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Bristol reclaims title as world’s most popular vegan city
Bristol has reclaimed its title as the most popular city for veganism in the world.
On Thursday, Chef’s Pencil released a report analysing Google Trends data from 2025, which revealed that Bristol had the highest percentage of residents that were engaging with veganism.
Bristol has been one of the most consistent leaders in global vegan rankings for over a decade and has reclaimed the number one spot for 2026.
This long-standing success is rooted in both history and community.
Veganism in Bristol is far from a recent trend: it has deep cultural foundations.
The city has had regional vegetarian and vegan groups since the early 1970s, with the Bristol Vegans group, originally founded in 1994 and revived in 2006.
Bristol continues to set the international standard for plant-based living, with many restaurants offering delicious vegan food.
Oowee Vegan on Baldwin Street is a popular choice, offering a delicious, completely vegan menu from burgers to loaded fries.
On Stokes Croft, The Canteen serves a fully vegetarian menu, including a roast dinner, and Koocha Mezze offers Persian-inspired vegan dishes.
The Canteen offered a plant-based alternative to Christmas dinner – photo: The Canteen
According to community member Isabella Gibbs, today’s vegan culture in Bristol is driven by both scale and spirit.
She said: “Bristol has such a strong independent food scene, with long-standing fully vegan restaurants and countless cafés offering thoughtful, creative plant-based options as standard.”
Bristol is one of the few UK cities able to sustain a city-based “oatery” distributing milk in reusable glass bottles, thanks to strong local support for sustainable food systems.
“There’s also a real culture of activism and sustainability here,” Isabella added.
“Veganism in Bristol feels woven into the city’s identity rather than a passing trend.”
Main photo: Koocha Mezze
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