★ MUST GO · #1 Photo via Google Maps Chicago's vegan top tier leans dessert-heavy before anything deep-dish, with Runaway Cow and Bartleby's Ice Cream anchoring the scoop side and Pie Pie My Darling running the cake lane among the all-five-star essentials. Donuts top the signatures at 15 venues, tacos at 7, soft serve at 5, and Penelope's Vegan Taqueria is the Mexican standard-bearer while Liberation Kitchen holds American fast food. Real depth sits in the 10-deep American and Mediterranean columns, with Dimo's Pizza - Lincoln Square as the pizza pick.
Ranked by overall rating, signature dish strength, and how much reviewers praise the food. If you only have a weekend, start here.
★ MUST GO · #1 Photo via Google Maps Try the vegan tamales with spicy mole for a flavorful meal
Must go · #3 Try the vegan ice cream cakes and pies for special occasions
Must go · #4 Try the sandwiches on Dutch Crunch bread for a crunchy experience
Must go · #7 Try the creative vegan maki rolls like Cowgirl and Spicy Kaluna Crunch.
Try the vegan crab rangoon, often praised as the best in the city.
Must go · #9 
Must go · #10 Try the vegetable combo platter to sample a variety of vegan dishes with injera
Must go · #11 
Must go · #12 Try the variety of vegan hot dogs including the corn dog, Chicago dog, and pretzel dog.
Must go · #13 Try the vegan burek with cabbage and onion or sweet fillings like apple cinnamon.
Must go · #15 Dishes ranked by how well this city's plant-based venues make them, compared to the other 157 cities we track.
15 places worth stopping for donut
Try the Boston Cream and vanilla bean cronut
Try the vegan donuts, especially the glazed variety
Try the vegan bestest sandwich for a flavorful, filling meal
Try the vegan donuts from Beacon Doughnuts, especially the chocolate Boston crème and blueberry stuffed varieties
4 places worth stopping for deep dish pizza
Try the OMG deep dish pizza with vegan cheese for a satisfying vegan Chicago-style pizza experience
Expect a 40-45 minute wait for deep dish pizzas to be freshly baked.
Order gluten-free crust options for celiac-friendly meals
Try the vegan Plant Lover’s pizza with Field Roast pepperoni and vegan sausage
5 places worth stopping for hot dog
Try the variety of vegan hot dogs including the corn dog, Chicago dog, and pretzel dog.
Avoid fried items like fries and tater tots since they are cooked in beef fat.
Try the vegan Chicago-style hot dog with a variety of toppings to customize your meal.
Try the vegan Chicago-style hot dog with a variety of classic toppings.
spinach · Vegan Food Guide All 604 Chicago venues on the map. Filter by what's open, save what you'd return for, get walking directions in two taps.
Completely plant-based kitchens. No swaps, no asking, no surprises.
Try the carrot cake and chocolate hazelnut cake, often highly recommended by customers.
Try the vegan crab rangoon, often praised as the best in the city.
Try the Boston Cream and vanilla bean cronut
Try the hot bar buffet for a variety of flavorful soul food dishes.
Mainstream restaurants where the vegan side of the menu is treated seriously.
Try the sandwiches on Dutch Crunch bread for a crunchy experience
Try the creative vegan maki rolls like Cowgirl and Spicy Kaluna Crunch.
Try the vegan pho with tofu and plenty of vegetables
Try the vegan BBQ pork rice bowl and mock duck dishes made from seitan.
Open before 10, good coffee, the kind of place you walk back to on day two.
Try the signature vegan cinnamon rolls and scones
Try the Impossible burger or vegan chopped cheese sandwich.
Try the tofu scramble with ginger miso sauce for a flavorful vegan breakfast.
Enjoy the strong, chocolaty espresso made by skilled baristas
Weekday fuel and weekend stretches.
Try the vegan burek with cabbage and onion or sweet fillings like apple cinnamon.
Try the garlic miso tofu ramen for rich, flavorful broth
Try the hot bar buffet for a variety of flavorful soul food dishes.
Try the Impossible burger or vegan chopped cheese sandwich.
The reason you planned the trip.
Try the vegan crab rangoon, often praised as the best in the city.
Try the variety of vegan hot dogs including the corn dog, Chicago dog, and pretzel dog.
Try the creative vegan maki rolls like Cowgirl and Spicy Kaluna Crunch.
Try the jackfruit banh mi and tofu pho.
Date night. Birthday. Tell them you're celebrating.
Try the vegan spinach & mushroom pizza, a popular favorite.
Try the Bang Bang Broccoli and 1000 Layer Potatoes, both highly recommended by many guests.
Book vegan tasting menu by advance reservation for best experience
Try the vegan Nashville "chicken" sandwich and vegan nachos.
Where the coffee is the reason to come.
Try the TI-RAW-MISU Mini Cake for a rich, protein-packed dessert.
Try the vegan BLT sandwich, often highlighted as a standout item.
Try the La Playa sandwich, a highly praised vegan Cuban option.
Enjoy the strong, chocolaty espresso made by skilled baristas
Ice cream, pastry, and the honest dessert case.
Try the Boston Cream and vanilla bean cronut
Try the vegan ice cream cakes and pies for special occasions
Try the customizable cinnamon rolls with diverse icing flavors like crème brûlée and chai.
Try the snowstorms for a vegan take on Dairy Queen blizzards.
Quiet rooms, unhurried pace, under $$.
Try the gluten-free brownie
Try the Mandoo Vegan Dumplings and Dr. K's healing soup for standout vegan Korean flavors.
Try the Drunken Noodles and Pad Thai for classic vegan Thai comfort food
Try the TI-RAW-MISU Mini Cake for a rich, protein-packed dessert.
Wifi, outlets, no judgement for a 3-hour sit.
Try the molletes and power burrito, popular hearty savory options
Try the vegan donuts from Beacon Donuts, a highlight of the menu
Enjoy the vegan donuts, frequently praised for flavor and texture.
Try the TI-RAW-MISU Mini Cake for a rich, protein-packed dessert.
Try the Bang Bang Broccoli and 1000 Layer Potatoes, both highly recommended by many guests.
Try the tofu scramble with ginger miso sauce for a flavorful vegan breakfast.
Try the Impossible burger or vegan chopped cheese sandwich.
Try the La Playa sandwich, a highly praised vegan Cuban option.
Enjoy the strong, chocolaty espresso made by skilled baristas
Try the vegan spinach & mushroom pizza, a popular favorite.
Try the mac and cheese balls and tofu buffalo wrap, highly recommended by many.
Try the plant-based keftedes sandwich with vegan feta.
Try the vegan mole enchiladas and vegan chorizo dishes—they’re highly praised by customers.
Try the potato and Baja tacos, popular for their authentic flavors and textures
Try the pambazo sandwich with soy chorizo for a flavorful meal
Vegan items are displayed in their own section with separate trays and tongs to reduce cross-contamination.
Cities where the donut signature also earns a spot in the top essentials — pack a weekend around one.
Yes — Chicago has 604 vegan-ready venues. The top-ranked are Pie Pie My Darling, Yvolina's Tamales, Bartleby's Ice Cream. Spinach ranks them daily on overall rating, signature dish strength, and reviewer praise for the food.
Chicago scores 71.6/100 on the Spinach vegan city index. The city has 98 vegan-friendly venues and 124 high-quality restaurants out of 604 analyzed.
Chicago has 46 fully vegan restaurants and 19 vegetarian restaurants. 98 venues score B or higher on the Vegan Friendliness grade.
Chicago's top signature dishes for vegans are donut, deep dish pizza, hot dog, and the city also does tacos and cake well. Signature dishes are ranked by how the city's venues score against the other 157 cities we track.
The vegan scene in Chicago leans American, Asian, Mexican. American is particularly strong, with 10 venues serving quality plant-based options.
Pie Pie My Darling is ranked #1 in Chicago by the Spinach Essentials algorithm, which weights rating, signature dish performance, and reviewer praise. See all 15 Essentials for the full ranking.
Spinach ranks vegan venues using the same algorithm the mobile app runs: a composite of Google Maps rating, the Spinach Rating (Wilson-confidence scored), dish-quality Wilson scores from extracted review signals, and city-specific signature dish strength. Essentials add a tier weighting; category lists add their own mood/occasion weights. No pay-to-play.
The ranking refreshes daily from Supabase. The last refresh is stamped at the top of this page. Venue data comes from Google Maps, HappyCow, and Spinach's own review-analysis pipeline.
