If it’s one thing NYC isn’t lacking, it’s good food. But not just any food – PLANT BASED food. My family and I recently spent a week in the city and found ourselves eating at some seriously delicious spots. If you’re plant based, vegan or just looking for some dang good grub then definitely give these spots a try on your next trip!
Natural Blend Cafe: Brooklyn
This Jamaican inspired cafe was the first stop on our NY food journey and I’m so glad it was! It’s complete with organic juices, smoothies, breakfast, hearty plates and baked goods. The plates come in small ($8) or large portions ($14) but all you need is the small. They’re HUGE, trust me. Our favorite by far was the citrus spare ribs pictured above. The plates come with sautéed cabbage (DELISH) and rice. The rice is a bit bland but the rest of the flavors are so good it doesn’t even matter. The best smoothie was the Kale Mary and the quinoa waffles with bananas were also really yummy.
Memes Cafe: Brooklyn
This was a sweet little find we stumbled upon as we were walking to the subway. They have a really yummy vegan BLT sandwich (among others), salads, soups about 4 vegan ice cream flavors, milkshakes and juices. The cookies and cream ice cream was also super DELISH. Everything tastes really fresh and is made with organic ingredients.
Screamers Pizza: Brooklyn
How can you be in New York and not have pizza?! This 100% vegan pizza shop hands down has some BOMB pies. The specialty slices are pretty large and run you for about $4.00 a slice but are totally worth it. They have sooo many to choose from with mouth watering toppings like almond ricotta and more! We got the buffalo cauliflower ranch, vampire, national treasurer and classic cheese. ALL WERE AMAZING. We didn’t have room for any dessert but they also make vegan cannolis!
Vanleeuwens Ice Cream: Manhattan & Brooklyn locations
This ice cream was so good we had to get it twice! If you find yourselves at Screamers then this little gem is right next door. They have a whole menu dedicated to vegan speciality ice creams and they do not disappoint. Our favorite for sure was the “planet earth” flavor which was blue spirulina with matcha cake chunks! I mean COME ON!! Their peanut butter chip was also super good and if you’re into rich dark chocolate flavor then you’ll love their chocolate option as well. The small sugar cones are vegan and run you about $6 bucks for one scoop and $1.50 per scoop after that.
Red Bamboo: Manhattan
This place has a crazy huge menu selection!! With the exception of about 2 plates everything is vegan and decently priced. They offer buddha bowls, noodles, chikun & French fries, gyros and more! I got the terryaki chikun bowl and OMG it was amazing. It had noodles, chikun and veggies topped with a mouth watering sauce and sesame seeds. Such a perfect place to satisfy a large group since there are so many different options available.
Cinnamon Snail: Manhattan
Ok for real. This place is SOOO GOOD. It’s inside of a food hall style market and really impressed us. This baby pictured above is the gochujang seitan sandwich on a pretzel bun with a sauce that angels themselves created. We were starving when we got here so I didn’t get a chance to snap a pic of the baked ziti we got too but holy crap it was amazing. Keep in mind everything here is pretty spicy so if you’re not into hot stuff then this might not be a place for you. They did also have vegan donuts however which were really good too! Those of course weren’t spicy haha.
Bodhi: Manhattan
Since going plant-based I’ve tried a lot of Asian food joints but I think I can say confidently this was the best one to date. Located in good ole china town near Canal street and Little Italy this vegan/vegetarian place is a MUST. We ordered the general tso chikun (fried), bbq chikun, fried rice and spring rolls. The “meat” honestly tasted so much like the real thing I had to triple check I wasn’t being fooled. All I can say is WOW. The plates ran for about $12-14 but they were huge and definitely shareable amongst 2-3 people so it’s not too bad.
By Chloe: Manhattan
Located pretty close to Soho, this vegan spot was super cute with its branding and decor. They offer sandwiches, specialty avocado toasts (which were yummy but over priced tbh) and my favorite: the quinoa taco bowl! This bowl was honestly perfect and if I lived in NY I definitely could see myself going back just for this. It had lettuce, tomatoes, avocado, walnut chorizo, corn salsa, tortilla strips, and black beans topped with a tofu cream sauce. This bowl ran for $11 bucks but in soho thats nothing uncommon. So worth it.
Of all the places we ate at during our trip these definitely stood out the most for us! Hope you found it helpful and I’d love to know if there’s any I missed while there 😊
Til next time,
~ Chantel
