The best vegan restaurants in Miami for plant-based delights

After moving into its modern and spacious new digs in 2022, Love Life Café took on a new aura as a cosmopolitan vegan restaurant, one where the bar and wine program is just as good as the eats. The superfood patty (topped with fresh guac, pickles, plant-based cheddar, kale and cilantro aioli) has blown the minds of many carnivores. It is, hands down, the best veggie burger in the city and potentially—America, too.

Order this: In addition to that burger, Love Life has perfected delicious vegan versions of burritos, hefty arepas, sushi and pizza.

While not a full-on vegan restaurant, there are enough plant-forward dishes here for a vegan to feel like they've found their new favorite fine-dining spot. Part of a global chain founded by the late and highly acclaimed chef Joël Robuchon, Le Jardinier turns veggies into stars. Yup, you’ll pay big bucks here for all this creativity, but with a charming Design District garden and a dining room that looks like it plopped down from the year 3000, this is a vegetarian-friendly spot worthy of your next birthday dinner.

Order this: Braised leeks, showered in black truffles.

While many vegan—and vegetarian-friendly restaurants are simple order-at-the-counter affairs best suited for lunch, Planta immediately feels special. It’s a date-night restaurant with spot-on service and well-executed meals that are less typical of places that cater to this kind of cooking. We’re talking about croquetas with mushroom bacon, one of the best plant-based burgers on the planet, udon noodles in a truffle mushroom cream, and broccoli that is so crispy you'll want it as a side to every meal.

Order this: The nigiri sushi and hand rolls subs in veggies for tuna and crab in mind-blowing ways.

This offshoot of Planta takes the same concept as Planta—vegan food that will make you even happier that you’re not eating meat—and gives it a Southeast Asian twist, like a "crab" roll with hearts of palm and truffle fried rice.

Order this: Chick'n fried mushroom bao sliders with hoisin and pickled cucumber.

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Flora is a lovely spot for a potent espresso, fresh-baked pastries, or lazy brunch in the sleek wood-clad dining room or the charming outdoor patio with its thatched roof. Yes, they’re vegetarian here, but Flora is amenable to substituting plant-based dishes to accommodate vegans.

Order this: Aguacate Toast with avocado green pea spread, heirloom cherry tomatoes and charred corn.

This local chain of all-day cafés has changed the way South Florida lunches, one heaping bowl of health food at a time. Pura Vida's menu is expansive, offering plant-based and vegetarian dishes as well as vegan desserts and smoothies. For something sweet, look no further than the vegan chocolate chip cookie—it's one of the best desserts in the city, even if vegan isn't part of your vocabulary. Wash it all down with an iced matcha latte – with oat milk, of course.

Order this: The classic avocado smash, overnight oats and the filling vegan lentil bowl.

Chef/owner Carolina Molea claims her Coral Gables shop is America’s first vegan French bakery. While we can’t confirm that claim, we can report that her lineup of croissants, madeleines, petit fours and pretty much every other kind of sweet baked treat you can dream up are seriously French.

Order this: In addition to the bakery items, there’s also a full brunch menu, including croissant sandwiches, pancakes, waffles and eggless breakfast dishes like a tofu omelette.

Who said frying things up in loads of lard is the only way to make Cuban food? Vegan Cuban Cuisine creates plant-based and vegan alternatives of Cuban classics, so good you might mistake them for the "real" thing. Yes, there are pastelitos and croquetas (made with cashew cream or chickpeas), and you can enjoy them with an oat milk cafecito. The Frita and Cuban sandwich are filled with Beyond Meat or jackfruit. But venture out and explore other dishes, too, like arroz imperial, "chorizo" spaghetti, arroz con leche and flan.

Order this: The Cuban sandwich with jackfruit might just be your new favorite Cuban sandwich, vegan or not.

Juices, smoothies, bowls, coffee drinks—the plant-based menu at Manna has plenty of options for a healthy meal downtown. Can’t seem to zero in on something you like? Tap in one of the spot’s clean-eating gurus to guide you or follow our lead: Manna’s signature superfood arepa topped with avocado and hemp seeds. It’s the true breakfast of champions.

Order this: An iced lava latte.

The Plantisserie is a regular stop for Miami vegans. Its cafeteria-style ordering system makes for a quick meal in the airy dining room or a quick stop for takeout. The options here are hearty and quite good, like veggie coconut curry and mushrooms au poivre with mashed potatoes and a char-grilled portobello.

Order this: After the meal, grab items from the fridge to fill out the rest of your week.

While lots of restaurants offer vegetarian options that are deep-fried and oversauced, FlyFuel Food Co. goes another direction: offering vegetarian food that's actually healthy. Grab a veggie wrap with quinoa and roasted veggies, an arugula pizza with a cauliflower crust, or the shroom bowl with roasted tofu, portabellos, and a soy peanut dressing.

Time Out tip: With locations in downtown, Midtown and Aventura, it’s probably a quick Uber Eats order for tonight.