Plant-based? Here are 16 vegan restaurants in Charlotte, and what to order at each.
Eating plant-based foods is easier than ever with the rise in popularity of vegan restaurants in Charlotte.
Salads are no longer the only option for vegan eaters, and the consumer market for vegan food is continuing to rise year after year. Data collected by the Good Food Institute and the Plant-Based Foods Association found that retail sales of plant-based food grew 27 percent over 2020, reaching $7 billion.
From fair-priced breakfast or brunch options to high-end dinner cuisines, these vegan establishments in Charlotte are changing the way people view vegan meals by providing fresh options for all. (Pro tip: We’ve also rounded up a separate list of Charlotte’s vegan food trucks for you to enjoy.)
Bean Vegan Cuisine
Location: 3001 E. Independence Blvd., Charlotte, NC 28205
Neighborhood: East Charlotte/Commonwealth Park
Menu: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner, Dessert
What to order: The Crabbie Patty Platter includes Crabbie Patties made with jackfruit, onion, Vegenaise, red pepper, almond meal and Old Bay served on top of a bright spring salad mix with 1000 Island dressing served on the side.
Cost: $19.19
Best of Both Souls
Location: 2200 Thrift Road, Charlotte, NC 28208
Neighborhood: Wesley Heights
What to know: Online order for takeout only
What to order: The Vegan Nashville Hot Chick’n Sandwich is a crispy chick’n patty tossed in sweet heat sauce, paired with pickles and Cajun vegan mayonnaise on a brioche bun. Don’t forget the fries on the side.
Cost: $16.50 (Note: there is a $15 minimum order plus a $7.99 delivery fee)
Dee’s Vegan Cuisine
Location: 1540 West Blvd., Charlotte, NC 28208
Neighborhood: Revolution Park
What to order: The Carolina Dawg, a concoction of soy-free Beyond Sausage Hot Links served with chili, cheese, coleslaw and seasoned crinkle fries.
Cost: $19.89
EastSide Local Eatery (temporarily closed)
Location: 3102 Eastway Drive, Charlotte, NC 28205
Neighborhood: Commonwealth Park
What to know: Ethical vegan and vegetarian cuisine
What to order: The sun dried pimento cheese sandwich is vegan, but customers have the choice of dairy pimento cheese on its grilled organic bread.
Cost: $8.50
Exposed Vegan (temporarily closed)
Location: 1540 West Blvd., Suite 102, Charlotte, NC 28208
Neighborhood: West Charlotte/Revolution Park
What to order: The Kamala’s Bowl — and yes, it was created to honor Vice President Kamala Harris. It’s stuffed with spinach, avocado, cucumber, red peppers, hummus and olives.
Cost: $9
Fern, Flavors from the Garden
Location: 1419 East Blvd., Suite A, Charlotte, NC 28203
Neighborhood: Dilworth
What to know: All of its food is vegan, but customers are given the option of adding dairy cheese if they’d like to include it on meals such as burgers or salad.
What to order: The Asian Pear Salad comes with arugula, local lettuce, candied pecans, blue cheese and persimmon vinaigrette.
Cost: $16
Living Kitchen
Location: 2000 South Blvd., Suite 300, Charlotte, NC 28203
Neighborhood: South End
What to order: The Nacho Burger is a house-made, gluten-free quinoa veggie burger with avocado, chipotle sunflower seed hummus, spicy butternut squash queso, jalapenos and pico de gallo.
Cost: $15.50
Ma Ma Wok
Location: 11914 Elm Lane, Charlotte, NC 28277
Neighborhood: Ballantyne
What to order: The Curry Stew includes vegetarian chicken, carrots, celery, potatoes, lima beans and tofu.
Cost: $15.99
Nourish
Location: 1421 Orchard Lake Drive, Suite F, Charlotte, NC 28270
Neighborhood: South Charlotte/Sardis Woods
What to know: Meal delivery service.
What to order: The Morning Muesli has buckwheat and sunflower seeds, chia seeds, goji berries and date sugar. Don’t forget to choose whether you want cacao or cinnamon-nutmeg before adding Nourish’s seed milk and giving it all a good stir.
Cost: $4.75
Oh My Soul
Location: 3046 N. Davidson St., Charlotte, NC 28205
Neighborhood: NoDa
What to order: Hippie Chick, a hot BBQ seitan patty, is glazed with melted cheese and grilled pineapples. It’s topped with lettuce, tomato, red onions, pickles, grilled jalapenos, pimento cheese and barbecue sauce.
Cost: $17.99
Plant Joy
Location: 1801 N. Graham St. Suite 101, Charlotte, NC 28206
Neighborhood: Camp North End
What to order: The Falafel Mountain puts traditional falafel flavors into a nacho-style presentation. This best-selling meal consists of its homemade chickpea fritters, beet slaw, baked pita chips, falafel crumble, smoked chickpea hummus and pickles.
Cost: $32
Romeo’s Vegan Burgers
Location: 5518 South Blvd, Charlotte, NC 28217
Neighborhood: Closeburn-Glenkirk/South Charlotte
What to order: The Where Art Thou Romeo Burger is topped with house sauce, lettuce, tomatoes, grilled onions, cheese and pickles. You can make it a double for $3 more.
Cost: $9.99
Sanctuary Bistro
Location: 6414 Rea Road, Suite C2, Charlotte, NC 28277
Neighborhood: South Charlotte
What to order: Portobello Rockefeller, a Portobello mushroom stuffed with a lion’s mane and kale cream cheese, garlic rosemary roasted potatoes and alapeño cream sauce served with yuba-wrapped asparagus.
Cost: $20
Slutty Vegan (coming soon)
Location: Coming soon
Neighborhood: Coming soon
What to know: Slutty Vegan owner Pinky Cole has told CharlotteFive that she will open a restaurant in Charlotte. The popular food truck sells out quickly every time it comes to the Queen City.
What to order: One Night Stand is a plant-based patty with vegan bacon, vegan cheese, caramelized onions, lettuce, tomato and Slut Sauce on a vegan Hawaiian bun. All burgers come with fries.
[SLUTTY VEGAN will open a Charlotte restaurant. Here’s what we know.]
Vegan Eats Charlotte (temporarily closed)
Location: 2200 Thrift Road, Charlotte, NC 28208
Neighborhood: Wesley Heights
What to know: Online order takeout only.
What to order: 4 Wangz + Thangz is simple and straight to the point: four fried wings in the sauce of your choice with a side of homemade ranch. The kind of “thangz” you can get as a side are Bussin Mac, smoked collards, seasoned fries or extra ranch.
Cost: $18
VelTree
Location: 14825 Ballantyne Village Way, Charlotte, NC 28277 (opening mid-November)
Neighborhood: Ballantyne
What to know: The University location of this restaurant has closed to make way for a new spot in Ballantyne. The space is expected to be ready soon.
What to order: Sweet heat buffalo drums.
Cost: $10
Editor’s note: This story was originally published July 2, 2021, and has been updated.
This story was originally published July 2, 2021 at 9:25 AM with the headline "Plant-based? Here are 16 vegan restaurants in Charlotte, and what to order at each.."
