30 vegetarian spots across United States, editor-picked. All United States guides.
Dirt Candy ★ 4.7 · New York City
lower-east-side · 86 Allen St., New York, NY, 10002
Amanda Cohen's Allen Street vegetable kitchen has run a tasting-menu-only vegetarian room in New York City since 2008. Five-course tasting, $90, no a la carte.
Etete (vegetarian combination) ★ 4.6 · Washington DC
1942 9th St NW, Washington, DC 20001
Etete in Washington DC runs the city's most-photographed vegetarian combination platter, a round of injera surrounding misir, shiro, gomen and beet across the Little Ethiopia menu.
Tip: The veg combination is enough for two; pair with a hot Ethiopian coffee at the end for the editorial finish.
Pondicheri ★ 4.5 · Houston
2800 Kirby Dr, Ste B132, Houston, TX 77098
Pondicheri in Houston is Anita Jaisinghani's modern Indian room with a strong vegetarian menu, including thali plates, masala omelette and the Bake Lab pastry counter upstairs.
Tip: The thali at lunch has a default vegetarian arrangement. The masala chai is the constant.
Kismet ★ 4.5 · Los Angeles
4648 Hollywood Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90027
Sara Kramer and Sarah Hymanson's Kismet in Los Feliz, Los Angeles runs a vegetable-led California Mediterranean menu with the kind of cooking even meat eaters chase.
Ghee Indian Kitchen ★ 4.5 · Miami
3620 NE 2nd Ave, Miami, FL 33137
Ghee Indian Kitchen in the Design District serves a strong vegetarian section at 3620 NE 2nd Avenue, with paneer, dosa and the farm's seasonal produce as the spine.
Birchwood Cafe ★ 4.5 · Minneapolis
cedar-riverside · 3311 E 25th St, Minneapolis, MN 55406
Birchwood Cafe on East 25th Street has run a vegetarian-friendly all-day cafe in Seward Minneapolis since 1995. Local-sourced, deep vegetarian menu plus weekend brunch.
Kindred (vegetarian menu) ★ 4.5 · San Diego
1503 30th St, San Diego, CA 92102
Kindred in South Park, an entirely vegan room, is San Diego's premier vegetarian-friendly destination, drawing both flexitarians and committed vegetarians to its menu.
Tip: Entirely vegetarian and vegan kitchen since 2015. The seasonal tasting menu and the inventive cocktails are the canonical experience. Reservations recommended weekends.
Rasika (vegetarian menu) ★ 4.5 · Washington DC
633 D St NW, Washington, DC 20004
Rasika in Washington DC runs a deep vegetarian section across its Penn Quarter D Street modern Indian dining room, with palak chaat, paneer makhani and Indian regional vegetable plates.
Tip: The vegetarian thali is the value pick for a vegetarian diner; book ahead and ask for the vegetarian-only menu insert.
Veggie Galaxy ★ 4.4 · Boston
cambridge · 450 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge, MA 02139
Veggie Galaxy in Central Square Cambridge has run a vegetarian diner in Boston since 2012. Breakfast all day, sandwiches, entrees, vegan bakery on site; everything customisable to vegan.
Root Down ★ 4.4 · Denver
1600 W 33rd Ave, Denver, CO 80211
Root Down in Denver is Justin Cucci's vegetable-forward dining room in a former 1950s service station in Highland since 2008, with a strong vegetarian-friendly menu.
Tip: The sweet potato falafel and the veggie burger are the room's two signature vegetarian plates; the bar runs a sustainable cocktail list.
Shri Balaji Bhavan ★ 4.4 · Houston
5655 Hillcroft Ave, Houston, TX 77036
Shri Balaji Bhavan in Houston is the Mahatma Gandhi District South Indian vegetarian room on Hillcroft Avenue, with masala dosa, idli, vada and the Hillcroft late-lunch crowd.
Tip: Order the masala dosa and a vada-sambar combo. Cash and card. Lunch buffet is the value entry.
Shamshiri Grill ★ 4.4 · Los Angeles
1712 Westwood Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90024
Shamshiri Grill in Westwood, Los Angeles serves Persian classics and a long vegetarian menu, with strong kashk-e bademjan and ash reshteh by the bowl.
Shaya ★ 4.4 · New Orleans
4213 Magazine St, New Orleans, LA 70115
Shaya in New Orleans runs an extensive vegetarian menu within the modern Israeli room on Magazine Street, with wood-fired pita, hummus, baba ghanoush and a long mezze rotation.
Tip: The wood-fired pita is the cult vegetarian order; the menu marks vegetarian dishes clearly.
Hangawi ★ 4.4 · New York City
midtown · 12 E 32nd Street, New York, NY 10016
Hangawi in Koreatown has run vegetarian Korean temple cuisine in New York City since 1996. Shoes-off, floor seating, kabocha pancakes, mountain root tasting menus.
Miss Rachel's Pantry ★ 4.4 · Philadelphia
1938 S Chadwick St, Philadelphia, PA 19145
Miss Rachel's Pantry in Philadelphia is Rachel Klein's South Philly vegan and vegetarian shop and cafe on Chadwick Street, with prepared meals and a tasting-room dinner programme.
Harlow ★ 4.4 · Portland
division-clinton · 3715 SE Division St, Portland, OR 97202
Harlow's all-vegetarian and plant-based cafe on SE Division in Portland, 100% gluten-free and dairy-free, with juice bar, salad bowls and grain plates.
Tip: Three Portland locations. Vegetarian by default, vegan by mostly default; check the seasonal specials.
Greens Restaurant ★ 4.4 · San Francisco
Building A, Fort Mason, San Francisco, CA 94123
Greens Restaurant in San Francisco is the Fort Mason vegetarian room since 1979, run by the San Francisco Zen Center, with a Bay-view dining room and a long Cal-veg menu.
Tip: Book the bay window at sunset; the Saturday brunch is easier than the dinner room for walk-ins.
Cafe Flora ★ 4.4 · Seattle
2901 E Madison St, Seattle, WA 98112
Cafe Flora in Seattle's Madison Valley is the 1991 vegetarian institution: a glass-roofed Sun Room, full vegan and gluten-free flexibility, brunch on weekends until 14:30.
Bouldin Creek Cafe ★ 4.3 · Austin
1900 S 1st St, Austin, TX 78704
Bouldin Creek Cafe in Austin is South First's vegetarian neighbourhood cafe since 2000, a bungalow patio with all-day breakfast, vegan options and the strongest queso south of the river.
Tip: All-day breakfast runs from 8am; the migas and veggie burger are the room's two anchors and run all day.
Vital Root ★ 4.3 · Denver
3915 Tennyson St, Denver, CO 80212
Vital Root in Denver is Justin Cucci's Tennyson Street vegetarian dining room, with mostly-vegan plates including grain bowls, falafel and sweet potato fries.
Tip: The pumpkin queso and the falafel bowl are the most popular plates; counter-service makes this the easiest of the Edible Beats vegetarian-friendly rooms.
The Wild Cow ★ 4.3 · Nashville
east-nashville · 1896 Eastland Ave, Nashville, TN 37206
The Wild Cow on Eastland Avenue in East Nashville has run vegetarian and vegan plates since 2008: bowls, burgers, salads and a long-running Sunday brunch.
Tip: Mostly vegan with vegetarian-only items clearly marked; Buffalo tofu wrap is the cult order.
Carmo ★ 4.3 · New Orleans
527 Julia St, New Orleans, LA 70130
Carmo in New Orleans is the Warehouse District tropical and vegetarian-friendly cafe on Julia Street, with vegan and vegetarian Brazilian and Caribbean small plates and a long fresh juice list.
Tip: Carmo runs a near-complete vegan/vegetarian menu; the Brazilian feijoada in plant version is the cult dish.
Saravanaa Bhavan ★ 4.3 · New York City
midtown · 81 Lexington Avenue, New York, NY 10016
Saravanaa Bhavan on Lexington runs South Indian vegetarian cooking in New York City. The largest vegetarian Indian chain in the world; dosas, idli, sambar, weekday lunch lines.
Bollywood Theater ★ 4.3 · Portland
alberta-arts · 2039 NE Alberta St, Portland, OR 97211
Bollywood Theater's vegetarian Indian street menu on NE Alberta in Portland, with vada pav, paneer chaat, dal and a counter where vegetarians order everything.
Tip: The vegetarian and vegan plates run two-thirds of the menu. Cash, card, counter order.
Clover Food Lab Harvard Square ★ 4.2 · Boston
cambridge · 1326 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge, MA 02138
Clover Food Lab on Mass Ave in Harvard Square has run a vegetarian fast-casual chain in Cambridge Boston since 2008. Local-sourced vegetarian sandwiches, made-to-order; multiple Cambridge locations.
The Chicago Diner ★ 4.2 · Chicago
3411 N Halsted St, Chicago, IL 60657
The Chicago Diner in Chicago is the Lakeview vegetarian diner on Halsted since 1983, the Meat Free Since '83 slogan, with veg deep-dish, jerk seitan and shakes.
Tip: The vegan radical reuben with seitan corned beef and the vegan-mac-with-buffalo-jackfruit are the menu's defining orders.
French Meadow Bakery and Cafe ★ 4.2 · Minneapolis
uptown · 2610 Lyndale Ave S, Minneapolis, MN 55408
French Meadow on Lyndale has run a Minneapolis cafe with a deep vegetarian menu since 1985. Organic bakery up front; vegetarian and gluten-free plates throughout.
Satsuma Cafe ★ 4.2 · New Orleans
3218 Dauphine St, New Orleans, LA 70117
Satsuma Cafe in New Orleans is the Bywater cafe on Dauphine Street with extensive vegetarian breakfast plates, fresh-pressed juice, biscuits and bowls in a cottage with a back garden.
Tip: Vegetarian-friendly cafe rather than vegan-only; check menu marks, the breakfast bowls are flexible.
Udupi Palace ★ 4.2 · San Francisco
1007 1/2 Valencia St, San Francisco, CA
Udupi Palace in San Francisco is the Mission's South Indian vegetarian counter, with masala dosas, idli sambar and a long thali plate the local Indian community books.
Tip: Order the masala dosa fresh from the griddle; ask for an extra coconut chutney on the side.
Sevananda Natural Foods Market ★ 4.1 · Atlanta
467 Moreland Ave NE, Atlanta, GA 30307
Sevananda in Atlanta is Little Five Points's vegetarian natural-foods co-op since 1974, a member-owned grocery with a hot bar rotating across global cuisines.
Tip: Hot bar rotates across African, Italian, Mexican and Caribbean menus; the kitchen is entirely vegetarian, many items vegan or gluten-free. Open daily 8am-9pm.