The restaurant scene in Lexington may be limited, but it doesn’t lack good food. Whether you’re looking for a go-to takeout joint or a fancy sit-down, Lexington has a lot to offer. Especially if you are a vegan or vegetarian, Lex has something for every student’s palate. Here are the 10 best vegan/vegetarian restaurants in Lexington according to us.
Blue Phoenix
Not only is this café exclusively vegetarian, but it also offers a variety of vegan options, making it the number one option for vegetarian and vegans in town. Whether you’re looking to dine in or take out, Blue Phoenix has just about everything to satisfy you’re culinary mood. Choose from a variety of hearty salads, soups and sandwiches. Try the Phoenix Salad with brown rice burger, or the Goddess Grilled Cheese with gooey farmers cheese, sundried tomato aioli, and tomatoes. Even if you’re not vegan or vegetarian this place is one of our favorites, and they even offer an “Everyone Eats” policy, meaning that even if you can’t afford to eat out you still can at this place.
Blue Sky
It’s not exclusively vegan or vegetarian, but Blue Sky offers a variety of sandwiches, soups, and salads all of which can be made vegan/vegetarian. Try the fresh and daily-baked focaccia loaded with veggies and homemade pesto. They also offer a list of sandwiches, and in our opinion, the best is the Grilled Cheese with Vermont white cheddar, pimento cheese and red pepper. If you want something lighter try the Greek or southwest salad. Don’t neglect to pick up one of their fresh bakery items like the chocolaty brownie or carrot cake.
The Palm’s
A good go-to restaurant for all kinds of eaters, The Palm’s has a variety of food to offer. For starters we highly recommend the Savannah Sprouts, aka flash fried Brussels sprouts with sweet pecans and a honey vinaigrette, but make sure to ask for it without the bacon. We love this crispy veggies, and even though they’re flash fried they’re healthy right? Another favorite are the Pub Pretzels. If you’re vegan ask for it without the cheese, but these pretzels are baked fresh and are so tasty. If you are still craving cheese, check out this article that talks about the best vegan cheeses. For sandwiches we recommend the FGT Caprese Melt with fried green tomatoes, mozzarella and fresh avocado all on toasted sourdough. Another vegetarian friendly option is the Falafel Burger on grilled brioche. Also try one of their homemade pizzas or even better design your own three cheese mac n’ cheese.
Kind Roots Café
If you’re looking for a quick to-go option the smoothies here are some of the best in town and you can design your own with a variety of juice or milk-based options. The best part is that Kind Roots has house-made deli sides that are both vegetarian and vegan and you can combine several to make a meal. So go ahead and spend all your money here, because we do it all the time.
Southern Inn
A solid sit-down restaurant that is not specifically vegan or vegetarian, but offers several options for these two different eaters. For vegetarians we recommend the fried pimento cheese with skillet cornbread as an appetizer because it melts in your mouth and is incredibly addicting. For vegans and vegetarians we highly recommend the salads at Southern Inn, because they are flavourful and original like the Lentil and Quinoa Salad or the Wedge with an avocado-lime vinaigrette. Although the options are limited, the dining experience is original and should be tried by all students in town.
Bistro
This casual yet contemporary site is adored by most W&L students mainly because their beer bread is warm and delicious and can be bought by the loaf. For starters we love the tapenade and hummus plate with warmed pita points and the vegetable spring rolls in a honey-soy glaze. As well the salads here are crafted artfully. For vegetarians we recommend the Portabella-Eggplant Napoleon with marinated mushrooms, breaded eggplant and spinach all served over rice or the Veggie Ravioli with ricotta cheese and marinara sauce. Both of these dishes can be made vegan by eliminating the cheese and still taste great.
Mano Taqueria
This little hole-in-the-wall taco joint offers some of the freshest, most falvorable menu of tacos, burritos and side dishes. With local, sustainable products this restaurant boasts a fine dining experience, casual style. The vegetable taco is one of my favorites even though I’m not vegetarian, because it has potatoes, caramelized onions, juicy bell peppers and fresh cheese, but make it vegan without the cheese. The veggie burrito is also a great choice and the only difference is that it comes with black beans and rice. As a side, you have to get chips and salsa, and choose from over 5 different types of salsa. Feeling like a dare devil? Try the spiciest salsa and see if you can still breathe afterwards.
Niko’s Grille
The main reason we love this place so much is that it serves breakfast all day and who doesn’t love that? Three words: Chocolate Chip Pancakes. That’s right and they are served all day. Also if you’re a French toast person prepare to have your mind blown by this crispy, yet doughy French toast. Besides breakfast try the hummus because this is a Greek restaurant and the hummus is out of this world good. We are also a big fan of the chili bean soup, especially on a cold winter day. We also love their salads and pastas and they even have a vegetarian section featuring a Portabella Mushroom Sandwich, a Vegan Sandwich loaded with veggies and drizzled with their housemade vinaigrette paired with veggie-oil fried chips. Our favorite is the vegetarian kebab served over seasoned rice.
Hillel
This on-campus dining option actually has a lot of vegetarian/vegan friendly options that we are happy to share with you. For starters we kind of are obsessed with their smoothies and coffee drinks, not to mention the chocolate chunk cookies. Breakfast is probably our favorite because they’re sandwiches with eggs and vegan sausage is the best, but they also offer veggie soups and chili made from vegetable stock so you don’t have to worry about where it comes from. All of their sandwiches are vegetarian and/or vegan as well as their pizzas and salads. If you’re looking for a snack, try any of their bagels with the creamy cream cheese and let your mind be blown.
Salerno Pizzeria
This pizzeria actually offers a variety of options besides pizza and they are all worth a taste. Choose from any of their artisan pizzas or calzones or create your own. They make a pretty good veggie sub loaded down with fresh ingredients and your choice of dressing. For our vegetarians try the eggplant parm, because it is life changing and even tastes great heated up the second time. You also can’t fail with a soup or salad and if you still have room the deep fried and homemade Italian doughnuts tossed with sugar and cinnamon for dessert.
So if you are fed up with the somewhat dismal vegan/vegetarian options at dhall take a walk through town and stop at any one of these 10 restaurants with a variety of options to satisfy all of your food craves.