Vegetarian Cooking Class Los Angeles

The Best Vegan & Vegetarian Restaurants in Los Angeles

Plant-based sushi, pizza and ramen, a vegan butcher shop, and more.

We're not sharing the following roundup of excellent vegan and vegetarian restaurants around our fine city so that you can add plant-based eating to your already overwhelming list of 2021 resolutions as you roll into what's already proven to be the most chaotic January of your life. We're doing it because you've probably ordered from your go-to spots so many times over the last ten (!) months that you're desperate for something new and don't feel like getting lost in three hours of DoorDash scrolling ever again. Thus, now is the perfect time to sneak a meatless meal into your rotation. While plant-based eaters were once relegated to steamed veggies and pasta with marinara sauce on many menus, we promise that these days the options are both endless and delicious. Whether it's a new breed of veggie burgers, Asian eats, a new spin on soul food, or a solid vegan brunch, it's easier than ever to skip the meat when ordering in. Here are 19 top spots for vegetarian and vegan eats in LA worth ordering right this second.

This Valley spot isn't just vegan, it's also organic and promises that all of its dishes are free of both MSG and white sugar. The massive menu has plenty of Chinese and Thai dishes, including a plethora of curries, noodles, and classics like orange chicken and fried rice. And there's no shortage of protein options, including soy chicken, beef or fish, tofu, seitan, or straight-up veggies. Lotus also offers a variety of veggie burgers, wraps, salads, and an all-day breakfast menu with a selection of burritos and decadent pancake plates, including some infused with chocolate chips or topped with deep-fried chicken.
How to Order:Online through the restaurant or by phone at 818-760-8088 for pickup or delivery.

This women-owned Mexican eatery is doling out the tacos that vegan dreams are made of. Mix and match fillings of plant-based crispy fish, carne asada, al pastor, and carnitas, with add-ons like guac, mango salsa, crema, or cashew queso, or go the bad-ass route with the ghost taco stuffed with pollo diablo and doused in habanero and ghost pepper salsa. The menu is also jammed with burritos, nachos, quesadillas, and sides of street corn, seasonal veggies, and beans and rice. The short but very sweet dessert menu includes deep fried conchas (Mexcian sweet bread), churro donuts, and Sno-cones. And check out the restaurant's daily special deals which might just include three tacos and a marg for $15 on Margarita Mondays and $2 tacos on Taco Tuesdays.
How to Order: For pickup through Toast or through Postmates for delivery.

If there's been an MVP of the vegan world in recent years, it's definitely the almighty jackfruit, that versatile tropical fruit that serves as a stand-in for everything from pulled pork to crab meat. This plant-based soul food café inside the Colony kitchen co-op makes good use of its namesake ingredient—stuffing it, along with black beans, basmati rice, veggies, and vegan sour cream in a burrito; piling it atop cashew-based vegan mac and cheese, lima beans, and grilled plantains in its Jackfruit Bowl; and layering it along with Sriracha macaroni salad and shredded cabbage on a sesame bun to create a pulled BBQ sandwich. You can also get your jackfruit in liquid form via a coconut milk-based smoothie spiked with jackfruit, plantains, and dates.
How to Order: Through Colony for pickup or Uber Eats, Postmates, or GrubHub for delivery.

The plant-based restaurant group out of Toronto that began as a juice bar more than two decades ago opened its first US location in 2019 on Sunset Blvd. It's still offering up its full lineup of raw, organic cold-pressed juices along with a varied food menu of salads, wraps, burgers, and bowls for takeout. Using whole, all-natural ingredients, the kitchen can churn out everything from decadent dishes like mushroom gravy-covered poutine fries, crispy cauliflower tacos, and a nine-layer burrito with artichoke chorizo to its vibrant Tangled Thai salad centered around spiralized colorful carrots and beets.
How to order:Online through the restaurant for pickup or delivery.

We know what you're thinking: If you're going to order sushi, you're going to order sushi. You know, the kind with fish and everything? But wait—what these rolls lack in seafood, they make up for in flavor and creativity. Try the torched California roll that replaces crab with an enoki-radish-veganaise concoction or the popular Shojin Dynamite roll stuffed with spicy tofu and avocado. Bonus: Shojin also boasts the fact it's organic and macrobiotic in addition to being completely veggie-friendly.
How to order: Call 213-617-0305 or 310-390-0033 for pickup or delivery.

Classic Thai dishes get a vegetarian update at this Eastside spot: think veggie Tom Yum soup, pineapple fried rice, mock orange chicken or duck curry, along with the usual noodle suspects like pad tai and pad see-ew, all packed with flavor but not meat. Bonus: The menu notes which dishes are already vegan and which can be made vegan (or gluten-free) by request.
How to order:Online through the restaurant for pickup.

At this Lincoln Boulevard gem, vegan chef and restaurateur Matthew Kenney has created a full menu of plant-based pizzas that come out of the wood-burning oven. Pies are covered with his signature nut cheeses (including a luscious cashew mozzarella) and toppings like Calabrian chiles and rapini. His "Not Pizza" section is filled with variations on old-school Italian fare including a really good eggplant parm, baked meatballs with macadamia ricotta, a sunflower Caesar, and a cashew cream-based cacio e pepe. Most pies can be made gluten-free with rice-based cheese for those who want nothing to do with nuts.
How to order: Pickup via ChowNow or delivery available via all delivery apps.

The globally inspired dishes at this SoCal vegan chain are dubbed with descriptive names that, admittedly, don't actually tell you much about what's in them. You'll choose between items like theExquisite (beer-battered coconut "calamari"),Adventurous(an herbed cauliflower hemp seed rice and smoked tofu bowl), or their new starter Community (rosemary butternut squash with radicchio). Right now, you can also get family-size portions, including salads, and reheatable bowls and enchilada trays for around $30 to $40 a pop.
How to Order: Via Toast for pickup or delivery.

The world of ramen has never been especially welcoming to vegetarians, but this Valley spot is making up for lost time thanks to an entirely vegan and vegetarian menu with noodle bowls centered around a vegan broth, wood ear mushrooms, jicama, baby bok choy, and fried onions. From there, you can customize your ramen with options like jalapeno and black beans, various types of tofu, and lots of different spice levels; and gluten-free folk can get GF noodles for an upcharge.
How to Order:Online through the restaurant for pickup.

Photo courtesy of Ramen Hood

The ramen fromTop Chef alum Ilan Hall's stall within Grand Central Market is another win for vegans, with a rich broth that gets its thick-ish texture from sunflower seeds. The formerly super-short menu got a recent expansion and you can now choose between OG, spicy, or garlic versions, all loaded with umami-packed king oyster mushrooms, bean sprouts, bok choy, chili threads, scallions, and nori. You can also opt for a chilled option that comes with smoky cold onion broth and a smattering of sides and add-ons for the bowls, including extra anything and a plant-based egg that looks and tastes like the real deal. And look for a new menu of $6 small plates including togarashi tater tots, banh mi poutine, and avocado toast.
How to Order: Online through the restaurant for pickup.

This foursome of organic vegan eateries boasts a massive menu running the gamut from tacos and tostadas to burgers and banh mi, in addition to a selection of pastas, pizzas and a heavy section of bar food including multiple varieties of Sage's signature cauliflower-based wings. The breakfast offerings are pretty extensive too, and include burritos, bowls, chia French toast, and a variety of pancake plates, including sweet potato, blueberry, and cornbread-jalapeno options.
How to order:Online through the restaurant for pickup or delivery, or download the Sage Bistro app.

The self-proclaimed "vegetable slaughterhouse" (which got its start in NYC) has always been equal parts hotspot, people-watching brunch hangout, juice bar and vegetarian eatery, all housed in a bright design-centric space. Right now, like everything else, it's a takeout joint. The all-day menu has temporarily given some of our faves the boot (probably because shakshuka and benedicts don't travel all that well), but still boasts a sourdough egg sando, breakfast burrito and lunch stuff like the black bean-and-buckwheat burger, basil BLT with adzuki bacon, and a few bowls, salads, and stone-oven pizzas. You can also order up cold-pressed juices and a few to-go cocktails.
How to Order: Via Toast for pickup or delivery through most delivery apps.

The Valley is full of veggie and vegan options, but this meatless pan-Asian kitchen blasts out coconut curries, quinoa fried rice, and Japanese gyoza that could easily compete with any meatier options. Soy fish may not sound super appealing, but it's actually a good alternative to the usual faux chicken and you can make it the protein for any of the restaurant's a la carte veggie plates, noodle dishes, and curry bowls. Try the hemp seed-topped coconut gelato for dessert.
How to order:Online through the restaurant for pickup or delivery.

Tai Ronnen's acclaimed Melrose stalwart is still cooking up his renowned vegan fare that you can take down at home via a pared-down menu. Faves like the almond ricotta-stuffed zucchini blossoms and crispy Impossible meat-stuffed "cigars" are still hanging in there and you'll also find salads, sandwiches, and plant-based pizzas at lunch and entrees like housemade pastas and chickpea marsala come dinner. The venue recently rolled out a weekday fast-food-inspired offering of tacos, nachos and burritos including a tray of eight crispy tacos that you might just eat in one sitting without us judging at all.
How to Order:Pickup or delivery through Grubhub, DoorDash, Postmates, or UberEats.

Photo courtesy of Loveboat

Another pandemic pop-up coming at you, this one from Belinda Wei and Alice Cherng, the ladies behind vegan ice cream shop, Cocobella Creamery. The idea is to offer their favorite Taiwanese-American dishes in vegan form, focusing on a small-but-mighty menu with just a handful of items, including soy-marinated Impossible meatballs covered in sweet sticky rice, honey-walnut "shrimp," a wood ear mushroom salad, Zha Jiang Mian noodles with fermented sweet bean sauce and ground Impossible meat, and complimentary kimchi.
How to order: On the restaurant's website for pickup or DoorDash for delivery.

This new female-owned burger stand, which opened over the summer, uses Impossible patties for its oozy, decadent burger—including one topped with housemade queso sauce, and another with mac and cheese on an English muffin. All-natural Atlas Monroe plant-based crispy chicken is the star of its fried chicken sandwiches, tenders, and chicken and waffle plates. Also look for a few over-the-top loaded fries options plus shakes and root beer floats for your I'm-eating-whatever-I-want-in-2021 pleasure.
How to Order:Online through the restaurant for pickup or delivery or in your car via the drive-thru.

Photo courtesy of Uplifters Kitchen

After making the gutsy decision to buy a restaurant in the middle of COVID, chef Salima Saunders (formerly of Highland Park's Amara Kitchen) has breathed new life into this daytime cafe, refreshing the space, flipping the menu to fully vegetarian, and adding some Indian and Mediterranean influences. Check out the all-day breakfast options including cheesy scrambled egg tacos; a Breakfast Mezze platter with focaccia, zaatar hummus, feta, fattoush salad, and a fried egg; and coconut granola in addition to the coffee bar and more lunch-centric stuff like salads and a daal-and-coconut rice bowl along with sweet treats (including gluten-free and vegan baked goods). You can also stock up on some market items ranging from vegan butter to hummus to a turmeric latte mix.
How to Order: Order via Toast or in person for pickup.

Photo courtesy of Sestina

This new pasta-centric spot comes care of, yes, Matthew Kenney, who is expanding his empire yet again by taking over the old Wildcraft pizzeria location, doling out veggie-focused plays on Italian fare like beet pappardelle in a mushroom ragout, butternut ravioli alfredo, crispy arancini and a baby gem Caesar, plus plenty of pizzas. And the Kenney crew wasted no time putting together a pop-up. LA-ZEN, which runs out of the same kitchen, and has a Chinese-inspired menu of steamed buns, bowls, dumplings, and stir-fries.
How to Order: Pickup via ChowNow; delivery via Grubhub or Postmates

The burger offerings here stick with the simple — single and double burgers and cheeseburgers layered with Impossible patties, grilled onions, housemade spread, and pickles on a potato bun. But it's when you get to the sides where the fun really begins with options like massive plates of shoestring fries covered in vegan cheese and onions, or "dog pile" tater tots beefed up with Impossible meat, cheese ranch, aioli, and sriracha. Oh, and there's also a kale salad, in case you want to be the first person to ever order it.
How to Order:Online through the restaurant for pickup.