You moved to Altona and need vegan dinner that is not a sad side salad or a city-bound train ride. Start with Store, keep Nell as the value play, and use The White Kitchen when takeaway beats table service.
The Verdict
Store at 333 Murray Terrace is the vegan pick in Altona if you only have one dinner to get right. It is not the cheapest option, at $23-41 per person, but it is the benchmark because the kitchen does the details properly: the mushroom bourguignon is the order everyone talks about, the cashew cheese tastes made rather than assembled, and the weekly specials board is usually stronger than the printed menu. Against the obvious chain-style vegan backup, the difference is care: sauces have depth, specials change weekly, and the cashew cheese is not the bland paste you forgive because it is dairy-free. That matters in a suburb where the good vegan options are spread across Murray Terrace, Spring Avenue, Cecil Avenue, and Station Street rather than clustered in one obvious strip.
The other reason Store wins is reliability. The room seats about 45, service is efficient without feeling like they are trying to flip you, and the owner is usually behind the bar, which keeps the place sharper than most mid-priced suburban dinners. Book for Friday or Saturday, especially if you want one of the better tables; midweek you can usually walk in. Nell is the closest challenger and probably gives you more flavour per dollar, but the no-bookings weeknight setup and 30-seat room make it less forgiving. Do not treat Union as the special-occasion choice just because it has a thoughtful wine list; it is solid, but Store is where you go when the meal has to land.
What It’s Actually Like
Altona vegan eating is practical, not performative. These are not huge, glossy rooms built for photos. Store runs dinner Monday to Saturday from 5:30pm to 10pm, fills on Friday and Saturday nights, and is easiest midweek. Nell at 235 Spring Avenue is smaller, about 30 seats, with lunch from 12pm to 3pm and dinner from 5:30pm to 11pm. If you are going there on a weeknight, arrive before 6:30pm or after 8pm, because they do not take bookings then and the small-team kitchen makes everything to order.
Iris’s at 251 Cecil Avenue is the newer one, opened in late 2025, and the short eight-dish menu is the point. It runs Wednesday to Sunday for lunch and dinner, and Sunday lunch is the sweet spot if you want the food without the heavier dinner crowd. The White Kitchen at 219 Murray Terrace is the low-friction option: Tuesday to Saturday dinner, no table service, counter ordering, three outdoor tables, and the best quality-to-price ratio in the suburb. Union at 10 Station Street is the dependable all-rounder, open Monday to Saturday until 10:30pm, with jackfruit at $25, plant-based at $21, and a better wine list than you expect from a vegan food place.
Parking is annoying before 6:30pm rather than impossible. Cecil Avenue is metered until then, side streets are usually two-hour, and most restrictions ease after dinner starts properly. Skip this list if you need a big group booking with guaranteed space; Store is your best shot, but none of these are banquet halls. If you are west of the main Altona streets and just want fast food at home, The White Kitchen or direct delivery from Store makes more sense than crossing the suburb for a table.
Who This Suits
If you are planning one proper vegan dinner, pick Store and order the mushroom bourguignon. If you are a value hunter who cares more about flavour than polish, pick Nell and get there outside the rush. If you are eating solo, tired, or carrying dinner home, pick The White Kitchen and get the $15 mushroom bourguignon. If you want the newest room and a shorter menu, pick Iris’s for Sunday lunch. If you are with mixed tastes and need a safe all-rounder, pick Union for jackfruit, plant-based dishes, and wine.
Cost sits in three bands. The White Kitchen and Iris’s cover the cheaper end, roughly $15-24 per person, with The White Kitchen the obvious bargain because there is no table service padding the bill. Nell is $24-33 per person and feels fair because the food is made to order by a small team. Store and Union can climb higher, with Store at $23-41 and Union at $19-37, so they make more sense when dinner is the night out rather than a quick refuel. BYO wine at Nell on Tuesdays is the small hack here, with $5 corkage.
Timing changes the decision. Friday and Saturday require planning, especially for Store and the top two spots generally, where booking 3-5 days ahead is sensible. Midweek is easier almost everywhere. Sunday lunch belongs to Iris’s. Tuesday belongs to Nell if you want BYO. Delivery is fine from The White Kitchen and Store through Uber Eats or DoorDash, but direct ordering is better for the restaurant and usually better for the food; delivery bags do no favours to mushroom bourguignon or jackfruit.
What to Do Next
Book Store for Friday, walk into Nell early on a weeknight, or keep The White Kitchen for takeaway. If budget is the real constraint, jump to Altona Cheap Eats before you overpay for dinner.
Last updated: March 2026
