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As a kid, we took road trips from San Diego to visit my dad’s home state of Washington. Driving around Olympia, the state capital, he tried to point out important sites from his youth.
But they were all gone, and the city wholly changed. Instead of the blue-collar lumber mill town he grew up in, Olympia has a funky vibe full of indie music, businesses, and good places to get vegan food.
This city of 56,000 sits at the southern end of Puget Sound, 60 miles south of Seattle. In 1967—while logging was declining, downtown mills were closing, and environmental laws coming into vogue—Evergreen State College opened its forested campus just west of Olympia.
This very liberal arts school brought new and different ideas to the town, which have been reflected in its arts and culture scene ever since.
A Hub for Music and Culture
Olympia was the epicenter of the riot grrrl movement in the early 1990s. Bands like Bikini Kill and Sleater-Kinney formed here. K Records and Kill Rock Stars are Olympia record labels.
I’ve visited Olympia many times over the years, whether just passing through, attending the feminist arts and music Ladyfest, or, most recently, watching vintage tugboats race at Olympia Harbor Days.
As a vegetarian/vegan since childhood, I’ve never gone hungry in Olympia. Here are some of my current favorite places to eat in Washington’s capital city.
Owl’s Nest Café
Owl’s Nest is an excellent vegan place to start your morning. On a Saturday morning, the joint was jumping. I got a smashed chickpea sandwich on good whole-grain bread with arugula.
My husband Gideon ordered a vegan version of a more traditional breakfast sandwich, with faux egg and sausage. Not one to turn our backs on a case of vegan baked goods, we also got a lime tea cookie (subtle) and a peanut butter cookie (more powerful flavor).
The inside seating is cute but a little cramped, and there are a few sidewalk tables if you want a front-row seat for watching Olympia characters stroll by.
Wayside Café
We visited the all-vegan Wayside Café for dinner and ordered an obscene amount of food. This casual downtown place has counter service, lots of space between tables, and a street art vibe.
A mural of an aqua-colored, hugely-antlered half-man rising out of the ocean while eating two dripping burgers dominates the dining area.
The menu is mostly bowls, sandwiches, and salads, plus a section called “junk food” featuring vegan chicken wings, cauliflower wings, and mashed potato balls.
We shared a chili jackfruit sandwich with collard greens, beet and arugula salad (very heavy on peppercorns), and Dan Dan noodles with peanut sauce. For dessert, we split a piece of vanilla cake with a soft serve. Yes, we had leftovers.
Park Side Café
I’ve been to this West Side eatery twice—once for lunch with a friend, where we ordered a bunch of sides and ate them at a picnic table outside, and more recently for dinner with my husband. It works both ways, as a casual lunch spot or as date night.
Park Side Café is all vegan and located in a lovely Victorian-style building. The food is higher-end, better prepared, and more expensive than your average vegan place.
We had a delicious beet tartare (smoked beet, peanut, horseradish chevre, capers, and dill) and ravioli. I’m still kicking myself that I didn’t order the chocolate torte.
Le Voyeur
On the other end of the refined spectrum, Le Voyeur offers an all-vegan menu of burgers, fries, wings, and hot dogs alongside their punk shows and comedy nights.
It’s open from late afternoon until 2 am on weekends, 10 pm on other nights. Le Voyeur is a mainstay of Olympia’s creative scene. It’s been around for ages. My band used to play there 20 years ago.
Olympia Farmers Market
The lively Olympia Farmers Market is open year-round, with limited hours in the chillier months. It’s vendor-operated and full of local products. You’ll find fresh produce, gorgeous flower booths, and lots of small-batch, handmade stuff.
Some vendors set up inside a big wooden structure, others spill into the open space behind it—at least, in the warmer months.
When we entered the market, the first vendor we encountered was Crossed Paws Bakery. This pet treat biz is strategically positioned to make any tourists who left their pets at home feel guilty. They do a booming business in catnip pillows and homemade zombie and Sasquatch-shaped cookies.
Gideon bought a devil’s club salve from Cascadia Terroir Botanical Apothecary, and we got a bottle of Trinidad-inspired sauce from Hot Babe Hot Sauce. As I stood in line at Blue Heron Bakery Co-Op—serving Olympia since 1977—a local vegan enthusiastically advised me on the company’s best vegan treats.
El Sarape
El Sarape is family-friendly yet elegant, the type of Mexican restaurant that still brings you chips and salsa, thank you very much. And they have a robust vegan menu with 14 entrée choices!
Get your vegan tamales, avocado enchiladas, nachos, even a vegan chimi. I highly recommend this place if you grew up going to Mexican restaurants before choosing a vegan diet and miss the experience of big plates of food surrounded by colorful Mexican décor.
I grew up in San Diego, and this type of restaurant is dear to my heart.
Sofie’s Scoops Gelateria
Gideon and I are both vegan ice cream fiends, so we are always looking for local options when traveling. The best we found in Olympia was Sofie’s Scoops.
They only had a couple of vegan flavors, but one or two is all I need as long as it’s not sorbet, which provokes my worst vegan tantrums. Sorbet is not ice cream, folks. It’s more like fruit juice concentrate.
If You Go:
You can drive to Olympia or take Amtrak to the Olympia-Lacey stop eight miles away. The nearest major airport is Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, which is 52 miles from Olympia.
Check out Experience Olympia’s event calendar to pick a fun time to visit and its vegan restaurant guide for even more ideas about where to eat. It’s hard to believe this small city has so much excellent vegan food.
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Author Bio: Teresa Bergen writes about adventure, eco, vegan and sober travel. She’s on a mission to kayak or SUP in every US state and Canadian province.
Go World Travel Magazine is a digital magazine for world travelers. Our editorial content is produced by a dedicated team of travel journalists who know the regions they cover. We cover travel in more than 90 countries.
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