Avant Garden is a cozy, chic spot in NYC where plant-based creativity shines through flavorful dishes and a stellar wine list, perfect for any dining occasion.
"Our current favorite high-end vegan restaurant doesn’t give you any of the tempeh pretending to be steak or veggie burgers that you’ll find at so many meat-free restaurants around town. Instead, the core of what you’ll eat here is vegetables prepared in new and interesting ways. In some cases, that includes pastas and toasts, but overall you will eat pretty healthfully here no matter what." - chris stang
"Delivery and takeout available from this vegetarian Italian-ish spot. Order from here when you want your vegetables that taste like vegetables. They also serve some great pastas and toasts." - hannah albertine, nikko duren, bryan kim, arden shore, matt tervooren
"This tight but artsy little jewel box of a restaurant, courtesy of Ravi DeRossi, aims to give vegan food some well-deserved polish. Avant Garden’s dynamic menu couldn’t have arrived at a better time, as New York diners are hungry for more upscale meatless options. This is excellent food that just happens to be vegan.Try the cold, salt-baked sweet potato with puréed watercress, crispy jicama and Meyer lemon; or deep-fried sushi rice topped with avocado, smashed ginger, sesame seeds, and streaks of miso paste. Sheets of pasta are tossed with pesto, tomatoes, haricot verts, and Kalamata olives. Their thick slices of toast topped with cremini mushrooms, sweet onion marmalade, toasted walnuts, and herbes de Provence are destined to become a signature item." - Michelin Inspector
"As much as you’ve relied on chickpeas in recent memory, you can’t eat another can for your birthday dinner. For something completely vegan, get takeout from Avant Garden (and check out the rest of our guide to vegan and vegetarian delivery here). Everything at this East Village is 20% off if you call the restaurant directly to place your order." - hannah albertine
"Rather than serve vegetables that taste like meat, Avant Garden serves vegetables that taste like vegetables. They also serve bread and pasta. Chewy, crusty bread topped with tomato jam and pickled peaches? Turns out that’s totally vegan. We’ve never eaten anything exactly like it in a restaurant, meat-serving or not. And that’s the case with the dishes throughout the menu at this East Village restaurant: They’re legitimately original. They’re also legitimately tasty. If you want to dive deeper into fungi specifically, check out &Beer by the same group, a few blocks away." - neha talreja, kenny yang, carina finn koeppicus
