This is a list of my favorite vegan food and restaurants in the DMV (for those visiting, that’s the DC-Maryland-Virginia area). This isn’t meant to be a list of all the good vegan options in DC, it’s a list of my very favorite places that I’d want friends visiting DC to try.
Favorite restaurants for vegans in the DMV
Not specifically vegan restaurants
Vegan restaurants
My top 5 favorite bites of vegan food in the DMV
Anti-recommendations
Recommendations from friends (I haven’t been to these yet)
Not specifically vegan restaurants
Breakfast
DC is lacking in great vegan breakfasts, but a few places are pretty good:
Busboys and Poets - Underrated spot for a great vegan breakfast. I really like their tofu scrambles.
Silver Diner - Only a few vegan breakfast options but they’re all very good and you can substitute the eggs in their omelets with Just Egg. You can also get a vegan shake for the full diner experience.
Chinese
Mama Chang and Peter Chang - Both restaurants started by Peter Chang, a legendary chef in the DC area whose Wikipedia page includes a section called “Disappearances and movement.” This is my favorite Sichuan food in the area. Mama Chang might be my favorite restaurant period. Tyler Cowen’s most recent interview with Fuchsia Dunlop was hosted at Mama Chang. The tofu skin salad with hot and numbing sauce and the sesame noodles at both are my #3 and #4 favorite bites of food in DC.
Ethiopian
Chercher Ethiopian Restaurant - There’s consensus from friends that this is the best Ethiopian food in DC, which is saying something because DC has the largest Ethiopian American community and the options in the city are fantastic.
These are also great Ethiopian restaurants and which one to go to really just depends on where you are in the area:
Fine dining
Elizabeth’s - This is a very expensive multi course meal restaurant. It is the best experience with food that I have had. I’ve only ever done it once. I feel guilty about spending too much money on lavish experiences because of my belief system, but I have to say if you’re looking for a very upscale vegan restaurant in DC this would be my rec. I haven’t done other very upscale dining in DC so there might be other good options.
Indian
VegZ - Great cheap(ish) Indian food. It’s pronounced “Veg-ez” not “Veg-Zee.”
Indigo - My favorite Indian restaurant in DC.
Pizza
Andy’s Pizza - I feel solidarity with this restaurant. Great vegan pizza.
Wiseguy Pizza - Also great vegan pizza. Might be better than Andy’s but I gotta ride or die for fellow Andys.
Southeast Asian
Eden Center - The largest Vietnamese commercial center (and largest Asian mall in general) on the east coast of North America. Lots of amazing restaurants, shops, and a massive grocery store. People come from all over to try it. I haven’t scratched the surface of everything that’s good at Eden Center despite working a few blocks away from it for 6 years. My 2 favorite Eden Center places:
Dieu Huong Vegetarian Restaurant - Vegan Vietnamese food, pretty cheap (heads up that the owners ask that you pay in cash). Their spring rolls are my favorite bite of food in DC. Perfect texture and flavor. Ask the owner for recommendations for what to try from the menu. Make sure to try all the common sauces in the metal containers on the table, they’re all made by the restaurant. Friends always leave here stunned and happy and talking about how great it was. There’s a separate section in the restaurant with vegan meats, which you can either have with rice there or take to go. Be sure to try those too, you need to ask about them separately.
Thanh Son Tofu - Everything here is to-go. The main attraction for vegans here is that you can buy a pound of fried tofu for $5. The three fried tofu flavors are lemongrass, mushroom and onion (my favorite), and plain. If you spend more than $30 you get a free sweet soy milk. Buying 6 pounds of tofu to get a free soy milk is a Powerful Vegan Move. They also have lots of flavors of sticky rice and great sesame balls.
Laos in Town - Great Laotian food.
Other
Falafel Inc - Extremely cheap compared to the high quality. If you’re looking for a very cheap vegan sandwich you can’t go wrong here.
Vegan restaurants
I don’t actually go to all-vegan restaurants often, because most DC restaurants have a lot of vegan options now, but these stand out and are each worth visiting regardless of whether you’re vegan:
Shouk - Israeli Street Food. My favorite fast casual place in DC by a mile. Could eat this every day. The shawarma sandwich is my #2 favorite bite of food in DC.
Galaxy Hut - Fantastic vegan junk/bar food like poutine and cheesy tater tots.
NuVegan Cafe - Vegan soul food. My favorite vegan mac and cheese anywhere and that mixed with other stuff they have is my #5 favorite bite of food in DC. The restaurant isn’t great for people staying and eating inside anymore so plan to get it to go.
HipCityVeg - More expensive vegan fast/comfort food, a lot of burgers and chicken sandwiches. Best option for both in DC.
These are the bites of food in the area that haunt me the most. All of these are actually pretty affordable and not super upscale. These aren’t really the best dishes, they’re the best individual bites of food. Utilitarians can fight it out in the comments about what the difference is. In order of how much I like them:
The spring rolls from Dieu Huong Vegetarian Restaurant
The shawarma sandwich from Shouk
The tofu skin salad with hot and numbing sauce from Mama Chang and Peter Chang
The sesame noodles from Mama Chang and Peter Chang
A bunch of stuff from NuVegan all mixed together, make sure to include the mac and cheese
I think these restaurants are pretty good, but you have much better options while you’re in DC. They come up a lot in conversations with vegans and I think they’re a little overrated:
DC Vegan - They have great vegan cheeses, but otherwise I haven’t been super impressed by their food and think it’s a little overpriced. They’re pretty popular with other DC vegans so I still end up organizing events there and people have been pretty happy, but my preference is always for other stuff. They have a good co*cktail bar downstairs but I mostly don’t drink.
Loving Hut - Pretty good Asian food (and it’s run by a mostly harmless cult who believe that veganism is part of a galactic-scale battle against the forces of evil, and it plays lectures from the cult leader on a big TV in the corner, so it gets some points for that) but it’s not quite as good as a lot of what you can get at Eden Center nearby.
PLANTA Queen - Pretty expensive, their vegan sushi is just okay.
Pow Pow - Some friends love this place but it’s too decadent for me and makes me feel a little gross after. I’d prefer a cheap Chinese restaurant like Isshin.
