San Francisco, CA

restaurants

Gracias Madre

Head to Gracias Madre for authentic, delicious and soul-warming Mexican food. This place was absolutely buzzing with people when I visited (and apparently that's pretty standard there), with a queue stretching all the way to the door. The menu is entirely plant-based, with dishes loaded with hearty beans, nut-based cheeses, veggies and a whole lot of flavour. Gracias Madre's menu is seasonal, and is determined by what is currently available at their own organic farm in Pleasants Valley, California. Oh, and they've got latin-inspired cocktails too..

San Francisco, CA

restaurants

Nourish Cafe

Everything is plant-based - using organic, whole foods ingredients. The menu features salads/veggie bowls, sandwiches and wraps, a daily soup, smoothies and other fun drinks like the blue matcha latte I tried (shown above). They also have a pretty epic selection of both sweet and savoury vegan toasts. There are 10 different types to choose from (and I basically wanted to try all of them), but happily they offer a sampler which allows you to choose 4 mini versions.

San Francisco, CA

restaurants

Seed + Salt

Seed + Salt is in the Marina District, so it's a great place to head to before or after walking the Golden Gate Bridge. Chestnut Street on which it's located is also a beautiful area in itself, and is worth wandering along. Everything on the menu here is plant-based, gluten-free, organic, ethically & locally sourced, and is also free of refined sugar, trans fats and GMOs. I tried their Chopped Cobb Salad, which had smoky eggplant 'bacon', chickpea frittata, avocado, tomatoes, spring peas, greens and a housemade ranch dressing.

San Francisco, CA

restaurants

Loving Cup

OK, so this one's a bit of a novelty thing, since it's actually super easy to make your own healthy vegan banana ice cream. But, Loving Cup have a soft serve machine, so I couldn't resist trying it. You pick the add ins you want (I went with almond butter + blueberries), then they blend it with frozen bananas and put it through a soft serve machine. So much fun! (Note: Loving Cup is technically mainly a frozen yogurt place, so if you're wanting to avoid dairy, make sure you don't accidentally order this instead.)

San Francisco, CA

restaurants

Loló

for tapas and drinks. Walking in you know you’re in for a rare treat. The decor is a colorful cacophony of floral wallpaper, striped booths, and brightly framed mirrors. This family-owned spot is known for inventive Mexican cuisine. The panko avocado taco will turn any meat-eater into a vegan. The bar is authentic Mexican featuring agave distilled spirits and fresh fruit mixes.

San Francisco, CA

restaurants

The Little Chihuahua

You have to try the black bean and fried plantain burrito. You’re in the Mission. Burritos all day, every day. The fried plantains add a subtle sweetness to balance the smoky chile salsa. I’m not sure why I haven’t seen this anywhere else before! Like the name suggests, it’s a little place with a small menu and limited seating. Luckily, burritos are great for on the go. And, just in time for sunset too.

San Francisco, CA

restaurants

Bi-Rite Creamery

Yes, same people as the market. They are killing it in the game. The ice cream is handmade in small batches using locally sourced ingredients. The two vegan options we’ve tried are the chocolate coconut and Bombay chai. Vegan flavors aren’t added as often but we still could not get enough of those two whenever we went there. They also offer a variety of fruit sorbets. The line normally wraps around the corner and seating inside is limited. Take your cone to go as you continue to explore.

San Francisco, CA

restaurants

The Lucky Creation Vegetarian Restaurant

an easily missed hole in the wall, with delicious vegan dim sum and deep fried bean cakes.

San Francisco, CA

restaurants

VeganBurg San Francisco

for patties loved by the likes of Sir Paul McCartney and Steve Aoki. Burger creations are large and flavorful. Try the Trufflebello, a messy cheesy rice patty burger stacked with kale and cabbage. They offer several smothered fry options but we swear by their updated classic french fry that’s sprinkled with seaweed.