Top vegetarian and vegan restaurants in Phoenix
Remember when vegetarian food meant tofu and rice cakes? Well, good news: Those days are long gone.
In metropolitan Phoenix, there’s an ever-growing number of restaurants specializing in meat-free dining — and more are on the way. Phoenix diners can even enjoy a robust selection of spots that use no animal products at all.
Sure, some stick to the usual vegetarian mix of colorful salads and lentilstuffed wraps, but others push the familiar boundaries of vegetarian and vegan cuisine with balanced and delicious meals even meat-eaters can enjoy.
Here are the 10 best vegetarian and vegan restaurants in the Valley.
Fresh Mint
Spicy lemongrass noodle soup and kung pao “chicken” get the vegan treatment at this Scottsdale restaurant from owner and chef Mai Ly. The entire menu for lunch and dinner is plant-based with options ranging from fresh spring rolls with house peanut sauce to soy “fish” in a clay pot served with garlic sauce, pineapple, ginger and Thai chiles. Vietnamese sweet and sour soup offers a fragrant tamarind broth with basil leaves and hunks of pineapple, tomato and tofu.
Details:
Suite 161, 13802 N. Scottsdale Road, Scottsdale. 480-443-2556, freshmint.us.com.
The Uprooted Kitchen
This family-run business got its start as a food truck in a converted Airstream trailer before putting down roots at Barnone in Gilbert. Located in a bustling “agri-hood” centered around an organic farm, The Uprooted Kitchen is a plantbased restaurant that sources much of
its produce from a farm right outside its door. The menu, which changes weekly, always includes a homemade burger plus a selection of sandwiches, salads and soups made with plant-based “Parmesan cheese” and housemade seeded crackers and naan. Even the beverage menu offers something unexpected: Look for the herbal coffee alternative and housemade ginger brew.
Details: Inside Barnone, 3000 E. Ray Road, Building 6, Suite 105, Gilbert. 480459-9625, theuprootedkitchen.com.
Pomegranate Cafe
Mother-and-daughter duo Cassie and Marlene Tolman opened this Ahwatukee cafe in 2010, where vegetarians can enjoy breakfast, lunch and dinner options from a broad menu that’s also largely organic and totally non-GMO. For breakfast and brunch diners can choose from either farm eggs or scrambled tofu to go with gluten-free pumpkin praline french toast with coconut whip or a Sunshine Wrap stuffed with garden cream “cheese,” quinoa, tempeh bacon, avocado and greens. For lunch and dinner look for burgers with patties made from chickpeas, spinach and herbs or mushrooms, lentils and walnuts. The Raw Arizona Roll makes a particularly fresh midday meal featuring almond “cheese,” avocado and vegetables wrapped in seaweed and served with sweet chile tamari sauce.
Details: 4025 E. Chandler Blvd., Suite 28, Phoenix. 480-706-7472, pomegranatecafe.com.
24 Carrots
It’s been 10 years since Sasha Raj opened 24 Carrots in a strip mall in Tempe. What began as primarily a juice bar — her answer to the lack of places serving juices and smoothies without added sugar and artificial ingredients — has since grown into a full-service restaurant and bakery serving breakfast, lunch and dinner. The menu is free of animal products. Alongside the selection of juices, smoothies, coffees and teas, diners can enjoy dishes such as My Favorite French Toast, soaked in coconut custard instead of milk. Lunch and dinner options include Mac and Trees made with whole-grain noodles and cashew “cheese” and a BeetBall Marinara Sandwich loaded with vegetable and sunflower seed meatballs.
Details: 1701 E. Guadalupe Road, Tempe. 480-753-4411, 24carrotsjuice.com.
The Coronado
For breakfast, lunch and dinner this cozy Coronado neighborhood restaurant serves approachable food with appeal for omnivores and vegetarians alike. There are burgers sporting patties made with potatoes and garbanzo
beans or beets, quinoa and brown rice, as well as tacos stuffed with quinoa and hempseed “chorizo” or fried potatoes. The best of the tacos feature golden fried chunks of cauliflower topped with guacamole, spinach, pepitas and avocado dressing. Morning meal options range from house-baked scones and muffins to a vegetable scramble that can be made with eggs or tofu.
Details: 2201 N. Seventh St., Phoenix. 602-2521322, thecoronadophx.com.
Woodlands South Indian Kitchen
This Chandler restaurant is about as no-frills as they come. The interior design is entirely utilitarian; you’ll order at a nearly bare counter before seating yourself at a table, some of which are the folding variety. But the luscious curries and colorful chutney bar more than make up for what the atmosphere lacks. Woodlands serves a vegetarian menu of south Indian specialties, most notably the region’s delicate, thin and often-oversize dosa. These Indian pancakes are made with a fermented rice and lentil batter, then jammed with rich, fragrant fillings and chutneys. Pair a spicy Chettinad Dosai laden with onion, cauliflower and tomato with an order of vadi, fried fritters made from lentils, chickpeas and spices.
Details: 4980 W. Ray Road, Suite 10, Chandler. 480820-2249, woodlandsaz.com.
Green New American Vegetarian
Turns out giving up meat doesn’t have to mean giving up all-American guilty pleasures like cheesesmothered fries, egg rolls and even a Big Mac. Chef Damon Brasch’s restaurant, which has locations in Phoenix and Tempe, serves “New American vegetarian,” which essentially means vegetarian versions of all your favorite classics. There are vegan buffalo wings, crab puffs and samosas, as well as a vegan Chicago “cheesesteak.” Spicy grilled seitan spills out from slices of ciabatta bread along with caramelized onions and peppers, melted “cheese” and spicy giardiniera. The Big WAC is the stuff of local vegan legend: a meatfree patty comes topped with lettuce, tomato, pickles and ketchup on a sesame seed bun.
Details: 2022 N. Seventh St., Phoenix, and 2240 N. Scottsdale Road, #8, Tempe. greenvegetarian.com.
Desert Roots Kitchen
Desert Roots Kitchen is the crunchy vegan cafe of your inner college kid’s dreams. Cloistered from the hustle and bustle of Tempe’s Mill Avenue by its location off the Mill Avenue Shops inner courtyard, Desert Roots Kitchen takes a casual approach to its menu. It changes day to day and is usually scrawled out in multi-colored marker. The selection of wraps, salads and baked goods can range from the familiar (think lentil soup and spicy hummus) to intriguing offerings like poblano chile mac and cinnamon teriyaki brown lentils and rice. Almost all the seating at this counter-service spot is on a covered patio.
Details: 414 S. Mill Ave., Tempe. 480-382-0228, facebook.com/DesertRootsKitchen.
The Cutting Board Cafe
Simple but colorful decor gives this Mesa cafe a homespun feel and its menu of vegan breakfast, lunch and dinner fare makes it a neighborhood favorite. The menu starts with a full coffee and espresso list complemented by vegan milk options and continues with breakfast plates like the Tofu Breakfast Scramble Bowl filled with potatoes, black beans, tofu and avocado. For lunch and dinner, options expand to include bowls, sandwiches, wraps and more. Signature items include the 007 Black Bean Burger that comes slathered with secret sauce and stacked with onions, jalapeños, pickles, tomatoes and lettuce. Details: 2235 S. Power Road, Suite 116, Mesa. 4800654-8081, facebook.com/cuttingboardcafe.
Mi Vegana Madre
Husband and wife team José and Leticia Gamiz have proved that Mexican food is much more than meat-filled tacos and burritos with Mi Vegana Madre. Now permanently located in Glendale, the vegan concept began with pop-ups inside a Phoenix bakery and, later, a food truck. Today fans drive from all corners of the Valley to get items like vegan “carne asada” tacos made with seasoned vegetable-based protein, onions, cilantro and salsa. Specials highlight dishes like enchiladas filled with trumpet mushrooms and rolled in mole before being crowned with vegan cream and sliced onions.
Details: 5835 W. Palmaire Ave., Suite E., Glendale. 623-934-0358, facebook.com/MiVeganaMadre.