The New York vegan food scene is incredible. It is possibly one of the easiest places I have been to eat plant based. It has such a huge variety of options it feels like I have only just scratched the surface! Here are the foodie highlights from my trip:
Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner:
The Butchers Daughter
(Nolita, West Village & Williamsburg)
This popular spot is hyped for a reason. The menu is 100% vegetarian and very vegan friendly. I went for both brunch and dinner and found the daytime menu much better than the evening one. I recommend the vegan waffles for breakfast and the impossible burger for dinner! Be warned, there are queues on weekends!
Two Hands
(Tribeca & Nolita)
This spot is best known for its brunch but is open into the evening too. The menu is suitable for all dietary requirements and has a few good vegan options. The avocado toast is incredible – the bread tastes like heaven – and the acai bowl is refreshing on a hot summers day!
Mulberry and Vine (Tribeca, Dumbo, NoMad, Midtown East & More)
This healthy lunch chain has some seriously epic portion sizes! It is a “build your own bowl” cafe where you create a custom nourish bowl and damn, they’re delicious. Theres tonnes of vegan options and they aren’t shy about serving up tofu. Don’t miss the kale with black beans and avocado, its dreamy.
Beyond Sushi
(Soho, Union Square, Chelsea Market, Financial District and more)
Vegan sushi is hard to come by. Tasty vegan sushi is even more rare! Luckily these guys have nailed it. They do salads, soups and ramen; but the highlight for me was the spicy mango sushi roll!
Hole In The Wall
(Financial District)
I was a regular at this cafe during my time in NYC. Not only do they have amazing coffee, but they serve up an incredible Australian inspired all day brunch menu. There are vegan friendly options, just ask the server for their recommendations. If you need a spot to work, this is the one; fast wifi, lots of plug sockets and a laid back atmosphere.
Charley St
(Nolita)
I love Australian inspired brunch food, if you haven’t guess already. So I had to check out this brand new cafe which ticks all the vegan friendly boxes. It has brunch classics like avocado toast as well as salted caramel overnight oats and a selection of nourish bowls. It was right up my street.
Broken Coconut
(Soho)
This health focused cafe is best for breakfast and lunch. They have tonnes of vegan friendly options such as oatmeal bowls, acai bowls, nourish bowls, chia puddings and toast toppings. My only issue is that everything is served in disposable paper cartons rather than on proper crockery.
Jajaja NYC
(Lower East Side)
By far one of my favourite spots in NYC, I went back three times I loved it so much. It is a 100% vegan Mexican restaurant serving up street food with healthy as well as more comforting options. Quite simply it is not to be missing, its the best Mexican food I have ever had. Don’t miss the “fish” tacos!
By Chloe
(Flatiron, West Village, Soho & Williamsburg)
This famous vegan fast food outlet recently came to London and has exploded in popularity, so I had to visit the original in NYC. It didn’t disappoint. With options varying from meatball subs and juicy burgers through to healthy salads and lobster rolls, there is something for everyone. My persona favourite is the quinoa taco salad.
ABCv
(Flatiron)
Another one of my favourite spots I visited. You can visit this renowned restaurant for breakfast, lunch or dinner. I personally loved it for a date night as it felt pretty damn classy. The restaurant is 100% veggie and mostly vegan, just ask your server. I loved pretty much everything I ate, but the lentils were a personal highlight.
Smorgasburg
(Williamsburg)
This Saturday food market is pretty damn popular so get there early to avoid crazy crowds. There are tonnes of vegan options available including healthy and more indulgent options. One of my favourite stalls was Monks Smokehouse, a vegan “meats” stall serving up epic burgers and sides. Don’t miss their chilli cheese fries, they are literally incredible.
Dessert:
Van Leeuwen Ice Cream
(Everywhere!)
These famous ice creams shops are located all over the city and they’re popular for a reason. As well as having tonnes of dairy options, they also have a full vegan ice cream menu. Flavours include salted caramel, peanut butter chocolate chip and vanilla almond chip. My personal favourite was chocolate chip cookie dough as it has huge chunks of cookie dough throughout, yum!
Sweets By Chloe
(Soho)
This dessert restaurant, from the creators of By Chloe, is every vegans dream. It has cakes, bakes and cookies and everything in-between. I went as fair few times and my highlights were the peanut butter “everything” cookie and the raspberry bake.
Dunwell Doughnuts
(Lower East Side & Williamsburg)
Quite simply the best vegan doughnuts I have ever had. My favourite plastics were peanut butter and jam, and lemon poppyseed. They also do vegan ice cream sandwiches which are the bomb.
Mike and Daves
(Greenwich Village)
These guys specialise in vegan “nice cream” made from wholefood ingredients. You can even get soft serve between two vegan cookies, an epic ice cream sandwich! With flavours lime s’mores, pretzel and chocolate banana; you could never tell that its healthy.
Coffee:
La Colombe Coffee
(Everywhere!)
Quite simply some of the best coffee I have ever had. Be sure to have their oat milk flat white, and don’t forget to take your own reusable coffee cup to avoid any plastic waste!
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