Headed to The Big Apple? Then this list is for you! We dug up 6 great vegan restaurants in NYC with food that’ll have your tastebuds singing, “New York, New York!”
There is no shortage of truly amazing vegan food in New York City. In our humble opinion, NYC is the best place in the world to have a mealโvegan or not. It’s the innovation and cultural diversity of the food that gets us. This list mirrors the city’s immigrant populationโfrom the Jamaicans to the Italians to the Chinese, and the Jews. NYC is a literal melting pot of delicious vegan food, and we can’t wait to share some of our favorite eateries with you ๐
Also make sure to bookmark our post on 6 NYC Hip-Hop Landmarks for your trip!
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๐ฏ๐ฒ ONE STOP PATTY SHOP
- Location: Harlem, NYC
- Address: 1708 Amsterdam Ave, New York, NY 10031
- Hours: Monday โ Sunday 11:00 AM โ 9:30 PM
- Notes: Cash only. Get there early, because they sell out of the vegan options!
New York has the largest Jamaican population in the U.S., so you need to make a pitstop at the Jamaican-owned One Stop Patty Shop to try the island’s iconic hand pie. Although not a fully vegan establishment, One Stop Patty Shop brings the goods. It offers 8 (yes, 8!) different vegan patties: ackee (the national fruit of Jamaica), calaloo (Caribbean greens), soy fish, soy chicken, lentil, pumpkin, split peas, and jerk plantain.
We got 1 ackee, 1 lentil, and 2 jerk plantain patties, because we are obsessed. The patties were a bargain at $4.00 each. Our favorite of the bunch was the jerk plantain; we cannot get enough of the sweet-and-heat flavor combination. The patties were hot and fresh and the crust flakey. The vegan options sell out quickly, so get there early!
๐ ARTISTIC PIZZA
- Location: Greenwich, NYC
- Address: 123 W 3rd St, New York, NY 10012
- Hours: Sunday โ Wednesday 11:00 AM โ 1:00 AM; Thursday 10:00 AM โ 2:00 AM; Friday โ Saturday 11:00 AM โ 4:00 AM
- Notes: Gluten-free options.
100% vegan New York-style pizza? Sign us up! After taking a stroll through Washington Square Park, a stop at Artistic Pizza is an absolute must. The pizza parlor may be tiny, but they deliver on vegan pies. There are 16 different pizzas to choose from, and you can order by the slice or by the whole pie. They’ve also got mock meats galore. Think pepperoni, bacon, meatball, sausage, chicken, and sausage.
The pizza was so good, we rolled up twice for good measure. We had the buffalo chicken (the best we’ve ever had!), the BBQ chicken, and the supreme. As you can see from the picture, Artistic Pizza offers a half-and-half pie option. Oh, and did we mention they’re open late? Comedy clubs abound nearby, and it was heaven on earth for us to enjoy a vegan pie straight out the oven after a late show.
๐ฅฏ ABSOLUTE BAGELS
- Location: Upper West Side, NYC
- Address: 2788 Broadway, New York, NY 10025
- Hours: Monday โ Sunday 6:00 AM โ 7:00 PM
- Notes: Cash only. Lox tofutti is not vegan; it contains fish.
Absolute Bagels is a nondescript neighborhood joint located a few blocks from Columbia University. Don’t let the looks of the place fool you, though! Lines of hungry patrons routinely snake around the building. Although not fully vegan, it offers 8 different vegan cream cheese options. Tofutti is the cream cheese of choice, and they pimp it out to create the following flavors: scallion, sun-dried tomato, herbs, vegetable, olive & pimento, chive & garlic, and walnut raisin. For the less adventurous, they also have plain Tofutti as well. Do note, however, that the lox-flavored option is not vegan, as it contains fish.
We had the everything bagel with olive & pimento cream cheese and the pumpernickel bagel with sun-dried tomato cream cheese. Both were really yummy. They were admittedly not the absolute best bagels we’ve had in NYC (see what we did there?), but they were definitely solid. Maybe we got ordered our bagels too late in the day? Not sure. Nevertheless, we’d go back for more, and we appreciated all the vegan cream cheese options.
๐ SESTINA
- Location: East Village, NYC
- Address: 67 2nd Ave, New York, NY 10003
- Hours: Monday โ Thursday 5:00 PM โ 10:00 PM; Friday 5:00 PM โ 11:00pm; Saturday 12:00 PM โ 11:00 PM; Sunday 12:00 PM โ 9:00 PM.
- Notes: Indoor and outdoor seating available. Also try one of Chef Kenney’s Double Zero locations for 100% plant-based pizza!
One of Chef Matthew Kenney’s many restaurants, SESTINA is a fully plant-based, self-described pasta bar concept with a modern, upscale vibe. Expect small plates, house-made pasta, desserts, and sustainable alcoholic libations. We had the arancini (fried risotto balls), caesar salad, shells in vodka sauce, and ravioli with a thyme Alfredo sauce and sweet corn.
The arancini was crisp and “cheesy” and the sauce flavorful and tangy. The pasta had a nice chewy, al dente bite. The Caesar salad was beautifully presented, and the dressing tasted just like the real thing. SESTINA is a great place to celebrate a special occasion or to get your omnivore friends to say, “I can’t believe it’s plant-based!” We are pasta fanatics and wish we had a location here in Houston ๐ญ
(Clockwise: arancini, shells in vodka sauce, caesar salad, ravioli with thyme Alfredo sauce and sweet corn)
๐ฅ BODAI KOSHER VEGETARIAN
- Location: Chinatown, NYC
- Address: 123 W 3rd St, New York, NY 10012
- Hours: Monday โ Sunday 11:00 AM โ 09:45 PM
- Notes: Kosher certified and several gluten-free options. Both indoor and covered outdoor seating available. Check out our dumpling experience video below!
Does a true vegan dim sum experience even exist? It does at Bodai Kosher Vegetarian in NYC, which despite the name, is a one-hundred percent vegan restaurant. While the pushcarts might be missing, the flavor, authenticity and variety are not. The menu mirrors a traditional dim sum menu, and youโll be able to notate your selections on a paper check sheet. The service was fantastic, the food fresh and flavorful, and the prices fair. went back twice.
Two of our favorite stand-outs: Steamed shrimp dumplings (har gao): An etherial translucent crystal dumpling wrapper serves as an edible gift wrapping enclosing meaty, delicately seasoned vegan shrimp. Fried taro dumpling (wu gok): These light-as-air taro puffs are perfectly fried and are stuffed with flavorful savory filling. Read our full restaurant review!
๐ SCREAMER’S PIZZERIA
- Location: Brooklyn, NYC
- Address: 620 Manhattan Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11222
- Hours: Monday โ Sunday 12:00 PM โ 10:00 PM
- Notes: 2 locations โ Crown Heights and Greenpoint
Last but certainly not least, we have Screamer’s Pizzeria, a fully vegan New York-style pizzeria. Believe us when we tell you that you’ll eat THE BEST vegan pizza you’ve every had here.They source their vegan cheeses and mock meats locally, but they also use Violife mozzarella, and they make their parmesan and almond ricotta in house. There are 20 different pizzas to choose from. Y can order by the slice or the whole pie. We had a difficult time choosing what to order, because the entire menu looked incredible.
We had the sausage & mushroom (tomato sauce, house-made seitan sausage, and crimini mushrooms) and the vampire (garlic oil base topped with seitan pepperoni, red onions, caramelized onions, and garlic). Screamer’s crust is flawlessโimpossibly light, thin and crisp. It shatters between your teeth. The sausage and pepperoni were flavorful and meaty and the cheese gooey. 11/10. Honestly one of the best vegan meals we’ve ever eaten.
Thanks for joining us on our virtual vegan food tour of NYC! Bookmark this post to help you plan your eating itinerary!
I like your style and am excited to visit some of these places on my upcoming trip. Thanks!
Thanks so much! Enjoy your time in NYC and safe travels.