The 13 Best US Cities For Vegan Foodies

If you're a vegan who loves food, you already know how challenging it can be to find a good vegan meal outside of your own home. Being vegan can sometimes mean being disappointingly limited in restaurants and grocery stores — forget about trying that popular burger joint or finding a fancy vegan fine-dining restaurant, right? But depending on where you are in the U.S., you might actually have more vegan variety than you think. There are a few cities that boast some of the nation's very best vegan restaurants, grocery stores, and meals — no matter the cuisine or restaurant experience you're looking for.

As a former plant-only eater, I've been through all the challenges of searching for a fun night out that includes a delicious vegan meal. However, there are a few cities I've been to where that task wasn't a challenge at all. If you're a traveling vegan foodie looking for your best destination, you should add these U.S. cities to your list.

To find the best of the best in the U.S., I searched social media far and wide for resident and tourist reviews alike. I also used my own experience when it came to the cities I had visited as a vegan. But don't worry, I'm not biased, so I still used social media to back up my opinion here, including plenty of vegan-friendly cities I haven't had the chance to check out before.

Washington, D.C. is a large, trendy city — so it shouldn't be too surprising that it's one of my top picks for vegan-friendly cities. When I visited this city, I found it super easy to stay completely vegan. I felt like almost every restaurant I wanted to go to had at least one solid vegan option for me to enjoy — and there is a portion of restaurants that are more vegan- and vegetarian-focused. Better yet, these restaurants are scattered throughout the city, so you're not likely to stray very far from a vegan option.

Another highlight of D.C. is that you'll have a variety of cuisines and restaurant styles to choose from. If you peruse the array of all-vegan D.C. restaurants, you'll find that some of them are very casual, while others are more high-end. You'll also find any dish you can dream of — from tacos to ramen to vegan raw foods. 

If you're in the mood for a vegan feast, PLANTA Queen is the all-vegan Asian restaurant you want to visit for creative vegan sushi (not to mention brunch). Maybe the seven-course fancy vegan restaurant Elizabeth's Gone Raw is more your style, with fixed vegan courses that will give you one of the coolest fine dining experiences in the city. If you want a quick bite to eat, however, don't miss HipCityVeg, D.C.'s self-proclaimed "best vegan food," offering everything from vegan soups to vegan burgers. 

New York is — of course — the most populated city on this list. That also makes it the best for finding meal options as a vegan. The city is known for having an impressive variety of cuisines — and you're likely to find several different restaurants within a single city block.

Believe it or not, New York is also known for being one of the U.S. states with the most vegans. Many New York City schools participate in "Vegan Friday." Some NYC hospitals offer vegan dishes as their default. New York City's Vegandale festival (full of 100% vegan food, as well as music and art) is a massive annual vegan celebration in Queens. And you'll find endless amounts of vegan food options whether you want to eat out or stay in. 

As a tourist, I found New York amazing for discovering vegan dishes I'd never tried before, whether at an all-vegan restaurant or at a restaurant that offered vegan food. After all, the city is known for having some seriously high-end restaurants, so it's no surprise that many of its most touted vegan spots are classy, too – like the Michelin-starred all-vegan restaurant Eleven Madison Park.

You're also likely to find loads of grocery stores that carry vegan products and meals. Just look to places like Lily's Vegan Pantry for a haven of staple vegan products. If you're thinking about making the move to the city sometime soon, rest assured that you'll find it all too easy to cook vegan meals at home.

I think Seattle is a highly underrated vegan-friendly city. After all, it's most known for its seafood — but even if you don't eat fish, Seattle's restaurants have so much more to offer than just that. Many restaurants are embracing all-vegan dishes to satisfy a growing number of vegan customers — and in a city that prioritizes sustainability, plant-based options are becoming more common.

Whether you want to visit an innovative Seattle coffee shop and enjoy plant-based milk with your drink or have a sit-down dinner at some of the most creative vegan/vegetarian restaurants, whatever your vegan heart desires is possible in Seattle. There are also loads of grocery stores touting organic produce and vegan meal options scattered throughout the city — from co-ops to Whole Foods and PCC.

Visiting Pike Place? You'll find lots of vegan-friendly dishes on local restaurants' menus, like plant-based tacos and burritos at El Borracho. Want to go check out the International District? Don't forget to drop by the district's famous vegan deli, Chu Minh Tofu. Taking an afternoon stroll around Cap Hill? Why, Cafe Flora — the most delicious vegan restaurant of all (okay, maybe I'm biased) — is right there, too. It doesn't matter if you're a local or a tourist — you just can't deny that the city is a vegan foodie's dream.

Boston doesn't always ping every vegan's radar. That's probably because it doesn't win the vegan-friendly award in terms of the sheer amount of vegan restaurants. However, I have to say that Boston's true vegan-ness is kept a little bit of a secret. You'll find a truly welcoming amount of vegan menu options if you look. Restaurants in Boston often focus more on having one or two vegan options on their menus rather than being entirely vegan. For example, the popular restaurant Sarma is known for having a menu that caters to both meat-eaters and vegans — just give its vegan burger a try. 

You may also have luck at vegetarian restaurants, like The Red Lentil, which offers both vegetarian and vegan options to enjoy. Many restaurants also offer vegan conversions — like swapping out a meat burger for a plant-based one, for example. When I visited, I found it super easy to pick a restaurant at random and find a plant-based option I liked on its menu.

Also, I will commend Boston for its amazing boutiques and smaller grocery stores. These places have loads of products to try — from Eataly to the world's smallest Trader Joe's, many shops in Boston focus on providing at least a few selections of vegan-friendly products. 

Portland is truly a winner when it comes to the sheer amount of vegan restaurants it houses. I doubt there is any other city on this list that can match the number of vegan restaurants it contains by size — which is especially impressive considering the city isn't all that large in the first place. If you want to be surrounded by vegan culture, Portland is the place you want to be. From vegan-friendly bars like Hungry Tiger to popular vegan comfort food spots like Dirty Lettuce (which is chock-full of delectable Southern dishes), you'll hardly have to do any work to find a vegan cuisine that suits your fancy.

In Portland, you can also find all-vegan grocery stores, plant-based specialty cheese shops, and dairy-free ice cream shops. But it doesn't stop there — Portland has a history of loving veganism. The city celebrates World Vegan Month and has many vegan (and vegetarian) festivals to boot, like the annual VegFest and the city's Vegan Night Market.

A few residents online have argued that Portland's vegan fame comes mostly from the number of vegan restaurants available — not that all of them are really that good. But you'll still see a lot of support online for the city's vegan restaurants — and as long as you're checking reviews beforehand, you're bound to find a vegan dish you want to go back for again and again.

Despite its relatively small size, Asheville is hiding a treasure trove of vegan restaurants. Just look for classics like Plant (the fanciest vegan restaurant with over 1,000 Google reviews) or Laughing Seed Cafe, a long-standing vegan/vegetarian cafe. Many residents claim that Asheville is an amazing place in the U.S. to be vegan — and that the number of vegan restaurants within the city makes it extra impressive, considering it's not as large as most of the other top-ranking cities on this list.

In Asheville, you'll find nearly unlimited vegan options to eat. If you're a vegan foodie who hasn't had the opportunity to visit a fancy vegan restaurant or enjoy a special vegan tasting menu before, Asheville will give you the chance. If you spent a full two weeks in the city, you still probably wouldn't have managed to taste every delicious vegan option it has to offer. Just don't forget to plan your trip around Asheville's autumn VeganFest, which boasts loads of vegan vendors to peruse.

It wouldn't be a vegan-friendly roundup if LA didn't make the list. The city is known for being trendy (and kind of obsessed with organic food culture, if Erewhon Market is any indication), which makes vegan-friendly meals a big selling point for many popular restaurants. When I visited LA, I had a great time trying new restaurants that offered plenty of delicious vegan options.

One of my favorite things about LA is the variety and creativity involved with vegan meals. Because there are so many restaurants to choose from, you'll have many more cuisine types and meal options that are plant-friendly. Vegan sushi, burgers at PlantHouse, My Vegan for Thai food, tacos, baked goods, Vietnamese food at Vinh Loi Tofu, and loads of fine dining are just a few of the myriad options you'll find in LA.

You'll even find a huge, completely vegan grocery store to shop at downtown. Besties Vegan Paradise is the first solely vegan-brand food store in the country. But if you're not able to make the trip, you're also likely to find that LA grocery stores offer lots of vegan-friendly options throughout their aisles.

In a big city with lots of good food, you're bound to find plenty of different cuisines and restaurant styles to suit your fancy. If you're in San Francisco, the same goes for vegan food. Residents say that San Francisco is really consistent when it comes to vegan food; you're likely to find a good amount of options scattered throughout the city, and you'll also note a wide variety of all-vegan cuisine options to choose from.

When I visited San Francisco, I never felt like I had an issue choosing a place to eat. From what I hear, it's only gotten better since my last visit. Fancy restaurants with all-vegan menus like Greens, vegan tasting menus, vegan food trucks like The Vegan Hood Chefs, and so much more will make your visit to San Francisco ten times more enjoyable if you're a foodie who's looking for a vegan experience you've never had before.

When it comes to shopping, vegan/vegetarian grocery store Vegefarm will make your nights spent dining in that much more enjoyable. Green Taste Vegan Goods is another option for vegans who don't want to worry about finding vegan cooking ingredients. 

If you scour social media and review sites, you'll find dozens of highly-rated vegan restaurants and vegan dishes to try in Las Vegas. Keep in mind that Las Vegas' vegan culture doesn't just apply to the strip — whether you're looking to enjoy the city's casinos or spend most of your time downtown, you're bound to find something you'll love as a vegan foodie.

One thing that I found especially interesting about Las Vegas was that many of its restaurants have vegan specialty menus you're not likely to find anywhere else. For example, there's a vegan "butcher" called NoButcher, which offers a variety of vegan deli meats. Garden Grill will meet all your veggie comfort food needs, while Crossroads, one of the city's most popular vegan restaurants, even offers vegan steak and vegan caviar.

If you haven't visited, you might be a little surprised to see Austin on this list. After all, Texas has a reputation for being a meat-lovers paradise. But the same isn't exactly true for Austin — it is the city known for its weirdness, after all. It boasts an impressive amount of vegan restaurants, making it easy to find something to eat on a dime. It's also considered one of Texas's most vegan-friendly cities (although to be fair, there isn't exactly a lot of competition).

Though some vegan restaurants have shut down since Austin originally gained its claim to vegan fame, current residents still say that there are plenty of vegan options. Given its vegan-friendly culture, many non-vegan restaurants offer vegan menu options. Austin also boasts a vegan street fair and the annual Texas VegFest, both of which are perfect for finding new local vendors with vegan street food to try. 

You might not find many all-vegan grocery stores in Austin, but that's not likely to stop you from discovering fun vegan products at local Austin stores – which is a huge bonus whether you're living in Austin or just visiting. Places like Wheatsville Food Co-op and Natural Grocers are said to have a wide assortment of vegan products, according to reviewers.

Here's another city that might not be the first place you think of when it comes to vegan options. But many current residents would beg to differ. If you ask vegan Chicago residents what they think, you're likely to hear that the city is a solid contender when it comes to vegan food. So if you're a vegan foodie who was hoping to add another big city to your travel bucket list, you might just want to visit Chicago next.

It's certainly true that the city doesn't have quite as many vegan restaurants as some of the other options on this list, but it has more than enough to keep any vegan satisfied for a week-long trip. Because the city is so large, it's bound to have plenty of vegan options scattered throughout — another bonus if you have particular parts of the city you want to explore, as you're never likely to stray far from a vegan option. Just look to favorites like Bloom (which even offers vegan sashimi), Casa Yari, or Handlebar.

Chicago also has its own vegan food subreddit dedicated to finding vegan options downtown — another testament to how many vegans enjoy the city. You'll find plenty of vegan options at grocery stores, vegan food delivery (from caterers like Libby's Corner), and vegan options at non-vegan restaurants, too.

Philadelphia is another city I would consider as underrated when it comes to the vegan scene. It's long been growing its number of vegan restaurants, and now has a great selection. Philadelphia Magazine even released a guide celebrating the myriad vegan restaurants available throughout the city. Whether it's a bakery (like Crust Vegan Bakery, with its wide range of vegan baked goods) or a solid vegan pizza shop (like Down North Pizza) for a quick and comforting meal, there's a lot to explore. 

The number of choices for vegans in Philly is continuing to grow, with multiple new vegan-friendly restaurants having just opened earlier this year — like Algorithm Vegan Grill or Chef Reeky's Cafe. Though there aren't any all-vegan grocery stores or small shops available just yet, any vegan foodie will be happy to know that many Philadelphia grocery stores have a wide selection of vegan-friendly foods available to purchase.

Vegandale Philadelphia and Philly VegFest are two additional testaments to the city's love of vegan food. These festivals are jam-packed celebrations of vegan food and culture, both featuring many plant-friendly speakers and artists.

Miami is a favorite city for many vegans. Not only is it one of Florida's top tourist destinations, but you're bound to find plenty of delicious vegan food to enjoy while you're there. From hearty vegan cafes (like Love Life Cafe for a quick bite) to high-end vegan-friendly restaurants like MILA (for a fancy dinner with over 13,000 Google reviews), Miami offers solid vegan options that will cover breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

Now, you should be aware that there is a little bit of a vegan debate happening in the Miami community. Some tourists and residents say that Miami has lots of vegan options, but that many of them aren't quite as creative and delicious as other cities — like LA or New York, for example.

However, because of the wide range of vegan options available — and the overwhelming online support for many local vegan restaurants — Miami still made this list. If you're visiting sometime soon and wondering how the vegan scene is, I don't think you'll be disappointed — especially with festivals like Vegan Foodie Fest or the Soul Vegan & Seafood Festival. And while it's true that not every city can measure up to the vast amount of five-star vegan restaurants available in LA, I still find Miami to host a satisfying amount of highly-rated vegan restaurants.