The Best Vegan Food in Los Angeles
Los Angeles is particularly veggie forward and friendly towards vegans. Fresh fruits and vegetables are close by, abound with farmer’s markets, and chefs overjoy with the abundance of options. As a pescaterian, I am constantly trying new veggie centric restaurants. I prefer the term veggie forward, because I want my food to taste good and be from a plant (mainly because it’s been shown it promotes longer living :) ) ! I might be the walking California stereotype. I do not mind. Just because I prefer veggie centric food, does not mean I’m willing to sacrifice on taste, flavor, textures and the joy of eating! Oh believe me, food is #1 and the joy of sitting down to a well prepared meal is heaven.
As a kid, I was an omnivore and ate meat daily. Then, my mom converted to vegetarianism; but she would still cook meat for us. Then she slowly cooked less and less meat. By the time I made it to the college dorms, I was eating no meat unless I ate out. Then I had no concept of healthy eating, and chowed down on ginormous Apple Bee’s burgers and nachos regularly. That was my vice - hamburgers! Now and days, Impossible Burgers are everywhere (Monty’s Burgers, Veggie, Grill, HoneyBee, etc) - and (to my memory) taste just like meat! I’ll let the meat eaters weight in there. Instead, I value a good, veggie centric meal, much harder to find.
Thus, I have compiled the ultimate, LA vegan, veggie, forward restaurant list — where you can also impress your meat-eating friends (and yes some of these are not strictly vegan, but places you can take a vegan!).
Personal Favorites
Baba’s Vegan’s Welcome Plate with a Spicy Mac Add On
Baba's Vegan Café
An OG to the Leimert Park weekly Sunday marketplace, and now to their newly opened brick-and-mortar restaurant! I’d call them a cult classic. At their Leimert Park pop-ups, they were often sold out by the time I got there! They are unabashedly about plant forward, celebrating health, nourishing food and community. My favorite grab and go, is the whole wheat, Jamaican patties with fillings including spinach-kale or soy beef. Can’t decide? Start with their Welcome Plate, Fried Cauliflower, Black Beans & Dirty Rice, Curried Veggies, Red Cabbage, Mac Salad and Kale Salad. They take great pride and ownership in their food; and it shows. Deliver orders can be done via DoorDash.
Baked “Crab Cake” Handroll at Shojin Culver City
Truffle Maitake Miso Soup
Dynamite roll being torched tableside
Top: Stuffed shitake mushrooms and pumpkin croquettes; Below: Fried tofu nuggets “Sweet Orange Chicken”
Shojin
Two words: vegan sushi! Sojin’s explosion of flavors and textures is unlike anything I’ve ever had in LA - in a good way. We got the Chef’s Special Tasting menu, which was a formal Kaiseki (traditional Japanese, multi-course meal) - which transported us back to Kyoto circa 2018! Mind blown. The servers were extremely attentive and gracious, serving with incredible care. Each dish was beautifully prepared and plated (100% made with love). And let us not forget the beautiful balance of flavors. My favorite was the Baked “Crab Cake” Handroll, which looked like fluffy brown rice, mushroom, the creamy umami of avocado, vegenaise and tamari — I’m drooling just thinking about it.
Initially started in with their Little Tokyo Marketplace mall location in Downtown LA, then expanded west to Culver City! They are slowly, but surely winning over more LA fans! I’ve been several times and the food tastes better with every visit (how is that possible?).
Best LA Vegan Restaurant List
Great Food, Great Atmosphere
Crossroads Kitchen - good for a day time lunch meeting, date night or special occasion, or when you’re feeling oh-so-WeHo. Celebrity sighting, one time, long ago — I saw Tracee Ellis Ross eating (a few feet in front of me!). So if seeing this powerhouse’s presence doesn’t up the cool-factor, I don’t know what will!
Gracias Madre - boho patio of dreams with top-notch Vegan Mexican food and cocktails - it’s the perfect place to see, be seen and eat well. They are consistent favorite and one where I would take out-of-towners to impress.
Gusto Green - hemp (aka cannibis) and plant-forward, formal dining (with meat options) in a restored 1913 Downtown LA building. The Chef is a heavy hitting with ties to French Laundry and Animal. One of the most anticipated restaurant openings of 2022.
Cafe Gratitude - four LA locations! I like to do early morning yoga sess and meet up with a gf at Cafe Gratitude (same owners as Gracias Madre!). The first time you order a dish by announcing, “I Am Glorious” and you feel like it’s perfectly LA. The food - is truly thoughtful, flavorful and well prepared; you’ll be surprised. It’s the perfect LA experience that you cannot put in a bottle; you just gotta go.
Photo by Monty’s Good Burger
Meatless Burgers
Monty’s Good Burger - multiple locations in just the right spot. Fast, meatless burgers and an easy walk-up window .
Burgerlords - known for more decadent, meatless burgers
Doomie’s - where junk food and vegan lovers go to die
Cafes
Jackfruit Cafe - variety of vegan fare ranging from Californian vegan, Southern food, and Latin American dishes
Grain Cafe - Three locations and a wide menu including pizza’s, burritos and wraps, bowls and yes - lots of salad options! Love the consistency, quality, and veggie forward when I don’t know where to eat.
Simply Wholesome - large cafe menu (with meat options) and a good vegan/veggie forward selection. They’re anchored by their large cafe with plenty of seating and natural light, and their health food store.
LA-area Chains
Veggie Grill - fast, casual, veggie forward, Californian chain. Consistently hits the spot when I’m grabbing lunch between lunch meetings.
Native Foods - perhaps the largest vegan-based chain with Chicago and Colorado locations; HUGE burger menu that will leave even the pickiest burger fan please. Most well-known dish is their Original Wellington with seitan, kale, and yams enfolded in puff pastry.
Worth the Drive
Vinh Loi - the most famous, tofu with a cult following; located in Reseda and Cerritos
Bodhi Veggie Cuisine - full-flavored, Chinese vegan where you won’t miss the meat. Worth the drive to Rosemead.
Happy Family Restaurant - Where the meatless meat and tofu is slathered, battered and fried to perfection. Monterey Park.
Just What I Kneaded’s baked goods selection
Just Desserts
Just What I Kneaded - pastries galore and some savory cafe dishes. Grab food and coffee, enjoy their cute patio near the LA River. Don’t tell your non-vegan friends what they’re eating and they will never know.
Awan Vegan Ice Cream - Indonesian ice cream flavors thru a Californian lens; what the doctor ordered
Last But Not Least
Awash Ethiopian - a dark, hole-in-the-wall, mom-and-pop Ethniopian food; off the beaten Fairfax/ Little Ethiopia path
Souley Vegan - New Orleans food, hailing from Oakland
Whew - you made it thru the comprehensive veggie-forward, and/or vegan restaurant list of LA, by a local! If you found this helpful, useful, or just want to let me know you’re out there - email me at linhdy@outlook.com