Whether it’s a weekly date night, an anniversary, or just because you feel like it, sharing wine, food, and great conversation with your special person at a romantic restaurant is hard to beat.
Vegan menus at restaurants used to be few and far between, but luckily, this is no longer the case. In fact, nearly 50 percent of restaurants across the US now offer vegan dishes, research suggests. But if you want to head somewhere where you can sample everything on the menu (and why not? It is a special occasion, after all), then you’ll be pleased to know that entirely vegan eateries are also on the rise. To help you find the perfect one for your dreamy evening out, we’ve compiled some of our favorite romantic restaurants below in no particular order.
Romantic vegan restaurants
Looking for a romantic vegan restaurant for your next date night? These 17 eateries shouldn’t be overlooked.
Planta
1 Planta
Multiple locations
With locations in Atlanta, Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, and more, Planta is committed to providing North Americans with a unique, luxury plant-based dining experience. Across its restaurants, its dishes are seasonal, fresh, sustainable, and, above all, delicious. Expect to find plenty of sushi, salads, and upscale pizza topped with creamy cashew mozzarella.
Find it here
Kusaki
2 Kusaki
Los Angeles, CA
Sushi lovers, listen up: Kusaki is a must-try. The Los Angeles omakase and sushi restaurant presents unique, artfully hand-crafted, fish-free cuisine, all of which is bursting with flavor. Some of the standout options include the sailfish sashimi, crispy garlic tuna, and torched nigiri.
Find it here
Crossroads Kitchen
3 Crossroads Kitchen
Multiple locations
Crossroads Kitchen has long been one of the go-to vegan restaurants for fine dining in Los Angeles, there’s no doubt. Now, with two more locations in Las Vegas, NV and Calabasas, CA, more diners than ever can experience the fresh and unique flavors of Crossroads’ plant-packed menu. Choose from options like eggplant short rib with a foraged mushroom bordelaise, scallopini parmesan, and truffle mushroom Bianca pizza.
Find it here
HanGawi
4 HanGawi
New York, NY
HanGawi is an authentic and traditional Korean dining experience, so expect to find low tables, a peaceful, calm ambiance, and a shoes-off policy. You can also, of course, expect to find nourishing gourmet meals, including maitake mushrooms and tofu with spicy sauce and truffle paste, beet noodle soba, and more. If the ssam bap is on the menu during your visit, it’s a definite must according to the Michelin Guide, which awarded the restaurant a prestigious Bib Gourmand.
“The ssam bap offers a fun DIY experience with a long platter of fillings. Dark leafy lettuce and thin, herbaceous sesame leaves are topped with creamy slices of avocado, crunchy bean sprouts, pickled daikon, carrot, cucumber, radish and three rice options—white, brown and a nutty, purple-tinged multigrain. Topped with miso ssam sauce, each bite is a fresh burst of uplifting textures,” the Michelin Guide notes.
Find it here
Apteka
5 Apteka
Pittsburgh, PA
If you want to sample the flavors of Eastern Europe in an upscale, James Beard-nominated restaurant, Apteka is the place to visit. The eatery proves that the region’s traditional foods, which are often laden with meat and cheese, can all be made totally vegan without sacrificing a pinch of flavor.
Find it here
Eleven Madison Park
6 Eleven Madison Park
New York, NY
Three Michelin-starred Eleven Madison Park made headlines in 2021 when chef and co-owner Daniel Humm removed all animal products from the menu. But you can rest assured that the quality of this prestigious, world-renowned restaurant didn’t suffer. In fact, the food just keeps getting better and better.
Find it here
Gracias Madre
7 Gracias Madre
West Hollywood, CA
California’s Gracias Madre serves unbeatable organic, plant-based, and flavor-laden Mexican cuisine, all of which is made with locally sourced ingredients. Start off with appetizers like the house empanadas, which are loaded with Swiss chard, caramelized onions, jalapeño, corn, cranberries, and mozzarella. And for your main, you can’t go wrong with roasted cauliflower mole, grilled lion’s mane asada tacos, and gorditas de chicharrón.
Find it here
Anixi
8 Anixi
New York, NY
New York’s Anixi is a celebration of the vibrant mezze and hearty entrée dishes of the Mediterranean, particularly those of Greece, Turkey, Syria, and Lebanon. Everything is not just vegan, but also kosher and gluten-free, too.
Find it here
Millennium
9 Millennium
Oakland, CA
Millennium’s fresh, flavor-packed menu is an assortment of worldly plant-based cuisine, all of which is carefully crafted with sustainable, organic ingredients from local farms. In 2016, this popular Oakland eatery was also awarded a respected Bib Gourmand from the Michelin Guide. The menu is ever-changing, but you can expect to find options like cornmeal crusted tofu katsu, bourbon barbecue tempeh, and glazed cauliflower steak. If you ever spot the roasted pumpkin tamales and crunchy king trumpet fritters, be sure to order them—the Michelin Guide gave these dishes a rave review.
Find it here
Plum Bistro
10 Plum Bistro
Seattle, WA
In 2019, chef Makini Howell made the New York Times’ list of the top Black chefs changing America. And if you want to find out why, you need to head to Seattle’s Plum Bistro. The chic eatery is on a mission to impress even the most meat-loving carnivores in society, and we have to admit, you’d be hard-pressed to find anyone who won’t enjoy its tempting menu of bowls, burgers, pastas, and hearty supper dishes. The latter includes carne asada, crispy eggplant parmesan, and chipotle plant beef tostadas.
Find it here
La Semilla
11 La Semilla
Atlanta, GA
La Semilla offers a slice of Latin flavor in the middle of Atlanta. Its “scratch-made, forward-thinking fare” includes a delicious selection of small plates “para la mesa,” including mantequilla beans and ensalada de casa. For your main, tuck in to handhelds like Crunch Wraps, Cubano sandwiches, and al pastor tacos.
Find it here
Ubuntu
12 Ubuntu
Los Angeles, CA
Created by Shenarri “Greens” Freeman, another James Beard-nominated chef, in collaboration with vegan restaurant group Overthrow Hospitality, Ubuntu offers a delicious dive into the flavors of African countries like Senegal, Nigeria, and Ghana in the middle of Los Angeles. Mouth-watering delights include jollof arancini, Red Red Stew, and lion’s mane pie.
Find it here
Cadence
13 Cadence
New York, NY
Another offering from Freeman and Overthrow Hospitality, Cadence is a little different from LA’s Ubuntu, but it is just as delicious. The organic, soy-free menu is a celebration of Southern cuisine, so you can expect to find everything from biscuits and gravy to smoked grits to maple buttermilk cornbread. Don’t miss the Southern fried lasagna—this one-of-a-kind dish has developed a cult following, and for good reason.
Find it here
Shojin
14 Shojin
Culver City, CA
Shojin offers a plethora of delectable Japanese dishes, including sushi, ramen, and small plates, including gyozas and tempura. One of the standout options is the chef’s omakase tasting menu, which features crispy zucchini blossoms, truffle maitake miso soup, Shojin shiso gyozas, and spicy “tuna” on crispy rice.
Find it here
Twelvemonth
15 Twelvemonth
Burlingame, CA
Burlingame’s Twelvemonth embraces a vegetable-forward, low-waste approach to food, and the majority of its ingredients are sourced from local farmers. Dinner options are a true celebration of the plant kingdom, with entrée choices like carrot curry, yucca gnocchi, and Not Paella.
Find it here
Bloom Plant Based Kitchen
16 Bloom Plant Based Kitchen
Chicago, IL
As you’d expect from a restaurant called Bloom, the menu at this popular Chicago eatery is unique, fresh, and entirely plant-forward. Some of the delights on offer include Turnip Causa with fermented and smoked turnips, jackfruit short rib, and barbecue bacon ranch flatbread.
Find it here
Pietramala
17 Pietramala
Philadelphia, PA
This small restaurant in Philadelphia is certainly not lacking in flavor. With a menu focused on local Pennsylvania produce, the dishes are constantly changing, but you can always expect to enjoy fresh, unique, and show-stopping flavors. Examples of the types of dishes you can expect to find include blistered turnips, parsnip piccata, and comb tooth mushroom with heirloom polenta and yellow eye bean miso jus.
Find it here
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Charlotte is a VegNews editor and writer based in sunny Southsea on England's southern coast.
