The vegetarian restaurants in Chicago that we’ve verified number eleven, and seven of them are fully vegan. The other four never serve meat or fish, but they use dairy and eggs. If you eat vegetarian or vegan, you have a solid list. If you travel with meat eaters, we have no restaurant to point you to yet. This page sorts out which neighborhood has what, so you can pick a spot before you ride the L or drive.
We list nine independent restaurants and two local chains. Our editors checked open status and menu details on each between June and September 2026. Several of these places close on a weekday, so confirm hours before you go.
Vegetarian restaurants in Chicago by tier
We rate every restaurant on a five-tier scale. Chicago lands in only two of the five.
- 100% vegan (7): Amitabul, Urban Vegan, Fancy Plants Cafe, Loving Heart, Good Foods Health Center, Penelope’s Vegan Taqueria, and Planta Queen. These kitchens use no meat, fish, dairy, or eggs.
- 100% vegetarian (4): The Chicago Diner, Veggie House, Uru Swati, and Blind Faith Cafe. Nothing on these menus contains meat or fish, but some dishes use dairy or eggs.
The gap is plain. We list nothing yet in the three tiers for restaurants that also serve meat, because we haven’t verified a meat-serving Chicago restaurant yet. The upside: none of these eleven kitchens cooks meat or fish.
Chicago at a glance
| Restaurant | Neighborhood | Tier | Closed |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Chicago Diner | Lakeview | 100% vegetarian | Open daily |
| Fancy Plants Cafe | Lakeview | 100% vegan | Open daily (until 4 p.m.) |
| Urban Vegan | Ravenswood | 100% vegan | Wednesday |
| Loving Heart | Uptown | 100% vegan | Sunday |
| Amitabul | Norwood Park | 100% vegan | Monday, Tuesday |
| Uru Swati | Devon Avenue | 100% vegetarian | Tuesday |
| Blind Faith Cafe | Evanston | 100% vegetarian | Monday |
| Planta Queen (chain) | River North | 100% vegan | Open daily |
| Veggie House | Chinatown | 100% vegetarian | Tuesday |
| Penelope’s (chain) | Pilsen | 100% vegan | Wednesday |
| Good Foods Health Center | South Shore | 100% vegan | Saturday, Sunday |
North Side: Lakeview, Uptown, and Ravenswood
Most of our Chicago list sits on the North Side, a few miles apart. The Chicago Diner has served meat-free comfort food at 3411 N Halsted St since 1983. Cooks mark each item on the menu with a V, so you know which dishes are vegan. Order the Radical Reuben, a house-made seitan sandwich on rye, or the seitan wings at about $10. Brunch runs daily until 3 p.m. The owners closed the Logan Square location at the end of November 2025, so Halsted Street is the one to visit.
A few blocks away, Fancy Plants Cafe is a vegan coffee shop at 613 W Briar Pl. Get the NY Bagel with cashew cream cheese and carrot lox, or a breakfast sandwich made with Just Egg. Doors open daily from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., so plan breakfast or lunch here, not dinner.
Urban Vegan at 1601 W Montrose Ave serves vegan Thai and Asian food. The owners opened it in 2012 as a carryout spot. Try the tofu satay with peanut sauce or the panang curry with tofu. Urban Vegan closes Wednesday and says it isn’t a dedicated gluten-free kitchen.
In Uptown, Loving Heart at 838 W Montrose Ave has served vegan food since 2013. A mom-and-son team runs it, and about 80% of the ingredients are certified organic. The Green Deva Bowl is a full meal. Missing fried chicken? The Sky Burger fills that gap. Most people spend $10 to $20. Closed Sunday.
Far North and the suburbs: Norwood Park, Devon Avenue, and Evanston
Amitabul is a Korean vegan restaurant at 6207 N Milwaukee Ave in Norwood Park. Chef Bill Choi learned Korean fermentation from his mother and grandmother in Seoul, and the menu leans on it. Order the Spicy Kimchi Bi Bim Bop or Dr. K’s Cure All Noodle Soup ($16.95). Amitabul opens Wednesday through Sunday only, noon to 9 p.m.
On Devon Avenue, the center of Chicago’s Indian and Pakistani food, Uru Swati at 2629 W Devon Ave serves North and South Indian vegetarian food in a room of 14 tables. Most chaats cost under $6, and the kitchen makes the dosas fresh. Vegans should ask first, because many dishes use paneer, yogurt, or ghee, and the menu doesn’t mark vegan items. Closed Tuesday.
Just north of the city, Blind Faith Cafe has served vegetarian food at 525 Dempster St in Evanston since 1979. The Shiitake Walnut Loaf comes closest to a hearty entree. Eggs show up on the brunch menu, so don’t assume a dish is vegan. If you are, dessert and select brunch or lunch items are your safest bets, and your server can tell you which dishes skip dairy. Closed Monday.
Downtown, Chinatown, and Pilsen
Planta Queen is the splurge. This vegan Asian-fusion restaurant at 413 N Clark St in River North opened in September 2022. The Planta restaurant group owns it, so we count it as a chain. Order the Bang Bang Broccoli, the Spicy Tuna Roll made with ahi watermelon, or the Truffle Udon. Expect the biggest check on this list. If you have celiac disease, ask for the modified celiac menu, because the kitchen isn’t dedicated gluten-free.
In Chinatown, Veggie House at 2109 S China Pl bills itself as the only vegetarian Chinese restaurant in the neighborhood. The menu is long, with Mapo Tofu, Kung Pao Tofu, and dishes built on lion’s mane and shiitake mushrooms. Soy beef stands in for meat in several entrees. A handful of dishes use eggs or dairy. You can eat there from 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. every day but Tuesday.
In Pilsen, Penelope’s Vegan Taqueria at 1165 W 18th St is the newest of the team’s three locations, so it counts as a local chain. Tacos run $5 to $7. Reviewers mention the soy al pastor and the mushroom chimichurri most. Walk-ins only. Closed Wednesday.
South Side: South Shore
Good Foods Health Center is the only listing we have south of Chinatown. This vegan deli at 1966 E 73rd St has fed South Shore since 2014. Reviewers praise the Jerk Veggie Burger above everything else. Plates run $9.75 to $18.75. Good Foods opens Monday through Friday, 11:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., and closes on weekends. Hours shift by season, so call (773) 420-3832 first.
What a visitor should know
- Know the closed days. Monday: Amitabul and Blind Faith. Tuesday: Amitabul, Uru Swati, and Veggie House. Wednesday: Urban Vegan and Penelope’s. Sunday: Loving Heart. Weekends: Good Foods. The Chicago Diner, Fancy Plants Cafe, and Planta Queen open every day.
- Brunch is easy. The Chicago Diner serves brunch daily until 3 p.m., and Fancy Plants opens at 8 a.m. daily. Blind Faith opens at 10 a.m. on weekends.
- Vegetarian isn’t vegan. The Chicago Diner, Veggie House, Uru Swati, and Blind Faith all use dairy or eggs. Vegans should ask which dishes are dairy-free.
- Gluten is a separate question. The Chicago Diner, Urban Vegan, and Planta Queen all say they can’t fully isolate gluten. Call ahead if you have celiac disease, or check The Chicago Diner’s site and Planta’s site.
- Budget varies. Fancy Plants, Loving Heart, Uru Swati, and Good Foods are the cheaper stops. Planta Queen costs the most.
- Coverage is uneven. We have no listings yet in Oak Park, and the South and West Sides are thin. We keep adding restaurants. The full Chicago listing shows everything we’ve verified so far.
Chicago vegetarian and vegan FAQ
Where to start
Want the classic? Get a Radical Reuben at The Chicago Diner. Planta Queen makes the nicer night out. Uru Swati and Good Foods are the cheap eats. For Korean food, go to Amitabul. For Thai, go to Urban Vegan. Eating out on a Tuesday? Planta Queen, The Chicago Diner, Fancy Plants Cafe, and Urban Vegan all open. For other cities, browse the vegetarian restaurant directory.