Until recently, Las Vegas was as amenable to the vegan life as Bugs Bunny was to his selection as the main ingredient of “French Rarebit”—in other words, not amenable at all. In 2016, for example, Vegas was home to fewer than half a dozen vegan restaurants, most of which were scattered about the greater Las Vegas Valley, usually tucked away in strip malls.

But 2016 was so very, very long ago. By 2020, the number of vegan restaurants had quadrupled, with many “mainstream” restaurants offering a surprisingly large array of vegan selections on their menus.

I’ve put together a solid list of both vegan eateries as well as some stand-out mainstream restaurants that have made a concerted effort to serve the growing vegan crowd. There are the 10 best vegan restaurants in Vegas, whether they be all-vegan or vegan-friendly.

Vegas All-Vegan Restaurants

Go big or stay at home is sort of an unofficial motto for Las Vegas, and you have to admire those restaurants that have gone full vegan with their menus. Here are six of the best.

VegeNation

One of the oldest and most popular vegan restaurants in the Las Vegas Valley, VegeNation offers the full range of vegan dishes. They have dishes containing nuts clearly identified and serve a range of gluten-free dishes, as well.

They have an extensive breakfast menu (try the crepes or the biscuits and gravy), a dinner menu, a weekend brunch menu, and even a kids menu, complete with Grilled Cheese or Chickenless Nuggets, and for dessert, Dirt & Worms Ice Cream (I’m not tryin’ it; you try it).

VegeNation is located about a block off Fremont Street Downtown, at the corner of South 7th Street and Carson Avenue. They also have a second location in nearby Henderson, on Eastern Avenue south of St. Rose Parkway. You can have a look at their menus, their history, and more with a visit to their website.

Truth & Tonic Wellness Café at the Venetian

Truth & Tonic is the first vegan restaurant to open in a resort on the Strip.

With guidance from chefs, nutritionists, and even medical professionals, Truth & Tonic’s Executive Chef Pete Ghione has built an entire menu around the vegan lifestyle—with some interesting surprises. Want to try something different? How about the organic cashew butter toast with sliced banana, maple syrup, toasted cashews, and organic strawberries for breakfast? How about lunching on a vegan chicken avocado wrap made with baby gem lettuce, vegan mozzarella, and tomato, with just a sprinkle of tahini dressing?

You can take a look at what they have to offer with a visit to the Truth & Tonic website.

The Modern Vegan

With a menu as extensive as this one, you’re bound to find steak and brisket and pork mentioned—and you will. But as Gia Schultz, founder of The Modern Vegan, says, “I veganized it all.” So when you see steak on the menu, it is “steak.” Same goes for pork. And chicken? That would be “chick’n.”

But are we going to argue semantics all day, or are we going to order whatever that is that looks and smells so great over at the next table? As Gia says, “Anything you can eat, I can eat vegan.”

The Modern Vegan serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner in a large restaurant that takes up a significant chunk of a strip mall on East Naples Drive a couple of blocks north of Tropicana Avenue, near the UNLV campus.

The Modern Vegan is open every day from 9am to 11pm.

Veganos Kitchen

Many of the best Mexican restaurants are family-owned and staffed, and the ambiance of these establishments is often like a huge welcoming family kitchen with an even bigger dining room. Are you with me so far? Okay, now add in the sense of community you find among vegans, and you’ll have a basic idea of what it’s like to dine at Veganos Kitchen.

Incidentally, “Veganos” is Spanish for “vegans.” Yes, I am bilingual, thanks for noticing.

Veganos Kitchen is the combined effort of Jose Oros and his family. They opened Veganos back in 2017 and currently serve everything from Mexican pizza to their own burritos stuffed with that boon to vegans everywhere, the Impossible Burger.

Veganos Kitchen is open Monday through Thursday, 10:30am until 8pm; Friday and Saturday, 10am until 8pm; and Sunday, 10:30am through 6pm. It’s located in North Las Vegas on Rancho Drive, a short distance north of the North Las Vegas Airport. You can start building up your appetite with a visit to the Veganos Kitchen website.

Simply Pure

The brainchild of chef Stacey Dougan, Simply Pure serves vegan fare in a variety of styles ranging from Italian to Mexican to French—and yes, even the Far East. Mexican tacos? Check. Lasagna? Check. Spring rolls? Check.

But let’s let their menu describe one of their most popular dishes, Mama Mia Lasagna: “Vegan protein ‘sausage,’ tofu ricotta, vegan mozzarella, fresh spinach, basil and sun-dried marinara.” No, you can’t have a taste of mine. If you wanted it, you should have ordered it yourself.

Sheesh, some people just don’t get it.

In any case, everything served at Simply Pure is vegan, and much of it is gluten-free—and there are plenty of dishes that are even allergy-free.

This tiny vegan restaurant is on the first floor of the Downtown Container Park (yes, that is a place) on Fremont Street, just a couple of blocks south of that part of the street dedicated to the Fremont Street Experience.

You can read about their menu, history, and all the other good stuff with a visit to their website.

Cinnaholic

Cinnaholic is a newer franchise that seems to be popping up all over the place, from southern California to Texas and Maryland, so, of course, there are several Cinnaholics in Las Vegas. Technically, Cinnaholic is a bakery rather than a restaurant, but not everybody needs a cauliflower steak to satisfy vegan hunger—sometimes a cinnamon roll does the trick.

Or, if cinnamon is not your spice (if you even mention “pumpkin spice,” I’ll turn this car around, I swear I will), how about an Irish Coffee and Cream Roll? Or a Crème Brûlée Roll?

Yeah. That’s what I’m talkin’ about. You can even build your own with their 20 different frostings. Or try out their Blueberry Pie Roll, or even their Cookie Monster Roll. Oh, and they serve a variety of coffees and teas, as well.

Learn you are no match for temptation with a visit to the Cinnaholic website. They have a very good Cinnaholic locator that can show you the four locations in Las Vegas, Summerlin, and Henderson.

Vegan-Friendly Restaurants in Las Vegas

It used to be that vegan entrees were impossible to find at any restaurant, and those restaurants that did offer “vegetarian” entrees treated them like embarrassing relatives they’d momentarily forgotten were locked away in the attic.

These days, of course, that has changed. Virtually every restaurant in Las Vegas caters at least a tiny little bit to vegan tastes. You might not know this, but there are now actually some resort casinos in Las Vegas that require their restaurant tenants to offer at least some vegetarian, vegan, and/or gluten-free menu items.

Despite the ubiquity of vegan options in Las Vegas, surprisingly few of the restaurants that are not entirely vegan actually identify said options on their menus—let alone publish a separate vegan menu. If they are required to feature some vegan dishes, they’re just doing the bare minimum to satisfy that requirement.

Some places, of course, go to the other extreme, proudly publishing a vegan menu, but then slapping ridiculous prices on entrees, such as Gordon Ramsay’s Cauliflower Steak for $38. Seriously? I like cauliflower, but I can’t imagine anything you can do to a cauliflower that would make it worth 38 bucks. Perhaps I just lack sufficient imagination.

In any case, the trick now is finding one that actually identifies the various dishes on their menu as vegan. Chin Chin at New York, New York (no relation) has a very extensive regular menu with a number of vegan options—but good luck identifying any of them without carefully studying each menu item and then carefully interrogating your waiter to confirm the menu item’s provenance.

Other restaurants, of course, seem more proud of their vegan offerings, and here are four of the best.

Graffiti Bao

Started in 2016 as part of the high-end food court at T-Mobile Arena, this restaurant has since opened a regular restaurant on South Buffalo Street at Warm Springs Road. While the T-Mobile Arena location specializes in “Bao Buns” for the quick-bite crowd, the Buffalo Street location features full meals. Both, however, offer numerous vegan delights. These are easy to spot on the menu—just look for the “(V)”.

Graffiti Bao won high praise from Las Vegas vegan maven VegansBaby (yes, three times quickly is quite enough). You can take a look at the offerings of Graffiti Bao with a visit to the Graffiti Bao website.

Mon Ami Gabi at Paris

Mon Ami Gabi is one of the most popular dining spots in Las Vegas, so it should come as no surprise that the restaurant caters to vegan guests, as well. Try their Cauliflower Steak Nicoise with its olive tapenade and lemon vinaigrette. Stick with just the Frites or add a side of Broccolini—you can’t go wrong either way. Top it all off with their Sorbet du Jour, which I think is French for “after this, the check.”

Speaking of which, you can check out Mon Ami Gabi’s vegetarian-vegan menu or take a look at their other options with a visit to their site.

Terrace Pointe Café at Wynn Resort

Wynn and Encore were among the first to get serious about vegan dining choices. As proof, here’s their vegan menu. Oops, they don’t have their vegan menu online (as other reviewers have noted). You’ll need to request it from your waiter.

No clue what the secret password is, so you’ll just have to wing it on that. Incidentally, I was able to find a picture of a “Vegetarian Menu” from Terrace Pointe Café that BigTentVegan surreptitiously captured back in 2014, but my guess is the menu may have changed since then. Until Wynn discovers public relations, help yourself to a look at their regular menu.

Nacho Daddy at Miracle Mile Shops at Planet Hollywood

Mexican fare would seem one of the least likely to fit with the vegan style, but au contraire, as they say in Mexico. Nacho Daddy, besides having a clever name, also serves up a full menu of vegan entrées and appetizers.

Start out with a Vegan Skinny Dip—a homemade vegan queso dip served with fresh jalapeno, pico de gallo, and homemade corn chips. Move on to the Vegan Crispy Avocado Street Tacos, served with black beans and wild rice.

If Mexican is what you want and vegan is how you want it, then you’re probably already on your way to Nacho Daddy. If not, you can take a look at their vegan menu and stop in at one of their four locations, including the one on the Strip at the Miracle Mile Shops or the one Downtown on 4th Street, just off Fremont.

A Word About Impossible

Impossible is a word not typically associated with eating, since humankind has figured out a way to prepare just about anything chewable into a tasty treat.

The most recent of these innovations is Impossible Burger, which—along with its newer sidekick, Impossible Pork—is turning the food chain inside out with previously impossible dishes like, well, the Impossible Burger (Burger King, Little Caesars, and White Castle, of all places). Even McDonalds is testing out its own version in Canada using a competitor to Impossible Burger, called Beyond Meat, to create a PLT (Plant, Lettuce, and Tomato).

But the real beneficiary of plant-based meaty-tasting comestibles is the vegan restaurant. Almost all of the restaurants above, particularly those that are strictly vegan rather than just offering a few vegan choices on their regular menu, feature one or more dishes prepared with vegan “meat.”

The dilemma of sacrificing one’s yen for a cheeseburger just to give a vegan restaurant a try is moot because they all offer exactly that. It tastes like a cheeseburger. It looks like a cheeseburger. Guess what? It’s a cheeseburger.

And if you’re looking for a great one, check out what these vegan restaurants in Las Vegas have to offer.