From Vegan Poutine to Plant-Based Fine Dining, 50 Things to Eat Around the World

Passport? Check. Travel pillow? Check. Luggage packed and weighed to the ounce? Check. Sounds like you’re good to fly … almost. Every vegan traveler knows the most important accessory is your plant-based itinerary. And this summer’s travel season, VegNews is doing the work for you.

Whether you’re sightseeing in today’s hottest destinations like Tokyo or Mexico City, seeking a tranquil getaway in the mountains of South Korea or a secluded resort in an African national park, or flying domestic and eating through the 50 states, there’s always time for adventure and a plant-based bite.

RELATED: Rhode Island Dining: The Smallest State in America Has a Seriously Big Vegan Food Scene

Little Saint

1 Dine at Little Saint in Healdsburg, CA

Wine lovers may have already visited California Wine Country’s 800-plus wineries for some of the world’s most-coveted varietals. What they may have missed, however, is one of the best vegan restaurants in the country. Tucked away in the charming town of Healdsburg is Little Saint—a stunning, 10,000 square-foot restaurant that could easily be mistaken for a gourmand’s compound rather than a simple eatery. Inside the full-service restaurant, there’s a standalone coffee and pastry bar, a provisions store, a floor-to-ceiling wine shop and lounge, a central open-air kitchen, a viennoiserie case, a sprawling cocktail bar, art exhibits, and wraparound porch seating that complements the comfy couches and elegant dining tables inside. And that’s just the first floor.

Little Saint

Stop by on Thursday evenings for bar bites and free live performances upstairs at the full-scale music venue (where artists like Rufus Wainwright, boygenius, Phoebe Bridgers, and St. Vincent have played). Too much good food and drink to venture home? Book a stay at the boutique vegan lodges The Cottages at Little Saint located behind the restaurant. It’s the perfect opportunity to sleep off your drinks, wake up the next day, and return for brunch, complete with two complimentary pours of wine and retail discounts. And if that wasn’t enough, arrange for a visit to the Little Saint Farm—an eight-acre, queer- and trans-run regenerative farm that’s just a seven-minute drive north—to see where almost every bite of last night’s food came from.

2 Score the best seats on an open-air, double-decker bus tour

… across San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge, then hop off in the city center and head to immigrant-founded Om Sabor for a piping-hot bowl of its famous cashew béchamel vegan clam chowder.

3 Dig in to some of the best bites Los Angeles has to offer

… at the final Vegan Street Fair event of the year, including carne asada nacho boats from Cena Vegan, Portuguese malasada doughnuts from The Donuttery, and “vegan Raising Cane’s” from Veggitize Me. 

Adelleda

4 Peruse the all-vegan cheese shop Vtopian in Portland, OR

… for a few cultured cashew wedges (think Peppercorn Brie and sweet port wine-washed Port Cheddar) before returning for happy hour and supper at the in-house pasta restaurant Adelleda.

5 Marvel at Arizona’s awe-inspiring Grand Canyon

… in between nibbles of the vegan strawberry white chocolate macarons and salted toffee oatmeal sandwich cookies you picked up as sweet fuel for for an Arizona road trip from Phoenix’s vegan goth coffee shop Dark Hall Coffee.

Crossroads Kitchen

6 Build up your appetite on the Las Vegas Strip

… where chef Tal Ronnen’s second iteration of his famed Crossroads Kitchen serves one of the country’s most extravagant vegan brunch buffets, allowing diners to load their plate with scrambled eggs and veggie bacon, craft their own artisanal cheese plate, and tuck in to brunch favorites like bagels with lox and caviar and chicken and waffles

7 Pose for your mandatory pic with The Bean in Chicago

… before hitting up the Windy City’s most-storied veg institution The Chicago Diner for a full diner spread of biscuits and gravy, corned beef seitan Reubens, mac and cheese, and—why not—a round of milkshakes ranging from strawberry to peanut butter cookie dough to ube.

Vegan Vibe Music Series

8 Hit your best Cha Cha Slide

… in between plant-based bites and plenty of Jazz, Afrobeats, and old-school hip-hop at the live music and food festival Vegan Vibe Music Series in Concord, NC.

9 Soak up the year-round sunshine and healthy vibes at Love Life Cafe in Miami

… reenergizing with an award-winning superfood veggie burger (loaded with guacamole, kale aioli, and roasted sweet potatoes) and a date-sweetened tropical berry smoothie.

Pietramala

10 Head to Philadelphia

… where you can part in the Veg History Walking Tour, strolling the city’s beautiful colonial streets and parks to learn about the plant-based beginnings of America’s birthplace. Follow with a meal at upscale vegan Italian restaurant Pietramala for some of the best broccoli stalk risotto you’ll ever have.

11 Get food-growing tips from Black-run farms

… buy from Black-owned businesses, and feast on mind-blowing plant-based oxtails, soul food, and sea moss smoothies at the annual Black VegFest in Brooklyn.

Avant Garden

12 Save up and come hungry for a fine-dining tour of Manhattan

… the US capital of elite plant-based dining. And there’s something for every palate: Michelin-starred tasting menus at Dirt Candy, globally-inspired vegetable magic at Avant Garden, vibrant and locally sourced dishes at ABCv, contemporary “New, New American” comfort food with a queer slant at Hags, and ultra-refined plates at Eleven Madison Park.

13 Escape to New York’s Hudson Valley

… for a stay at The Gray Barn, the boutique vegan inn at Woodstock Farm Sanctuary, where rescued cows, pigs, turkeys, and goats wander just beyond your breakfast table.

La Banquise

14 Dust off your French and head to Montreal

… for a vegan poutine crawl with stops at La Banquise, Poutineville, and 100-percent vegan hot spot Resto Véganarie.

15 Sink your teeth into the fluffy char siu seitan bao at Fat Choi

… one of the highest-rated vegan spots in Toronto serving exquisite Malaysian- and Nyonya-inspired dishes. Be sure to leave room for the five spice- and cinnamon-caramelized pineapple pie.

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16 Bundle up for a life-changing viewing of the Northern Lights in Reykjavík, Iceland

… made possible by the warmth from sipping an oat milk hot chocolate and nibbling on a vegan pastry from Plantan Kaffihús.

17 Down your complimentary vegan and isinglass-free draught pint

… at the Guinness Storehouse Experience—a seven-story, immersive tour of the company’s storehouse (shaped like a massive pint glass)—at the Guinness headquarters in Dublin, Ireland.

Community10 | HappyCow

18 Be generous with the malt vinegar

… when noshing on the award-winning Tofish & Chips at Unity Diner in London, England, complete with beer batter coating, rosemary salt fries, mushy peas, and chunky tartar sauce.

19 Bring your pup along for a quaint and cozy stay at Beck Hall

… the first vegan hotel in The Yorkshire Dales National Park in Malham, England, where not only can you indulge in refined plant-based fare, but dog biscuits are “on tap” and you can cuddle up with your four-legged friend by the fire.

20 Experience the new plant-based approach to fine dining at Arpège in Paris

… where Chef Alain Passard has removed all poultry, fish, seafood, eggs, and dairy from his three Michelin-starred menu.

Asante Café

21 Get your favorite Instagram filter ready

… for the eye-popping vegan egg dishes at Asante Café in Barcelona, Spain, the number one vegan restaurant in the world according to HappyCow. Options at this brunch café include a classic benedict with hollandaise, ham, cheese, and avocado cream or the gotta-see-to-believe Maghreb eggs—a rendition of the popular North African shakshuka—with feta, mint, and parsley oil served with nigella focaccia for dunking.

Haus Hiltl

22 Eat through veg history at Haus Hiltl in Zurich

For history buffs, there’s no place like Zurich, Switzerland. The country’s most populous city offers a number of historically significant sites, such as Grossmünster: a 12th century Romanesque cathedral considered the birthplace of the Swiss-German Reformation in Switzerland. Want a bit more adventure? Archäologische Fenster—a series of secret doors and underground rooms—provides visitors a look inside ancient ruins and archaeological sites where thousands-year-old artifacts remain untouched. But for the meat-free crowd, Zurich carries one more distinction: it’s home to Haus Hiltl, the oldest vegetarian restaurant in the world. But don’t expect granola and wimpy nut patties.

Haus Hiltl

Founded in 1898, today the iconic institution is a sprawling, modern, multi-level marvel, housing a pay-by-weight buffet, a white-tablecloth restaurant, a cocktail and juice bar that turns into a night club, a full cooking academy, and a plant-based butchery next door. Guests can choose from more than 100 buffet options inspired by cuisines from around the world, and veganized Hiltl classics like tartare, cordon bleu, and steak and sweet potato fries—and then wash it all down with beers on tap, house chai, or a cheeky little digestif.

23 Dress to impress

… and try getting through “the hardest door in the world” at Berghain nightclub in Berlin, Germany. Later, celebrate your entry or drown your sorrows in a pint of pilsner and an order of vegan currywurst.

24 Melt into the rejuvenating thermal baths in Budapest, Hungary

… and then settle in for a vegan Hungarian meal of fried cheese, crispy seitan cutlets, roasted sweet potatoes, and red cabbage salad at vegan à la carte restaurant and confectionery Napfenyes Étterem.

whoisdenilo

25 Stroll the streets of Sicilian capital Palermo, Italy

… and then cool down with almond granita, dark chocolate gelato, or lemon sorbetto.

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