Los Angeles’s vegetarian and vegan dining scene is as diverse as it is delicious, with a mix of restaurants serving up a range of cuisines. The city’s wave of casual, plant-based restaurants keeps expanding in surprising ways, turning heads and changing the minds of anyone who thinks this genre is far from innovative. The spots highlighted below serve thoughtful menus that feature well-made, vegetarian-friendly dishes that stand up to any omnivorous restaurant in the city. Here now are 23 of the essential restaurants in Los Angeles to find a delicious meal that happens to be vegetarian or vegan, presented from north to south.
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23 Essential Los Angeles Vegetarian Restaurants
LA is a mecca for meat-free dining

El Cocinero Restaurant
El Cocinero has some of the best vegan Mexican food in the Valley, if not all of LA. Housed in a Van Nuys strip mall, this fast-casual restaurant has various plant-based meat options available to add to tacos, burritos, quesadillas, tortas, loaded fries, and nachos. Standouts include the impressive al pastor and the birria, plus the nut-based flan for dessert.
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Joi Café
Serving up plant-based meals in Westlake Village, Joi Café has big breakfasts, salads, and large plates like burgers, sandwiches, tacos, and chili and cornbread. The coffee drinks are also noteworthy, and the lavender latte is among the best in the area.
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Gokoku Vegetarian Ramen Shop
This casual Studio City gem lets customers create their own ramen bowls and platters, along with colorful and flavorful bento boxes. Opt for the bowl chock full of bok choy, broccoli, jicama, mushrooms, and a wonderful kabocha squash “gravy.”
Hot Tongue Pizza
Alex Koons not only developed the blistery, airy, thin-crust pies at Hot Tongue Pizza; he also sometimes acts as its delivery driver, bringing his creations to diners’ doors. Order the white pie with a garlic-olive oil base, or the buffalo with broccolini, shiitake bacon, a drizzle of agave, and fresh parsley.
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Bulan Thai Vegetarian Kitchen
Yoga fanatics and Silver Lake/East Hollywood locals show up in droves to longstanding Bulan Thai, where the spicy, sweet, and sour flavors that characterize Thai cooking make eating meat-free easier than ever.
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Vegan AF
Vegan A.F. founder Chanel Goodson serves savory vegan egg rolls and loaded fries from her bright pink food truck. There’s a uniqueness to her food apparent in dishes like loaded Nashville hot fries with vegan shrimp. Vegan A.F.’s Instagram page shows where the truck will pop up next.
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Ubuntu
Ubuntu began serving West African plant-based dishes on Melrose Avenue this August. The menu includes smaller plates, like curried jollof arancini and charred okra salad; larger courses, like the the Senegalese-inspired jackfruit yassa; desserts like the plantain cardamom tart; and cocktails like the sobolo sangria.
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Crossroads Kitchen
At Crossroads on Melrose, chef Tal Ronnen elevates vegan fare to an art form. The team has been turning out some of the most inventive and thoughtful meat-free food in Los Angeles since opening in 2013. Crossroads is not only a haven for vegetarian fine-diners, but for anyone curious about how delicious vegan food can be.
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APB
Melrose bar APB, or A Plant Bar, serves a range of cocktails along with vegan fare, including plant-based sushi from Niku Nashi, Japanese fried chicken, vegetable spring rolls, and more. There are also dishes like the spicy tuna with crispy rice, perfectly crunchy french fries, and matcha cheesecake. It also goes down easy when accompanied by a solid cocktail like the lychee martini.
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Mazal
There are plenty of meat-free options at this vegetarian Israeli joint, including a range of dips and spreads, bourekas, cumin beets, Moroccan carrots, and more.
Olivia Restaurant
Olivia serves a range of cuisines from chef Mario Alberto (Laurel Hardware). There are some dairy-free and gluten-free options too, making the menu friendly to a wider range of folks with different dietary preferences and restrictions.
Thien Tam Vegetarian Restaurant
The key to excellent Vietnamese vegetarian fare is a killer mock nuoc cham (fish sauce vinaigrette), and nobody makes it better than the folks at Thien Tam. Dig into platters of broken rice prettied with seasoned wheat gluten molded into various forms, as well as classic noodle soups that manage to satisfy without any animal byproducts.
Rahel Ethiopian Vegan Cuisine
Some cuisines naturally skew vegetarian-friendly, and Ethiopian food is no exception. At Rahel’s, they avoid all mentions of tempeh or soy-based meats and emphasize slow-cooked stews with spices that radiate flavor. Take a piece of injera and dip it right into Rahel’s greens with garlic and pepper, split lentil stew, or the house specialty banatu with fresh tomatoes, peppers, garlic, and onions.
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Au Lac
Head here for Vietnamese vegetarian fare by chef Mai Nguyen. Regulars sing high praises for the restaurant’s salt and pepper yam “shrimp” and garlic basil noodles. For those heading to the Walt Disney Concert Hall, Au Lac is the perfect vegetarian-friendly stop for a pre-show meal.
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Un Solo Sol
Directly across from Mariachi Plaza in Boyle Heights sits one of LA’s best plant-based spots. The walls are filled with multi-hued murals and just outside are incredible views of Downtown, which is the perfect backdrop for eating pupusas, tacos, pozole, nopales with rice and beans, along with a North Indian chole or Persian stew.
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Green Green Trees: Your Vegan Kitchen
Green Green Trees: Your Vegan Kitchen is a longtime dream realized for chef-owner Carol Tsang. Her family owned a restaurant in Taipei, and she’s continuing the family tradition in West Covina serving fried rice, pho, noodle soups, and porridge in a brightly painted dining room.
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Cafe Gratitude
With three existing locations in the Southland, Cafe Gratitude has an extensive menu that pulls from a wide range of cuisines, serving up meat- and dairy-free fare plates that are hearty and delicious. Even with a fairly big menu, it’s rare to find a dish that misses at this popular plant-based space.
The Butcher's Daughter
There are plenty of vegetarian options at the Butcher’s Daughter, plus some vegan and gluten-free choices too. Rather than focusing on substances that mock meat, dishes here celebrate seasonal produce in all its glory. But those looking for Impossible options will still find the meat sub on the menu too.
Simply Wholesome
The menu at Simply Wholesome has gone through many changes since 1992, but consistently makes it possible for varying tastes to get a good meal. With options like the Jamaican spinach patty, omelets, and a regular rotation of vegetarian soups, there’s something for everyone at this longstanding business in View Park/Windsor Hills.
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Modern Shaman
In the middle of Uptown Whittier is Modern Shaman Kitchen. Opened in early 2020, owners Kimberly Harlan and Michael Kachoeff make jackfruit nachos and oyster mushroom po’ boys for loyal locals whether vegan or omnivore, and occasionally host a yoga class on the patio.
Rajdhani
This “vegetable restaurant” on Pioneer Boulevard is famous for its 10-course Gujarati-style thali buffet. It’s a steam table-less affair where waiters dish up flaky breads, hearty lentils, tangy curries, and even dessert tableside, until you say mercy.
Green Temple Vegetarian Restaurant
Holding it down for the South Bay is the beloved Green Temple. Nestled in a hidden courtyard in Riviera Village, the quaint patio offers plenty of feel-good vibes along with its insanely delicious tofu sauce, white lasagna, and pies.
Seabirds Kitchen
Seabirds Kitchen in Long Beach — or the original Costa Mesa outpost — produces fresh and hearty dishes like purple potato taquitos, grilled mushroom tacos, and a Korean-inspired jackfruit bibimbap bowl. It’s all served in Seabirds’ beachy dining room, which is less than a mile away from the ocean.
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