These are the Best Restaurants with a Plant-based Cuisine
The days when vegetable platters with fried eggs were the most exquisite thing on vegetarian menus are long gone: plant-based cuisine is colorful, diverse, and has finally arrived in haute cuisine. We present the world's best restaurants.
July 10, 2023
L'Arpège, Paris
© Alex Cretey Systermans
"I want to elevate humble vegetables to Grand Cru status," says Alain Passard - the French chef has been at the stove for 35 years, taking just one year to earn his first Michelin star; the following year, he earned his second. Since 1996, his restaurant L'Arpège has been the proud holder of no less than three stars. Once known as a masterful rôtisseur, or roast chef, vegetables have been the focus of his cooking since 2001. He sources the ingredients either from producers he knows personally or from one of his three own vegetable gardens. His plant-forward menu is based on the seasons: "Mother Nature has written the best cookbook," Passard says, convinced.
L'Arpège
84 Rue de Varenne, 75007 Paris, France
Tel.: +33 1 47 05 09 06
Web: alain-passard.com
Lona Misa, Melbourne
© provided
In the South Yarra district, Shannon Martinez and Ian Curley's cheerful, loud, and uncompromising Lona Misa invites you to enjoy drinks and bites in a relaxed atmosphere. The latter are mainly vegan - if that's too extreme for you, you can also order one of the vegetarian options. The selection is based on the availability of ingredients, which of course come from local producers. The menu features Latin American influences, with which Martinez honors her roots. During the day, you can also stop by for a fresh juice or an excellent coffee; the relaxed ambience invites you to linger - and enjoy.
Lona Misa
234 Toorak Road, South Yarra, VIC 3141, Australia
Tel.: +61 3 9116 2000
Web: ovolohotels.com
King's Joy, Beijing
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The setting alone is impressive, as guests dine in a former square courtyard under a glass roof just a stone's throw from the Yonghe Temple. At dinner, however, not even the stars in the sky outshine the Michelin-award-winning masterpieces on the plates. Chef and owner Gary Jin uses a range of culinary techniques to bring out the best in plant-based ingredients. He's not afraid to let different continents, cooking traditions and flavors collide. Pineapple chunks may meet monkey head mushrooms - and it's guaranteed to taste good! The menu changes every 15 days, so it's worth coming back.
King's Joy
2 Wudaoying Hu Tong, 国子监 Dongcheng 100027, Beijing, China
Tel.: +86 10 8404 9191
Web: facebook.com/kingsjoybeijing/
De Nieuwe Winkel, Nijmegen
© Mike Nicolassen
Emile van der Staak calls his cuisine botanical gastronomy because it's created together with botanist Wouter van Eck - after all, he knows best what is edible. The dishes for his vegetarian menus are said to be best conceived by van der Staak while sitting on a tree trunk in the Food Forest. Surrounded by seeds, flowers, shoots, tubers, berries and mushrooms, he creates dishes and likes to experiment with textures, preservation techniques and preparation methods. For him, the most important ingredients are time and attention. This way, ordinary plants become serious taste revelations.
De Nieuwe Winkel
Gebroeders van Limburgplein 7, 6511 BW Nijmegen, Netherlands
Tel.: +31 24 322 5093
Web: denieuwewinkel.com
Eleven Madison Park, New York City
© Walter Smith
The Eleven Madison Park proves that elegant fine dining and plant-based cuisine are by no means mutually exclusive. Located at one of New York's poshest addresses, the team led by Swiss Daniel Humm (pictured right, former co-owner Will Guidara on the left) has been pampering guests at this address since 2011. It wasn't until 2021 that Humm decided to go completely meatless. The restaurant also fulfills its social responsibility: in cooperation with the NPO Rethink Food, it provides around 500 meals a day to low-income people from the immediate neighborhood.
Eleven Madison Park
11 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10010, United States
Tel.: +1 212-889-0905
Avatara, Dubai
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At Avatara, Rahul Rana has been serving the first completely vegetarian fine-dining tasting menu in all of Dubai for about a year. Inspired by seasonal ingredients, he creates delicious dishes that not only meet high culinary standards, but are also prepared in an energy-saving way. Rana combines the soul, techniques and philosophies of Indian cuisine in his menu - his role model is his grandfather, among others, and he once cooked for Indian maharajas. "A good meal has the power to rejuvenate and change your perspective," Rana says. His tasting menus include a full 15 courses, served by the chefs themselves.
Avatara
Second floor at Voco Hotel, Sheikh Zayed Road, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Tel.: +971 58 143 2867
Web: avatara.ae
Tian Bistro at Spittelberg, Vienna
© Ingo Pertramer
The little sister of the vegetarian fine-dining hotspot Tian Restaurant (one Michelin star) by Paul Ivić attracts with a somewhat more relaxed atmosphere and more moderate prices. In terms of culinary quality and consideration for natural cycles, however, no compromises are made. At the Sharing Chef's Garden, vegetables are served in all their facets. Breakfast fans are not forgotten either: every Saturday, the team treats guests to a brunch that'll make vegetarian and vegan hearts beat faster. Ivić obtains the ingredients for all dishes from producers in the region, whom he even calls friends now.
Tian Bistro at Spittelberg
Schrankgasse 4, 1070 Vienna, Austria
Tel.: +43 01 526 94 91
Web: tian-bistro.com
Crossroads, Los Angeles
© Lisa Romerein
When Tal Ronnen opened his first Crossroads Kitchen in Los Angeles in May 2013, his vision was simple: he wanted to offer vegan, Mediterranean-inspired cuisine that even designated meat fans could enjoy. His plan worked. Today, anyone nibbling on calamari fritti at one of his eateries in Los Angeles, Calabasas or Las Vegas would hardly believe that they were actually eating vegan food and deep-fried mushrooms in front of them. And that's exactly the idea behind Crossroads: "Vegan, but without any visible indication of it," Ronnen summarizes. In addition to evening dinner menus, the restaurant also offers family-style sharing, weekend brunch and weekday lunch options.
Crossroads
8284 Melrose Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90046, United States
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Tel.: +1 323-782-9245
This article appeared in the Falstaff TRAVEL issue Spring 2023.
