Vegan Girl's Restaurant Tour & Reviews

I can't go anywhere without checking out as many vegan restaurants as I can find. So many are popping up in all corners of the world, that I will never hit them all. But here are my reviews of those that I have been lucky enough to try so far. I only list restaurants with a vegan menu. No half-assed vegetarian restaurants find their way onto this list.

Vegan restaurants

Washington D.C.
- The Vegetable Garden
  11618 Rockville Pike
  Rockville, MD 20852
  (301)468-9301
  This is the first vegan restaurant I ever ate at. I was so blown away by the food, I almost cried. Several pages of options, including several desserts. Lots of fake meats of various types. I had the veggie duck. It was amazing.
San Francisco, CA
- Cafe Gratitude
  3 locations. See website for locations in
  San Francisco and Berkeley, CA.
  (415)824-4652
  I was in San Francisco for about 48 hours and I tried all 3 of the Cafe Gratitudes in the area. This is definitely, without a doubt, my favorite restaurant of all time. It's almost entirely raw, which I'm all about now. The prices are very cheap considering how amazing the food is. I could eat there every day and never get tired of it. I even bought the recipe book they sell.
- Millenium
  580 Geary Street
  San Francisco, CA
  (415)345-3900
  If you want to get seated, make a reservation. This place is pretty swanky. Very expensive but worth it for an occassional great meal. Their entrees look like artistic sculptures. Delicious too.
- Herbivore
  983 Valencia
  San Francisco, CA
  (415)826-5657
  This was a nice casual, inexpensive restaurant. I have no complaints. The menu was varied and the food was good. Not overly memorable to me, but a lot of people love it.
- RAW Living Food Restaurant
  1224 9th Avenue
  San Francisco CA 94122
  (415)OMJ-JAYA
  If you like raw food, you'll probably love this place. It's the only raw restaurant I've ever been to, so I don't have much to compare it to. I was very surprised at how much flavor the food had. It was so intense, I could barely eat it. I didn't love it, but I am very very glad I tried it.
New York, NY
- Angelica Kitchen
  300 E 12th St (1st Avenue)
  New York, NY
  (212)228-2909
  I haven't spent that much time in Manhattan as a vegan, but I must have eaten at Angelica at least four times. It seemed expensive, but for New York I think it was fairly cheap. Especially when you consider that everything on the menu is organic. This is one of my favorite restaurants. The menu is full of vegan versions of old favorites. Everything I ever ordered was amazing, especially the desserts. But don't keep pointing to items, asking the staff if it is vegan. They hate that.
- Vegetarian Paradise 2 (VP2)
  144 W 4th St
  New York, NY
  (212)260-7130
  Chinese food with convincing fake meat. Not necessarilly what I would want to eat all the time, but if you don't mind greasy fattening food, it's great. They have healthier items as well.
Austin, TX
- Casa de Luz
  1701 Toomey Rd
  Austin, TX
  (512)476-2535
  Even without the food, Casa de Luz is a great place. You can't spend time there without feeling calm and pleasant. You can't eat the food and leave feeling unhealthy. It is mostly macrobiotic and organic. Much of the food comes from their own garden. There is no menu, you just get a plate of whatever they are serving that night with soup and salad. The difference in meals from day to day is subtle, but I never got tired of eating there.
Dallas, TX
- Spiral Diner
  1401 Jones St
  Fort Worth, TX
  (817)3-Eat-Veg
  Spiral Diner is your basic burger and sandwich shop and offers other old favorites, like spaghetti and meatballs, lasagna, and baked potatoes. I didn't love the carrot cake, but the meatballs were just how they should have been. I highly recommend trying anything with their hummus in it. I know, you can get hummus anywhere, but trust me, theirs is special. They also sell vegan cat food.
Houston, TX
- Wonderful Vegetarian Restaurant (now Tien Ren)
  7549 Westheimer, Houston, TX 77063
  (713)977-3137
  Wonderful Vegetarian was a favorite place to eat after animal rights protests. By that time we were starving and tired so the food tasted great. But it was a fairly typical chinese buffet. A decent selection and some good desserts. A bit on the greasy side. If you're stuck in Houston, try it. Don't go out of your way.
  I am told that this restaurant closed and reopened as Tien Ren, also completely vegan. The buffet, menu, baked goods, and atmosphere received high marks from at least one family so it might be worth checking out.
- Green Planet Vegetarian Cafe
  9013 Westheimer Road
  Houston, TX
  (713)783-6622
  This one is another Chinese buffet, but they also have a dinner menu. I didn't care for it. It wasn't interesting at all. It's possible that I am getting these two places mixed up, but it almost doesn't matter.
Salt Lake City, UT
- Sage's Cafe
  473 E 300 S
  Salt Lake City, UT
  (801)322-3790
  Not only does Sage's Cafe have great food, but it is run by the nicest people in the restaurant industry. During the long road trip from Austin to Seattle, we were heading toward Salt Lake City, trying desperately to arrive in time to try Sage's. They were about to close when we were still twenty minutes away. Hungry, we called them to ask if they could recommend a place where we could get some vegan food late at night. Rather than directing us to some grocery store, they read the menu to us over the phone, took our orders, and stayed open an extra half hour just so we could eat. Unbelievable. And so was the food. I had the Mushroom Stroganoff for dinner, then went back for breakfast and had French Toast. Some day, I would like to go back to Salt Lake City long enough to try everything on the menu. If you go anywhere near Utah, find a way to make it to Sage's.
Seattle, WA
- Araya's Vegetarian Place
  4730 University Way NE
  Seattle, WA
  (206)524-4332
  Araya's is great Thai food. Unfortunately, I don't care for Thai food. I don't hate it, it just doesn't excite me at all. But if you like Thai, I highly recommend trying it.
- Bamboo Garden
  364 Roy St
  Seattle, WA
  (206)282-6616
  Everyone raves about the Bamboo Garden and it always wins in the polls. I think it's mediocre at best. In a town with no other options, I would be glad to have it. In Seattle, I won't waste my money on it again. Their balls of fake meat are pretty good, but every dish on the menu is the same, and not very interesting.
- Cafe Ambrosia (Closed)
  2501 Fairview Ave E
  Seattle, WA
  (206)325-7111
  Ambrosia's menu is pretty small, but I haven't ever tried anything there that didn't impress me. From appetizers to desserts, the food is amazing. Their brunch is even better. Everything, including the beer and wine, is organic.
- The Globe
  1531 14th Ave
  Seattle, WA
  (206)324-8815
  The Globe is a great cheap place to eat a filling breakfast. Their grits are fantastic. I'm not a huge fan of their lunch menu, but I eat breakfast there all the time.
- Good Morning Healing Earth (Closed - now Rainy Day Vegan Cafe)
  901 NE 55th St
  Seattle, WA
  This is another favorite. Best gravy in town. He makes his own tofu and seitan and it is delicious. Great for lunch and breakfast. Prices are reasonable. But don't skimp on the tip or there will be hell to pay.
- Hillside Quickies
  4106 Brooklyn Ave NE
  Seattle, WA
  (206)632-3037
  I love Quickies! Good, cheap, greasy sandwich shop. If they happen to have the tofu pot pie, order it. Otherwise, any sandwich on the menu will satisfy.
- In The Bowl
  1554 E. Olive Way
  Seattle, WA
  (206)568-2343
  In the Bowl has a huge menu, and as far as I can tell, everything on it is tasty. Almost all dishes come with a choice of tofu, fish, prawn, duck, or beef - the faux kind, of course. The food is fairly cheap.
- Rainy Day Vegan Cafe
  901 NE 55th St
  Seattle, WA
  (206)524-0204
  This is quickly turning into one of my favorite restaurants in Seattle. Their menu is interesting and almost everything I try is fantastic. What's even better is they are always experimenting with new dishes. Specials have included grilled cheese sandwiches and chicken parmesan. Prices are reasonable, service is great. My only complaint is that the portions are sometimes inconsitent.
- Mighty-O Donuts
  2110 N 55th St
  Seattle, WA
  (206)547-0335
  A vegan donut shop? I never thought I would see the day. The donuts are a lot more like cake than donuts though. They are great desserts, but don't expect them to be anything like Dunkin.
- Pizza Pi
  5500 University Way NE
  Seattle, WA
  (206)343-1415
  I couldn't stay away from Pizza Pi if I tried. I don't know how he makes the vegan cheese, but it makes me wonder why all the vegan cheeses you find in stores taste like vomit. Ordering at Pizza Pi is just like ordering at any other Pizzaria, except when you ask for sausage, bacon, or other meat, no animals suffer as a result. The calzones are great too. I highly recommend trying the white garlic sauce in place of the regular red sauce. But don't ask for both. He hates that. "No, I can't make pink sauce!"
- Teapot Vegetarian House
  125 15th Ave E
  Seattle, WA
  (206)325-1010
  I may be the only vegan in Seattle who doesn't like this place. Aside from the rose chicken, which is just like the real thing, I have never had an entree I liked. Their mango cheesecake is the best vegan cheesecake I've ever had though.
- Vegan Garden
  1228 S Jackson St
  Seattle, WA
  (206)726-8669
  There are so many items on the menu that it's really difficult to choose. It's mostly faux meat, Asian style. If you're feeling like having delicious but greasy fried food, this is the place for you.

Vegan restaurants in Canada

Victoria, BC
- Green Cuisine
  #5 - 560 Johnson St.
  Victoria, BC V8W 3C6
  (250)385-1809
  Buffet style dining. Pay by the gram in Canadian dollars. If you're an American, you probably won't have any clue how to estimate how much you're spending for a meal in American dollars. I sure didn't, but I'm pretty sure it was probably cheap. And if it wasn't, that's ok because the food is worth the price. Good variety and everything I tried was satisfying and tasty.
- Lotus Pond Vegetarian Restaurant
  617 Johnson St.
  Victoria, BC V8W 1M5
  (250)380-9293
  If you show up right before 3pm when they are no longer refilling the buffet, you can get lunch for super cheap, as long as you don't mind eating the dregs of the buffet. I also tried Lotus Pond for dinner. It is more or less your standard Asian-style vegan restaurant, but the menu is extensive. Lots of fake meat dishes. Good portion sizes. The water chestnut cake is definitely not cake, and it isn't very good. Enjoy your entree at Lotus Pond, but get your dessert down the street at Green Cuisine.

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