The 13 Best Dallas Restaurants for Vegans and Vegetarians
From neighborhood juice joints to the best veggie tacos in town.
Whether you’re incorporating Meatless Monday into your weekly routine, embarking on Plant-based January, or already living a veggie-fied life, Dallas-Fort Worth continues to supply diners with plenty of tasty, well-crafted vegetarian and vegan meals. Thoughtful plant-based dishes appear on menus at all types of restaurants—even steakhouses—while the list of all-vegetarian and all-vegan restaurants continues to grow with excellent choices covering a variety of cuisine types, from Asian and Tex-Mex to Italian and Texas-style comforts. Check out the 13 spots below if you’re ready to mooove beyond beef, get the cluck away from chicken, and let seafood live to swim another day.
Belse Plant Cuisine
Offering elevated plant-based cuisine in a sleek, well-designed space, Belse Plant Cuisine comes from the team behind the top-rated Los Angeles vegan joint, Little Pine. OIndulge in tomato-glazed Cauliflower Tostadas, Roasted Fennel and Italian Sausage Flatbread, and the signature Belse Burger, outfitted with an Impossible patty and sweet beet-and-onion jam and served with crispy fries.
Casa Del Vagano
Tacos, flautas, chimichangas, enchiladas, and nachos are the stars at this all-vegan Tex-Mex eatery with plant-based versions of cheese, beef, chicken, scallops, shrimp, fish, crab, and pork serving as tasty toppings and festive fillings. The colorful dishes look exactly like what you’d see at your typical everyday taqueria, but will leave you feeling a lot more guilt-free.
How to book: Stop by for first come, first served seating.
Goji Cafe
Health-focused Asian fare wows diners at this North Dallas cafe, boasting an extensive menu of traditional favorites. Start with crispy egg rolls, fresh summer rolls, a hot bowl of Zucchini Pho, and crispy potstickers while you decide on your main course from choices that include several styles of noodle soups, rice dishes, and curries packed with fresh vegetables and plant-based proteins. If you’re not feeling the Asian thing on your visit, they also serve tacos, burgers, and other handheld snackables.
How to book: Stop by for first come, first served seating or call 972-243-1888 for take-out.
Vegan Food House
The eclectic menu at this Oak Cliff favorite features southern comfort classics like Shrimp and Grits, Boudin Balls, Catfish Po-boys, and Country-fried Cauli-steak with macaroni, mashed potatoes, and kale. But they also excel at Tex-Mex inspirations, with Stuffed Jalapeños, Fried Fish Tacos, and Shrimp and Sausage Quesadillas. Well-rounded, much?
How to book: Stop by for first come, first served seating
D'Vegan
From crispy egg rolls and soft spring rolls to pho and other hearty noodle dishes, everything on the menu at this no-frills cafe inside a Vietnamese stripmall market comes packed with as much flavor as any of its meaty counterparts. The kitchen uses mostly tofu and other soy-based proteins to recreate the taste and texture of animal proteins like chicken and beef, and when paired with complex sauces and vividly colored vegetables and plopped atop rice or noodles, animal products will not be missed.
How to book: Stop by for first come, first served seating.
Nature's Plate
Weekly meal subscription services make menu planning a pain-free task, and Nature’s Plate does the same with a vegan, whole-food twist. Menus change weekly and customers can order as many or few meals as they need for the following week. A list of featured favorites offers calorie-portioned breakfasts, lunches, and dinners, including crowd-pleasers such as classic lasagna, “cheese” enchiladas, and Texas barbecue plates, as well as decadent desserts like fudge brownies. Even non-planners are covered here, thanks to grab-and-go options available daily in refrigerator cases alongside bulk items for anyone wishing to do their own cooking and smoothie kits ready to drop into the blender.
How to book: Stop by for counter service.
Spiral Diner & Bakery
Old-school diners have a reputation for offering a wide range of options to satisfy practically any craving, any time of day. Since 2002, Spiral Diner has taken the same something-for-everyone concept and masterfully crafted dishes featuring healthy (or, at least, healthier) plant-based versions of indulgent staples like Buffalo Chicken Nachos, Chips and Queso, Philly Cheesesteaks, and Texas Chili-covered Frito Pie. All-day breakfast and weekend brunch are big here, too, as well as the onsite bakery, which whips up custom cakes and other desserts (with or without “Congrats on eating vegan!” written in icing)
Reverie Bakeshop
The lineup here is long and sweet, with cookies, cakes, pies, cinnamon rolls, muffins, brownies, and cheesecakes among the 100% plant-based options. Customers can partake in more savory items on the weekends, including a variety of “Chicken” Biscuits with toppings ranging from jalapeño honey butter to mashed potatoes and gravy. Whole cakes, pies, and large quantities of cupcakes can be custom ordered with at least 48-hours notice (longer for wedding cakes, of course).
Kalachandji's Restaurant & Palace
For nearly four decades, the Radha Kalachandji Hare Krishna temple has offered a sprawling Indian buffet with food options that change daily. Diners gather in a lush courtyard setting and go through the buffet line as many times as they wish, grabbing soups, salads, curries, and different international dishes that can stray from South Indian classics to enchiladas, barbecue tofu, and even Eggplant Parmesan. Thursday night vegetarian cooking classes will resume soon, hopefully (you don’t even need to pre-register), at which dinner’s included.
How to book: Stop by for first come, first served seating.
El Palote Panaderia
If you have a go-to dish at any Mexican restaurant in town, you’ll likely find it here with plant-based flare. Street food-style tacos, flautas, burritos, enchiladas, tamales, fajitas, sopes, and fully loaded nacho fries can be ordered stuffed with meatless versions of pork al pastor, chicken, and carne asada, then doused in one of several spicy homemade salsas. As for the bakery, treats include cakes, pan dulce, and cookies, as well as cheerily decorated donuts.
How to book: Stop by for first come, first served seating.
Recipe Oak Cliff
Perhaps best-known for its organic smoothies and pressed juices (also available in multi-packs for cleanses and daily use), this cafe, market, and rentable commercial kitchen began as part of an initiative to get fresh, healthy food out into the South Oak Cliff community. In addition to the nutritious drinkables, guests can also enjoy veggie-packed salads and bowls, as well as lettuce-wrap tacos, barbecue jackfruit platters and sandwiches, falafel bowls and wraps, and mounds of zoodles. Daily specials, grab-and-go items, and weekly meal plans are also up for grabs.
How to book: Stop by for first come, first served seating or call 469-930-8284 for take-out.
Nuno’s Tacos & Vegmex Grill
From the family behind El Palote Panaderia comes this North Dallas Tex-Mex joint specializing in tacos, tortas, flautas, tamales, quesadillas, enchiladas, and massive chimichangas. Cruelty-free versions of chicken, beef, and other animal proteins are recreated using either jackfruit or textured vegetable protein (TVP). Vegan cheeses are made in-house, while culinary creativity extends to the salsas, too, which include unique options spiked with ingredients like dried chiles and grapefruit.
How to book: Stop by for first come, first served seating or order take-out via Toast.
Midtown Pizza
Midtown Pizza's recent renovations were more than skin-deep. As of February 2020, the once-omnivorous menu has become strictly vegetarian in terms of its pizzas, calzones, subs, and made-to-order sandwiches, with a few vegan options as well. Kick things up a notch by ending your meal with Dizzi Brands alcohol-infused ice creams and pops or fro-yo from Monster Yogurt.
How to book: Stop by for first come, first served seating or order take-out and delivery via Slice.