes, many are fully plant-based, and the default mezze table needs no substitution at all.

Every cuisine in the world plus legally enforced allergen labelling. Markets, chains and fine dining all carry marked vegan menus, and dedicated vegan restaurants span Ethiopian, Sri Lankan, Chinese and modern British.

Density solves the problem: vegan Chinese, Ethiopian, Caribbean, Indian, Israeli and diner food all exist within a few subway stops, and most restaurants can adapt a dish on request.

A concentration of jay and vegan kitchens unusual even for Thailand, thanks to the Buddhist temple network and a long-term international community. Northern Thai food adapts easily once fish sauce is removed.

Legally required allergen labelling plus fierce supermarket competition make the UK one of the simplest places to eat plant-based. Chains carry marked vegan menus year-round, and Veganuary is a mainstream retail event.

Per head, one of the most vegan countries on earth. Kosher separation of meat and dairy means 'parve' labelling already tells you a product has no dairy, and the everyday mezze table is chickpeas, tahini, salads and bread.

Europe's biggest vegan product market. Supermarkets carry own-brand vegan ranges at conventional prices, V-Label certification is everywhere, and every mid-sized city has multiple fully vegan kitchens.

The easiest large country in the world for plant-based eating: an enormous vegetarian tradition, pulses at the centre of most meals, and regional cuisines that were dairy-free long before the word vegan existed. The one thing to watch is ghee and paneer, which appear in restaurant cooking far more than in home food.

Poland's vegan scene grew fast, and Warsaw now has one of the highest counts of vegan restaurants per head in Europe. Traditional Polish food adapts well: potatoes, cabbage, mushrooms, buckwheat and pickles are already central.

Portugal legally requires a vegan option in public canteens, and Lisbon's restaurant scene followed. Bean stews, grilled vegetables, bread and olive oil form a reliable base outside the seafood tradition.

Orthodox fasting days mean plant-based food is a mainstream, everyday tradition rather than a niche. Ask for 'beyaynetu' — a platter of lentil, split pea and vegetable stews on injera — and you are eating what most of the country eats on Wednesdays and Fridays.

A large and growing vegan scene layered over a cuisine already built on corn, beans and chilli. Vegan taquerías with soy al pastor are now a fixture rather than a novelty.

Buddhist 'chay' cooking gives Vietnam a nationwide network of fully plant-based kitchens, and the everyday food culture is built on rice, herbs, tofu and vegetables. Fish sauce is the single biggest obstacle, and it hides in almost every dipping sauce.

Enormous variation by region. Coastal cities and college towns have dense vegan infrastructure; rural areas rely on supermarket staples and the plant-based edges of Mexican, Ethiopian, Indian and Thai restaurants.

Tempeh was invented here, tofu is everywhere, and coconut milk replaces dairy entirely. The main obstacles are shrimp paste (terasi) and fish sauce in sambals and stir-fries.

Coconut milk instead of dairy makes Thai food a natural fit, and the annual Jay (เจ) festival has left a permanent infrastructure of yellow-flag vegan stalls. The catch is fish sauce, oyster sauce and shrimp paste, which are used as salt rather than as an ingredient.

The 'zeytinyağlı' tradition — vegetables cooked in olive oil and served cold — is an entire category of Turkish cuisine that happens to be vegan. Meze tables, pulses and breads carry the rest.

Cucina povera is a plant-based archive: pasta e fagioli, ribollita, pasta alla norma, marinara. Dry pasta is egg-free in the south, and 'senza derivati animali' is now a recognised menu phrase.

Tapas culture hides an entire vegan menu: pan con tomate, patatas bravas, pimientos, olives, gazpacho and escalivada. The catch is jamón and tuna appearing in dishes that sound vegetable-based.

The everyday plate — rice, beans, farofa, salad — is already plant-based, and per-kilo buffets let you build a full meal without negotiation. The exception is feijoada and the pork fat used in bean pots.

The base of Mexican food — corn, beans, chilli, squash, tomato, avocado — is entirely plant-based. Problems come from lard in refried beans and masa, cheese sprinkled by default, and chicken stock in rice.

Korean temple cuisine (사찰음식) is fully plant-based and increasingly visible, and banchan culture means a meal can be assembled from vegetable side dishes. The obstacles are anchovy stock, fish sauce in kimchi and egg garnishes.

Shojin ryori, the Buddhist temple cuisine, is one of the world's oldest fully plant-based traditions — but everyday Japanese cooking is built on dashi made from bonito flakes, so 'vegetarian' dishes are often not plant-based.