The top 5 spots for good vegan eats, according to NYC influencer Vegan Bodega Cat

It’s no secret that NYC is home to some of the best, most diverse cuisine out there. You can satisfy just about any craving with a quick walk or subway ride—or with a simple delivery app order, if you’re not feeling outdoorsy. Luckily for NYC vegans and the veg-curious alike, the same is true for plant-based options, which now boast an extraordinary number of menu items and dedicated all-vegan spaces. 

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You’ve got vegan Mexican, Japanese and Italian restaurants, vegan sandwich shops, ice cream shops and bakeries, as well as vegan classic diner food and so on. The abundance of options and quality of vegan food in the city is certainly not an issue in 2023. Instead, you might find yourself overwhelmed at the thought of where to eat next—or even what to order. That’s where NYC’s Vegan Bodega Cat comes to help.  

“I like to let people know where the good stuff is,” says Rebecca, the content creator behind the Vegan Bodega Cat socials on Instagram, YouTube and TikTok. A native New Yorker and long-time vegan, Rebecca (who prefers not to disclose her last name for privacy) is committed to helping her audience find exciting new vegan restaurants to try out, and she’s all about keeping it real. 

“I post about trendy stuff, but I also just really like to post about affordable things, accessible things, stuff the average New Yorker could afford,” says Rebecca. “And I’m not talking about the average New Yorker who moves here and works on Wall Street. I’m talking about the average New Yorker who goes to school here, grew up here, you know?” 

Though it might sound unconventional to some, Rebecca’s vegan journey began in the gym, albeit accidentally, as an attempt to build muscle. “I was rethinking my food choices. And just seeing how I felt, I recovered faster when I wasn’t eating meat. So I just stopped eating meat,” she says. 

After learning more about the negative impacts of the egg and dairy industries, Rebecca quit consuming those products as well. “A few months after that, I was like, ‘Am I vegan? Oh, guess I’m vegan now.’ So it wasn’t a, ‘I’m going vegan’ sort of thing. It just kind of happened and I rolled with it.”

Now, Rebecca’s socials are a gateway to vegan heaven. One quick glance and you’ll find an endless display of colorful, beautifully-styled photos and videos of the most delicious vegan food you’ve ever seen, ranging from cheap $5 eats to NYC’s trendiest new plant-based restaurants. It’s a testament to the variety of plant-based options available in the city and Rebecca’s own curiosity. 

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“I remember very specifically talking to a friend I had made when I first went vegan, and he said, ‘Oh, there’s over 200 vegan restaurants in New York City.’ And I was like, ‘What? What do you mean?’” she says. “And I get it now. I’ve been visiting and reviewing vegan restaurants or restaurants with vegan options for seven years, six years, and still haven’t gone to all of them—and I go to like one or two new places a week.”

Because of the multitude of vegan restaurants and the fact that no place “has a menu where every menu item is delicious,” Rebecca doesn’t have any favorites. Instead, she has a “favorite vegan version of whatever someone wants.”

Below are just a few of the vegan restaurants that Rebecca has recently enjoyed and her recommendations on what to get.