Anixi: What’s Vegetarian Editorial Review

Anixi is a fully vegan and kosher-certified Mediterranean restaurant at 290 Eighth Avenue in Chelsea. Every dish on the menu is plant-based, including the ones that sound like fish, lamb, and steak. If you eat vegetarian or vegan and you’ve missed a shared plate of mezze with a kabob on the side, this is the place to book.

Chef Guy Vaknin, who founded Beyond Sushi and the City Roots Hospitality group behind it, built the menu around flavors from Greece, Turkey, Syria, and Lebanon. Anixi means “spring” in Greek, and the name fits a menu full of herbs, pomegranate, and citrus.

Start with the dip mezze. Seven are on offer at $13 each, including Taramasalata made with orange seaweed caviar, Ful Medames, Hummus Masabacha, and Muhammara. The Whipped Ricotta comes with apricots, aleppo pepper, and saffron. A sampler of three costs $33, five costs $47, and all seven cost $69, and each sampler includes housemade bread. The Mushroom Ragù Hummus ($21) and the Pastrami Hummus ($23) take the dip format in a heartier direction.

The hot and cold mezze fill out the middle of the meal. The Lemon Cured Tuna ($21) and the Yellowtail Carpaccio ($19) use plant-based stand-ins for fish, and the Crispy Lamb Cigars ($21) and Beef Dolmas ($21) do the same for meat. The Crunchy Cabbage Salad ($19), Fattoush ($22), and Scorched Broccolini ($19) need no stand-in at all.

For a main, choose between the kabobs and the entrées. The kabobs run $31 to $35 and include a Grilled Steak made with Chunk Foods, a Kofta, a Merguez, a Chicken, and a Wild Mushroom made from portobello, crimini, and oyster mushrooms with tofu. A Mixed Grill for the table costs $125. The entrées include a Lamb Tagine ($31), a Chicken Fatteh ($28), and an Eggplant & Potato Moussaka ($29) with cashew ricotta. Pide and khachapuri-style flatbreads ($27 to $34) also come out of the kitchen, and the Pide Pastrami uses cashew ricotta and mozzarella.

Weekend brunch runs from 11:30am to 4pm and adds plant-based versions of Shakshuka ($27), Poached Eggs Florentine ($28), Lemon Blueberry Pancakes ($25), and a Dubai French Toast ($27). Dessert includes a Dubai Chocolate Cheesecake ($18), a Medjool Date Cake ($17), and a Rose Malabi ($15). The bar pours cocktails, wine, and beer, along with four spirit-free drinks at $12.

The kitchen is fully vegan, so meat and dairy never touch your plate. The restaurant lists wheat, soy, seeds, sesame, and nuts as allergens that may appear in the food, and it says it can accommodate some dietary restrictions with a chance of cross-contamination. Gluten-free rosemary crisps are available. The kitchen holds kosher certification.

Expect to spend more than at a casual vegan spot. Dips start at $13, and entrées run $28 to $35. Anixi serves dinner Monday through Thursday from 4:30pm to 10pm and Friday from 4:30pm to 10:30pm. On Saturday it opens at 11:30am and closes at 10:30pm, and on Sunday it runs from 11:30am to 10pm. You can reserve online, and parties of six or more pay a 20% gratuity. Groups of 11 to 25 book through the group dining page with a deposit. Call (646) 410-0946 with questions.

For a first visit, order the three-dip sampler with the Whipped Ricotta, then split a Wild Mushroom kabob and the Moussaka. Finish with the Medjool Date Cake.