Eating vegan in Dallas used to mean one of two things. You either knew exactly where to go, or you ordered three sides and called it dinner. That has changed. The city now has a handful of fully vegan kitchens worth a drive, and some of the best meatless plates in town come from restaurants that also smoke brisket and grill steak.
Here is where to go for both, whether you have been vegan for years or are just sitting across the table from someone who has.
Back in August we covered Kalachandji’s, D’Vegan, Recipe Oak Cliff and the return of Cosmic Cafe in our look at Dallas’ plant-based scene. This list picks up from there.
One note before we start. A few familiar names are gone. Spiral Diner closed its Oak Cliff location on Beckley Avenue in 2022, though the original is still going in Fort Worth, and Casa Del Vegano on Jefferson closed in January.
Start with the places where everything on the menu is vegan.
Vegan Food House has been cooking out of a turquoise Craftsman bungalow just off West Davis since 2019, and it still draws a weekend crowd. The menu leans Southern and Creole. The fried oyster mushrooms come out with the crunch of a fish basket, the chickpea burger is a regular’s order, and the cauliflower wings are the thing to split while you decide on everything else. You order at the counter or from your phone at the table, and parking is mostly on the street, so give yourself a few extra minutes on a Saturday.
832 W. Seventh St., Dallas. Open daily at 11:30 a.m., until 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday. 469-248-0297.
Nuno’s Tacos & Vegmex Grill comes from the same family behind El Palote Panadería, one of the first fully vegan Mexican kitchens in Dallas. It opened in 2019 in a shopping center at Spring Valley and Coit, and the entire menu is plant-based. Start with the jackfruit nachos, then go for the ranchero tacos or Nuno’s KrunchWrap, the house answer to a certain fast-food classic. It runs mostly as a takeout operation with a little outdoor seating, so ordering online before you leave home saves you a wait in the parking lot.
8024 Spring Valley Road, Dallas. Hours change through the week and include a midday break on weekdays, so check before you go.
HopeBoy’s Kitchen is a food trailer parked at Tyler Station, behind Oak Cliff Brewing Co., and it is the closest thing Dallas has to vegan soul food. Owner Rico Alexander went plant-based for his own health and started sharing what he cooked online before he ever had a trailer. The menu changes by the day, but it runs from a smashburger and chicken alfredo to mac and cheese and chili cheese tots, all of it vegan. Grab a plate and carry it over to the brewery patio.
Tyler Station, Oak Cliff. Open 5 to 8 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday, and noon to 5 p.m. Friday through Sunday.
Then there are the restaurants that aren’t vegan at all but cook vegan dishes worth ordering. These are the places to book when half the table wants a steak and the other half doesn’t eat meat at all.
HG Sply Co. on Lower Greenville has a menu full of grass-fed burgers and grilled chicken, and it also has the vegan dish people order most often in this part of town. The HG Chips & Queso is a spicy cashew queso topped with avocado and green onion, and it disappears fast whether anyone at the table is vegan or not. The vegan nachos pile that same queso over chile-braised black beans, and the deviled avocados are stuffed with a chickpea “egg” salad. Take it all up to the rooftop if the weather cooperates. The queso contains nuts, so anyone with an allergy should skip it.
2008 Greenville Ave., Dallas. Open daily until midnight, starting at 11 a.m. on weekdays and 10 a.m. on weekends. 469-334-0895.
Loro on North Haskell is known for smoked brisket and pork ribs with Southeast Asian flavors, which makes the crispy Szechuan tofu bowl easy to overlook. It comes over coconut-scented rice with seasonal pickled vegetables and fresh Thai herbs, and it holds its own next to the meat plates. The menu doesn’t label it vegan, so tell your server you are eating vegan and ask them to check the sauces and the fryer.
1812 N. Haskell Ave., Dallas. Open daily at 11 a.m., until 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday. 214-833-4983.
Between the dedicated vegan kitchens and the restaurants that cook for everybody, nobody at a Dallas table has to settle for a side salad anymore. Hours change, especially at the smaller spots, so a quick check before you head out never hurts.
