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In 2012, Beyond Sushi's creative to-go spot debuted in Union Square with unlikely ingredients like kiwi, chayote and fennel, reinvigorating the vegan genre. Thanks to a Shark Tank deal, they've been able to evolve the vegan concept, opening its first table-service location in 2017, with a new dinner menu roll-out earlier this year. Chef and founder Guy Vaknin infuses his Moroccan and Israeli heritage in his food, which he hopes vegans and non-vegan alike will appreciate. Vaknin served in the Israeli army before attending the Institute of Culinary Education, where he began honing an experimental palette (back in 2012, he even appeared on Gordon Ramsay’s Hell’s Kitchen). The 72-seat Beyond Sushi restaurant located in Herald Square is a testing ground for the future of the chain (which includes expanding to California). Despite my loyalty, I was skeptical that a menu I'd come to love for healthy on-the-go sushi, would be somewhere I'd make dinner reservations. But the new menu keeps crowd favorites, as the Spicy Mang, while adding whimsical seasonally focused offerings and artful plating—garlic bread served in a planter and lurid beet dumplings—that were a joy to savor the whole way through. The dinner menu changes seasonally, so keep an eye out for Spring offerings.
Beyond Sushi's Herald Square location is at 134 W 37th St, New York, NY 10018.
Looking for more plant-based bites? Check out the best vegetarian and vegan food in NYC.
Photograph: Courtesy Beyond Sushi
Photograph: Courtesy Beyond Sushi