Matthew Kenney’s upscale Venice restaurant is a stunner with one of the Westside’s most picturesque patios. The vegan food is also a looker, with a nut cheese platter that boasts a baked raclette, and a kelp noodle cacio e pepe.

LA has two locations for Shojin, the Japanese vegan and macrobiotic restaurant. Trek to Shojin in Little Tokyo or Culver City for a baked “crab” hand roll in soy paper, or hearty kabocha squash ramen. Shojin’s organic menu isn’t designed to replace proteins with a soy meat substitute, but to reinvent traditional dishes that still manage to dazzle.

Krimsey’s owner is a former petroleum engineer who produces a Cajun menu that includes hushpuppies, gumbo, jambalaya, and etoufée without a single ounce of animal products. There’s a second location coming to Silver Lake in 2020.

Chef Tal Ronnen elevates vegan fare to an art form at Crossroads. The restaurant has been turning out some of the most inventive and thoughtful meat-free food in Los Angeles since opening in 2013. Crossroads can please any type of diner with a vegan carbonara, and a spicy delicata squash with roasted cipollini onions, black garlic, and quince caramel sauce.

Chef Babette Davis’s Inglewood run began over a decade ago, where her restaurant brings plant-based options to historic Market Street. Step up to the counter for ordering, then wait for staff to bring out soulful dishes like greens, mac and cheese, yams, quesadillas, and a hearty tamale pie.

Bulan Thai sits a few blocks in from Silver Lake’s busy Sunset Junction. This location opened ten years ago with a downright cozy vibe and warm table service. Expect traditional Thai dishes throughout, but don’t sleep on the mock duck curry or the thinly sliced snap peas with toasted coconut, cashews, and chili tamarind topped with coconut cream and crispy shallots.

Monty’s classic burger is the type that could please any type of diner, simply because the technique is strong. The kitchen uses an Impossible Burger patty, plant-based cheese, locally-sourced ingredients, and house-made sauces on a Bosch Bakery bun.

Since 2015, Top Chef season two winner Ilan Hall’s ramen stand enjoys a prominent place in Grand Central Market. It’s not uncommon to see every seat taken, where diners dig into in the completely meat-free ramen, which is served hot or cold with a shockingly realistic — and flavor packed — vegan egg.

Meatless and Cuban food seem like complete opposites upon first glance, but owners Carolina and Liliana Lafaurie successfully bridged that gap. The restaurant spent the last four years in Inglewood, with a recent move to Pasadena. Equelecuá’s plant-based approach includes the traditional ropa vieja, arroz con pollo, and croquetas.

San Diego’s Plant Power Fast Food made its SoCal debut in mid-2019 with a menu that seems suited for the region. Plant Power serves breakfast and a throwback classic burger stand menu with house made burger patties, sandwiches, fries, and wraps. Try the horchata milkshake, too.

When a Vietnamese restaurant can make nuoc cham without traditional fish sauce, it’s safe to say that the remaining menu will impress. Try the broken rice and classic noodle soups. The formica tabletops are plentiful, so sit back and watch the gorgeous dishes arrive at everyone’s tables.