If you are vegan or vegetarian, you have probably experienced the frustration of searching for a place to eat. That holds, especially when you are in a new town. While vegan and vegetarian restaurants are now more mainstream than they used to be, finding the right one can be a challenge.
Enter HappyCow, the app that can help you find a vegan or vegetarian menu in almost any city. The great thing about this app is that it doesn’t just find vegetarian or vegan restaurants. You can also find regular restaurants that have a veggie-based menu.
The HappyCow has both a free and paid version, depending on whether you use an Android or IOS device. We’ll explain that later. First, we want to see how it works and whether the paid version is worth the cost. Keep reading to find out more.
Core Features of the HappyCow App
- Choose between vegan and vegetarian options
- The app uses your location to find restaurants nearby
- Narrow your search by searching for only one option
- Save favourite restaurants using the Favorite option on the menu bar
- Get detailed information about restaurants, including customer reviews
The HappyCow has a free version for Android users, but only the paid version is available for IOS users. The paid version (for IOS and Android) allows users access to additional features. One of those is the save function that lets you save your favourite restaurants for later.
You can download the HappyCow app by clicking the links at the end of this article.
Is the HappyCow App worth paying for?
It’s never a bad deal to have access to information about top restaurants right on your phone. It’s even better when you’re vegan or vegetarian. If you’re in your home city you might not see the need for the app but it becomes imperative when travelling.
For Android users, the main benefit of the paid version is saving favourite restaurants for later. If the app is only something you’ll use when travelling, then that feature might be superfluous.
However, if you are an IOS user then you don’t get much choice about whether to pay or not. If you want to use the app, you need to pay to download it. Luckily, it only costs $4 and it is not a recurring cost. If you travel a lot then yes, this is probably worth paying for.
What is so special about this app?
The HappyCow was founded in 1999 and has been around for a while. It was originally a platform with a strong online community before it morphed into an app.
It is an interesting little app in that there aren’t any like it out there. Sure, there are apps like PlantEaters and Vegman, but HappyCow has been around longer. That means that it has a larger community and more recommendations.
If you are a committed vegan or vegetarian who loves to eat out, this is the app you need. It might not be necessary for those who just want to try out a vegetarian or vegan meal.
What we liked about HappyCow
The map was the most handy feature as well as access to reviews. While it is possible to get those reviews on Yelp and TripAdvisor, you would spend precious time filtering through everything else.
With HappyCow, the noise is reduced and you can focus only on the food you love. What’s more, the app shows you what restaurants are closest to you. You can also find out which ones are the most affordable.
All in all, we like the HappyCow and it is an app we would recommend for vegetarians and vegans. If you just want the occasional experience and you have an Android device, then, by all means, download the HappyCow app.
