New York · United States
The best healthy restaurants in New York City, and the healthy places to eat in NYC.
Written by Gillian McKeith
New York sets the pace for vegetable cooking around the world, and it also produces more health-branded nonsense than any city on earth. A green smoothie in a tall cup is not a meal. Treat this page as my own list of the best healthy restaurants in New York City, and the healthy places to eat in NYC that earn the word, built on ingredients and cooking rather than on what the marketing says.
Everything below sits in Manhattan or Brooklyn, so you can read it as two lists: healthy places to eat in Manhattan, from the Lower East Side up through Flatiron and Koreatown, then the Brooklyn rooms worth a subway ride. Eating well in New York City does not have to mean austerity, and none of these kitchens treat it as such.
Downtown is where I would start. Dirt Candy on the Lower East Side is the benchmark, because Amanda Cohen gives vegetables more thought than most kitchens give a fillet, and there is no fake meat in sight. Superiority Burger in the East Village is a counter, not a dining room, and it turns meat eaters quietly. Avant Garden a few streets away does candlelit plant cooking with proper technique, Cadence brings real seasoning to plant-based soul food, and Urban Vegan Kitchen in the West Village is comfort food with no apology attached. Coletta near Gramercy makes the pasta and the cheese in house, which is more than many Italian kitchens can claim.
Midtown and Flatiron cover the smarter end. abcV is Jean-Georges putting vegetables at the centre of the plate, and it earns the price. Eleven Madison Park is the three-star kitchen that went fully plant-based, and whatever you make of the bill, the cooking is serious. Hangawi in Koreatown is temple food, shoes off, hushed room, lentils and roots handled with real discipline, and Franchia on Park Avenue is its easier sibling with a tea list worth your time. PLANTA Queen does plant-based pan-Asian in a loud handsome room, Le Botaniste on Lexington is the organic bowl done properly, Beyond Sushi on 14th Street proves a roll does not need fish, peacefood is honest all-day baking and cafe food, and Blossom holds the elegant Chelsea end.
Brooklyn is worth the subway. Champs Diner in Bushwick does pancakes, melts and milkshakes entirely vegan and without winking at you, and Ras Plant Based in Crown Heights cooks Ethiopian vegetables and pulses with heat and depth, served on injera.
On the practical questions people always ask me: the cheapest good meals here are Superiority Burger and Champs Diner, the middle of the page runs from Beyond Sushi and Le Botaniste up to Coletta, Franchia, Cadence, peacefood, Urban Vegan Kitchen and Ras Plant Based, the smarter rooms are abcV, Dirt Candy, Avant Garden, Blossom, Hangawi and PLANTA Queen, and Eleven Madison Park sits alone at the top. Book ahead for Dirt Candy, abcV, Avant Garden and Eleven Madison Park, and expect to walk in at the counters and cafes. Gluten-free eaters are best served at Beyond Sushi, Coletta, Le Botaniste, peacefood, PLANTA Queen, Urban Vegan Kitchen, Hangawi and Ras Plant Based, where the kitchens mark it properly rather than guessing.
You do not need to be vegan to use this page. Several of these kitchens are, some are vegetarian, and my test is the same one I apply everywhere: purity, wholesomeness, organic where the chef can manage it, and real quantities of fresh vegetables, pulses, grains and seeds. Nobody paid to be here, and nobody ever will.
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17 restaurants in New York
Open in full directoryShowing 17 of 17 restaurants in New York
abcV
$$$New York, United States
Jean-Georges's sun-bathed Flatiron room, vegetable-forward, vegetarian, with a full vegan menu on request.
Best for: A polished vegetable-led lunch in Flatiron from a kitchen that genuinely sources.
Avant Garden
$$$New York, United States
Small, candlelit East Village room doing vegetable cooking with fine-dining precision.
Best for: A candlelit dinner where the plant cooking has proper technique behind it.
Beyond Sushi
$$New York, United States
Vegetable-only sushi built on black rice, and far better than the concept suggests.
Best for: Sushi without the fish, built on black rice and better than the idea sounds.
Blossom
$$$New York, United States
Long-running Chelsea fully vegan dining room, global comfort cooking and an extensive organic wine list.
Best for: Elegant vegan dining in Chelsea with an organic wine list and no lecture.
Cadence
$$New York, United States
Black American soul cooking, entirely plant-based, from the Overthrow kitchen family.
Best for: Plant-based soul food seasoned like someone's grandmother is watching.
Champs Diner.
New York
Champs Diner
$New York, United States
A full vegan diner in Bushwick, pancakes, melts, milkshakes, all of it.
Best for: A vegan diner breakfast in Bushwick, pancakes and milkshakes included.
Coletta
$$New York, United States
Vegan kosher Italian, pizza, pasta and cheeses made in house.
Best for: Vegan Italian where the pasta and the cheese are made in house, and it shows.
Dirt Candy
$$$New York, United States
Amanda Cohen's Lower East Side vegetable-only restaurant, playful, technique-driven, no fake meat.
Best for: The one to book first: vegetables given more imagination than most tasting menus manage, and no fake meat anywhere.
Eleven Madison Park
$$$$New York, United States
Daniel Humm's three-Michelin-starred Madison Square dining room, rebuilt as a fully plant-based tasting menu in 2021.
Best for: The plant-based tasting menu at the very top end, if the occasion justifies it.
Franchia
$$New York, United States
Hangawi's more relaxed sibling: vegan Korean plates and a serious tea list.
Best for: Vegan Korean small plates and a serious pot of tea in the middle of Manhattan.
Hangawi
$$$New York, United States
Shoes-off Korean temple cuisine in a hushed room off Fifth Avenue.
Best for: Korean temple cooking in a calm room, shoes off, when the city has worn you out.
Le Botaniste
$$New York, United States
Organic plant-based bowls served in a room styled as an old Belgian apothecary.
Best for: A fast organic bowl on Lexington that does not taste like penance.
peacefood
$$New York, United States
All-day vegan cafe near Washington Square, best known for its baking.
Best for: All-day vegan cafe food and the baking, which is the real reason to go.
PLANTA Queen
$$$New York, United States
Loud, handsome pan-Asian room where everything on the menu is plant-based.
Best for: A lively dinner with a group where nobody needs to notice it is all plants.
Ras Plant Based
$$New York, United States
Ethiopian cooking in Crown Heights, naturally plant-based and beautifully spiced.
Best for: Ethiopian vegetables and pulses on injera in Crown Heights, properly spiced.
Superiority Burger
$New York, United States
Brooks Headley's East Village counter, a James Beard-winning vegetarian burger joint that converts skeptics.
Best for: Converting a sceptic over a counter lunch, for very little money.
Urban Vegan Kitchen
$$New York, United States
West Village comfort food, all vegan, all unapologetically indulgent.
Best for: Vegan comfort food in the West Village when you want indulgence rather than virtue.
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Eating well in New York: your questions
- What are the best healthy restaurants in New York City?
- Dirt Candy on the Lower East Side is the one I would book first, abcV in Flatiron is the polished option, Hangawi in Koreatown is the calmest room in Manhattan, and Ras Plant Based in Crown Heights is the pick in Brooklyn. Every one of them puts real vegetables, pulses and grains on the plate rather than a garnish, which is what earns a place on my list.
- Where are the best healthy places to eat in NYC?
- For a sit-down meal, Dirt Candy, abcV, Avant Garden and Blossom in Chelsea. For a fast one, Le Botaniste on Lexington, Superiority Burger in the East Village and Beyond Sushi on 14th Street. In Brooklyn, Ras Plant Based in Crown Heights and Champs Diner in Bushwick. Those nine cover most of the healthy places to eat in NYC that I would send anyone to without hesitating.
- Where is the best healthy dining in NYC?
- For proper healthy dining rather than a quick bowl, abcV, Avant Garden, Blossom in Chelsea and Eleven Madison Park are the rooms with real cooking behind them. Book abcV for lunch and Avant Garden for dinner if you only have time for two.
- Where can I find healthy food in Manhattan?
- Most of this page is Manhattan. Downtown gives you Dirt Candy, Superiority Burger, Avant Garden, Cadence and Urban Vegan Kitchen. Flatiron and Midtown give you abcV, PLANTA Queen, Le Botaniste on Lexington, Hangawi and Franchia in Koreatown, plus Beyond Sushi on 14th Street.
- Where are the healthiest eats in NYC for a quick lunch?
- Le Botaniste on Lexington for an organic bowl, Superiority Burger in the East Village for very little money, Beyond Sushi on 14th Street, and peacefood for all-day cafe food and the baking.
- Where can I eat healthy in NYC?
- Downtown, start with Dirt Candy on the Lower East Side for vegetable-led cooking, or Superiority Burger in the East Village if you want lunch rather than an occasion. In Flatiron, abcV is the polished choice. For something fast, Le Botaniste on Lexington does an organic bowl properly. In Brooklyn, Ras Plant Based in Crown Heights and Champs Diner in Bushwick are both worth the journey.
- What are the best vegan restaurants in New York?
- Dirt Candy for ambition and execution, Eleven Madison Park if you want a three-star plant-based tasting menu and can face the bill, Avant Garden for a proper dinner, and Champs Diner in Brooklyn for everyday vegan food with no ceremony.
- Where can I eat well in New York on a budget?
- Superiority Burger in the East Village and Champs Diner in Bushwick are the cheapest good meals on this page. Le Botaniste, Beyond Sushi and peacefood all sit in the middle, and you will eat real vegetables at every one of them.
- Are there healthy restaurants in Brooklyn?
- Two on this page. Champs Diner in Bushwick is a full vegan diner, and Ras Plant Based in Crown Heights cooks Ethiopian vegetables and pulses on injera. Brooklyn has more than that, and I will add them as I get to them properly.
- How much do healthy restaurants in NYC cost?
- It runs the full range. Superiority Burger and Champs Diner are the cheap end and you will still eat properly. Beyond Sushi, Le Botaniste, peacefood, Coletta, Cadence, Franchia, Urban Vegan Kitchen and Ras Plant Based sit in the middle. abcV, Dirt Candy, Avant Garden, Blossom, Hangawi and PLANTA Queen are the smarter rooms with prices to match, and Eleven Madison Park is a special occasion and priced like one.
- Do I need a reservation?
- For Dirt Candy, abcV, Avant Garden and Eleven Madison Park, yes, and book well ahead for the last of those. Hangawi, Franchia, Coletta, Blossom, PLANTA Queen and Ras Plant Based are easier but still worth reserving at the weekend. Superiority Burger, Le Botaniste, Beyond Sushi, peacefood and Champs Diner are walk-in places, so turn up and queue if you have to.
- Which healthy restaurants in NYC have gluten-free options?
- Beyond Sushi, Coletta, Le Botaniste, peacefood, PLANTA Queen, Urban Vegan Kitchen, Hangawi and Ras Plant Based all handle gluten-free eaters properly. Ras Plant Based is the one I would send a coeliac to first, because Ethiopian cooking leans on teff injera, pulses and greens rather than wheat. Always say it at the door, because a busy kitchen cannot read your mind.
- Where can I eat healthy near Times Square or Midtown?
- Hangawi on East 32nd Street is the closest thing to a calm, properly cooked meal within reach of Times Square, and Franchia on Park Avenue is its easier sibling a few blocks away. Le Botaniste on Lexington Avenue does a quick organic bowl, and PLANTA Queen on West 21st Street is a short ride south if you want a fuller dinner.
- Where is healthy brunch or breakfast in New York?
- Champs Diner in Bushwick for pancakes and a full vegan diner breakfast, peacefood for all-day cafe food and the baking, and Urban Vegan Kitchen in the West Village when you want comfort rather than restraint.
- Which of these places are fully vegan, and which are vegetarian?
- Fully vegan: Avant Garden, Beyond Sushi, Blossom, Cadence, Champs Diner, Coletta, Eleven Madison Park, Franchia, Le Botaniste, peacefood, PLANTA Queen, Ras Plant Based and Urban Vegan Kitchen. Vegetarian with vegan cooking at the heart of the menu: abcV, Dirt Candy, Hangawi and Superiority Burger. Nothing on this page asks you to hunt for the one meat-free line on the menu.
- Which are good for a group or a date?
- PLANTA Queen in Flatiron is built for a table of six who want a loud, handsome dinner. Ras Plant Based in Crown Heights suits sharing, and Champs Diner absorbs a crowd. For two people, Avant Garden is candlelit, Coletta is the pasta-and-wine option, and Blossom in Chelsea is the calm one.
- Is there healthy food in New York for a meat eater?
- Plenty. Superiority Burger turns sceptics over a counter lunch, Dirt Candy gives vegetables more thought than most kitchens give a fillet, and PLANTA Queen is the dinner where nobody at the table need mention what is missing. I have watched committed carnivores clear the plate at all three.
- How do you choose the restaurants on this page?
- I look for purity and wholesomeness on the plate, organic sourcing where the kitchen can manage it, and real quantities of fresh vegetables, pulses, grains and seeds. There is no voting, no advertising and no ranking bought with money. If a kitchen slips, it comes off the page.
- Where can I eat vegan sushi in New York?
- Beyond Sushi on 14th Street does exactly what the name says, built on black rice. For a more inventive plant-based Asian meal, PLANTA Queen in Flatiron serves dumplings and noodles in a room built for a group.
- Do I need to be vegan to use this NYC guide?
- No. This guide is plant-forward, not plant-only. Some of these kitchens are fully vegan, others are vegetarian, and what matters to me is whether real vegetables, pulses and grains reach the plate. Meat eaters are welcome, and several of these rooms will surprise them.
- Can a New York restaurant pay to be listed?
- It cannot. I choose every entry on sourcing, freshness and what actually reaches the plate. Money has never bought a line in this guide and it never will.
Every New York restaurant in the Gillian McKeith Restaurant Guide
Every New York kitchen in the guide, with my notes on each.
- abcV
- Avant Garden
- Beyond Sushi
- Blossom
- Cadence
- Champs Diner
- Coletta
- Dirt Candy
- Eleven Madison Park
- Franchia
- Hangawi
- Le Botaniste
- peacefood
- PLANTA Queen
- Ras Plant Based
- Superiority Burger
- Urban Vegan Kitchen
Eating a particular way in New York
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About the author
Written by Gillian McKeith
I'm Gillian McKeith: television presenter, creator of the global hit show You Are What You Eat, writer, nutritionist, and the editor behind this guide. Every New York entry here is chosen and written by me. I judge kitchens on the things that actually matter: real ingredients, honest sourcing, vegetables cooked with care, and food you feel better for eating.
Nothing on this page is a paid placement. Restaurants cannot buy a recommendation, and any listing marked as sponsored is labelled as such. If a kitchen slips, it comes out of the guide.
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