The Best Vegan Spots Around D.C.
Where to find plant-based soul food, Michelin meals, burgers, and baked treats
Updated
Gone are the days when going to a vegan restaurant meant choking back tasteless food served with a whiff of patchouli. These days, the D.C. area is a rich wonderland of plant-based restaurants, and each is as varied in personality as the people who eat at them. There are chic, upscale tasting menus; homey vegan comfort food spots with hefty, filling plates; and massive, consistent chains.
Though this list is limited to restaurants with no meat on the menu, it’s worth noting that quality vegan meals can be found all over town. Downtown’s long-running Elizabeth’s opens its townhouse doors a few nights a week with elegant, $110-per-person vegan tasting spread. Chef Todd Gray puts high-end veggie dishes front and center at his 25-year-old stalwart Equinox, which recently relocated to swanky downtown digs. And Atlanta’s popular burger bar Slutty Vegan is prepping for its D.C. debut along H Street NE.
we say goodbye to NuVegan Cafe, which closed in College Park and plans to reopen in Shaw in August (for now, it currently maintains a local delivery presence).
Read on for 16 excellent meat-free destinations around D.C.
David Perez and Carolina McCandless, the owners of this newly expanded spot in Takoma Park, met a decade ago while working at San Francisco’s revered vegetarian Mexican restaurant Gracias Madre. A substantial chunk of their Maryland menu is vegan, including gorditas, quesadillas stuffed with tequila-sauteed mushrooms or grill cactus, and believable (cashew) cheese and cream. They opened a Mission District-style burrito shop in the former space, called San Pancho, that also caters to vegan eaters with vegan chorizo, made with tofu and mushrooms, and cashew cream you can add to your burrito.
Adams Morgan’s cute carryout specializes in Indian street foods from chef Swarn Singh. Go vegan with samosas, dosas, spinach chat, cauliflower florets tossed in chili-garlic sauce, stir-fried okra, mixed vegetable curry, and more. A “taco” trio features mini dosas stuffed with salad, curried spinach, and aloo masala. Order online.
Vegz
Dupont’s dairy-free deli, cheese shop, and catering company comes from vegan-obsessed couple Leah Curran Moon — an animal activist with a PhD — and Michael Jantz Moon, a musician who’s toured with the likes of Paul Simon. Tasty vegan takes on bar fare include include trumpet mushroom “calamari” rings, barbecue cauliflower “wings,” a beet burger, fried artichoke sandwich, and “Philly cheesesteak” sub (or bowl) constructed with braised jackfruit and a cashew cheese drizzle. Sit and stay in the sleek space or order online for pickup or delivery. Its botanical cocktail den below recently closed.
James Beard Award-winning chef Rob Rubba’s boundary-pushing meatless spot is obsessed with oyster mushrooms and the bivalves of the same name. The 28-seat, Michelin-starred dining room in Shaw offers a seasonal, all-vegan tasting menu ($135) that uses vegetables as a canvas. The sustainably-minded restaurant won a green star in 2024 for its environmental and ethical practices, like re-using empty wine bottles as pressed plates. Reserve via Resy.
Lentil and fermented sourdough dosas make up the simple, protein-packed menu at these stalls in Union Market, The Heights food hall in Bethesda, and at National Landing Water Park. Filled with flavorful masala potatoes with ginger, roasted eggplant and sweet potatoes with tamarind, or a combination of crispy cauliflower, carrots, and cabbage, these light wraps are completely customizable when it comes to dosa flavors and chutney toppings.
The D.C. and Maryland locations of this vegan soul food spot offer lunch, dinner, and Sunday brunch options that rotate daily. Plant-based versions of classic comfort foods, like pot roast, jerk chicken, jambalaya, mac and cheese, and even salisbury steak, are served at ELife’s hot bar. The Sunday brunch menu also offers scrambled tofu, biscuits, and pancakes from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
