Long gone are the days when vegetarians had to eat a subpar salad or a sad side dish when eating out. With more and more people turning towards flexitarianism, vegetarianism and plant-based diets, the restaurant scene has changed, with better, more creative offerings. These are some of the best vegetarian restaurants in the world, with menus that will surprise and delight everyone.

With three Michelin stars and a Michelin green star for gastronomy and sustainability, a distinction created in 2020 to highlight restaurants leading the way with sustainable practices and with a strong connection to the environment, King’s Joy is the standard to follow when it comes to fantastic vegetarian cuisine. The tasting menu is full of highlights that explore different textures and tastes, such as the chef’s dish of honey locust (a tree you can eat the bean pods from), fox nuts (often used in Indian sweet and savoury dishes) and peas.

This award-winning restaurant located in cosmopolitan Vancouver has caused a stir since it opened in 2012 with its vegetable-forward menu. Chef Devon Latte’s multi-course tasting menu experience is served family-style and can be enjoyed with a wine pairing or cocktails. The dishes are a mix of vegetarian and vegan offerings, with plenty of gluten-free options too. The Acorn champions regional farmers and foragers, and highlights the best of Canada’s produce.

AVATARA is Dubai’s first and currently only all-vegetarian restaurant, and the menu is packed with produce and dairy from local farms. Chef Rahul Rana, who grew up in the foothills of the Himalayas, has created soulful Indian dishes championing modern techniques. The 15-course tasting menu explains when and where each dish would usually be served, for example at festive feasts or as an offering during rituals.

This all-vegan cafe and cocktail bar, where ‘the plates are small, and the drinks are strong’ is the brainchild of HipCityVeg owner Nicole Marquis. It’s a day-to-night spot, serving pastries at breakfast through to a full food and drink menu later on. Mike Santoro, exec chef at the Mildred designed the food menu, which changes seasonally. 

Located in a former Berlin nightclub, Cookies Cream may not be what you would expect for a vegetarian restaurant, but with its industrial style and electronic music, it has garnered global recognition, and one Michelin star for its sophisticated menus and hip vibe. Dishes change with the seasons, and although there’s a focus on regional produce, the restaurant is inspired by many places and produce. 

Mediterranean vegan fare is what you’ll find at Crossroads, an LA restaurant that is now a favourite for celebrities and locals, and renowned for its refined menu and curated cocktail list. Chef and cookbook author Tal Ronnen is also bringing Crossroads to Las Vegas, becoming the first fine-dining vegan restaurant on the Vegas strip, along with another opening in the celebrity-studded town of Calabasas in California.

Inspired by forest gardening, Dutch chef Emile van der Staak developed the vision behind De Nieuwe Winkel. He wants to tackle the climate crisis through the food the restaurant serves, swapping meat for vegetables. This philosophy has made it the recipient of one Michelin star and a green star. The plates are complex, refined and well-researched using cooking techniques from all over the world, with a focus on flavour rather than fancy or over-the-top presentation.

Die Rose is the perfect place for those who want a vegetarian menu but whose friends don’t want to compromise on the meat. With a vegetarian tasting menu and the option to add first-class meat and fish, or make it vegan, this restaurant has something for everyone as well as being in a stunning and traditional 400-year-old property. Die Rose has one Michelin star, with a Bib Gourmand for the Taverna Rosa, a cosy garden terrace located on the ground floor of the restaurant.

Amanda Cohen is the James Beard-nominated genius behind the revolutionary Dirt Candy, an unapologetic plant-based menu that has revolutionised the industry with creative vegetable cooking. The hip vibe is enough to make the experience memorable, but the food is what makes it unforgettable. As chef Cohen’s website says: “Anyone can cook meat. Leave the vegetables to the professionals.”

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New York Institution and three Michelin star restaurant Eleven Madison Park surprised the restaurant world when it announced it would be going fully plant-based. With an impressive number of awards and accolades, including being named Best of the Best by World’s 50 Best and winning several James Beard Foundation Awards, the change led by chef Daniel Humm is pivotal to the future of plant-based cooking. Humm even claims this is the best his food has ever been.  

This gem is an award-winning vegetarian restaurant that has been delivering excellent global cuisine since 1981. With its vegetable-forward menu, it’s been a champion of the plant-to-table philosophy. Every detail has been thought of, including the organic wine selection that pairs perfectly with the menu. Plus, it’s a dog-friendly restaurant too.

Owner Pietro Leemann leads the vegetarian revolution at Joia, aiming for sustainable cuisine that has earned the restaurant one Michelin star and one green star (it was the first vegetarian restaurant to be awarded a star in Europe). The restaurant is currently headed up by chef Sauro Ricci, who serves lovingly-prepared organic dishes, with most ingredients sourced from nearby farms and gardens, across three menus: La Scoperta (the Discovery), l’Enfasi (the Emphasis) and lo Zenith (the Zenith), a 16-course tasting menu.

Shojin cuisine is traditional Buddhist cooking, and this philosophy guides Kajitsu’s (which means ‘fine day’ or ‘day of celebration’ in Japanese) menu. It’s vegetarian, and avoids the use of the five forbidden pungent roots: three types of onion, leeks and garlic, which are thought to increase anger and disputes, as well as increasing sexual desire. Each beautifully-prepared dish, down to the pottery everything is served on, has been meticulously thought through and carefully considered. The restaurant has one Michelin star.

Nested inside the stunning Château de Bourglinster you’ll find La Distillerie, an elegant one Michelin-starred and green star vegetarian restaurant. It was also voted the best vegetable restaurant in the world in 2020 and 2021. La Distillerie is a refined option in a dreamy setting, with sustainability at its heart thanks to chef René Mathieu’s strong principles.

Ten seats and a counter in front of a stainless steel kitchen make Le Comptoir, which translates to The Counter, an immersive experience where the boundaries between customers and chefs blur. Food here is intimate and vegetable-led. The plating might be artwork, but the real star of this one Michelin star spot is the toasted sourdough bread, made from Le Comptoir’s own starter, which according to the Michelin guide critics may be “older than some of the diners in the room”. Certainly a must-try. 

Renowned Melbourne chefs Shannon Martinez, who is behind the award-winning Smith & Daughters, and Ian Curley of French Saloon and Kirk’s Wine Bar have brought Lona Misa to life. The pair have curated a vegan menu offering with vegetarian additions, which pays homage to Martinez’s Latin roots. The space is vibrant and artsy, just like the food. 

Having received a Bib Gourmand in 2017, Lucky Leek is all about fresh, vegan, seasonal food. Elegant set menus incorporate cooking techniques from all over the world. The restaurant serves a modern take on the tasting menu concept with three, four or five course offerings, and wine pairing options too.

The Neue Taverne does plant-forward cooking in a unique way, which has seen it awarded one Michelin star. It likes to refer to the food as ‘vegetarian with benefits’. The dishes are vegetable-based but flavour is the main priority, so occasionally non-vegetarian ingredients such as fish sauce or chicken stock will be used if they are essential to achieve the best flavour. This is a perfect place for flexitarians, but they also offer a vegan menu.

Bodhi is a well-known vegan restaurant that has garnered a cult following in Sydney. Bringing the best plant-based yum cha (the Cantonese tradition of brunch including tea and dim sum) and Pan Asian cuisine  Bodhi uses a combination of freshly-prepared food, organic ingredients sourced locally and expert chefs to create a menu that suits everyone, while still being plant-based.

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Short for "origine non animale", ONA is chef Clare Vallée’s crowdfunded restaurant and the first vegan restaurant in France to receive a Michelin star, and subsequently a green star for gastronomy and sustainability. ONA explores new food sensations through seasonal menus  highlighting natural produce. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and worldwide staff shortages, ONA announced a temporary closure at the beginning of 2022 and has yet to announce when it will reopen to the public.

With one Michelin star and nominated for the 2022 James Beard award for Best New Restaurant, Oyster Oyster is taking Washington by storm with its imaginative plant-forward dishes that look and taste fantastic, while also being environmentally-friendly. Many ingredients are sourced from local farms, or foraged. Tasting menus are prepared vegetarian, but vegan options are available, or you can add sustainable oysters to the experience.

Ella Mills, better known as Deliciously Ella, started her plant-based journey with the objective to become healthier herself. Fast forward a couple of years and she is now an institution of plant-based cooking with six bestselling cookbooks, food products in shops across the UK, a podcast, a wellness and plant-based food app, and a restaurant. Plants by de brings what Deliciously Ella has been teaching through her social media platforms to the restaurant scene, and she clearly knows what she’s doing.

Another hip restaurant revolutionising the vegetarian world is Seven Swans. Located in Frankfurt, the Michelin starred (and green starred) Seven Swans serves seasonal food (choose from a five or six course tasting menu) made with ingredients from the local area and the restaurant’s own farm. Seven Swans is in a stunning location overlooking the river Main. It’s also housed in Frankfurt’s narrowest building, at just 12.5 feet (3.8 metres) wide.

With afternoon tea,  mapo tofu, spicy hot pot and luxury baccarat-themed cocktails, Mi Xun Teahouse has it all. Located in the Zen-inspired hotel The Temple House, and with one Michelin star, Mi Xun Teahouse is an excellent option for those looking for a vegetarian seasonal menu that is light, comforting and elegant, with a fantastic tea selection. The restaurant works with organic farmers in Yunnan to source many of its ingredients, and also has its own herb and vegetable garden.

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With locations in Vienna and Munich, Tian has gathered a following for its incredibly elegant menu. Both locations have been awarded a Michelin star, and Tian Munich has also received a green star. The restaurants operate under a no-waste, organic-only culture, not only for the food, but even down to the cleaning supplies used across the venues. The restaurants offer a vegetarian tasting menu using regional produce, but can also be ordered vegan. There’s a choice between six or eight courses, and an optional drinks pairing menu.

At Veda, the kitchen is focused on minimising waste, and using sustainable methods and practices wherever possible. The restaurant’s philosophy is that eating vegetarian food shouldn’t be a case of  ‘going without’, but focusing on ‘with’: whether that’s with flavour, creativity, texture or thought. Chef Raul Tronco Calahorra brings influences from Spain and Jamaica to the menu, so expect plenty of vibrant and big flavours.

James Beard semi-finalist Kate Jacoby and several-times nominated Rich Landau are the husband and wife team behind Vedge, a restaurant located in a beautiful brownstone building that combines signature dishes with seasonal menus focused around vegetables, natural wines, and creative cocktails. Vedge serves outstanding vegan dining with a vanguardist flare. The dishes are described as ‘medium plates’ which are smaller than traditional main courses, but larger than tapas.

The vibrant vegetarian Mediterranean dishes at Bubala are an ode to the flavours of a good mezze spread. Under the expertise of chef Helen Graham, a rising star according to food critic Jay Rayner. Bubala makes rich, comforting and delicious vegetarian dishes: weekday lunches there's an a la carte or set mezze menu, with a 'Bubala knows best' set menu available in the evenings. Located in Spitalfields, Bubala has been hugely successful and a second location is due to open soon.

Located in Beijing, Vege Wonder has become a renowned vegetarian restaurant thanks to its philosophy championing natural flavours and food that refuses to imitate meat. Instead, the restaurant highlights local produce through artistic dishes and meticulous service that has seen it awarded one Michelin star.

With one Michelin star and sitting at number 12 on the prestigious Asia’s 50 best restaurants list, Fu He Hui sets seasonal menus using local ingredients, with a fantastic tea menu to go with the Zen philosophy that inspires the food. Try the fantastic ‘lotus pond’, which looks like a lagoon and features guan yin leaves (a type of oolong tea), lily bulbs, and goji berries. 

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