When you picture Miami’s food scene, a plate full of vegetables is likely one of the last things on your mind. But luckily for vegans — and their carnivorous friends — delicious veg-friendly eateries have sprouted up all around the Magic City lately.
Chefs are inventing healthy combinations and veganizing menus to keep it meatless on Mondays — and every other day. Here’s a sampling to whet your appetite.
Soul Tavern
This newly opened South Beach eatery is Miami’s first plant-based gastropub, serving brunch, lunch, dinner and lots of libations in a rustic setting. The expansive menu caters to vegans, carnivores and just about every picky guest in between.
Come here for a unique brunch experience. The kimchi fried rice, truffle mac and cheese, fried green tomato Benedict, banana and almond butter pancakes, and guava cheesecakes are not to be missed. Wash it all down with bottomless mimosas.
Plant Miami
This plant-based concept marries vegan, raw and gluten-free fare with culinary art and fine dining.
Appropriately located inside The Sacred Space Miami (a wellness center in the Wynwood arts district), Plant is a picturesque spot for a date night.
House favorites include the nut-based cheese board, squash lasagna with walnut Bolognese and adobo jackfruit tacos. The hemp-based housemade ice cream with cacao nibs, while simple, is a sublime dessert choice.
An amazing cocktail list complements the farm-fresh cuisine. One of the roster’s standouts is The Sacred, a luscious blend of watermelon, vodka, mint and sparkling wine.
Plnthouse
This bright and airy dining room is a newcomer to 1 Hotel South Beach. Boasting scenic pool and ocean views, this casual café dishes out quality, plant-based cuisine with a few omnivorous options, too.
While the menu isn’t entirely meat-free, the detailed key makes it easy to navigate and stick to your diet du jour.
Vegan highlights include the waffle with berry compote; a tofu-based, egg-less salad on a challah bun; and curry cauliflower and sweet potato.
Stop in for breakfast (served all day), lunch or to simply lounge by the hotel’s rooftop pool with a refreshing frozen cocktail — or a supplement-packed smoothie.
Planta South Beach
A Toronto transplant from local club mogul David Grutman, this stateside outpost constantly buzzes with a beautiful crowd of jetsetters and A-listers. The kitchen options are just as trendy with fancifully crafted vegan dishes that are as flavorful and filling as they are Instagram Story-worthy.
Indulge in guilty pleasures like creamy pastas with mushroom Bolognese and almond Parmesan, or go light with coconut ceviche and sushi rolls, made sans meat or fish.
If you’re flying solo, perch at the bar with an order of the irresistible cauliflower tots and a kombucha mojito.
Vegetarian Restaurant by Hakin
This popular North Miami Beach spot has been a vegetarian and vegan staple for more than a decade. Stop by if it’s old-fashioned, meat-heavy comfort Caribbean food you crave. You’ll find barbecue sandwiches, coconut curried salmon and Philly cheesesteaks on the menu, except they’re all made with tofu, seitan and vegan cheese.
It’s a no-frills kind of spot tucked inside a hard-to-find strip mall, but the Jamaican veggie patty alone is worth the trek. The juices are also among the freshest around; Liquid Gold made with sugarcane and passion fruit is a real showstopper.