Vegan restaurant Veggie Vie has found a new home on McHenry Street, offering food from day to night with wine to match.

Veggie Vie’s new night-and-day venue offers greenery, good wine and all-day service.

This most recent iteration of Veggie Vie was an unexpected turn for the business’ owners, but a welcome one for Adelaide’s plant-based diners.

Initially, its prior location in Regent Arcade was the long-term goal. Six years later, the arcade sold to new landlords.

Unable to agree on new lease terms, which would include weekend trade in a virtually deserted arcade, the Veggie Vie team began looking for a new place to call their own.

Eventually, they landed at the old HD Eatery site at 16 McHenry Street. The fit-out of the new space was slow going, with technical issues plaguing the team.

Slowly, though, the venue has started “to feel like it’s ours,” says co-founder Manu Parez. “It feels more our own than the arcade, it’s set up to our own taste.”

A hidden paradise in a concrete jungle, the new shop boasts large windows and an outside parklet where customers can enjoy their Friday night knockoffs. A stark change from the comparative darkness of the arcade.

The new venue has also allowed Veggie Vie to expand its offerings, opening not just for lunch, but for breakfast and dinner too.

“We are very excited by the opportunity to try things like vegan croissants,” Manu says.

(L-R) founders Monica Watts and Manu Parez

With the new place comes a liquor licence, and the wine list boasts exclusively vegan wines that are mostly local and organic, such as the Commune of Buttons and Travis Tausend labels.

As for menu changes, there aren’t too many, but expect desserts and a fake fish and chips, made with battered banana blossom, to make an appearance.

“We’ve always had some interpretation of mock meat – never pre-made though – we sort of made our own take on it, like the jackfruit burger, trying to be like pulled pork,” Manu says.

Don’t think fake meat is all they offer, though. While exciting, Manu views fake meat as an entry point for newer vegans who are perhaps intimidated by “normal” vegan food.

“It’s a way for us to stay on-trend with what’s happening in the mainstream,” he explains.

The focus, as always, is on whole food, featuring a lot of veggies and the burgers, salads, and smoothies the business is known for.

After a two-month hiatus, though, Veggie Vie is most excited to welcome customers back into the new space and to be busy once again.

Veggie Vie will open earlier Monday to Friday for breakfast and stay open late for dinner and drinks Wednesday to Saturday.