Best Vegan Dishes In LA For World Vegan Month
Every November, World Vegan Month comes along. Whether or not you're ready to fully take the plant-based plunge is up to you, but it is a great time to sample a few vegan dishes at various restaurants across the city. Here are a few places to visit.
Cleo
The Redbury
1717 Vine Street
Los Angeles, CA 90028
(310) 910-9990
www.sbe.com
Cleo's menu features a number of shareable Mediterranean bites you can put together to create a satisfying mezze platter. Try the babaghanoush, hummus, carrot harissa and Turkish salad as elements to your appetizer plate. Brussels sprouts with capers and almonds, seasonal mushrooms with dates and hazelnuts and a quinoa and roasted vegetable salad with frisee are just a few of the 15 vegan dishes that dot the menu. Cleo is just the place to go with a group if you're up to explore the menu's inspired fare.
Viviane
The Avalon - Beverly Hills
9400 West Olympic Boulevard
Beverly Hills, CA, 90212
(310) 277-5221
www.vivianerestaurant.com
Viviane's roasted kabocha squash and tofu ragout is an option not just for vegans, but also diners with gluten sensitivities. It's a colorful blend of braised kabocha squash and roasted peppers cooked in a broth with ginger and red miso. The vegetables are served over brown rice and topped off with puffed wild rice. Not only is this a vibrantly plated dish, but the ragout is also a nutrient-packed punch of a meal.
Gracias Madre
Gracias Madre
8905 Melrose Ave
West Hollywood, CA 90069
(323) 978-2170
www.graciasmadreweho.com
Once an antique store, now a stunningly beautiful indoor-outdoor all-vegan dining spot, the elegant Mexican cuisine at West Hollywood's Gracias Madre offers terrific choices if you're looking for vegan food. The entire menu is vegan, but some highlights include their black bean burger, cococnut ceviche tostada, and the bowl uno with romaine, brown rice, black beans, tempeh chorizo, guacamole, pico de gallo, and cashew crema.
Tacos Tu Madre
1945 1/2 Westwood Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90025
(310) 654-0664
www.facebook.com
Tacos Tu Madre just opened its doors on the Westside, and they made sure to put a plant-based option on the menu. The gourmet taco shop takes a Vietnamese favorite and transforms it into a two-bite bit. The bánh mì taco features tofu as the protein with sprinklings of shredded cabbage, pickled vegetables, shaved cucumber and avocado on a corn tortilla. Tacos Tu Madre invites you to the walk-up window for all the bánh mì tacos you can eat.
Chavela
1358 Vine Street
Los Angeles, CA 90028
(323) 871-8099
www.chavela-la.com
Chavela's black pepper truffle pasta is one of the newest items on the menu. Winter squash, kale and shiitake mushrooms are tossed with quinoa pasta and a creamy, cashew-based sauce. Another seasonal dish of note is the pumpkin blue corn tamale with sugar pie pumpkin, anasazi beans, roasted red pepper-tomato sauce and sautéed market vegetables. Just a few months ago, Chavela expanded its hours to include lunch, so you can snag either one of these plates day or night.
little pine
2870 Rowena Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90039
(323) 741-8148
www.littlepinerestaurant.com
Singer and songwriter Moby is the big name behind little pine, which just opened it doors in Silver Lake. Noteworthy dishes include the panzanella salad with farmers market vegetables, farro walnut salad with butternut squash and pomegranate and the Mediterranean salad with spigarello, red frill, olives, and avocado. If you still have room, try the stuffed shells trio--olive and pesto, roasted artichoke with herbed cream, and spinach and ricotta in a marinara sauce.
Blue Star Donuts
1142 Abbot Kinney Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90291
(310) 450-5630
www.bluestardonuts.com
Blue Star Donuts is known for its renowned cakey treats in LA. The Portland-based shop's blueberry bourbon basil and cinnamon sugar donuts are vegan-approved, so you can indulge in this sweet whenever you have a craving for brioche-style donuts. Once they're sold out for the day, that's it though. So, make sure to get in early, and grab a dozen.
Equelecuá Cuban Café
1120 West Florence Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90301
(323) 741-2822
www.equelecuacafe.com
Equelecuá Cuban Cafe is the one and only vegan Cuban restaurant in this city. The owners serve classic dishes such as ropa vieja with black beans and rice, arroz con pollo with tostones, picadillo with green olives and raisins, as well as the obligatory Cuban sandwich. It's an homage to traditional, family recipes that have been adapted to fit a plant-based diet.
Café Gratitude
639 N Larchmont Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90004
(323) 580-6383
Multiple Locations
www.cafegratitude.com
Café Gratitude's new fall menu now includes the "Confident" Cauliflower Steak. It's a crispy, pan-seared slab of cauliflower topped with almond romesco sauce, sun dried tomato and olive tapenade, gremolata and pine nuts. It's a dish full of warm, piquant flavors, which makes it a comforting, lighter alternative to another kind of steak dinner.
aestus
507 Wilshire Boulevard
Santa Monica, CA 90401
(424) 268-4433
www.aestusrestaurant.com
Are you still gorging yourself on quinoa these days? The healthy grain is here to stay, and aestus serves a golden quinoa bowl with roasted beets, persimmons and almonds. One of Santa Monica's newest restaurants brings another upscale dining option to the area - one that also offers happy hour Tuesday through Friday. Settle at the bar, and try the caponata with grilled bread before sitting down to dinner.
Golden Road Brewery
5410 West San Fernando Road
Los Angeles, CA 90039
(213) 542-6039
www.goldenroad.la
Golden Road Brewery is one of the area's best local breweries to sip craft, canned beers and grab a meal at the pub. If you love avocado, go for the fried avocado tacos. All three tacos are adorned with corn salsa, napa cabbage and chipotle cream and are vegan-friednly. Put in two orders because three won't be enough.
