Crossroads Kitchen is a fabulous all-vegan restaurant on the Las Vegas Strip

From lasvegasmagazine.com

The words “vegan cuisine” used to produce a less-than-favourable facial expression, but those days are long gone. Even the most hardened carnivores have come around to how delicious Impossible products are, and more and more restaurants are opening up their menus to the variety vegan options offer. But only one sit-down restaurant on the Vegas Strip is exclusively vegan, and that’s Crossroads Kitchen, Tal Ronnen’s mega-popular destination for diners of all stripes.

The sheer variety here is pretty dizzying, but it’s all fantastic, from the sweet pea arancini appetizer with preserved lemon aioli and Parmesan cheese to mains like eggplant filet with mashed potatoes and mushroom bordelaise. There’s also an entire nut-free menu for those with allergies! Here you’ll find delights like truffle mushroom bianca pizza (and you can add fresh truffles) and delta asparagus and sugar snap peas with horseradish sabayon, radish and pea tendrils.

      Just a few of the vegan delights waiting for you at Crossroads Kitchen in Las Vegas  Photo: Courtesy

A real highlight here is the restaurant’s tasting menu. Choose between a five- and seven-course experience that takes you through everything Ronnen does best. We definitely recommend the latter for $175 per person, in which you get to enjoy chilled asparagus soup with lemon oil; grilled artichokes with roasted peppers, olives, capers, lemon and mint; stuffed zucchini blossoms with almond ricotta cheese and marinara; grilled maitake mushrooms with tamarind glaze, lime and chives; spring agnolotti with fresh truffles, lemon broth and scallion oil; grilled lion’s mane steak with truffle potatoes and mushroom bordelaise; and a chef-selected dessert. (Good news: They’re all awesome!)

You’re certain to want to check out happy hour here, as the prices are definitely right. From 4-5:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday (at the bar and lounge only), enjoy treats like caviar and chips, Impossible cigars with spicy almond milk yogurt, stuffed zucchini blossoms, calamari fritti with diablo sauce and lemon and Caesar salad with your choice of kale or romaine, garlic focaccia croutons and dressing—each for only $10! The same price is applied to all drinks, from specialty cocktails like the Sweet Leaf (with your choice of vodka or gin, chareau and cucumber syrup) and No Aloha (made with toasted pineapple tequila, cinnamon syrup and aquafaba) to wines and beers. It simply cannot be beat.

Resorts World Las Vegas, 702.676.7978. rwlasvegas.com

https://lasvegasmagazine.com/dining/2026/may/25/crossroads-kitchen-vegan-las-vegas-resorts-world/ 

The vegan Edinburgh hotspot that's winning over carnivores

From heraldscotland.com

By Alex Burns

As enthusiastic carnivores, my husband and I rarely (if ever) choose to dine in fully vegetarian restaurants.

But at Paradise Palms, a Mexican eatery in the heart of Edinburgh’s old town, we were so busy tucking into their amazing tacos, quesadillas and burritos that we barely even noticed the absence of meat.

                                                                                                        (Image: Paradise Palms)

This cult Edinburgh pub has long been popular for its extensive cocktail list and late openings (it shuts at 1am every night). But after a recent takeover of its kitchen by Mexican street food stalwart Antojitos Cantina, Paradise Palms is staking a strong claim of one of the capital’s hottest new food spots.

It marks the brand’s most extensive and elevated menu to date, mixing authentic Mexican ingredients with local produce while remaining 100% cruelty-free.

They have also refreshed their interiors in time for the busy summer season. The redesign reflects owner Trystan O’Brien’s fascination with surreal style, introducing Black Lodge–inspired flooring from Twin Peaks, while keeping the offbeat character of the pub’s interior.

                                                                                                (Image: Paradise Palms)

It’s certainly a unique space to sit in, with cuddly toys suspended from the ceiling and disco balls strung up almost everywhere you look. But in a world of increasing homogeneity and chain restaurants, it is a welcome relief to spend time in a venue that’s genuinely unique.

The food, too, is certainly memorable. Some highlights were the ‘Chorixo’ con Papas, made with crumbled vegan chorizo and fried potato, the Oaxacan ‘Ch*kn’ fajitas served with avocado crema and the vegan steak birria tacos. But arguably my favourite dish on the menu was one of the most simple – grilled sweetcorn ribs served with crumbled vegan cheese.

It was genuinely incredible, and it served as a powerful reminder that food doesn't need to contain meat to make an impression.

                                                                                              (Image: Paradise Palms)

Paradise Palms is also renowned for its cocktails, so I felt it was my journalistic duty to try several of the options on the menu.

I was particularly impressed with peach picante margarita – a truly original take on the ever-popular spicy margarita – made with tequila, peach, lime and red chilli. A special mention must also go to their caipirinha, a Brazilian cocktail that I have found poorly replicated in Scotland, but the Paradise Palms version was delicious.

Paradise Palms won’t disappoint – for both carnivores and herbivores alike.

www.theparadisepalms.com

https://www.heraldscotland.com/life_style/26055849.vegan-edinburgh-hotspot-winning-carnivores/ 

Veggie Galaxy Named Best Vegan-Friendly Restaurant in America

From nationaltoday.com/us

Cambridge diner wins top national honour from VegNews magazine 

Veggie Galaxy, a popular vegetarian diner in Cambridge, Massachusetts, has been named the 'Best Vegan-Friendly Restaurant' in America by VegNews magazine. The 14-year-old diner, which can make every menu item vegan, was chosen by thousands of VegNews readers and also received the Editors' Vote, underscoring both popular and editorial acclaim.

Why it matters

This award highlights the growing demand for high-quality, plant-based dining options and Veggie Galaxy's success in catering to both vegan and non-vegan customers alike. As more people adopt flexitarian or vegan diets, restaurants that can provide delicious, inclusive menus are becoming increasingly important community hubs.

The details

Veggie Galaxy topped the 'Best Vegan-Friendly Restaurant' category, besting other celebrated eateries nationwide. VegNews noted that every menu item at the 14-year-old diner can be made vegan, 'a blessing for plant-based eaters looking for corned beef hash Benedict, Oreo pancakes, or a casual Mac 'N Stack.' The restaurant also features a 100% vegan on-site bakery.

• Veggie Galaxy was founded in 2011.
• The restaurant was featured on Guy Fieri's 'Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives' in 2019.
• Former New England Patriots player Deatrich Wise Jr. joined as a co-owner in 2024.

The players

Veggie Galaxy

A popular vegetarian diner in Cambridge, Massachusetts that has been named the 'Best Vegan-Friendly Restaurant' in America by VegNews magazine.

Michael Bissanti

The managing partner of Veggie Galaxy.

Deatrich Wise Jr.

A former New England Patriots star and Super Bowl champion who joined as a co-owner of Veggie Galaxy in 2024.

What they’re saying

“This recognition is incredibly meaningful to our entire team. From day one, our mission has been to create a place where everyone—vegan or not—can enjoy nostalgic, delicious diner food.”

— Michael Bissanti, Managing Partner, Veggie Galaxy

“I'm just really happy to see Veggie Galaxy getting its flowers. Being recognized as the Best Vegan-Friendly Restaurant in America is a huge honour, and it's a testament to the hard work, consistency, and passion of everyone involved.”

— Deatrich Wise Jr., Co-Owner, Veggie Galaxy

What’s next

Veggie Galaxy plans to continue expanding its plant-based menu offerings and community partnerships to make healthy, sustainable dining more accessible in the Boston area.

The takeaway

Veggie Galaxy's national recognition as the 'Best Vegan-Friendly Restaurant' demonstrates the growing mainstream appeal of plant-based dining and the ability of mission-driven, community-focused restaurants to thrive by catering to diverse dietary needs.

https://nationaltoday.com/us/ma/boston/news/2026/04/08/veggie-galaxy-named-best-vegan-friendly-restaurant-in-america/

How This Vegan Chef Is Using Frybread Cheeseburgers to Lead an Indigenous Food Revolution

From vegnews.com

Blending ancestral knowledge with Ital-inspired cooking, Jemez Pueblo chef Tina Archuleta is reshaping Native foodways in Albuquerque—one blue corn waffle, green chile burger, and composted scrap at a time

Near downtown Albuquerque, NM, the scent of blue corn and red chilis drifts from a small café that’s redefining Indigenous cuisine for a new generation. At Itality, chef and owner Tina Archuleta is merging Pueblo foodways with plant-based cooking—crafting dishes that honour both land and lineage while advancing a broader movement rooted in health, sustainability, and food sovereignty.

                                                                                   Itality | photo illustration by Richard Bowie

An idea born from a food desert

Archuleta, a Jemez Pueblo native, began her journey two decades ago selling burritos in her community. As her worldview evolved, she embraced a plant-based diet—but found that maintaining it in Jemez was difficult. Many Pueblo communities are considered food deserts, with limited access to affordable, healthy grocery options. Frustrated by this lack of healthy food access, Archuleta began preparing her own food, determined to bring nourishing plant-based meals to the community. That commitment eventually grew into Itality, her Albuquerque restaurant serving whole, plant-based Pueblo cuisine.

Her cooking draws deeply from the ancestral knowledge of her culture, especially the Three Sisters—corn, beans, and squash—a historic and self-sustaining agricultural system that nourishes both soil and community. In Pueblo traditions, agriculture is central, and children grow up learning food preparation skills that connect seed to plate. Archuleta weaves this longstanding plant-based foundation with the Ital philosophy, a Rasta way of being that emphasizes natural, unprocessed foods and minimizing waste. For her, the blend forms a “lifeway,” not just a menu. And the results are as nourishing as they are delicious. Lion’s mane pozole served with  fresh zotah bayla (oven bread); New Mexico-style green chile cheeseburgers made from beans and quinoa served on frybread; and crisp, blue corn-pepita waffles topped with fried oyster mushrooms and red chili maple syrup.

But more than just serving from-scratch, plant-based meals, Archuleta is leading a movement toward food sovereignty and environmental responsibility.

Making food and change

                                                                                                                                               Itality

Ingredients are responsibly sourced, including from Native farmers, and all dishes are made from scratch. Eco-friendly products are used throughout the space, and composting is part of the daily process—keeping roughly 80 pounds of food waste out of landfills each week. Supporting Itality, the team emphasizes, means supporting more than a restaurant; it means participating in a movement that prioritizes care for the Earth.

She also challenges common assumptions about global food history by centering Indigenous ingredients and techniques. “I’d say 70 to 80 percent of the foods we know today were cultivated in the Americas—I think people overlook that,” she told Edible New Mexico. “We tend to associate chocolate with Belgium or potatoes with Ireland. So I’m reeling that back in … and representing food that is Indigenous made in an Indigenous way.”

As the only fully vegan Indigenous restaurant in the US, Itality stands out for its mission as much as its menu: a mission to feed, teach, and heal—leaving diners nourished, full, and carrying a bit of wisdom home with them.

https://vegnews.com/itality-tina-archuleta

Gróa: The Long Road To A Good Salad

From grapevine.is

By Adam Roy Gordon

In the last issue, I wrote a eulogy for Iceland’s vegan boom. Trend came, trend went, true believers survived. And then I kept thinking about vegetables.

Why is eating vegetables so difficult in Iceland? Why is it so hard to buy good produce? And why, in a country where kale has been growing since the Viking settlement, can you not get a decent kale salad?

Then last week I ate such a salad at Gróa, the new vegetable deli on Tryggvagata. Kale, beetroot, Icelandic barley. Every ingredient something that grows here or has deep roots in Icelandic cuisine. It was a revelation. And there’s more to this story than just a new storefront.

Raised on protein (and canned peas)

If you’ve spent a holiday in an Icelandic household, you know the peas. Ora Grænar baunir.

Bright green spheres next to the lamb, boiled to oblivion, beloved beyond rational explanation. Some families pour them straight from the can onto the plate. They’re tradition. And they’re the perfect symbol of how this country relates to vegetables. The poor quality has become a kind of national identity.

Vegetables in Iceland are a recent development. The first confirmed potato crop wasn’t until 1758, at Bessastaðir, where the president lives today. Gardens didn’t become common until the early 1800s, and even then it was mostly resident Danes who bothered. As the Matarauður Íslands food heritage project has noted, Icelanders “belatedly took to eating vegetables despite knowledge of their utility and nutritiousness.”

The Vikings who settled here knew kale and turnips from Scandinavia. But the Little Ice Age devastated farming from the 14th century onward, and what survived was a protein culture built around preservation. Smoked lamb, fermented shark, dried fish, skyr.

By the mid-20th century, Icelanders were learning to eat salads. Though often that just meant grated cabbage with mayonnaise. Or anything with mayonnaise, really, even if it’s just cheese.

Fresh vegetables became a serious presence only in the last few decades. Today Iceland produces only a few thousand tonnes of vegetables a year, and the vast majority is potatoes.

Vegetables were never cuisine here. They were filler. And food cultures built on filler don’t become vegetable-forward because a trend arrives.

A country that forgot its own kale

Kale grows exceptionally well in Iceland, as do most brassicas, the family that includes broccoli, cauliflower, brussels sprouts, and cabbage. Frost converts starches to sugars, making it particularly tender and sweet. Kale was a key Viking-era crop. Iceland had kale before it had the word for potato, and it still survives in some gardens. And yet the salad places in Reykjavík don’t stock it. The supermarkets barely acknowledge it. A country that could produce some of the finest kale in Europe decided it wasn’t worth the shelf space.

The supermarkets have improved in recent years, but quality remains a coin flip. You learn which Bónus has the better produce, which Krónan restocks on which day. You still might have to hit two or three shops to get what you were looking for. Brussels sprouts appear around the holidays and then often vanish. Kale shows up intermittently, usually tired. The good stuff exists. Finding it consistently is the problem.

Every Reykjavík neighbourhood used to have a fiskbúð where you’d stop on the way home and have dinner sorted. Vegetables never got their version. They arrived too late.

Geothermal greenhouses helped. They began to propagate around the island in the 1920s. Iceland now grows most of its cucumbers and tomatoes domestically. But the ambition largely stopped there.

The technology solved the climate problem. Nobody solved the cultural one.

Vegetable hackers

The people trying to change this tend to come from somewhere else.

At Reykjalundur, a farm in Grímsnesi about 80 kilometres from the capital, Californian Nicholas Robinson has spent the last decade working out what Icelandic soil and geothermal heat can actually do. He’s trialled over 100 varieties and the farm now produces eggplant, fennel, broccolini, summer squash, multiple kale varieties, heirloom tomatoes with actual flavour, sweet peppers. Unthinkable here a generation ago. They run a CSA delivered to Pikkoló points and supply some of the premier restaurants around the capital.

Austurlands Food Coop, started by New Yorker Jonathan Moto Bisagni and his Danish partner Ida Feltendal out of Seyðisfjörður in 2019, comes at it from the import side. They bring organic produce from European farms on the ferry and deliver a few hundred boxes a week around Iceland. Years ago, Bisagni put it plainly to the Grapevine: eating good is a right, not a privilege.

None of this exists because Iceland built a vegetable infrastructure. It exists because individuals hacked around the absence of one. Subscribe to a box, drive to a farm, pick up at a warehouse in Grandi on Fridays. People don’t do this much work for food they don’t care about.

Gróa Sælkeraverslun

Belinda Navi from California and Þorgerður Ólafsdóttir from Iceland co-founded Gróa around a simple idea. Belinda told Morgunblaðið she’d always wished for something like a fishmonger or a butcher, but for vegetables. That’s exactly what Reykjavík had for fish and never built for produce.

It’s not a vegan restaurant. Not a health food shop. Not a café with a token salad. It’s the first place in Reykjavík built around vegetables as food, not as compromise, substitute or side dish. Counter service, prepared meals, deli products, shelves with Spanish olive oils, Colombian chocolate, freshly roasted coffee. Basalt Architects designed the space, with walls by Eysteinn Þórðarson of Icelandic vegetables and edible plants. The menu rotates with whatever’s available and in season, which in Iceland means working with constraints most restaurants would consider absurd. You don’t plan a fixed menu when your best ingredient might not exist next week.

When it opened on February 12 the place was packed from the jump. Locals squeezed into Gróa while tourists waited in line for hot dogs nearby.

Finally, kale

The menu is small. A handful of sandwiches, salads and soups, all of which can be made vegan, most gluten-free. The plan is to rotate based on what’s available and what people actually order, which raises a question they are already wrestling with: what does seasonality mean in Iceland when the greenhouses grow year-round?

Back to that kale salad. After a thousand or so words about how nobody in this country knows what to do with kale, I’ll be direct: Gróa figured it out. Their kale salad is a knockout.

Their kimchi grilled cheese is unreasonably good. The vegan version, made with house-made vegan cheese and vegemite, might actually be better than the regular. The vegan egg salad sandwich is also great, better than most egg salad sandwiches I’ve had in Iceland. The soups are delicious and fresh, particularly the mushroom soup.

Most dishes come in half portions for little more than 1.000 ISK. A half salad or sandwich and a soup for a downtown lunch, under 3.000 ISK. Fresh, vegetable-forward food for less than the price of a burger. Downtown Reykjavík has a lunch problem, particularly at a reasonable price, and Gróa just became the best answer to it.

For dinner, the vegan lentil lasagne with house-made vegan cheese is a solid family take-home option, and they say the take-home menu will keep evolving and expanding depending on what’s fresh and available. Everything is packaged well enough to carry out.

The shop side deserves attention. Olive oil, chocolate, and speciality goods are organised so that dietary restrictions are immediately clear. There are also fresh lettuces, with plans to expand into dinner-ready vegetables. The coffee is drip-only for now, but it’s particularly good.

Open weekdays from 11 to 17, which is a bit limiting for some. The current family take-home options are also limited now, but I’m told that’s meant to expand.

Ultimately, Gróa is designed to fold into daily life, not to be an occasion.

No hashtags

Nobody is calling this a movement. The climate is shifting, the soil is warming, and the people paying attention are quietly expanding what this country can produce.

The vegan gold rush was loud and briefly profitable. Most importantly, it forced the question of whether vegetables could be more than filler, even if most of the businesses that asked it went under. The conversation outlasted the restaurants.

A thousand years after the Vikings brought kale and centuries after most lost interest, it’s coming back. It took a Californian to replant it, and another Californian to put it in a salad and charge you for it. It’s Icelandic food culture catching up with what the land, the heat and the climate have quietly made possible for years. Let’s hope it sticks. 

Gróa is located at Tryggvagata 26, Reykjavík.

https://grapevine.is/food-main/2026/03/08/groa-the-long-road-to-a-good-salad/ 

6 Michelin-Star vegan restaurants that even carnivores book months ahead

From veganfoodandliving.com

Planning a luxury plant-based trip? Here are the top Michelin-starred vegan restaurants you need to visit, featuring the award-winning chefs pioneering sustainable gastronomy

For decades, the prestigious red Michelin star was synonymous with butter-laden French sauces and prime cuts of meat. But since the boom of veganism in the late 2010s, the Michelin Guide has undergone a radical transformation. In recent years, the industry has seen the vegetable option move from a sidelined alternative to the main event, and Michelin star vegan restaurants have been flourishing.

6 Michelin star vegan restaurants you need to visit

1. Plates London – United Kingdom

Number of Michelin stars: ★
Price range: £109 for 8 courses (+£70 for wine pairings)
Location: 320 Old Street, Hoxton, London, EC1V 9DR, United Kingdom
How to book: Visit exploretock.com/plates-london

About the restaurant:

As one of the more recent Michelin star vegan restaurants to join the guide, Plates London made history as the first UK vegan restaurant to win a Michelin star in 2025, a feat achieved less than six months after opening its doors. It was founded by siblings Kirk and Keeley Haworth shortly after Kirk was crowned ‘Champion of Champions’ on the BBC’s The Great British Menu.

Both Kirk and Keeley bear a lifelong passion for food, with a focus on sustainability, embracing nature, and, above all, great flavours. Together, they’ve developed Plates’ unique style of cookery, serving skilfully-crafted, exquisitely flavoured seasonal dishes in its relaxed yet upmarket dining area.

This limited-edition Plates London menu reimagined childhood classics such as arctic roll, fish finger sandwiches, and Salt 'n' Shake crisps. Photo © Plates London

About the chef:

Classically-trained chef Kirk Haworth turned his talents to plant-based cuisine after contracting Lyme disease in Australia in 2016. Before opening Plates, he spent almost 20 years honing his skills in Michelin-starred restaurants across the world.

While sustainability is important to Kirk, he prefers not to focus on the ‘vegan’ aspect of the food, instead striving to bring flavour, excitement, and innovation to nourishing ingredients that just happen to be plant-based.

Menu highlights:

Plates London’s eight-course tasting experience starts with its signature house-laminated sourdough bread, served with whipped vegan butter. This rich, fluffy butter is often infused with seasonal flavours to complement Chef Kirk’s menu.

He often focuses on nostalgic flavours, with fresh takes on classic dishes. Other highlights include caramelised lion’s mane mushrooms with seasonal fruits and vegetables, and warm cacao sponge with parsnip ice cream.

What Michelin says:

“There’s an appropriately earthy, natural vibe to this elegant restaurant dedicated to promoting plant-based cuisine. The slate floor, warm hues and rustic plastering help it feel stripped-back yet stylish, with some counter seating providing another on-trend touch.

“Chef Kirk Haworth … brings his strong classical technique to bear on inventive and inviting vegan dishes that give vegetables the respect they deserve. The maitake mushroom with black bean mole is superb, while the raw cocoa gateau is a real treat to finish.”

2. De Nieuwe Winkel – the Netherlands

Number of Michelin stars: ★ ★

Price range: €205-€215 for 9 courses (+€95 for drinks pairings)

Location: Gebroeders Van Limburgplein 7, Nijmegen, 6511 BW, Netherlands

How to book: Visit denieuwewinkel.com

About the restaurant:

Housed in a 14th-century orphanage in downtown Nijmegen, this ‘botanical gastronomy’ restaurant offers farm-to-table tasting menus which change with the seasons. Expect a magical dining experience, complete with an open kitchen where you can watch the team expertly prepare the impressive fare.

But food at De Nieuwe Winkel goes beyond the kitchen with its food lab, in which chefs, farmers, and scientists come together to develop incredible innovations. The restaurant’s realistically rich almond-based cheese and a sustainably-produced chestnut-based chocolate are just two of the environmentally restorative products to come from DNW Labs.

Along with its two Michelin stars, this vegan restaurant has also been awarded a green star, recognising its outstanding sustainability practices. Among them is its zero-waste approach, which includes using the SCOBY left over from fermenting kombucha to create crispy ‘tulle’ with umami flavour.

The interior of De Nieuwe Winkel is understated with raw, functional decor, keeping focus on its 'botanical gastronomy' concept. Photo © De Nieuwe Winkel

About the chef:

The mastermind behind De Nieuwe Winkel is Chef Emile van der Staak, awarded Chef of the Year 2024 by Gault&Millau Netherlands.

His culinary philosophy of ‘botanical gastronomy’ is inspired by Ketelbroek, the self-sustaining ‘food forest’ planted by his friend, Wouter van Eck. This resilient ecosystem offers conditions ideal for growing exotic plants that would not normally thrive in the Netherlands.

In Ketelbroek and the nearby organic garden ‘Ommuurde tuin‘, Chef Emile and his team taste and gather the astonishing ingredients to be developed into the restaurant’s innovative dishes.

Menu highlights:

Innovative dishes at this Michelin star vegan restaurant include a kombu cracker, topped with kohlrabi and SCOBY (leftover from making kombucha) or carrot dumplings with Japanese rose and Szechuan pepper.

Also look out for DNW’s signature butter, which is made from sunflowers.

What Michelin says:

“[Emile van der Staak] is a visionary writing a story, with every chapter whetting your appetite. The passion and positivity he and his team radiate is truly inspiring.

“[Ketelbroek] is where he makes discoveries, reflects and creates – and his is a creative spirit that seems to know no bounds. He has developed a precise technique of bringing the microseasons to life in his set menu, which changes three times a year.”

3. Seven Swans – Germany

Number of Michelin stars: ★

Price range: €229 for 7 courses (+€119 for wine pairings)

Location: Mainkai 4, Frankfurt on the Main, 60311, Germany

How to book: Visit sevenswans.de/reservation

About the restaurant:

This restaurant appears shrouded in mystery, with very little information on its website. No sample menu, no pictures of the food, and no information about the restaurant and its operation. There’s not even any indication that it’s vegan. But this is intentional.

Head Chef Ricky Saward believes that the magic of food comes from being surprised, and once you’ve seen the menu and imagined the taste, the magic is gone. So, if you want to get the true Seven Swans experience, skip to the next restaurant in this list now.

Seven Swans serves farm-to-table dishes crafted from ingredients grown no more than 50 km from the restaurant. In fact, many of them come from the restaurant’s own permaculture garden, Braumannswiesen (or, Brewer’s Meadows), just outside of Frankfurt. This is one reason Seven Swans has also been awarded a green star for sustainability.

Dining here is an experience, as each part of the seven-course ‘surprise menu’ is served to all guests in the dining room at the same time, along with a detailed, impassioned description of the dish by the head chef himself.

The decor is stripped-back and minimalistic, and the seating isn’t exactly comfortable, but this is all part of the plan. At Seven Swans, diners’ attention is turned completely to the food, meaning every morsel is enjoyed to the fullest.

Seven Swans is housed in Frankfurt's narrowest building. Photo © Seven Swans

About the chef:

Chef Ricky Saward took over Seven Swans in 2018, at which point it was a vegetarian restaurant that already held a Michelin star. This was Ricky’s first head chef job, and his first venture into vegetarian cuisine. He quickly gained a flair for it and became passionate about sustainability through food. This naturally led to an interest in vegan cuisine, and by 2019, he had quietly phased out all animal products from the menu.

It wasn’t until around six months later that Seven Swans announced that it had been serving plant-based food for some time, and apparently, no one had missed the animal products. Despite the changes made to the restaurant, it maintained its Michelin star, and in 2020, Ricky Saward was officially recognised as the world’s first vegan Michelin-starred chef.

When he took over the Seven Swans kitchen, Ricky also got involved in its permaculture garden, which, at the time, only produced herbs and a few vegetables. Now, it has more than quadrupled in size and produces a range of local and sustainable ingredients for the restaurant. From these, Ricky crafts his dishes, carefully considering what’s in season (or what has been preserved for the colder months), what works together, and how to make the most of the whole plant to reduce waste.

He believes that more mainstream meat-based dishes, like caviar or lobster, are boring and require little skill to prepare. So, rather than try to emulate meat dishes, he prefers to experiment and create exciting new dishes which showcase the true potential of plants. He even avoids spices to let the local produce truly shine.

Menu highlights:

While the menu is always a surprise for guests, marinated moss, pinecones cooked in sweet syrup, and crisps made from potato ‘jelly’ are just a few examples of the outlandish dishes served here.

Working with exotic ingredients like coffee and chocolate is not done here. Instead, you may find that dessert consists of a brownie made from fermented oats, lupine beans (roasted and ground, much like coffee), and reduced beetroot juice, creating a chocolate-like flavour with only local, ethical ingredients.

What Michelin says:

“The location is out of the ordinary, as is the philosophy behind the cuisine! Housed in the city’s narrowest building, which is still seven storeys high, this stylish and sleek restaurant boasts fantastic views of the River Main through large floor-to-ceiling windows.

“Permaculture is the name of the game here, meaning only those regional ingredients that have been produced ecologically and in harmony with nature are used in the dishes. In keeping with this ideology, much of the produce used comes from the restaurant’s own local farm.”

4. KLE – Switzerland

Number of Michelin stars: ★
Price range: €114 for 4 courses, €129 for 5 courses, €139 for 6 courses (+ wine pairings from €76)
Location: Zweierstrasse 114, Zurich, 8003, Switzerland
How to book: Visit mytools.aleno.me

About the restaurant:

With a name derived from ‘sauerklee’, the German word for wood sorrel, vegan Michelin star restaurant KLE has been fully focused on local, seasonal plant foods since it opened in 2020.

A beacon of its neighbourhood in Zurich, this cosy, welcoming restaurant serves up a surprise menu, showcasing its “seasonal protagonists”. From this list of over 50 ingredients, Head Chef Zineb (“Zizi”) Hattab creates a range of dishes that not only vary from day to day, but even from table to table.

The name of the game is sustainability, and this approach means the chefs at KLE can reduce waste and utilise ingredients that are abundant at the time. Along with working closely with organic farmers in the area, this has led to KLE also being awarded a green Michelin star.

Guests can choose from four, five, or six courses, each paired with biodynamic wines and served by a team that is passionate about plant-based cuisine. The flavours of the modern, creative dishes are inspired by Mexico and Chef Zizi’s own Moroccan heritage.

You've probably never had New York hot dogs quite like this. Photo © KLE

About the chef:

Zineb Hattab hasn’t always been a chef. In fact, she worked as a software developer when she first moved from Spain to Switzerland in 2012. Here, she developed a passion for cooking and began training as a chef in 2014, going on to work in some of the world’s most renowned restaurants.

As she learned more about the food industry, she turned away from animal products and went vegan in late 2019. By January of 2020, she had opened KLE as a fully vegan dining concept.

In 2022, KLE joined the ranks of Michelin star vegan restaurants. Zizi was just 26 years old at the time, making her among the youngest chefs to earn a star, along with being Switzerland’s first vegan Michelin-starred chef.

And Chef Zizi isn’t just an advocate for animals. She also places great importance on workplace well-being, emphasising that sustainability goes beyond the food in the restaurant, ensuring that the team’s work-life balance is sustainable too. In Zizi’s kitchen, creating a kind, respectful environment is just as important as creating great food.

Menu highlights:

KLE doesn’t lean heavily on meat alternatives, but that doesn’t mean you won’t find any on the menu. A vegan hot dog may not sound like haute cuisine, but Chef Zizi reimagines this American classic with a fine dining twist as a smoky terrine in a sweet potato bun with spicy mustard & crisp cucumber relish.

This Michelin star vegan restaurant also serves dishes such as beetroot or carrot tartare, pumpkin tostada, and ‘Corn Four Ways’, inspired by elotes.

What Michelin says:

“Zineb (“Zizi”) Hattab proposes something out of the ordinary in her charming pub. Not only is the modern-creative food entirely vegan, but it also draws on interesting Moroccan and Mexican influences.

“Great importance is attached to regionality and sustainability, and that also applies to the wine.”

5. Légume – South Korea

Number of Michelin stars: ★
Price range: 200,000 KRW for a 12-course dinner (+ 180,000 KRW for wine pairings), or 120,000 KRW for a 7-course lunch (+120,000 KRW for wine pairings)
Location: 652 Gangnam-daero, Gangnam District, Seoul, South Korea
How to book: Visit legume.kr/reservation

About the restaurant:

Légume is Asia’s first and only vegan Michelin-starred restaurant; an accolade it earned only recently, in 2025. Nestled in the heart of Seoul’s Gangnam district, this plant-based fine dining restaurant was opened in 2023 by Head Chef Siwoo Sung.

The menu at Légume changes seasonally, serving local, Korean ingredients in a haute cuisine style. Dinner consists of around 11 courses followed by petit fours and tea, with optional wine pairings and additional morsels to accompany your meal. Studying the menu gives barely a hint of the delights that await, as each dish is simply named after a single, star ingredient.

However, if you just can’t wait for the food to arrive, you can peer into the restaurant’s open kitchen to sneak a peek at what the chefs are doing. The bar, which seats up to 10 guests, is a great vantage point for this. Otherwise, reserve one of Légume’s two tables to enjoy your meal in this cosy eatery.

The restaurant itself is airy and open, while also offering an intimate dining experience. The decor hints at Légume’s focus on waste reduction and the use of sustainable materials. Even the chefs’ aprons are upcycled from discarded plastic.

Légume's signature truffle & hazelnut sorbet can be added to the the tasting menu at lunch or dinner. Photo © Légume

About the chef:

Chef Siwoo Sung is not vegan, but has shown an affinity for vegetables since childhood, driven by his mother’s meat allergy. He also harbours a lifelong passion for gastronomy, dreaming of becoming a fine dining chef at a time when fine dining restaurants were sparse in Korea.

Despite receiving no formal training, Siwoo Sung was a pioneer of the Korean gastronomic scene, starting work under Chef Jun Lee at Soigné as soon as the restaurant entered the scene. Over the ten years he worked here, Soigné earned two Michelin stars, while Sung perfected his craft and worked his way up to become head chef at the prestigious restaurant.

Not long after, Sung decided to take a chance on founding an unconventional vegan fine-dining restaurant, challenging the usual fast-food-focused plant-based scene in Seoul. In opening Légume, Chef Sung aimed to highlight the versatility of Korean vegetables, creating innovative dishes that diners with all kinds of dietary needs could enjoy.

Menu highlights:

Named simply ‘seaweed’, one of the restaurant’s newer dishes features savoury custard with a rich laver sauce, topped with diced jicama, water parsley, ginkgo nuts, and black chanterelle mushrooms.

You won’t want to miss out on Légume’s signature truffle and hazelnut sorbet, which can be added to your meal for an additional charge.

What Michelin says:

“In pursuit of 100 per cent vegan cuisine, this eatery has perfected a refined vegetarian dining style that transcends the provision of mere plant-based meals, thereby highlighting the diversity and direction of Korean vegetarian cuisine.

“At Légume, sensorial contemporary cuisine meets the chef’s seasoned skills and is transformed into a vegan menu with a distinct identity and imaginative flavours. The evident truth is that the kitchen’s vegan fare not only appeals to vegetarians but also to people with a wide range of palates.”

6. Bonvivant Cocktail Bistro – Germany

Number of Michelin stars: ★
Price range: €130 for 6 courses (+€89 for drink pairings), €143 for 7 courses (+€97 for drink pairings)
Location: Goltzstraße 32, Berlin, 10781, Germany
How to book: Visit bonvivant.berlin

About the restaurant:

Originally opened as a vegetarian restaurant in 2019, this Berlin bistro concept started its journey to becoming vegan in early 2025, when it made its dinner menu plant-based.

Bonvivant earned its Michelin star in 2023, which it maintained with its new dinner menu, also earning a green star for sustainability in 2025. Now, the restaurant is fully vegan after removing eggs and dairy from its brunch menu in early 2026.

Bonvivant Cocktail Bistro is famous for its ‘bistronomy’ concept, offering a relaxed, social atmosphere where world-class food meets an avant-garde cocktail programme. Here, as much thought is put into the drinks as the food, with pairings designed to elevate the nuances of each seasonal dish. Along with an extravagant cocktail menu, featuring drinks such as Juniper & Foam and Smoke & Bean, Bonvivant offers a selection of biodynamic wines and non-alcoholic alternatives that are just as enjoyable as their counterparts.

Its ever-changing menu is focused on sustainability, using local ingredients from trusted producers, or even hand-picked by the team. Meanwhile, the kitchen follows a zero-waste approach, paying careful attention to using all parts of produce, “from leaf to root”, wherever possible.

Social responsibility is important too, as Bonvivant emphasises the importance of nurturing staff and making a positive impact on the wider community.

Bonvivant is housed inside the beautiful Kachelhaus building in Berlin. Photo © Bonvivant Cocktail Bistro

About the chef:

Austria-born Nikodemus Berger is the head chef at Bonvivant. His cooking style combines classic French techniques with regional ingredients and Asian influences, creating innovative dishes with pleasantly surprising flavours.

He’s passionate about delivering exquisite food, encouraging his team to embrace challenges to create unusual dishes that give guests a unique, delightful experience. Throughout Bonvivant’s transition to a fully plant-based cuisine, he ensured there was no compromise in taste, texture, or presentation, without relying on processed meat alternatives.

Menu highlights:

Made with ingredients from the local eco-village of Brodowin, Chef Nikodemus’ signature dish is Erdäpfelkas (spreadable potato ‘cheese’), served with wild broccoli and marjoram.

In line with the restaurant’s affinity for sustainability, guests can also snack on crackers served with beer brewed from leftover bread at a nearby brewery.

What Michelin says:

“The successful concept that awaits you here comprises a six- or seven-course vegan set menu, which can be extended to include a signature dish. The absence of meat and fish in no way detracts from the experience.

“When it comes to selecting ingredients, many are sourced from local producers, with a focus on the region and the seasons. Interesting accompaniments for the delicious mains are also given their due, plus there are original and sophisticated drinks and cocktails.”

https://www.veganfoodandliving.com/features/michelin-star-vegan-restaurants/