Vegan Charlotte

Plaza Shamrock · ethiopian

Abugida is a family-run Ethiopian room on Central Avenue that describes itself simply as a 'Family owned authentic Ethiopian restaurant'. The food is eaten the traditional way, scooped with injera rather than cutlery, and the kitchen keeps a wide range of vegan, vegetarian and gluten free dishes on the board because Ethiopian fasting cooking is built that way. The cafe also serves a full coffee ceremony, poured at the table with frankincense burning alongside it.

Plaza Midwood · vegan, comfort food, southern

One of Charlotte's oldest vegan restaurants, in an unassuming building off Independence Boulevard, with a long menu of fully vegan comfort cooking: barbecue, cheesesteaks, bratwurst, reubens, meatloaf and crab cakes.

Ballantyne · south indian, indian, vegetarian

A fast-casual South Indian street food counter on Camfield Street in Ballantyne, open since 2019 and solely vegetarian: dosas, chaats and vadas ordered at the counter.

Plaza Midwood · vietnamese, pho

Cilantro Noodle is a Vietnamese room on Commonwealth Avenue built around build-your-own fresh rolls and pho, with what its own site calls home style recipes. It is family-run and says so directly: that's Grandma you see in the kitchen. Vegan pho is on the menu.

Yorkmount · vegan, southern, comfort food

A fully vegan kitchen inside Building B37 at the Charlotte Regional Farmers Market on Yorkmont Road, founded in 2015 by someone its own site describes only as a passionate vegan and environmentalist. It runs on a weekly meal plan: orders close Thursday at 2pm and are collected Saturday or Sunday, which is why its posted hours are only Friday through Sunday. CLTure describes the food as vegan comfort cooking, burgers, hot dogs and fried chicken sandwiches, with homemade desserts.

Ballantyne · bowls, salads

Flower Child serves bowls, wraps and salads at The Bowl, with clearly marked vegan and gluten-free choices. The menu also has a Healthy Kids section with a choice of protein and two sides. This is the Bowl Street branch in Ballantyne.

Ballantyne · gelato, desserts

Honeysuckle's Ballantyne shop serves gelato by the scoop, along with gelato sandwiches and milkshakes. Its branch menu names vegan gelato and sorbet choices, so there are dairy-free options alongside the regular flavors. Find this shop on Bowl Street beside Fly Kid Fly.

vegan, soul food

Love In Action serves two menus under one roof on Albemarle Road: a Vegan Bistro menu and a separate Southern soul food menu. Choose the Vegan Bistro menu when you want an animal-free meal.

Ballantyne · chinese, vegetarian

A Chinese restaurant on Elm Lane in south Charlotte that was a conventional one until its owner Jian Chen went plant based in 2017 and took the menu with him. CLTure calls it Charlotte's only completely vegetarian and vegan Chinese restaurant. The kitchen works in meat alternatives rather than dropping the dishes people came for.

Ballantyne · pizza

Mellow Mushroom's Ballantyne restaurant serves stone-baked pizza with a draft beer and cocktail selection. Its own branch menu offers vegan and gluten-free pizza choices, and the location has a patio. This is the Ballantyne Village Way restaurant.

NoDa · vegan, soul food, african

A fully vegan fast-casual room on North Davidson Street that calls itself Charlotte's first vegan restaurant in the Arts District. The menu runs to waffles, wraps, burgers and pastries, and the kitchen leans on South African dishes alongside soul food. CLTure names Tallulah Duffin as the owner. A second grab-and-go counter, Oh My Soul On The Moo've, is mentioned on the site without its own address.

FreeMoreWest · sandwiches, deli

Rhino Market & Deli has run on West Morehead Street in Wesley Heights since 2014, a corner market with a deli counter attached and separate phone numbers and hours for each half. Its own site calls it 'a family owned and operated business with over 40 menu items including vegetarian and vegan options' and says it was voted Best Market + Deli in Charlotte six years running from 2020 to 2025.

Starmount · vegan, burgers, american

A fully plant-based burger counter on South Boulevard, open since 2020, built on Impossible and Beyond patties, a house-made black bean patty and a Beyond chicken sandwich. Its own line is that fast food can be delicious and compassionate. CLTure reports it as Charlotte's first vegan restaurant with a drive-thru and names the rapper Tigo B as a co-founder. A second location later opened in Greensboro.

Ballantyne · vegan, new american

A vegan fine-dining room on Rea Road in south Charlotte, run by owner Jennifer Jones Horton and executive chef Barry Horton, who ran a restaurant of the same name in Berkeley, California for five and a half years before this one. Its own site sums the kitchen up as sustainable, local, organic, dairy-free and gluten-free, and frames the whole thing as healthy for the planet, environment and all living beings. It serves lunch and dinner Wednesday through Friday and brunch on Saturday, and publishes its holiday closures a year ahead.

North End · vegan, comfort food, bbq, southern

Soul Miner's Garden is the all-vegan stall in the Keswick building at Camp North End, run by Charlotte native Sasha Quinn, who is both owner and chef. The line it works to is 'Creating delicious food that just so happens to be vegan!' The menu draws on family recipes: loaded nachos built with local ingredients and house-made tortilla chips, hand-cut fries, Southern-style collard greens, a portabella mushroom Reuben and a Shroomin' Philly made with locally sourced oyster mushrooms.

Elizabeth · vegan, caribbean, african, burgers

A whole-food plant-based kitchen on Elizabeth Avenue built on African and Caribbean cooking rather than imitation meat. Its own line is that this is true food cooking from Mother Nature, not fake meat substitutes. It runs partly as a subscription meal service: customers pick a monthly plan, choose entrees and sides by Saturday midnight, and the food is delivered Wednesday afternoon.

Elizabeth · bakery, pastry, sandwiches

A scratch bakery and cafe that calls itself a local, family owned bakery and keeps a standing plant-based and gluten-free line rather than occasional specials. The Elizabeth shop on East 7th Street is the room proposed here; the company also runs Dilworth, NoDa, Ballantyne and Harrisburg shops. Its own site is careful to say the bakeries are not gluten-free facilities.

Wesley Heights · pub food

Town Brewing sits on Grandin Road in FreeMoreWest, a block off West Morehead, and runs a full kitchen alongside the beer. The taproom keeps a standing weekly calendar: open mic every Monday, trivia, a run club, trail talk meetups and a kids-eat-free night. Indoor and outdoor seating both run to a decent size.

vegan, southern, seafood

An all-vegan food truck started in 2019 by Akil and Paris Courtney, working plant-based versions of seafood and fried chicken: bang bang shrymp, krab cakes and chik'n wingz, with a weekend brunch service.

vegan, american

A fully vegan operation running since 2009, which makes it one of the oldest vegan kitchens in Charlotte. It now trades as a food truck, serving burgers, sandwiches, wraps, rice bowls and smoothies.