15 Superbly Satisfying Restaurants For Traveling Vegans

John Fraser was an early pioneer of Meatless Mondays at his Upper West Side spot, Dovetail—and Narcissa, a stunner of a space set within the Standard Hotel in the East Village, takes things a good step further. “They offer a full vegan tasting menu that’s absolutely delicious,” says Astafa. “You get a solid four or five dishes, with big flavors and amazing quality of ingredients. The drinks are great too, and there’s a photo booth downstairs that is also really fun.”

“Amanda is one of the originators of vegetable-focused cuisine—she’s been doing this since before it was trendy. I was a regular at her first spot,” says Lowe, “but the new location still feels approachable for all sorts of people who want to eat good food. You don’t have to be vegan to love this spot.”

“They ask you on the spot what you do or don’t eat, and build a menu around that,” says Lowe of the Thomas Keller classic. Per Se’s Tasting of Vegetables menu—which is mostly vegan—is really just a starting point, which you can customize to your specific dietary needs. “Perfection.”

“Eating here is a total experience,” says Lowe. “The staff brings you in to the kitchen for one of the courses, where you can watch the chefs cook and move around like they’re in a well-orchestrated ballet. It’s not just a meal—it’s an education.”

This new spot is like a megaplex devoted to holistic living—it includes a wellness center, yoga studio, juice bar, biodynamic wine bar, and organic raw food restaurant. There’s even a horticulturalist that comes to sing to the fig trees on property. But The Springs’ food is “very creative and modern, and the chef [Michael Falso] is very inventive odd ingredients.” What to order: the spanakopita, with coconut phyllo dough and almond feta, or the spaghetti carbonara, made with kelp and zucchini noodles and smoked coconut bacon.

“I never knew that there was a vegan menu at this modernist icon,” says Astafa, “but last year I found out that you can ask for one when you book. Unsurprisingly, the food was delicious. I loved the caipirinha cocktail—they make it tableside using liquid nitrogen. And the dishes are all riffs on the tapas on the regular menu, so you feel like you’re getting a comparable experience to the meat eaters nearby.”

“This isn’t a sophisticated spot, per se,” says Lowe. In fact, it’s pretty casual. But that’s part of what makes Plant so easy to love. Lowe recalls eating there multiple times on her most recent trip (there are two locations in the city—a destination she says “is not the easiest for vegans”). Her recommendations: BLTs made with tempeh bacon and rave-worthy vegan burgers.

Ramen, dumplings, and other iconic Hong Kong dishes get a vegan spin at this fun spot—which Lowe and Astafa call modern, unique, and inventive. Also on The Herbivores’ menu: global dishes like pumpkin carbonara, an excellent mango risotto, and even quesadillas. “A bit of a splurge,” says Lowe, “but very worth it.”

A city driven by salads, spreads, and chickpeas is a natural fit for vegans and vegetarians, but Nanuchka manages to stand out. “The menu has a Georgian flair to it—lots of vegetables prepared very simply, stuffed bulgur dishes, and amazing pickled things,” says Lowe. “It doesn’t hurt that the place itself—a light and airy dining room—has a great energy to it.”

It may come as a surprise, but Dubai is a city that can be challenging for vegans. But this gem of a restaurant puts a spotlight on raw foods and great desserts—it’s all vegan, and basically the only game in town. No website; located in the Galeries Lafayette Dubai mall.

Named for the Swedish word for “green things,” this vegetarian stunner has an open kitchen where you can watch the chefs at work. “Stockholm’s restaurant scene is so modern that there are plenty of great options, but this is my favorite,” Lowe says. A year ago, they were only serving dinner once a week, but the place has gotten so popular that they’re now open most nights—with “vegi-vore” and “omni-vore” menu options that change daily.

From the team that brought you El Celler de San Roca comes this intimate, chef’s counter-style Catalan restaurant in the Hotel Omm. And just as you’d expect from its three-Michelin-starred cousin in Girona, the food here is inventive, elegant, and hyper-modern. Order the tasting menu and sit at the bar—it’s one of the best dining experiences you can have in town.

“Everything here is amazing,” says Astafa, who recalled ordering Vedge’s whole menu of small plates and not finding a single thing to complain about. “It’s one of the standouts on the entire east coast, as far as vegetable-driven cuisine goes.” Don’t miss the items featured on the cleverly-named “Dirt List,” like scrambled ramp pancakes topped with pickled ramp hot sauce, an heirloom mushroom fazzoletti, and grilled Brussels sprouts with smoked mustard.

Finding traditional Mexican food as a vegan is all but impossible. The one exception is this fun spot, with locations in both San Francisco and Los Angeles. “They have amazing tamales, burritos, and tacos filled with seasonal vegetables,” says Astafa.

Matthew Kenney—founder of the world’s first raw foods academy—has just opened this Miami Beach hotspot. Say Astafa and Lowe, “We haven’t eaten there yet, but we saw some of the things that he was doing at the South Beach Food and Wine Festival, and we were very impressed. It’s next on our global list.”