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14 Can’t Miss Restaurants for Vegan Food in San Francisco

Updated March 19, 2024

It’s true; San Francisco has a little bit of everything packed into its seven-by-seven square miles— it’s a mix of culture and community, including a vibrant vegan food scene.

San Francisco is incredibly vegan-friendly — it has graced many “Top 10 Places to Visit if You’re a Vegan” lists, and was ranked by Forbes as the #3 city to live in if you’re vegan or vegetarian. That’s saying something! If you’re planning a visit, here are the best vegan restaurants in San Francisco to check out for breakfast, lunch, and dinner!

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The Best Vegan & Vegan-Friendly Restaurants in San Francisco

If you have a sweet tooth, don’t miss this fantastic lineup of vegan bakeries, ice cream, and donuts in San Francisco!

#1 Nourish Café

1030 Hyde St, San Francisco, CA 94109
189 6th Ave, San Francisco, CA 94118
What do they offer? Full breakfast menu, weekend brunch, & dinner during the week
This is the place to go for a full vegan breakfast — they have everything! From bowls filled with warm coconut milk, roasted nuts, berries, and quinoa to a massive selection of toasts that will make your taste buds dance.

This is an excellent place to fuel your body for a full day of sightseeing, but no worries if you don’t roll out of bed in time! They also serve tons of wraps, sandwiches, and bowls.

Nourish Cafe San Francisco Vegan waffles
Credit: Nourish Café

#2 Next Level Burger

450 Rhode Island St, San Francisco, CA 94107 (inside Whole Foods)
What do they offer? Veganized fast food favorites
For a creative lineup of burgers and crispy chick’n, look no further than Next Level! Go wild with a Maverick burger loaded with crispy onion rings, tempeh bacon, and special house-made sauce, but you can’t have just the burger; it needs a sidekick! Tag on an order of golden tots, or kick it up a notch with loaded Chilichz fries! And, as if that weren’t enough to get your taste buds dancing, they also have a sinful lineup of ultra creamy milkshakes!

giant vegan burger with cheese and onion rings from the vegan fast food joint next level burger

#3 Venga Empanadas

443 Valencia St, San Francisco, CA 94103
What do they offer? vegan-friendly empanadas for lunch or dinner (they are open for breakfast too — but no vegan breakfast option.
This vegan-friendly restaurant has the most bomb empanadas! Multiple vegan options are stuffed with house-made beans, sweet plantains, and creamy avocado. This is one of the best things I have eaten. I liked it so much that I tried to recreate it and failed. They must use magic!

Venga vegan Empanadas san Francisco

#4 Wildseed

2000 Union St, San Francisco, CA 94123
What do they offer? Casual lunch, dinner, and weekend vegan brunch.
You’re in for a feast with his lineup of beautiful roasted root bowls, savory Bolognese, and delicious pizzas with creamy, house-made cashew mozzarella. Have no fear, my gluten-free friends; there is a vegan and gluten-free pizza crust option!

Everything on the menu is also made with seasonal and local ingredients as much as possible. Don’t miss their mouthwatering brunch on the weekends!

vegan pizza from wildseed in san Francisco
Credit: Wildseed

#5 Enjoy Vegetarian Restaurant

839 Kearny St, San Francisco, CA 94108
754 Kirkham St #3619, San Francisco, CA 94122
What do they offer? vegan-friendly Chinese for lunch & dinner.
This family-run Chinese restaurant is so delicious that even the most die-hard meat eater won’t miss the meat! The family draws inspiration for the menu from their Buddhist roots — it features lettuce wraps with mushrooms and vegan chicken, kung pao lamb, soups, and so much more. The entire menu is vegetarian, and almost all items are vegan.

#6 Golden Era Vegan

395 Golden Gate Ave, San Francisco, CA 94102
What do they offer? Asian-inspired lunch & dinner.
Long before many of these vegan restaurants in San Francisco started popping up, Golden Era was pushing its message of peace through its veggie-focused Asian dishes. The extensive plant-based menu features a flavorful mix of Vietnamese, Chinese, Indian, and Thai dishes — you’ll have no trouble finding something delicious.

Start with an order of fresh spring rolls with their savory peanut sauce, then good luck deciding between a spicy papaya salad, traditional Bánh Xèo (Vietnamese crepe), or spicy lemongrass tofu — maybe come with friends and get them all!

vegan tempura battered crispy vegan shrimps tossed in garlic bell peppers seasoning at golden era in san Francisco
Credit: Golden Era Vegan

#7 Shizen Vegan Sushi Bar and Izakaya

370 14th St, San Francisco, CA 94103
What do they offer? Japanese dinner spot during the week and weekend.
Fishless sushi? You got it! This creative menu at this Michelin-Starred vegan restaurant is so much more than avocado rolls — the team has reinvented everything from the fan-favorite California rolls to a spicy tofuna.

You can’t leave without tasting one of their 12 specialty rolls like the Secret Weapon, filled with marinated mushroom, avocado, spicy shredded tofu, pickled jalapeño, pickled pineapple, sweet shoyu, and habanero sauce.

vegan sushi from shizen in san Francisco
Credit: Shizen Vegan Sushi and Izakaya

#8 Senor Sisig

990 Valencia Street, San Francisco, CA 94110
What do they offer? Casual vegan-friendly lunch & dinner.
This vegan-friendly Filipino and Mexican-inspired restaurant started as a food truck and now has a location in the San Francisco Ferry Building, the Mission, and Oakland! The head chef found inspiration for the menu from his Filipino heritage and food central to his childhood.

Although his food favorites weren’t vegan-friendly (sigh), they did create a full vegan menu! The vegano menu is a fusion of Mexican and Filipino flavors to create an irresistible mix of burritos, tacos, nachos, and fries. If you’re into flavor and heat, don’t miss this spot!

vegan nachos held in front of the senor sisig vegano sign in san Francisco
Credit: Senor Sisig

#9 Judahlicious

3906 Judah St, San Francisco, CA 94122
What do they offer? breakfast & lunch with a ton of raw vegan options.
After a few too many slices of vegan ‘za and loaded burgers, you’re probably going to feel like you need a reset, and there is no better place to go than Judahlicious!

This raw plant-based café and juice bar has all the colorful things you need to feel right as rain! Start with a Farm juice (greens, carrot, beet, daikon, ginger, and garlic) to get your system going, then check out one of their daily specials or grab an order of raw tacos wrapped in collard greens. While some might think a raw café might lack hutzpah in the flavor department, this spot is all about harnessing the power of flavor!

raw vegan burrito topped with cashew cream next to a green salad with carrots at judahlicious in san Francisco
Credit: Judahlicious

#10 Vegan Mob

701 Valencia St, San Francisco, CA 94110
What do they offer? vegan Soul Food for lunch & dinner.
This vegan food truck and restaurant aims to empower the community to take control of their health through their food choices. Inspired by its owner’s health improvements after adopting a plant-based diet, the Vegan Mob started as a food truck on the streets of San Francisco and grew into a brick-and-mortar location in Oakland.

Their menu is all about celebrating BBQ and Soul Food dishes people love, like fried chick’n, shrimp po’boys, gumbo, and more. The Oakland location is a full-service restaurant, and you can find the food truck throughout San Francisco; check their Instagram for its location.  

carry out container filled with vegan buffalo chicken wings and golden french fries from the vegan mob in san Francisco
Credit: Vegan Mob

#11 Rad Radish

301 Hayes St, San Francisco, CA 94102
What do they offer? breakfast, lunch, dinner, and weekend brunch!
This colorful and modern fast-casual vegan eatery is brought to you by the same folks who run Wildseed (so if you love WIldseed, it’s guaranteed you’ll probably love this spot). The veggie-focused menu focuses on ensuring you enjoy your meal while getting the recommended allotment of seasonal superfoods — what’s not to love about that?

You’ll find just about everything on this globally-inspired menu — veggie-packed salads, creative Neatball masala, spicy sausage flatbread, and hearty burgers! Breakfast is also served every day, and brunch is on the weekend.

three vegan breakfast dishes from rad radish in san Francisco
Credit: Rad Radish

#12 Peña Pachamama

1630 Powell St, San Francisco, CA 94133
What do they offer? live music with a full dinner menu.
Looking for a spot to have a complete night on the town? Look no further than Peña Pachamama! This Bolivian restaurant features an entirely plant-based menu, with half of the options cooked and the other half raw.

You’ll find savory yuca fries with cashew cream, Bolivian-style Portapancho (tempura portobello), empanadas, and coconut cream pie! But that’s not all — every Friday and Saturday night, they host an array of talented musicians and their own Pachamama Band! The infectious music will have you on your feet; this will be an experience you won’t forget!

#13 Mr. Charlie’s

432 Sutter St, San Francisco, CA 94108
What do they offer? vegan fast food for lunch & dinner.
Move over Mickey D’s, Mr. Charlie’s has come to San Francisco to spread its vegan fast food love! The vegan fast food chain is a spoof on the golden arches and has recreated all of the classic food options, right down to a Frowny Meal — how can you say no to that?

Aside from Not a Cheeseburgers and Not a Double Burgers, you’ll also want to devour their spicy chick’n nuggets, just don’t forget an order of those classic, salty shoestring fries!

#14 Indochine Vegan

508 Valencia St, San Francisco, CA 94110
What do they offer? vegan Asian cuisine for lunch & dinner.
This laid-back vegan restaurant in San Francisco’s Mission District wants to take you on a culinary journey through Asia with its menu! You’ll find sizzling teriyaki beef, spicy papaya salad, Korean hot pot, flavorful curry, and much more.

This is the type of place that you need to come hungry and with a group — you’ll want to sample one of everything! Just save a little room for a slice of cheese cake.

sizzling vegan beef in a skillet next to a tall lemonade at indochine vegan
Credit: Indochine Vegan

San Francisco Vegan Map

Don’t worry about mapping out your vegan adventure, I’ve done it for you! This handy map highlights all of the must eat vegan spots throughout the city.

Vegan-Friendly Hotel in San Francisco

If you’re in need of a hotel recommendation, I’ve got a great one for you! Check out this spot that is vegan-friendly and eco-friendly. If you’re exploring outside of the city, be sure to check out this lineup of vegan-friendly hotels in California.

Hotel Spero

405 Taylor St, San Francisco, CA 94102
This spot is located downtown, the perfect place to base yourself to explore the city. Aside from its location, it is also committed to protecting Mother Nature with multiple sustainability initiatives — minimizing single-use plastics, partners with Recology, and has achieved 75% waste diversion through composting and recycling, water conservation efforts, and many other programs. On top of that, all their toiletry products are Leaping Bunny certified, and the onsite restaurant has many vegetarian options — a few appear to be vegan or could be made vegan.

Book Your Stay

More California Vegan Dreams

San Francisco isn’t the only super vegan-friendly city in California! Be sure you don’t miss these guides and articles to other top cities in the state.

What To Do with One Vegan Day in LA
A Comprehensive Vegan Travel Guide to Los Angeles
How to Spend One Day in San Francisco
11 Restaurants for Vegan & Gluten-Free Food in LA
Vegan Guide to Monterey, Carmel-By-The-Sea, & Pacific Grove
8 Gorgeous Big Sur Hiking Trails You Need to Explore
Must See Sights & Things To Do in Big Sur
Vegan Festivals and Events Worth Traveling to This Year

About Author

Rebecca is the founder of the vegan travel company Veggies Abroad. In 2021, she bid her 15-year career goodbye and ventured into the world of ethical business with the launch of a vegan travel blog (the one you’re reading!). As the blog flourished, Rebecca expanded her vision to encompass personalized travel planning services and launched Veggies Abroad's inaugural vegan tour to Thailand, marking the beginning of many more eco-conscious, plant-powered adventures to come. Follow her adventures on Instagram or Facebook @veggiesabroad