One of my favorite things in life is food and trying new ones along the way. Sometimes it’s a challenge when traveling to places like Paris or Amsterdam to find plant-based options. Living in Long Island City, we’re pretty close to Williamsburg, Brooklyn, which lucky for us has plenty of great restaurants. And since my boyfriend is vegan, here’s a few vegan spots we like to hit up (that even the non-vegans like myself can enjoy):
Jungle Cafe
When we first moved to LIC, and searched for vegan spots, Jungle Cafe is one the top places that pop up. It’s a quaint little spot, with a painted wall of various animals, nature motif, flower of life design on the floor and another wall with pictures of famous vegans and vegetarians (not sure how true some of them are….like Jesus? Nikola Tesla? lol, i mean really who really knows for sure ) Before COVID, you could do buffet-style, where they charge by weight. I don’t think they have it currently but the items off the menu are top-notch! Plus, they recently set up this colorful outdoor seating section.
My favorites off the menu: The Egyptian lentil soup, mushroom/potato tacos, and mac’n cheese.
Address: 131 Greenpoint Ave, Brooklyn NY 11222 (between Franklin St & Manhattan Ave)
Hours: 11:00am-10:00pm Monday-Saturday, Sunday 12:00pm-9:00pm
Pickup – Yes | Delivery – Yes | Outdoor Seating – Yes
Champs Diner
Now everyone like to indulge in junk food occasionally. Yes, even vegans like to pig out (pun intended) too every so often. At Champs Diner, you don’t have be vegan to appreciate the cuisine here. For the ambiance, the place has a diner feel to it with black and white tiles and the leather (presumably vegan leather) seating to match. (unfortunately there’s no dine-in or outdoor seating at the moment). They’ve got a great breakfast menu, that includes pancakes, waffles, croque madames, and for lunch/dinner a variety of sandwiches, burgers, milkshakes and tasty appetizers.
My favorites: Spinach/artichoke dip, tater nachoes, the mac daddy, the smores milkshake (best milkshake ever!!)
Address: 197 Meserole St, Brooklyn, NY 11206 (between Bushwick Ave & Humboldt St)
Hours: 12:00pm-8:00pm Monday-Sunday
Pickup – Yes | Delivery – Yes | Outdoor Seating – No
Screamers Pizza
Screamers Pizza is a God send for vegans who have missed their pizza eating days. It does not disappoint! Their menu has downsized a bit but they have the classics — cheese, pepperoni, seitan sausage, supreme and a few others. Their cheese bread is also awesome. It’s a small venue with only a few tables inside but of course with our current situation, indoor seating is not available at this time.
My favorites: cheese bread, garlic/broccolini
Address: 620 Manhattan Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11222 (between Nassau Ave & Driggs Ave)
Hours: 12:00pm-10:00pm Monday-Sunday
Pickup – Yes | Delivery – Yes | Outdoor Seating – No
When I tried the food at these places, I was amazed at how good the vegan versions of these dishes could be. Hey, good food is good food. I hope that indoor seating comes back soon. Actually being there at the venue, taking in the ambiance is a huge part of the dining experience which many people enjoy. In the meantime, eating these delicious dishes at home is the next best thing.
Bon appetit!
Although my daughter eats chicken, she typically seeks out vegan restaurants (or vegan menu items) when she’s traveling due to an egg, dairy, and red meat allergy. She has several friends going to school in NYC, so I’m sending this article to her for her next trip that way!
Awesome!
Such a great list! I’ve been vegetarian for almost a year! Potato tacos sound interesting!
I’ve only been to Williamsburg once, but it had great views of the city!
Yes it does!
I’m not vegan, I try to be plant based, but my husband is not for it. Such a great resource for those seeking out these restaurants though. Lately, I have seen a lot more restaurants around where I live offering vegan options
Thanks! I try to be planted-base too since my bf is vegan. That’s great that more restaurants are offering more vegan options–must mean they’re seeing more of a demand out there.
Definitely saving these options! It can be hard to find places to eat still as a vegan so good to know! Also, I’ve been to a Jungle Cafe in Ireland that looks very similar!
Cool! I’ll have to look it up when I get to Ireland again.
Having travelled in mainland Europe with veggie friends, I know it has historically been hard to find veggie food let alone vegan food, but these days, most big cities are changing a lot on that front, and you can find veggie and vegan food readily. Lovely to read about the otions in Williamsburg, as you say, these are appealing to anyone, not just vegans! I think Screamers Pizza would be my first pick!
I totally agree it’s been a challenge while travelling in the past few years since my boyfriend became vegan.