Best Vegetarian and Vegan Restaurants in Richmond
Richmond, Virginia — updated August 21, 2026
Six Richmond kitchens where the vegetarian and vegan food is the whole point, from an all-vegan bakery in Carytown to Ethiopian breakfast downtown and a vegan taqueria on Oakwood Avenue.
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Richmond's meat-free cooking clusters in a few specific places: Carytown and the Fan for bakeries and takeout counters, Broad Street for Indian thalis, and the blocks around 2nd Street downtown for Ethiopian. Most of the strongest options here are fully vegan rather than vegetarian restaurants with a vegan section bolted on. The list below is ordered by how squarely each place answers the question, with review counts noted so you can tell a settled reputation from a promising one.
1. Buna Kurs Ethiopian Cafe
Ethiopian cooking gives vegans an entire tradition rather than a substitute, and Buna Kurs is the clearest example downtown: its Instagram advertises a full vegan tasting menu of Ethiopian food for $5. The rating is 4.8 across 356 reviews, which is a settled figure rather than an early one. It is open seven days a week, 8am to 6pm, with the kitchen starting at 9am, so this is a breakfast-and-lunch operation, not a dinner one. Coffee and pastries run alongside the food. The address, 402 1/2 N 2nd Street, is easy to walk past.
2. Minglewood Bake Shop
Minglewood calls itself Richmond's first 100% vegan bakery, which means nothing on the counter needs checking. It sits on W Cary Street in Carytown and holds a 4.7 across 378 reviews, a well-established score for a bakery. Yelp lists opening at 8am with a 4pm close on Monday and Tuesday, so it is a morning and early-afternoon stop. Beyond pastry, the shop runs a deli and takes special orders, useful if you are the person tasked with bringing a cake everyone can eat. Allergen information is published on its site.
3. Taco Vegana
An entirely vegan taqueria with a full bar, on Oakwood Avenue in Church Hill. The kitchen's stated aim is to prove vegan food is not bland or limiting, working from traditional recipes rather than around them. It holds a 4.7 from 144 reviews, a good rating on a moderate sample, so call it promising rather than proven. Its Instagram lists happy hour weekdays 5 to 7 and Saturdays 3 to 5, with $2 off taco plates. Hours are listed inconsistently across its own channels, though Yelp and Instagram agree Wednesday is closed. Check before making the trip.
4. Govinda Vegan & Vegetarian Restaurant
The thali is the reason to go: normally up to seven items including rice, roti or puri, pakora or samosa, sabji, dal and something sweet. Specifics change daily, so this is a place you return to rather than order the same thing at. The menu also covers vegetarian curries, fresh breads, rice dishes and Indian desserts. The 4.5 rating comes from 146 reviews, a smaller base than the leaders here. Its Instagram lists hours of Sunday through Friday, 5 to 8pm, an unusually tight evening window on W Marshall Street.
5. Tiny Vegan
A small vegan takeout counter on S Sheppard Street with a few tables out front, run originally as a food cart. The 4.8 rating is the highest on this list, but it rests on 117 reviews, so treat it as promising rather than established. The schedule is the thing to plan around: closed Monday through Wednesday, Thursday and Friday noon to 3pm, Saturday 9am to 4pm, Sunday 10am to 3pm. Those are short windows, and the menu rotates, so checking its Instagram before you drive over is worth the minute.
6. The Mantu | Modern Afghan Cuisine
Included as the general-audience option: The Mantu is not a vegetarian restaurant, but its Afghan menu of curries, karahi, rice dishes and rolls gives vegetarians real choices at a table where other people want lamb. With 643 reviews behind a 4.4, it is the most heavily reviewed place here, which makes the rating dependable even if it is the lowest. Closed Mondays. Tuesday through Thursday and Sunday it runs lunch 11am to 3pm and dinner 4 to 9pm, with dinner stretching to 10pm Friday and Saturday.
What we left off
Chopt Creative Salad Co. was removed as a national chain, despite its downtown Richmond location and strong local rating. Sugar Shack Donuts & Coffee also came off: it operates multiple locations with menus and prices that vary by store, and its draw is donuts and smashburgers rather than a vegetarian or vegan kitchen, so it does not match this guide's premise.