Going meatless has hit the mainstream and even the most die hard carnivores will abstain to enjoy some of the resident Vegetarian and Vegan options that are spread all over Atlanta. As vegetarian cooking becomes ever more accessible, flavorful and publicized, more and more Atlantans are enjoying restaurants that offer hefty vegetarian selections, if not a full vegetarian menu. The list below includes a variety of veggie-focused restaurants, from the soft core ("Would you like chicken, beef or tofu with your curry?") to the ultra-hard-core ("No animal products, no dairy, no sugar"). You may need to experiment around a little to find your place on the sliding scale of vegetarianism. Along the way, you may well experience the best food you've ever had, despite, or even because of the absence of meat.
BACCHANALIA - Vegetarian & Vegan 1198 Howell Mill Road (404) 365-0410 Hours: Dinner is served Monday – Saturday Starting at 6:00 PM Bacchanalia, the award winning restaurant owned by husband and wife team of Anne Quatrano & Clifford Harrison, offers delights and an attention to detail that is a notch above other Atlanta restaurants. Their menu is prix fixe at $72 for four courses of vegan, vegetarian or meat-based delights. Expect produce picked that very day, hand-poured cheese, a lemon granita intermezzo. The service is excellent, yet not overbearing. The maitre d' recommends that you notify the restaurant of your dietary requirements before the date of your arrival; while both veganism and vegetarianism are gladly accommodated, the chefs may need some extra time to plan and prepare your meal.
Estimated Price: $72
LOV’N IT LIVE - Vegan 2796 East Point Street (404) 765-9220 Hours: Tuesday–Wednesday 2pm-9pm, Friday-Saturday 2pm-10pm, Sunday 2pm-8pm Flying into Atlanta after a vacation that had you eating heavy meals that included meat and dessert? Stop by Lov’n It Live minutes away from the airport and enjoy organic living and vegan cuisine. Nestle in and enjoy weekly live poetry or music. If you are thinking about making long term changes to your eating habits you can even join other like minded munchers at the “12 Steps to Raw” support group that meets there on Sundays. Appetizers include avocado stuffed with nutmeat, bell peppers, a cabbage taco and rolls wrapped in Nori seaweed sheets. Soups and salads round out the light fare with lunch and dinner specials that include an entrée, salad, and the chef’s vegetable of the day. Wash off your palate with Coconut Water or specialty juices that will flush the liver, kidney and colon. It may sound like a visit to the doctor, but you will undoubtedly feel so refreshed afterwards that you’ll be Lov’n It Live again soon!
Estimated Price: Lunch, $15-$18
CAFÉ SUNFLOWER - Vegetarian 2140 Peachtree Road Suite 105 (404) 352-8859 Hours: Lunch: Monday-Friday 11:30 am-2:30 pm, Saturday 12 pm-2:30 pm; Dinner: Monday-Thursday 5 pm-9:30 pm, Friday-Saturday 5 pm-10:00 pm 5975 Roswell Road Suite 353 (404) 256-1675 Hours: Lunch: Monday-Friday 11:30 am-2:30 pm, Saturday 12pm-2:30 pm; Dinner: Monday-Thursday 5 pm-9 pm, Friday-Saturday 5 pm-9:30 pm The Cafés Sunflower have traditionally offered Atlanta's best in upscale vegetarian dining. Each location has its own food and decorating personality, with a minimal overlap in menu selections. The restaurants boast a delectable assortment of dishes inspired by Caribbean, Asian and Mediterranean influences. Since it first open Café Sunflower has been featured on the Food Network and in USA Today, making it a destination spot for vegetarians visiting from other cities. The Buckhead location is heavy on soup, salad and low carb options, while the Sandy Springs spot fuses flavors that have a more international foundation.
Estimated Price: $12-18
DOC CHEY'S - Vegetarian 1424 North Highland Avenue (404) 888-0777 Hours: 11:30 am – 10 pm Daily 1556 North Decatur Road (404) 378-8188 Hours: Monday-Saturday 11 am-10 pm Sunday 4 pm – 10 pm Think traditional Japanese noodle house, add a healthy dose of American conformist food and a bunch of non-conformist undergraduate servers, and there you have Doc Chey's. Visitors to Doc Chey's should relinquish their quest for authenticity and revel instead in big portions, cheap prices and a shaker of salted, dried seaweed on every table. Open since 1997 these restaurants have been featured in Bon Appetite Magazine, Atlanta Magazine and even on the never ending MTV Real World series. The menu offers a number of sauces, such as the spicy basil and the coconut milk-rich masaman curry, with your choice of tofu, mixed vegetables, chicken, pork, beef or shrimp. “Doc’s” Lettuce Wrap with tofu is a crisp, fresh, dim sum selection, and the eggplant with garlic sauce rice bowl is spicy enough to cure you of your mid-winter cold.
Estimated Price: $5-10
HARMONY VEGETARIAN RESTAURANT - Vegetarian 4897 Buford Highway, Suite 109 Chamblee, GA 30341 (770) 457-7288 Hours: Sunday-Monday 11 am-10:30 pm; Wednesday-Thursday 11 am-10:30 pm; Friday-Saturday 11 am – 11 pm An Atlanta favorite and perhaps the biggest restaurant proponent of the fake meat movement, vegetarians and non-vegetarians alike can chow down on texturized soy protein "lamb chops" and Mongolian “beef” at Harmony. While the huge selection of faux meat is nearly as entertaining as flower print wallpaper or percolating hologram waterfall, for a truly inspired meal, patrons will want to stick to real-veggie options. Such one-vegetable selections, like the pan-fried leek dumplings or the Szechwan string beans, are particularly outstanding. One of the other selling points is the stellar service. Before you have the chance to spot the open tables for yourself, a waiter will be leading you there with menus in hand.
Estimated Price: $5-10
UDIPI CAFE- Vegetarian 1850 Lawrenceville Hwy (404) 325-1933 Hours: Sunday-Thursday 11:30 am-9:30pm, Friday-Saturday 11:30am-10pm South Indian food served up by a quality wait staff in an environment that makes up for what it lacks in ambience with delicious vegetarian dishes. Appetizers, though fried, won’t leave you running to the closest drug store for antacid. Try lentil or chickpea fritters. Pancakes, called Uthappam, filled with tomato, onions and other vegetables will be fantastically filling. There is a buffet during lunch that will provide the opportunity to sample some of everything. The restaurant will even cater your next vegetarian party or you can inquire about the event space upstairs that accommodates fifty of your closest veggie curious, carnivorous, friends.
Estimated Price: $8-12
RAINBOW NATURAL FOODS - Vegetarian & Vegan 2118 North Decatur Road (404) 633-3538 Hours of Hot Bar-Salad Bar: Monday-Saturday 11 am-1 pm Sundays 11 am – 5 pm Snuggled into the back corner of one of Atlanta's best natural food stores, Rainbow's tiny café has attained cult status with many vegetarian foodies around town. Though there are some items on the menu that are hit or miss, most of the basics satisfy. Try the vegetarian chili, an avocado with Swiss cheese pocket, or a cup of homemade comfort food, also known as, the soup of the day. The wait staff is both knowledgeable and friendly enough to describe the vegetarian/vegan options to your satisfaction. Pick up some prepackaged bean salad or Mexican lasagna from the grocery section on your way out and blow a kiss to the nearest leprechaun - you've just found the pot of gold.
Estimated Price: $5-10
SOUL VEGETARIAN - Vegetarian & Vegan 652 North Highland Ave., N.E. (404) 874-0145 879 Ralph David Abernathy Blvd. (404) 752-5194 Hours: Tuesday-Sunday 11 am-10 pm Run by the African Hebrew Israelites of Jerusalem, Soul Vegetarian is a learning experience for the culinarily curious as well as the spiritually prone. If you're inclined to say yes to fresh produce, gluten and soy protein and no to preservatives, processed salt, additives, artificial colors or unnecessary fat, Soul Vegetarian is your dream restaurant. Located in Atlanta’s Historic West End, an area that is seeing growth as developers swarm in to capitalize on land and residents who want to live “in the city,” Soul Vegetarian has held its ground for years. A right of passage for local college students at Atlanta University Center (AUC) and an alternative to the meat laden fast food restaurant that line the surrounding blocks, vegetarians and the “veggie curious” should give this place a try. Need something to wash down all that healthiness? Try Soul Vegetarian's famous "Soy Shakes," available in a variety of flavors.
Estimated Price: $5-10
VEGGIELAND - Vegan 211 Pharr Road N.E. (404) 231-3111 Hours: Monday-Friday 11:30 am-3pm, 5pm-9pm; Saturday 11:30 am-8 pm Located in Atlanta’s Buckhead amongst remnants of what used to be the hottest neighborhood for nightlife, Veggieland makes it’s home next to the iconic fish in front of another Atlanta dining destination. Lunch is the big meal here, drawing a diverse crowd of business folks and shoppers checking out the boutiques that are popping up one by one on and around Pharr road. The menu is vegan, sugarless and low in salt, but miraculously, almost everything tastes good. The western sandwich (a club with tofu for meat), the spinach salad and anything stir-fried are particular winners. While you're there, try the tofu cheesecake – is nothing like the calorie rich chunk you would get from the restaurant baring the dessert’s name around the corner, but it is healthy and tastes surprisingly good. Estimated Price: $5-10
THAI ME UP - Vegetarian 225 E. Ponce De Leon Ave. Ste 100 (404) 377-8888 Hours: Lunch, Monday-Friday 11am-2:30pm, Dinner, Sunday-Thursday 5pm-10pm; Friday-Saturday 5pm-10:30pm
Think tapas and vegetarian delights all rolled into one and you have Thai Me Up, a uniquely named niche restaurant appropriately positioned in downtown Decatur. The menu outlines items that can be prepared special for “vegetarian lovers” and takes a stab at Spicy Green Papaya Salad, boasted as “The all time favorite salad of Thais.” If you can’t stick around grab a green dinner for take out. Don’t be fooled by the restaurant’s small size, this is budget friendly, borderline, fine dining. The atmosphere is trendy and is far from just another Thai takeout window. If you go with a group, you must try the Thai Me Up Party. No, this isn’t a secret menu item that takes you to a room in the back, but rather a sampling of the Summer Roll, Spring Roll, Thai Me Up Shrimp Roll and Shrimp Chips. If you go solo, sit down, sip on Thai ice tea and take a moment to remember, that’s fried tofu you are eating.
The Top List of Veggie Restaurants - Atlanta, GA