As a vegan, it can be a struggle to get people to try out my favorite spots. From my friends believing all they serve is grass (hello, vegan dessert), to my family being major meat-eaters (besides me, of course), people underestimate the power of delicious vegan food. However, New York City offers hundreds of vegan restaurants to choose from and convince your friends to try. Luckily, these restaurants have a range that will satisfy both the raw vegan and the carnivore.
Here are the 10 most delicious, foolproof, and best vegan restaurants in NYC.
1. Plantmade
Plantmade by vegan chef Matthew Kenney is my favorite café in the city. Healthy yet delicious, simple yet inventive, quick yet beautifully crafted, there's nothing I don't love about it. The casual Lower East Side establishment has tons of options, so whether you're craving a savory charcoal bagel with cashew cream cheese, a sweet cinnamon roll, or a pine pollen coffee, Plantmade's got it all.
Menu highlight: Beet bagel with scallion cream cheese
2. Beyond Sushi
One thing people continue to tell me when discussing veganism is that they love sushi and fish too much to take the plunge. Well, no more excuses! With six NYC locations, Beyond Sushi makes plant-filled rolls, dumplings, noodle bowls, and rice-paper wraps accessible. Their sushi is filled with ingredients like coffee-roasted kabocha, citrus-infused carrots, braised fennel, sundried tomato, and enoki mushrooms. Certainly not your average spicy tuna roll!
Menu highlight: Spicy mang roll
3. abcV
We all know Jean-Georges: the world famous, Michelin-star rated French chef who has made culinary history awarded by The New York Times. Yeah, well, he made a plant-based restaurant next to his famous ABC Kitchen, called abcV.
It is effortlessly sleek, with a white interior and luxe presentation of its equally delicious dishes. You rarely see a vegetarian restaurant have such a high-end atmosphere, which is one thing that sets abcV apart from the rest. The second is the distinctive menu with zesty pastas, beautiful bowls, and adaptogen-filled elixirs. Everything you order is nourishing and prepared with precision.
Menu highlights: Roasted cauliflower head and Einkorn pancakes
4. The Cinnamon Snail
This is the most difficult restaurant for me to write about because it makes me the hungriest. I'll get this over with quickly so we can stop suffering: The Cinnamon Snail is a vegan, soul-food destination that serves dishes ranging from the beastmode burger deluxe to the s'mores donut, which should probably tell you the style and yum-level of this casual restaurant located in the Pennsy Food Hall, as well as trucks around NYC.
I'm more of a whole foods, plant-based vegan, but when I pass The Cinnamon Snail, all bets are off. Whether you get the Thanksgiving Sandwich or Lavender Pear Turnover, you'll enjoy it. Thank me later.
Menu highlight: Chocolate ganache stuffed s'mores donut
5. Avant Garden
Located in the East Village and Brooklyn, Avant Garden is the chill, upscale restaurant of my dreams. Their fare is hard to define, as they serve a wide variety of foods, but you can expect lots of expertly crafted vegetables with ingredients you didn't know you needed and loved.
Menu highlight: Crispy rice avocado with carrot ginger dressing, miso glaze, and blistered shishito
6. The Butcher's Daughter
This aesthetically pleasing healthy food spot is a favorite amongst bloggers, models, and avo-toast lovers alike. With four bustling locations, the restaurant is constantly growing. You can expect classic menu items like avocado toast (best in the city, IMO) and açaí bowls, as well as more creative dishes such as a spinach artichoke crock, cauliflower pizza, and watermelon sashimi. Healthy, foolproof, and yummy, the Butcher's Daughter is the perfect go-to.
Menu highlight: Avocado toast (basic, I know)
7. Champs Diner
If you thought vegan restaurants couldn't get any cooler, just head over to Champ's Diner, a Brooklyn establishment serving veganized classic diner food. With a menu featuring eggs, sausage, pancakes, and milkshakes, the restaurant is nothing short of genius. Not only does it look like the non-vegan food you may be used to, but it genuinely tastes like it too (and that's coming from a former meat lover)!
Menu highlights: Pancake slam and girl scout cookie milkshake
8. Double Zero
Back at it again with the Matthew Kenney creations, except this one is a gorgeous vegan-Italian restaurant, most notably featuring inventive pizzas. Vegan pizza is widely available in the city, but there aren't many upscale, healthy restaurants that specialize in it or present it as beautifully. It's true that we eat with our eyes first! Luckily, the actual food is just as good as it looks.
Menu highlight: Tomato basil pizza with shiitake bacon
9. Luanne's Wild Ginger
A hole in the wall, casual, local spot—and yet one of my favorite NYC restaurants. I love to eat here alone, as the warm environment, good service, and casual vibe are always comforting. Luanne's serves vegan Asian food, ranging from the healthiest of macrobiotic bowls to realistic mock meat and dumplings that don't skimp on taste. With four locations, their big portions of delicious dishes are a reliable go-to.
Menu highlights: Steamed vegetable dumplings and Wild ginger macro bowl
10. Nix
As Adam Platt of New York Magazine said, "It is possible to dine like a healthy vegetarian... but the sinful dishes are much more fun." He is completely correct. The ambiance at Nix walks the fine line of warm and classy without being obnoxious. Plus, it's one of my favorite places to bring vegan and vegetarian skeptics, especially adults. It's plants being plants, but in an extraordinarily appetizing way.
Menu highlights: Cauliflower tempura with steamed buns and Jicama ribbons (don't knock it 'til you try it)
Meat Eater or Not...
Maybe you'll venture out of your neighborhood and try these restaurants, or maybe you'll order them off Seamless in your pajamas. Either way, the food will be delicious, and even make the most skeptical carnivore give veganism a second thought. Enjoy!