20 Delicious Vegan Restaurants In Louisville

By LEO Weekly Staff on Wed, Mar 13, 2024 at 10:52 pm

Roots via Facebook

Roots

1216 Bardstown Rd.
Next to its sister restaurant, Heart and Soy, Roots serves upscale vegetarian dishes, many of which can be made vegan.

Louisville's vegan restaurant scene is heating up.

With an array of health benefits and other politically-motivated reasons to skip the meat and dairy, it's easy to see why veganism has gained popularity. (Not to mention the love of our animals friends!)

Luckily, Louisvillians have plenty of great options when it comes to vegan food. Check out these pop-ups and restaurants that are either totally vegan or have enough good options to satisfy.

And if we missed your favorite spot? Let us know! We're always on the hunt for more of the best vegan restaurants in Louisville.

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Cosmic Bird via Instagram

Cosmic Bird

619 Baxter Ave.
A trained chef with 20 years of experience, James Morier opened Cosmic Bird with high hopes that his plant-based chk'n sandwiches and upcoming vegan sushi Sundays will be a game changer for the Louisville food scene. Come summer, Morier and his dedicated General Manager Sabrina Felts plan to have the back patio open for business and filled with live music and a space for growing mushrooms.

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Shahar Cafe via Instagram

Shahar Cafe Pop-ups

Various Locations
Patrons were devestated when Shahar Cafe closed its doors in 2023, but we're happy to report that they're still absolutely crushing it in the pop-up scene. They've recently brought their Midwestern and Southern-style vegan flavors to spots like Canary Club and The Merryweather. Try the burger stacked with Impossible meat, Follow Your Heart cheddar-style slices, fresh avocado, and house-made pic de gallo on a slightly toasted brioche bun, with a side of loaded fries or tots, and pair it with Canary Club’s menu of artisanal brunchy cocktails.

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V-grits

V-Grits

1001 Logan Street
Over their more than 10-year career, V-Grits has evolved from a food truck to a prepared meal service, to a full-scale restaurant brewery. Now based in Logan Street Market, their American comfort food menu is still made entirely without animal products. Highlights of their menu include the Nashville Hot Chicken Sandwich made with “fauxltry” and their Thai-inspired fries piled with peanut sauce, a basil mayo, and fresh cilantro.

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Naive Kitchen + Bar via Instagram

Naive Kitchen + Bar

1001 E. Washington St.
In 2022, Naive won Best Butchertown Restaurant and third place in the Best Vegetarian Restaurant category in LEO's Readers' Choice Awards. The chic eatery's menus include a plethora of vegan options including butternut squash bruschetta, kohlrabi curry, pumpkin orecchiette, and avocado toast.

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Robin Garr

Heart & Soy

1216 Bardstown R.
We might be cheating a little with this entry because Heart and Soy and the next restaurant in our slideshow, Roots, are technically two restaurants in the same space. Heart and Soy is more casual and navigates most of the carry-out orders, serving Pan-Asian dishes like spring rolls, Singapore noodles, pad Thai, Vietnamese rice noodle salad, and a lot more.

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Half Peach Bakery via Instagram

Half Peach Bakery

170 Sears Ave. (facing the parking lot in the back of the building)
Inspired by the peach as a symbol of Chinese culture, Chef Sue Zhao, brings her experience with Chinese cuisines and Southern American food traditions to this vegan bakery and cafe in St. Matthews. Look for Half Peach goods at Rainbow Blossom locations.

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Ramsi's

Ramsi's Cafe on the World

1293 Bardstown Rd.
Ramsi's Cafe on the World offers dishes from all around the world, and, wouldn't you know it, a lot of the world eats vegetarian or vegan. The hip all-lowercase menu includes peanut ginger noodles, a sari wrap, banh mi, and kusheri (also known as "egyptian kitchen"), a dish you literally cannot get anywhere else in town.

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Robin Garr

Vietnam Kitchen

5339 Mitscher Ave.
Fans of Vietnam Kitchen had been worried that the restaurant might close permanently when the original owner Alex Lam retired, but now, his son Phillip is keeping the business alive and thriving. There are 25 vegetarian dishes on the menu and an assortment of vegan options as well. LEO food critic Robin Garr especially loves the Banh Xeo crepe (an egg-free omelet) and vegetarian fried tofu egg rolls.

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Spinnelli's

Spinelli’s Pizzeria

614 Baxter Ave. and 4001 Shelbyville RD.
This punk-music-club-themed pizzeria has two locations in Louisville that are open until 5 a.m. seven days a week. Come for the non-diary cheese vegan knots or the vegan sausage sandwich with peppers and onions. Stay for design flourishes like the booth made of a vintage Lincoln Continental with suicide doors.

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Soul Hi

Soul Hi Vegan

Follow on Facebook for Pop-up Locations
Black-owned Soul Hi offers Jamaican-inspired soul food potato bowls, smoothie bowls, and desserts at pop-ups all over Louisville, from Germantown to J-Town. They also offer vegan meal preps and catering services.

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Anoosh Bistro via Instagram

Anoosh Bistro

4864 Brownsboro Rd.
Located in the Brownsboro Road Shopping Center, Anoosh Bistro offers elegant vegan options for a global palate. Look for the grilled artichoke hearts, the coconut curry tofu, and the vegetable Bolognese made with spaghetti squash linguini.

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The Silly Axe Cafe

1001 Logan St.
Situated in the Logan Street Market, The Silly Axe Cafe not only offers vegan dishes, but is also the only gluten free cafe in Louisville. After being diagnosis with celiac, chef Angela Pike was inspired to create a menu with lactose free options, as well as alternatives to nuts and soy found so often in plant-based foods. The Silly Axe also serves gluten-free beer from the local Apocalypse Brew Works.

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Paris Bánh Mì

Paris Bánh Mì Cafe and Bakery

1237 Bardstown Rd.
Paris Banh Mi (it rhymes if you pronounce "Paris" in the French way) serve boba tea with a broad spectrum of options for tea type, fruit variety, boba style, sweetness level, and even ice volume — and they make all of their boba tea with almond milk. Boba tea is traditionally made with dairy milk, but at this clean and cozy spot in the Highlands, vegans and lactose sensitive customers have a menu full of possibilities.

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In Season Harvest Kitchen

324 W Main St.
Nearly everything at this salad and healthy harvest shop can be made vegan aside from the jollof rice, and, of course, protein options.

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Pizza Lupo

Pizza Lupo's Neapolitan

1540 Frankfort Ave.
The Neapolitan Classic Pizza comes with San Marzano tomatoes, basil, oregano, olive oil & sea salt.

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El Mundo

El Mundo Vegan Queso

1540 Frankfort Ave.
Vegan queso? Oh yeah. It exists. Enjoy the vegetable-based, soy-free, gluten-free, nut-free vegan cheese dip with tomato, chipotle & green chiles. You can even add vegan chorizo!

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Wetland Ventures

Paseo

900 Baxter Ave.
Paseo, located inside Myriad Hotel, can make plenty of their menu items vegan by request. The Paella can be made Vegan with the subtraction of the Berbere Aioli, featuring bomba rice, saffron broth, seasonal veggies and sofrito. The Hummus Brulee is also vegan and has quickly become a fan favorite.

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Nostalgic

1306 Bardstown Rd.
Nostagic offers a number of vegan options including the Pot Pie, Fettucini Carbonara and Crispy Brussels Sprouts.

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Dairy Del & Dairy Kastle

Dairy Del has been open since 1951 and you'll find its old school charm is still fully intact. Customize any option with their vegan almond milk soft serve ice cream. Dairy Kastle has vegan options as well!

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