Where to Find the Best Restaurants With Vegetarian & Vegan Options in Albany NY and Nearby
Looking for vegetarian or vegan options in the Albany, NY area? You’re not limited to just salads (although there are some incredible ones!). From stacked sandwiches and juicy vegan burgers to flavorful Mexican veggie bowls, there's a wide variety of delicious, plant-based options to explore.
Mint
Check out Mint, located in Slingerlands, where farm-to-table dining highlights fresh, seasonal ingredients with lots of vegetarian and plant-based options. Their dishes are creative and veggie-forward, and it is a great place for a fresh, flavorful, and modern dining experience.
Must-Try: The delicious Beet Burger with thousand island dressing and fingerling potatoes.
Key Feature: Their craft cocktail menu featuring creative seasonal drinks.
Scarlet Knife
Sit down at Scarlet Knife, where their locally sourced ingredients and seasonal menus come together for an excellent dining experience. Their menu offers excellent, creative vegetarian options that pair nicely with one of their expertly crafted cocktails.
Must Try: Their delicious Truffle Mushroom Fettuccine topped with shaved parmesan.
Key Feature: Their extensive brunch menu, which includes cinnamon rolls, fresh fruit plates, and features cocktails, brunch cocktails, and mocktails.
Bowled Co.
Bowled Co. at Crossgates offers delicious, health-forward meals. Their menu includes customizable bowls and wraps that can be made vegetarian or vegan, and a variety of smoothies.
Must-Try: The Blueberry Bliss smoothie bowl, filled with blueberries, bananas, granola, and almond slices and coconut shreds.
Key Feature: Their fully customizable menu, so you can add whichever toppings or inclusions you prefer to bowls and wraps.
El Mariachi Mexican Restaurant
For great vegetarian Mexican food, you might consider El Mariachi Mexican Restaurant in Albany. They've been serving up Mexican and Spanish fare for over 14 years, and they have an entire vegetarian section on the menu.
They offer up vegetarian enchiladas, such as Enchiladas El Mariachi (corn tortillas with poblano peppers, cheese, mushrooms, and mole sauce) and Enchiladas Rancheras (spinach and cheese enchiladas with a ranchero sauce), vegetarian burritos, vegetarian fajitas, and more.
Must Try: The Enchiladas El Mariachi, filled with poblano peppers, mushrooms, and cheese, then topped with rich mole sauce, are a standout for their depth of flavor and hearty ingredients.
Key Feature: A dedicated vegetarian menu section, making it easy to find a wide variety of flavorful, meat-free Mexican dishes all in one place.
Lark Street Poke Bar
Say Aloha to Lark St. Poke Bar! This casual restaurant focuses on serving Hawaiian style dishes with fresh, reliable, high quality, healthy raw diced fish and vegetables. Be sure to order their Vegan's Delight Bowl or get creative and design your own vegetarian bowl.
Must Try: The Vegan’s Delight Bowl, packed with fresh vegetables and vibrant flavors, is a go-to option for a satisfying plant-based meal.
Key Feature: Fully customizable bowls, making it easy to create a vegetarian dish with fresh, high-quality ingredients tailored to your taste.
Wizard Burger
Wizard Burger in Albany is truly a magical experience: all the amazing food at this spot is 100% vegan. Along with their titular burgers (of which there are over ten varieties), they also offer house pulled "pork" burritos and sandwiches, "chick'n" sandwiches, burritos, a Beyond Sausage breakfast burger, and canned cocktails.
When you eat at Wizard Burger, you can enjoy delicious burgers and other comfort foods with no worries about what ingredients you're consuming, because the entire restaurant is vegan.
Must Try: One of their signature vegan burgers, especially the house-made options or the Beyond Sausage breakfast burger, which delivers classic comfort food flavor in a fully plant-based way.
Key Feature: A 100% vegan menu, so you can enjoy burgers, sandwiches, and comfort food favorites without having to check ingredients or make substitutions.
Steuben St. Market
Head over to North Pearl Street in Albany for fantastic vegetarian options at the Steuben St. Market. From salads and buddha bowls to sandwiches and smoothies, they have a little something for everyone. While you're there, check out the marketplace for salsa, bread, sauces, and other local products.
Must Try: One of their buddha bowls, packed with fresh vegetables, grains, and flavorful toppings for a filling and balanced vegetarian meal.
Key Feature: A wide variety of vegetarian-friendly options, from salads and smoothies to sandwiches, plus a marketplace stocked with local products to explore while you visit.
Bar Vegan
Walking into Bar Vegan, you can already tell this restaurant is committed to their plants. All of their meals are vegan and they offer a plethora of options. These range from your typical pasta lover to vegan sushi rolls or zucchini fries.
To accompany your meal, they offer specialty cocktails too. This is not a place you want to miss if you are looking for a great dinner in Albany.
Must Try: The vegan sushi rolls or zucchini fries, which offer a fun and flavorful twist on classic favorites.
Key Feature: A fully vegan menu with a wide variety of options, paired with specialty cocktails for a complete plant-based dining experience.
Subculture Vegan Deli & Provisions
If you are looking for a strictly vegan restaurant in the Albany area, Subculture Vegan Deli & Provisions is the place for you! Coming with an abundance of options, there is something for anyone's liking.
These range from a Philly Cheesesteak, Reubens, Sunflower burgers, and much more! Some Google reviewers' call it the best vegan restaurant that they have ever been to.
Must Try: The vegan Philly cheesesteak or Reuben, both packed with bold flavor and hearty ingredients that make them standout comfort food favorites.
Key Feature: A fully vegan deli menu with a wide range of options, offering classic sandwich shop staples made entirely plant-based.
Cafe Madison
Cafe Madison in Albany has a vegan/vegetarian menu section with some scrumptious options for both breakfast and lunch.
Breakfast choices are a loaded breakfast burrito with vegetarian refried beans, tofu crumbles, and a Bayou mix with black beans, corn, tomatoes, and red onions; and French toast with house-made cinnamon swirl bread dipped in a delicious batter.
Lunch includes a crispy buffalo sandwich with a seitan patty and house-made vegan buffalo sauce. Check out their website for the latest updates and specials as the menu changes.
Must Try: The vegan breakfast burrito with tofu crumbles, refried beans, and a Bayou mix, or the crispy buffalo sandwich with a seitan patty and house-made vegan buffalo sauce.
Key Feature: A dedicated vegan and vegetarian menu section with flavorful options for both breakfast and lunch, including creative plant-based takes on classic comfort dishes.
<< Back to the Albany Restaurant Guide