Williamsburg does not lack destination-worthy restaurants, especially when it comes to all things trendy. Currently en vogue: Plant-based eating. Whether you’re looking for Ethiopian dishes, Mexican tacos, or American comfort food, Williamsburg plenty of spots that span the globe, animal cruelty free. Here’s where to eat vegan breakfasts, lunches, and dinners in Williamsburg.
The Butcher’s Daughter
The Butcher’s Daughter (271 Metropolitan Ave.) boasts an inviting space that is white and bright. It’s the type of spot that makes vegans and non-vegans alike linger over a meal. The menu is completely vegetarian with many vegan and gluten free options. The menu makes what is vegan or gluten free and what contains nuts, dairy, or soy.
The Loaded Banana Bread is addicting. It’s served with vegan espresso mascarpone, bruleed banana, cacao nibs, and dukkah. Other vegan breakfast options include the Acai Bowl and the Butcher’s Pancakes. Popular lunch items include the Spicy Kale Caesar Salad and the Classic Avocado Toast.
The menu features two fun picnic baskets that can be enjoyed at The Butcher’s Daughter or taken with you to a more traditional picnic setting.The Brunch Picnic Basket is $75 for the whole deal including the basket and yogurt parfait, avocado toast, Butcher’s Bowl with poached eggs, assorted pastries, and two cans of Juneshine. The Date Night Picnic Basket is $75 for the basket, artichoke heart quesadilla, spicy kale Caeser, brusel sprouts, mushroom and squash carbonara, vegan brownie, and one bottle of wine. Both are $55 without the basket.
The Butcher’s Daughter currently has onsite dining, takeout and delivery and is open for indoor and outdoor dining everyday from 9am to 9pm.
Terms of Endearment
Terms of Endearment (135 Metropolitan Ave.) is a plant-based cafe and bakery that specializes in breakfast and lunch, plus pastries and cakes.
Popular breakfast menu items include the Bacon, Egg, and Cheese Sandwich with vegan JUST scrambled eggs and the delicious gluten-free Orange Blossom Corn Waffle.
The lunch menu includes a mouth-watering variety of starters like the Whipped Ricotta made from cashew and almond ricotta cheese, plus salads and sandwiches. The Prosciutto Pear Sandwich includes a unique mix of prosciutto, pear, provolone, greens, onion confit, and creme fraiche.
If you need something sweet to end lunch, one of the best pastries is the Cardamom Pistachio Roll. Terms of Endearment currently offers outdoor dining and takeout and delivery, 9am to 3pm daily.
Little Choc Apothecary
Little Choc Apothecary (141 Havemayer St.) is a vegan and gluten-free crêperie, the first of its kind in NYC. They offer a large assortment of sweet and savory crepes that are completely plant-based and made from scratch.
A popular savory crepe is one called Jacked Up with smoky pulled jackfruit, caramelized onion, roasted red pepper, kale, and homemade BBQ sauce. The sweet crepes come with a variety of additions like fruit or nuts or shredded coconut.
Little Choc Apothecary also serves other dishes like yogurt parfaits and Truffle Veggie Bites that are cucumber bites topped with pesto ricotta, caramelized onions, avocado, and truffle oil drizzle.
Probably the most intriguing menu item is the Afternoon Tea. There are three options to choose from. The most elaborate is The Unbirthday with two pots of tea, mimosas, crepes with candied pecans, caramel, clotted cream, choc butter, and sprinkles hummus and crepe chip sampler, truffle veggie bites, two scones with homemade vegan clotted cream & jam, one slice of mud cake with caramel drizzle, two cookies, and truffles.
The drink menu is also extensive and includes natural, biodynamic and vegan wine and beer, herbal elixirs, freshly pressed juices, Partners coffee and espresso drinks made with homemade almond and coconut milks, and an apothecary-like selection of house-blended teas.
They have heated outdoor seating, indoor dining, takeout, and delivery; Monday to Friday from 8am to 9pm and Saturday and Sunday 9am to 9pm.
Bunna Cafe
Bunna Cafe (1084 Flushing Ave.) is a plant-based Ethiopian restaurant on the border of East Williamsburg and Bushwick. The Beyanynetu Combo Meals are very popular. You can order a smaller meal or a feast that can feed 2-3 people. They all include a mix of your choice of dishes, like split peas or cubes of kabocha squash, and come in a variety of sizes.
Other menu highlights include the Lentil Sambusa which is two triangle pastries stuffed with a lentil and pepper mix, served with a cilantro sauce, and the Baklava, made of filo dough, walnuts, pistachios, and coffee-infused turbinado syrup, for dessert.
Most takeout meals come in a pizza box, so the website has a fun diagram of “how to eat Ethiopian food in a pizza box.”
Current hours are Sunday, Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday noon to 9pm, Friday and Saturday noon to 10pm, and Sunday noon to 5pm. Indoor seating has a max capacity of 16, first come, first served. Bunna normally has outdoor seating, but is currently suspended. They offer takeout and delivery.
Jajaja Mexicana
Jajaja Mexicana (119 Kent Ave.) serves dressed-up vegan Mexican street food in a spot that is perfect for a fun night out. The website proudly explains that the restaurant encompasses, “a patchwork of culture, community, and comida threading plant-based eaters to the Mexican palate.”
The extensive menu offers a wide variety of tacos, burritos, bowls, and other Mexican dishes. It marks which items are gluten-free and which contain nuts.
Popular items are the Buffalo Flower Tacos with tempura cauliflower, flax seed, carrot, quest Azul, and apple blossom, and the Coconut Queso Quesadilla with spinach and basil pesto, Serrano, king mushroom, pico de gallo, and sour cream.
They offer onsite dining, takeout, and delivery. Current hours are everyday from 11am to 10pm.
Champs Diner
Champs Diner (197 Meserole St.) is an extremely popular vegan hotspot in Williamsburg, and it’s not hard to see why. The menu includes breakfast items like a soy-free and gluten-free Belgian Waffle, a variety of pancakes and a breakfast burrito with tofu scramble. From 1pm on, the menu has appetizers like mozzarella sticks with Violife cheese and Buffalo Cauliflower Tots and salads and sandwiches. The most popular dishes are the Philly Cheesesteak with grilled Blackbird seitan, the cauliflower-based Mac and Cheese, and the Cheeseburger.
Champs currently offer takeout and delivery only. Hours are Monday through Friday 1 to 3:30pm and 4 to 9pm, and Saturday and Sunday noon to 3:30pm and 4 to 9pm.
Wild Ginger
Wild Ginger (182 N. 10th St.) serves pan-Asian vegan cuisine in a casual setting. Spring Rolls and Scallion Pancakes are served alongside more veggie-centric vegan choices like the Yam and Pumpkin Tempura. For a main, try the General Tso’s Soy Protein, served with broccoli. They have a delicious variety of juices and smoothies as well as several different flavors of vegan ice cream, like lychee or green tea.
Current hours are Monday, Wednesday & Thursday 11:00am to 10:30pm, Tuesday 4:00pm to 10:30pm, and Friday to Sunday 11:00am to 11:00pm. They currently offer curbside pickup, takeout, and delivery.
Modern Love
Modern Love (317 Union Ave.) serves up delicious comfort food that happens to be vegan. The restaurant is hip and modern yet casual.
The Mac and Cheese bowls are popular and come in a variety of flavors that include chicken tofu and buffalo cauliflower. Other popular dishes are the Modern Cheeseburger with a seitan bean burger and the Buffalo Wings that are either crispy cauliflower or rosemary-crusted seitan.
Currently, they offer takeout, curbside pickup and delivery. The hours are Tuesday to Thursday 3 to 9pm, Friday and Saturday 3 to 9:30pm, and Sunday 3 to 9pm.
Vinnie’s Pizzeria
Vinnie’s Pizzeria (148 Bedford Ave.) has been serving delicious pizza to Williamsburg since 1960. Note that the pizzeria is not entirely vegan, but a fourth of the large menu is, with 12 delicious and unique vegan pies that feature Teese cheese, with the option to substitute with Daiya cheese.
Two popular vegan pies are The Tiger Style pie that has teriyaki chicken, broccoli, mozzarella, cheddar, sesame seeds, and The Farmer’s Sister that contains garlic sautéed spinach, portobello mushrooms, sun-dried tomatoes, mozzarella, cheddar. They also carry cookies, whoopee pies, and brownies from Vegan Treats.
Vinnie’s is open Sunday to Thursday from 11:30am to midnight and Friday and Saturday 11:30am to 3am.
By Chloe
By Chloe is a casual chain that serves 100% plant-based burgers and sandwiches, salads, mac and cheese, fries and desserts. The Williamsburg location (171 N. 3rd St.) is open with a tables for outdoor dining.
The Quinoa Taco Salad is very popular. It contains romaine lettuce, quinoa, spicy seitan chorizo, black beans, sweet corn, avocado, tomato, tortilla strips, tofu cream, with a lime-agave vinaigrette. Try the Classic Burger has a tempeh-lentil-chia-walnut patty on a potato bun or the Hot Chicky with super crispy tempeh chicky.
By Chloe is open daily 11am to 8pm.
Dun-Well Doughnuts
Dun-Well Doughnuts (222 Montrose Ave.) is not your average doughnut shop. It’s completely plant-based and offers some of the best-tasting doughnuts on the planet. According to the website, the doughnuts are “handcrafted daily, with organic ingredients, and a commitment to quality and creativity.”
They have traditional flavors like Classic Glazed and Strawberry Sprinkle that are usually on display every day and more inventive flavors that rotate. Some favorites are the Black and White which looks like its namesake cookie, the the Vanilla Peanut Cake Doughnut, and the Maple French Toast.
Dun-Well is open 8am to 6pm daily, but many flavors sell out, so go early.
I do not recommend going to the Butcher’s Daughter if you eat vegan.
Travis, that is ominous and useless.
Also, if you like the taste of overpriced vegan grease, you’ll love the criminally overrated Champs Diner.
My apologies Andrew, you’re right. To clarify: my problem with the Butcher’s Daughter is that I’ve always considered their vegan options quite lacking. Reviewing the menu now (has it changed recently?), I see some dishes to be excited about, though it definitely wouldn’t be the first restaurant I recommend to another person who eats vegan.
Champ’s Diner sadly closed but was quickly re-opened as Ro’s Diner (also 100% vegan)! I haven’t been yet but it seems like the new owners/management have kept the menu the same. Here’s the link: https://www.rosdiner.com/menu