The 4217 Urban Village Listens To The Voices Of Vegans By The Coast

It’s often after a long day at the beach – hours playing in the surf and baking under the sun – that you crave a substantial meal to replenish your energy. As someone who is always teetering on the edge of vegetarianism, and with plenty of friends who now skew more towards a vegan diet, I often grow wearing trying to find a hearty meal at the end of a beach trip. Instead of fish and chips by the seaside, it’s usually just chips with sauce. Far from being nutritious, the prospect of chips is also deeply boring.

The eateries of The 4217 are now seeking to fill this gap. Nested within the bustling seaside metropolis of Surfers Paradise – an area with no shortage of fast-food options – The 4217 is becoming a refuge for those who are now seeking vegetarian or vegan options on the Gold Coast. Although The 4217 has long favoured locally-sourced and artisanal products, many of its providores are now expanding their menus in response to a shift in consumer choices.

Family-owned Italian restaurant Salt Meats Cheese now runs an all-you-can-eat vegan pizza night. For $20 you can eat as many Notzarella cheese-covered slices as your heart desires! Often vegetarians are left with the humble margherita as their only choice at pizzerias (with vegans being more or less forgotten altogether) but at Salts Meats Cheese there are five other tantalizing options: eggplant, truffle and mushroom, potato, vegetarian, and pumpkin.

The 4217 also boasts a boutique burger eatery, Brooklyn Depot, which is now debuting its first vegan burger, ‘The Mob’. Gone are the days of not-burgers with the introduction of a new chickpea, black bean and beetroot patty. The Mob also comes with vegan special sauce and vegan cheese, all on a gluten-free vegan bun.

The 4217’s onsite coffee roasters, Paradox Coffee Roasters, have also introduced vegetarian and vegan options to their new winter menu. Shakshuka and Sweet Corn Hash now come in vegetarian and vegan-friendly options, while the Paleo Bowl is not only vegan but gluten-free and dairy-free.

With a kids play pen on site, and two hour parking available, The 4217 caters not only to the 20-something vegan tourist, but also to families who are now choosing a cruelty-free coast lifestyle.