7 essential vegan restaurants in Las Vegas

By Johnathan L. Wright Las Vegas Review-Journal

1 year ago

Carne asada fries from Garden Grill, a vegan restaurant in Las Vegas. (Garden Grill)

A vegan pulled NoPork sandwich from NoButcher, a vegan deli and restaurant in Las Vegas. (NoButcher)

Brunch at Crossroads Kitchen, a vegan fine-dining restaurant in Resorts World on the Las Vegas Strip, includes a tower of miniature bagels with spreads. (Resorts World)

Tacotarian, a vegan taco shop founded in Las Vegas, now has four locations across the city and one in San Diego. (Tacotarian)

A stuffed zucchini roll, front, and lasagna, center, from Tarantino’s, a family-owned vegan Italian restaurant in Las Vegas. (Tarantino’s Vegan)

Las Vegas once offered only a handful of vegan restaurants. Today, vegan dining is flourishing, with options across the valley. Diana Edelman, creator of the influential Vegans, Baby website and the founder of Las Vegas Vegan Dining Month, helped us create this list (not comprehensive) of seven plant-based restaurants in the city.

Viva, Las Vegans!

Chef Kenny’s Vegan Cafe & Fried Chicken, 6820 Spring Mountain Road, Suite 111, chefkennysasianveganrestaurant.com

Chef Kenny Chye is a pioneer of vegan dining in Vegas, first gaining popularity for his vegan Chinese dishes at Veggie House and Vege-Way, both closed. In May 2018, he opened Chef Kenny’s Asian Vegan Restaurant, now called Chef Kenny’s Vegan Cafe & Fried Chicken. The namesake dish takes its place in ramen and a spicy chicken sandwich, to name two. Among the Chinese standards are braised tofu and sweet and sour shrimp. The chef also helms a vegan dim sum place.

Crossroads Kitchen, in Resorts World, crossroadslasvegas.com

When Crossroads Kitchen, from chef Tal Ronnen, debuted in May 2022, it became the first vegan fine dining restaurant on the Strip. Tones of gray and burnt umber, dark wood and dramatic fixtures provide a backdrop for a seasonally changing menu that might feature stuffed zucchini blossoms, plant-forward tagliatelle bolognese and pepperoni broccoli pizza. There’s also a five-course tasting menu at dinner; at brunch, try the mini-bagel tower with spreads like kelp caviar.

Garden Grill, 7550 W. Lake Mead Blvd., Suite 8, gardengrilllv.com

Garden Grill began with pop-ups and farmers markets, developing a significant following. In 2019, the plant-based purveyor went bricks-and-mortar in the Summerlin area. Executive chef Leslie Marroquin creates a menu of snacks, extras (like cilantro pepita dressing), main courses and desserts. Highlights: carne asada fries, Nashville hot chick’n sandwich, beer-battered avocado tacos, soft-serve in the flavor of the day and chick’n strips for the kids.

Graze Kitchen, 7355 S. Buffalo Drive, Suite 2, ilovetograze.com

Graze Kitchen offers dishes that appeal to longtime vegans and enthusiastic omnivores and everyone in between — without calling on processed plant ingredients. Salted pecan French toast and chilaquiles jabbed with gochujang tomato sauce star at breakfast and brunch. A deviled tofu Cobb salad or a mushroom shawarma pita might see you through lunch or dinner. Lemon bluberry loaf repays a trip among the pastries. Signature cocktails, like a yerba mate mango colada, lift the mood.

NoButcher, 3565 S. Rainbow Blvd., Suite 110, nobutcher.com

NoButcher debuted in October 2019, scaled back during the pandemic to drive-thru sales only, then returned with dine-in and drive-thru service. NoButcher combines a deli and restaurant that draw on meatless meats and nondairy cheeses made in house. Order NoMeat and NoCheese by weight, or look for them in sandwiches and salads. A pulled NoPork sandwich and a NoPastrami cold cut sandwich are signature items. Salads run to potato, coleslaw, and vegan egg, tuna and turkey.

Tacotarian, four Vegas locations, tacotarianlv.com

Tacotarian was founded in Vegas in 2018. Since then, the vegan taco shop has expanded to three more locations in the city and one in San Diego. Besides more than a dozen tacos, the plant-based menu features antojitos (snacks) and sides, soups and salads, desserts. Among the plates are enchiladas with a choice of red, green or mole sauce, and a Cali burrito stuffed with choice of protein. At brunch, look for molletes (toasted bolillo with refried beans) and birria grilled cheese.

Tarantino’s Vegan, 7960 S. Rainbow Blvd., Suite 8000G, tarantinosvegan.com

Sarah Tarantino and her husband, chef Mike Tarantino, own the Italian restaurant, which opened a few weeks before the pandemic began in 2020. The couple’s older children work with them at the restaurant. A five-appetizer sampler (including crab cakes and meatballs) and build-your-own pizzas rank among the most popular dishes. Rotolo di zucchini (stuffed zucchini roll) features cashew ricotta and house bolognese. Be sure to stop by the pastry case to browse dessert.

Contact Johnathan L. Wright at jwright@reviewjournal.com. Follow @JLWTaste on Instagram and @ItsJLW on Twitter.