There’s a New Guard of Vegan Restaurants in New York
Chefs are serving up meatless and inventive flavors, whether you’re looking for Sichuan, Caribbean, pizza or food from the American South.
Vegan mapo tofu, noodles noodles and dumplings at Spicy Moon in the West Village.
Photographer: Clay Williams/Bloomberg
Pulled pork sandwiches. Lobster rolls. Fish tacos. Almost any dish you can think of has gone vegan courtesy of an enterprising cook. And if that plant-based version doesn’t exist today, someone is undoubtedly working on it for tomorrow.
It’s a dynamic time for the global market for plant-based foods, which is projected to reach $166 billion by 2030, up from $29.4 billion in 2020, according to Bloomberg Intelligence. In New York, chefs are bringing new energy to vegan food options. With more than 1,400 restaurants and food venues offering vegan dishes, according to Tripadvisor data, New York City is ranked among the top destination in the US for plant-based foodies, a study by Meal Delivery Experts shows. Mayor Eric Adams is likewise pushing for a more plant-based diet at schools.