RFK Cuisine · Vegetarian · New York
Best Vegetarian Restaurants in New York City 2026
Vegetarian & plant-based · New York City · 6 rooms ranked · Updated June 2026
Compiled by the Restaurants for Kings editorial team · Published June 20, 2026 · Updated June 20, 2026
Amanda Cohen has spent close to two decades arguing, one plate at a time, that a kitchen cooking only with vegetables deserves the same respect as one cooking with anything else — and a Michelin star for Dirt Candy settled the argument in her favour. New York's vegetarian scene is unusually layered: a starred vegetable-tasting room on the Lower East Side, a three-star dining room that ran fully plant-based for years, an upscale all-day vegetarian café, and a clutch of casual rooms doing Korean temple food, vegan Ethiopian and the city's best meat-free burger. One caveat shapes this list — Eleven Madison Park, plant-based since 2021, brought meat and fish back as an option in late 2025, so it is no longer a strictly vegetarian restaurant, though its plant-based tasting menu still exists. These are the six best vegetarian and plant-based restaurants in New York for 2026, ranked on the cooking, the room and the bill.
1.Dirt Candy
The city's best dedicated vegetarian kitchen and a Michelin star to prove it; book Dirt Candy for the vegetable tasting that changed the genre.
Amanda Cohen opened Dirt Candy in a tiny East Village space in 2008 and moved it to Allen Street in 2015, where it became the first vegetable-focused restaurant in the city to earn a Michelin star. Cohen treats vegetables the way other chefs treat luxury proteins — the Korean fried broccoli, the smoked-cabbage dishes and her ever-changing tasting menu are built on technique, not apology. She was the first restaurant in New York to eliminate tipping and share profits with staff, and the room runs with the conviction of a chef who has been proving a point for years. The vegetable tasting runs around $105. For the meal that made vegetarian fine dining unarguable, book a few weeks ahead.
Reserve direct, weeks out; the Korean fried broccoli and the full vegetable tasting menu.
2.Eleven Madison Park
A three-star plant-based tasting at the top of the city; book Eleven Madison Park's vegetable menu for the grandest meat-free occasion in New York.
Eleven Madison Park, Daniel Humm's three-Michelin-starred dining room overlooking Madison Square Park, went fully plant-based in 2021 and proved that a kitchen at the very top of the guide could run on vegetables alone. In October 2025 Humm reintroduced meat and fish as a choice, so the restaurant is no longer strictly vegetarian — but the full plant-based tasting menu remains on offer, and it is still the most ambitious vegetable cooking in the city, served in one of its most beautiful rooms. The tasting runs around $365. If you want the plant-based menu specifically, confirm it when you book. For a landmark plant-based occasion with three-star service, this is the splurge.
Reserve direct, a month out; request the plant-based tasting menu and the wine pairing.
3.abcV
The everyday upscale vegetarian room from a French master; go to abcV for vegetable cooking that works from breakfast to dinner.
abcV, Jean-Georges Vongerichten's vegetarian restaurant inside the ABC Carpet & Home complex, is the city's most versatile upmarket vegetable room — bright, plant-filled and open from morning through dinner. The cooking pulls from across the map: dosas, crispy spiced chickpeas, whole roasted vegetables and grain bowls that read healthy without tasting worthy. It is the rare vegetarian restaurant that suits a quick weekday lunch, a date and a group dinner equally, and the all-day format makes it the easiest booking on this list. Expect around $60 to $90 a head for several plates. For polished vegetarian cooking with no occasion required, book a table or walk in off-peak.
Reserve or walk in off-peak; the dosa, the crispy chickpeas, and a whole roasted vegetable.
4.Superiority Burger
Brooks Headley's tiny vegetarian counter with a cult burger; go to Superiority Burger for the best meat-free patty and gelato in New York.
Superiority Burger, the vegetarian counter that pastry chef Brooks Headley opened as a lark and then turned serious, moved into the old Odessa space on Avenue A in 2023 and remains the most beloved meat-free spot in the city. The signature is the burger — a quinoa-and-chickpea patty that converts skeptics — but the rotating vegetable sides and Headley's gelato are just as good, and the whole thing runs on the energy of a chef who treats a $9 sandwich with fine-dining care. It is loud, small and cheap, and the wait at peak is real. For the best vegetarian burger in New York with a scoop of gelato to follow, walk in off-peak.
Walk in; the Superiority Burger, a rotating vegetable side, and a scoop of gelato.
5.Hangawi
A serene shoes-off Korean vegetarian room near the Empire State Building; go to Hangawi for mushroom hot pot and a calm escape from Midtown.
Hangawi, a few blocks from the Empire State Building, is New York's long-running Korean vegetarian sanctuary — you leave your shoes at the door, sit on floor cushions in a hushed, wood-and-paper room, and eat temple-style cooking built around mushrooms, greens and house-made tofu. The mushroom hot pot and the leaf-wrapped rice are the signatures, and the tea service and gentle folk music make it the calmest dining room in Midtown. It is a genuine antidote to the neighbourhood around it, and a reliable group or date booking. Expect around $40 to $60 a head. For meditative Korean vegetarian food in the middle of Manhattan, book a table ahead. Find it on the full New York dining guide.
Reserve direct; the mushroom hot pot, the stone-bowl rice, and the leaf-wrap set.
6.Bunna Cafe
An all-vegan Ethiopian feast eaten by hand; go to Bunna Cafe for the most generous, sociable meat-free table in Brooklyn.
Bunna Cafe in Bushwick proves vegetarian food does not need to announce itself: it serves entirely vegan Ethiopian cooking, and almost nobody notices the absence of meat because traditional Ethiopian fasting cuisine is built on lentils, greens and spiced vegetable stews. The move is the beyaynetu — a sampler platter of a dozen dishes spread across a sheet of injera, torn and eaten by hand, with a coffee ceremony to finish. It is communal, generous and cheap, the kind of meal that makes a table of strangers friends. Expect around $25 to $35 a head. For a vegan feast that feels like a celebration rather than a restriction, walk in or book for a group.
Walk in or book a group; the beyaynetu combination platter and the traditional coffee ceremony.
How New York eats vegetarian
New York's vegetarian scene splits cleanly by occasion. At the top sit the destination kitchens — Dirt Candy's vegetable tasting and Eleven Madison Park's plant-based menu — which are reservation restaurants booked weeks ahead and priced like the fine-dining rooms they are. abcV is the flexible middle, an all-day upscale vegetarian room that takes the pressure off needing a special reason to go. Below them runs the city's deep casual bench: Korean temple cuisine, vegan Ethiopian, Indian vegetarian and the meat-free counters, most of them walk-in-friendly and built for everyday eating rather than events.
A note on labels: the line between vegetarian and vegan matters here. Dirt Candy and abcV are vegetarian and use dairy and eggs; Bunna Cafe is fully vegan; Eleven Madison Park offers both a plant-based menu and, since late 2025, animal options, so confirm the menu you want when you book. Most of these kitchens handle gluten-free and vegan requests well — ask when reserving. Tipping runs about 20 percent on the full bill. For the wider city by neighbourhood and occasion, use the full New York dining guide.
Where not to look for it
Skip these for a serious vegetarian meal
The fast-casual "plant-based" chains, for a real dinner. The grab-and-go bowls and faux-meat franchises are fine for lunch but trade on the label rather than the cooking. For vegetables treated as the main event, book Dirt Candy or walk into abcV instead.
Eleven Madison Park, if you specifically want a guaranteed all-vegetarian room. Since October 2025 it serves meat and fish alongside the plant-based tasting, so it is no longer a strictly vegetarian restaurant. If a fully meat-free kitchen matters to you, choose Dirt Candy, Superiority Burger or Bunna Cafe, all of which are entirely vegetarian or vegan.
Frequently asked
What is the best vegetarian restaurant in New York City?
Dirt Candy, Amanda Cohen's vegetable-focused restaurant on Allen Street, is the city's best dedicated vegetarian kitchen and holds a Michelin star — proof that cooking only with vegetables can stand at the top. For a grander plant-based occasion, Eleven Madison Park serves a full plant-based tasting menu at three-star level, and abcV is the everyday upscale vegetarian room. Pick Dirt Candy for the vegetable tasting, Eleven Madison Park for the splurge.
Is Eleven Madison Park still vegan in 2026?
Not strictly. Eleven Madison Park went fully plant-based in 2021 and held three Michelin stars while doing it, but in October 2025 Daniel Humm reintroduced meat and fish as a choice. The restaurant now offers guests either a full plant-based tasting menu or one with select animal dishes, with the kitchen describing the foundation as still vegetable-led. If you want the plant-based menu, you can still order it — confirm when you book.
How much do vegetarian restaurants cost in New York?
It spans the whole range. Eleven Madison Park is the splurge at around $365 for the tasting; Dirt Candy's vegetable tasting runs around $105. abcV sits in the mid range, roughly $60 to $90 a head for several plates. At the casual end, Superiority Burger, Hangawi and Bunna Cafe land between $20 and $60 depending on how much you order. Tipping in New York runs about 20 percent on the full bill.
Where can you get Michelin-recognised vegetarian food in New York?
Dirt Candy holds a Michelin star and is the city's flagship dedicated vegetarian restaurant. Eleven Madison Park holds three stars and offers a full plant-based tasting menu alongside its newer animal options. Superiority Burger is in the Michelin Guide's recommended selection. For a vegetable-forward meal at the top of the guide, Dirt Candy and Eleven Madison Park are the two names to know.
What are the best casual vegetarian spots in New York?
Superiority Burger in the East Village, Brooks Headley's tiny vegetarian counter, makes the city's best meat-free burger and remarkable gelato. Hangawi near the Empire State Building is a serene, shoes-off Korean vegetarian room built around mushrooms and greens. Bunna Cafe in Bushwick serves an all-vegan Ethiopian feast eaten by hand off injera. All three are easy walk-ins or quick bookings rather than special-occasion splurges.
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Browse the full New York dining guide, compare the global field on the best vegetarian worldwide, read the verdict on Michelin-starred Dirt Candy, plan a first date, find an anniversary table, or open the full RFK cuisine index.
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