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Where 2-3 vegetarian-default options exist within 5 minutes of any apartment
South Indian vegetarian cuisine is the regional default. Saagar in Jayanagar, MTR Lalbagh, Vidyarthi Bhavan, and dozens of neighbourhood Darshini eateries serve excellent vegetarian food at INR 60-200 per meal. Imported groceries (paneer, almonds, fruits) are abundant in HSR, Indiranagar and Koramangala. For Indian-origin returnees, this is the easiest food transition globally.
India
Tamil vegetarian cuisine in its purest form. Murugan Idli, Saravana Bhavan (every neighbourhood), Sangeetha — vegetarian is unmarked, meat eaters are a minority. Indian groceries everywhere. The downside for non-Indians is that the cuisine is intense (heat, asafoetida, tamarind) and takes acclimation. Best treated as the ground-zero benchmark for vegetarian living globally.
Tel Aviv has more vegan restaurants per capita than any other major city. Hummus, falafel, sabich, malabi, Israeli salad — most Levantine cuisine is vegetarian-default. The cafe culture in Florentin, Neve Tzedek and around Rothschild is heavily vegetarian-friendly. Cost-of-living is high. Geopolitical context complicates travel logistics but does not affect day-to-day food.
Lisbon has the largest vegetarian-restaurant scene of any Iberian city — over 100 dedicated places. The Indian community in Mouraria is well-established with restaurants from Saravanaa Bhavan to Hospital de Brincar that serve South-Indian-quality fare. Mediterranean-vegetarian options at neighbourhood tascas exist but require asking. Groceries — paneer, fresh ginger, garam masala — are findable in Mouraria and El Corte Ingles.
London has more Indian restaurants than Mumbai by some measures. Tooting, Wembley, Southall, East Ham — entire neighbourhoods are vegetarian-Indian by default. Beyond Indian, London has a deep vegan-Mediterranean and Levantine scene. The cost is the trade-off: a vegetarian dinner at a sit-down place is GBP 18-30 routinely. Grocery infrastructure (Patel Bros, Sira, Gulshan) is the densest in Europe.
Hawker centres carry vegetarian Indian, Chinese (Buddhist), and Malay (some) options at SGD 4-8 per meal. Komala's, Annalakshmi, Saravanaa Bhavan are walk-in choices. Little India is the densest South Asian food district outside India. The cost-of-living counter is sharp but the food bandwidth is exceptional.
Thai cuisine is meat-heavy by default but the Buddhist-vegetarian (jay) tradition is well-developed and Indian community in Pahurat (Little India), Silom and Sukhumvit means vegetarian Indian food is widely available. The annual Vegetarian Festival in October sees the city shift dramatically — every neighbourhood market has vegetarian stalls. Year-round veg navigation requires asking "mai sai neuh" (no meat).
Mediterranean vegetarian cuisine is genuinely default — gigantes plaki (giant beans), spanakopita, fava, melitzanosalata, dolmadakia, horiatiki without feta. The Greek Orthodox fasting periods (multiple weeks per year) mean every taverna has a vegan menu printed and ready. Indian community is small (Athens has ~15-20 Indian restaurants in central Athens and Glyfada). Cost-of-living is moderate.
Toronto's Indian community in Brampton, Mississauga, Scarborough is the largest in North America. South Indian, Punjabi, Gujarati, Jain options exist in their authentic regional forms. Beyond Indian, Toronto has a deep Mediterranean and Levantine scene (Greek Town, Little Lebanon). Groceries — Patel Bros, Iqbal Halal Foods, Rabba — are everywhere.
Dubai's Indian community runs into the millions and the food infrastructure reflects it — Karama and Bur Dubai have entire streets of Indian vegetarian restaurants, from Chettinad to Gujarati to South Indian to Punjabi. Veg airline catering is the default expectation across UAE airports. Climate constrains outdoor eating June-September. Cost-of-living is high.
Brickfields (KL's Little India) is the densest South Indian restaurant cluster in Southeast Asia. Saravana Bhavan, Bombay Palace, Vishal Food and Catering — South Indian vegetarian quality matches Tamil Nadu in some places. Beyond Indian, Chinese vegetarian (su shi) restaurants exist in every major mall. Malay cuisine is meat-heavy but vegetarian variants are available. Cost is low.
Mexican cuisine is more vegetarian-friendly than its reputation suggests — frijoles, nopales, quesadillas, sopa de tortilla, chiles rellenos, mole vegetariano — but you must learn the language to navigate well. Indian community in CDMX is small but growing; 6-8 Indian restaurants in Roma/Condesa. Vegetarian Mexican can be excellent at places like Lalo!, Por Siempre Vegana, Forever Vegano.
Berlin is Germany's vegan capital — the city has hundreds of dedicated vegan/vegetarian restaurants, thousands of friendly menus, and entire neighbourhoods (Friedrichshain, Neukölln) where vegetarianism is unmarked. Indian community is moderate; 30-40 Indian restaurants city-wide, with quality concentrated in Charlottenburg, Mitte, Prenzlauer Berg. Climate restricts outdoor eating Nov-March.
NYC has every cuisine of the world in vegetarian forms — Jackson Heights for South Asian, Murray Hill (Curry Hill) for Indian, the Lower East Side for Jewish-vegetarian, every borough for Italian-meatless. Restaurant cost is high. Grocery infrastructure (Kalustyan, Patel Bros, Whole Foods) is everywhere. The headline negative is the cost of restaurant dining; the headline positive is the bandwidth.
Spanish cuisine has become more vegetarian-friendly since 2018 — patatas bravas, gazpacho, ensalada mixta, croquetas de espinacas, tortilla de patatas, paella vegetariana available at most neighborhood places. Indian community is small but growing — Tanit, Mumbai Massala, Real Café Bernabeu have decent options. The siesta and late-dinner culture (9pm+) takes adjustment.
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