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Your guide to award-winning vegan Pittsburgh restaurants, bakeries, sweets and more
Pittsburgh's vegan scene is quickly on the rise, with a variety of options to please all types of palates. From savory to sweet, follow our guide to 15 of the city's top vegan restaurants, cafes, pizza places, bakeries and ice cream shops.
Apteka
There's no better place to start off this list than Apteka in Bloomfield. Their entirely vegan menu is centered around Central and Eastern European cuisine including Pittsburgh-favorite pierogi dishes (available fried with sauerkraut and tomato as well as lentil and zucchini, or boiled stuffed with potato and cabbage), potato dumplings, stuffed peppers and schnitzel.
Apteka has been a Pittsburgh favorite since opening in 2016, but has recently garnered national attention when the New York Times honored it as one of the 50 best restaurants in America in 2022. Chefs Kate Lasky and Tomasz Skowronski were also named James Beard Award semifinalists in 2023 and 2022.
ShadoBeni
Opened in 2022, ShadoBeni is a classic example of a Pittsburgh restaurant going from a staple at farmers markets and events to having a successful brick-and-mortar location. Owner and chef Ulric Joseph brings Trinidadian cuisine to the NorthSide, with an all-vegan menu that's always serving up something new.
The go-to here are the doubles, a popular street food of curried chickpeas you can scoop and eat on the go. Other must-haves are there corn soup, made with local corn served still on the cob, and pineapple chow, a refreshing street snack of sweet pineapple and ShadoBeni (the Trinidad herb culantro the establishment is named after).
You'll see Pittsburgh Juice Company (or the PJC) and their signature bottles being carried by bikers, in strollers and by Pittsburghers of all ages, and one sip will tell you why. Their juices are as fresh as it gets, cold-pressed daily from whole, organic fruits, vegetables and superfoods.
Daily favorites here are the Witch's Brew, first developed for a movie crew back in 2014, pressed with cucumber, granny smith apple, kale and ginger and a variety of raw vegan fare to grab-n-go with parfaits, pestos and more.
Magic and happiness abound in every spoonful at Sugar Spell Scoops, a cashew-based ice cream joint that uses exclusively vegan ingredients. Each batch is hand-crafted and sweetened using vegan cane sugar and agave.
Visit their Sharpsburg location for a scoop, or grab a pint to go. Flavors are constantly rotating from their classic flavors to seasonal favorites. This Halloween you can snag pumpkin pecan, hot and haunted (with ghost pepper-strawberry sauce) and Halloween Cream of cheesecake ice cream and bloody berry sauce, complete with a white chocolate knife.
Constantly voted one of the top vegan menus in the city, Aladdin's has four locations in the region. While not exclusively vegan, their huge variety (30+ dishes) of flavorful Lebanese-American options make it too good to leave off this list.
Start your meal with one of the best hummus appetizers in the city and order their famous falafel rolled paired with a raw juice for one of the best international meals in the city.
Pittsburgh's oldest vegan restaurant is also one of the most interesting dining experiences. Mismatched silverware, goblets and an eclectic ambience pair with a rotating weekly menu (trust us, get the grape leaves) of vegan cuisine that favors flavor over presentation.
While you're there, make time to simply walk around this incredible space and shopping their antiques, jewelry and clothing. There's simply nothing like this unusual spot.
You won't believe you're eating vegan baked goods at Allegro Hearth Bakery, a plant-based bakery and sandwich shop in Squirrel Hill.
Here you can find croissants, ryes, baguettes and other vegan-friendly bakes, plus specialty items like hot cross buns, Jerusalem bread, sfiha and more. A rotating list of vegan sandwiches and soups also makes this a popular lunch spot!
Great vibes, a bright, spacious interior and tons of vegan options make Square Cafe in East Liberty a must-stop for brunch. Sit on their rooftop deck (weather-permitting) and get the vegan version of their brussels sprout hash, breakfast burrito and peanut butter banana pancakes.
Vegan pizza can be tough to pull off, but Spak Brothers has been crushing it for years, and is the #1 requested place my vegan friends want to go when they're in town. Plus, seitan wings, vegan breadsticks, cajun blackened tempeh subs, vegan calzones and even vegan ice cream (provided by Sugar Spell Scoops) make this a top stop for takeout and delivery.
Need vegan catering for any size of event? Veggies N'At should be your first call. This talented crew can do anything from portabello steaks to hibachi, stuffed shells and even a vegan charcuterie board.
Look for Veggies N'At pop-up events to try their cuisine or you can even plan something extra special with their private, five-course dining experience.
You may have seen minority-owned Pure Grub at farmer's markets and pop-up locations around the city, but they recently opened a permanent location in Aspinwall.
Everything on the menu is organic, gluten-free and vegan including Japanese sweet potatoes, chia parfaits, probiotic lemonades and more. Pure Grub also gives back through community fridges, putting care into all of their customers no matter their means.
Located in the heart of East Liberty, Sia's is the perfect place to take your meat-eating friends to and wow them with what's possible with vegan cuisine. Take their often sold out shrimp po boy, made of cornbread crusted konjac root ‘shrimp’, citrus slaw and tomato cajun remoulade on a dairy-free roll. Your food is guaranteed to be delicious and your carnivore friends won't know the difference!
Essence Café
It's a simple formula at Essence: Fresh ingredients + local farmers = innovative vegan and vegetarian cuisine. There's stories to accompany each dish, which range from the Sub-Saharas to Asian and American cuisine, all expertly prepared by chef Ojok Grichang.
With locations now in Bloomfield and Oakland, Roots is becoming a signature stop in the city for their signature bowls. In addition to being delicious, what makes Roots stand out is how clearly everything on their menu is labeled, making it so simple to build your perfect bowl down to the dressing that's vegan and avoids any common allergens.
EYV
You heard it all the time around the dinner table growing up, but EYV (Eat Your Veggies) is making vegetables the star of the plate, putting everything else in the supporting role. There's plenty for vegans to enjoy on the menu including their hummus fritters, heirloom tomato terrine and cabbage pastrami that are all as wonderful to eat as they look on the plate. Located in Pittsburgh's Deutschtown neighborhood.
