Manhattan’s Best Plant-Based Restaurants

Avant Garden in the East Village is the benchmark for fine-dining veganism in New York City. The tasting menus are creative, seasonal, and genuinely impressive — not merely vegetarian by default but designed from the ground up as plant-forward cuisine. Reservations are strongly recommended.

abcV in Flatiron (from the abc Kitchen group) approaches vegetarian cooking with the same upscale sensibility. The space is beautiful and the menu draws heavily from global influences. Excellent for a nice dinner or a dressed-up lunch.

Superiority Burger in the East Village is the opposite end of the spectrum: a tiny counter-service spot that makes some of the city’s most satisfying veggie burgers, sides, and soft-serve. It’s cheap, casual, and often has a line out the door.

Otarian and by CHLOE (now Beatnic) offer reliable fast-casual vegan across multiple Manhattan locations for when you want something quick and good.

For vegetarian Indian food — one of the most accessible and satisfying plant-based cuisines — the stretch of Lexington Avenue in the 20s (“Curry Hill”) and the Indian restaurants around East 6th Street in the East Village offer excellent options.

Brooklyn’s Vegan Scene

Brooklyn has arguably surpassed Manhattan for sheer density of good vegan and vegetarian options, particularly in Williamsburg, Crown Heights, and Bushwick.

Beyond Sushi (multiple locations) has built a devoted following with creative sushi-roll-style presentations of plant-based ingredients. The spicy mango roll and the mushroom-forward options are genuinely excellent.

Bunna Cafe in Bushwick serves Ethiopian vegetarian food that is naturally vegan and uses the communal injera-based dining format. Ethiopian cuisine is one of the world’s great vegan traditions, and Bunna does it exceptionally well.

Eleven Madison Park moved to an entirely plant-based tasting menu in 2021 and has maintained its three Michelin stars on that basis. It’s one of the most extraordinary dining experiences in the world, plant-based or otherwise, and it’s located in Manhattan’s Flatiron neighborhood — worth mentioning as the apex of what NYC’s vegan dining can achieve.

Queens: Global Plant-Based Flavors

Queens may be the best place in the city for naturally plant-forward global cuisines. The Indian vegetarian restaurants along 74th Street in Jackson Heights (particularly the Gujarati and South Indian spots) are extraordinary. Flushing has excellent Buddhist vegetarian Chinese restaurants where the mock meats and tofu preparations are themselves a culinary art form. The Thai and Lao restaurants throughout Woodside and Elmhurst offer extensive vegetarian menus.

NYC Vegan Fast Food and Grocery

Nearly every major fast food chain in NYC now has significant vegan or plant-based options. Shake Shack has a veggie burger. Most pizza spots will hold the cheese. But NYC also has dedicated vegan fast food like Cinnamon Snail (a vegan food truck that graduated to brick-and-mortar), Champs Diner in Bushwick (a fully vegan diner with pancakes, burgers, and seitan plates), and Dun-Well Doughnuts in Bushwick (fully vegan doughnuts).

For grocery shopping, Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s have strong plant-based sections. The Westside Market and Union Market chains carry a good selection. Natural food co-ops like the Park Slope Food Coop offer bulk and specialty vegan items at lower prices for members.

Will

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