Beijing's Best Vegetarian and Vegan-Friendly Restaurants
There was a time when vegetarian dining in Beijing mostly meant Chinese vegetarian restaurants, often those serving Buddhist vegetarian cuisine featuring mock meats made from soy, gluten, or mushrooms, with Western-style restaurants perhaps offering one or two veggie-friendly dishes.
Not so today. Whether you’re a vegetarian, vegan, or just trying to cut down on your consumption of animal products, Beijing has something for you. Over the past few years, the popularity of plant-based dining has exploded in Beijing and now you can find everything from dedicated vegan restaurants creating inventive fusion dishes to established pizza chains serving more vegan options than they have meat ones. These are 10 of our favorites.
Note: Not all of these restaurants are exclusively vegetarian/vegan so if you prefer your meals to be prepared in a completely meat-free environment, we recommend sticking to restaurants like Tianchu Miaoxiang, Vege Tiger, and ZeroGo.Gung Ho! Pizza
Gung Ho! has long been a favorite spot for alternative pizza options and they have recently cemented that reputation by expanding their range of vegetarian, vegan, and allergy-friendly toppings and pizza bases, and adding options like vegan cheese. Their extensive vegan menu has eight different pizzas (try the Robert Plant, which is brimming with different veggies), as well as soups, salads, sides, and even a mock chicken burger.
Daily 11am-11pm. 1/F, Bldg 3, China View, Gongti Donglu (opposite Worker's Stadium East Gate), Chaoyang District (8587 1663)
叫板！比萨：朝阳区工体东路2号中国红街3号楼1层
Lin’s Dining Lounge
Lin's Dining Lounge is one of Beijing's more upscale vegetarian Chinese restaurants, netting a Michelin Plate award in the 2020 Beijing Michelin Guide. The kitchen blends elements of Western cooking and plating with traditional Chinese techniques for interesting (and often delicious) results. Try dishes such as wild rice with assorted mushrooms or deep-fried mock fish with spicy chilies.
Daily, 10am-10pm. 2/F, New Grand Dynasty Hotel, 58 Maizidian Jie, Chaoyang District (6500 6766 / 6500 6266)
北京市朝阳区麦子店街58号北京新大宗饭店二层
Arrow Factory Brewing
Arrow Factory are big champions of plant-based cuisine, coming out with plenty of creative dishes in recent years, including meat-free-yet-still-meaty pizzas and burgers. For example, their Double Smeesh Seitan Burger combines seitan, a type of vital wheat gluten, with chickpeas and black beans for a full slate of protein, dietary fiber, and vitamins and minerals. They also frequently do special vegan set menus for events like Thanksgiving and Christmas.
朝阳区新东路1号塔园外交公寓北侧外
Moka Bros
Moka Bros has always had a reputation for creative, healthy (but not too healthy) dishes but they have recently been upping their game when it comes to plant-based options, too. One of their signature vegan dishes, the Veggie Medley (RMB 58, with egg or tofu, depending on your dietary preference), packs in a huge amount of flavor thanks to ingredients such as roasted eggplant, black olives, and smoked tofu. They currently have five branches in Beijing: in Sanlitun, Solana, Guomao, Shuangjing, and Xidan.
Daily, 8am-10pm. D101, 1/F, Nali Patio, 81 Sanlitun Beijie, Chaoyang District (6462 2598)
摩卡站：朝阳区三里屯北街81号那里花园1层D101
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Vege Tiger
A small chain with several locations across Beijing, Vege Tiger serves vegetarian versions of a range of Chinese cuisines, from northern dumplings to spicy Sichuan dishes. They are well known for their fake meat dishes, including "lamb" chuan’r, Sichuan boiled "pork" slices (shuizhu roupian), and Wuxi "pork" ribs, which are so good you won’t even miss the meat. The Qianmen location is a handy stop after a day of sightseeing and on weeks days offers a buffet for just RMB 68 per person from 11.30am-2pm and 5.30-8pm.
Daily, 11am-9pm. Bldg 3, Zhengyang Market, Qianmen Xidajie, Xicheng District (6301 0212)
素虎净素餐厅：西城区前门西大街正阳市场3号楼
Caravan
Beijing's only Moroccan restaurant, Caravan not only fills a gap in the market for North African cuisine, but it is also committed to offering plenty of vegetarian and vegan options. Order dishes like hummus, hearty harira soup, and stuffed peppers, or come on Friday for the once-a-week couscous dishes. The 11.30am-9pm happy hour makes Caravan a great all-day hangout.
朝阳区光华路44号
ZeroGo
Despite being in the relative wilds of Wangjing, vegan diners flock to ZeroGo for their creative, globetrotting menu of plant-based dishes. Grain bowls sit alongside pizza, Korean-style army stews, and towering burgers topped with runny vegan cheese made with cashews, lemon, and miso. They also do great espresso-based coffees made with Oatly oat milk.
Daily, 10.30am-10pm. 1/F, Bldg 8, Poly Central Park, Area 7, Wangjing Dongyuan, Chaoyang District (135 2205 0952)
朝阳区望京东园七区保利好食界8-1号
Tianchu Miaoxiang
A very popular, centrally located vegetarian restaurant (there is another branch near Tsinghua), Tianchu Miaoxiang is well-known for its creativity with mock meat as well as a wide range of mushroom-based dishes. Be sure to go slightly outside of peak hours; otherwise, you will have to queue alongside all the nearby office workers.
天厨妙香素食馆：朝阳区朝阳门外大街乙6号朝外Soho大厦D座2层0260号
Vege Wonder
WF Central's Vege Wonder not only provides the city with another option for fine dining; it is also a treat for vegetarian diners. The restaurant serves only set menus, starting from RMB 680 per person, and the dishes make the most of the natural flavor and texture of vegetables, some familiar – asparagus, romaine lettuce, pumpkin – and some less so. For example, Hijiki, a brown sea vegetable more common in Japanese cuisine, is used to garnish a dish of celery and celeriac, the latter braised in soy until it looks and tastes almost like tofu skin.
Daily, 11am-2pm; 5-10pm. 2/F, West Bldg, WF Central, Wangfujing Dajie, Dongcheng District (6888 8798)
山河万朵中国素食：东城区王府井大街王府中环西座2层
King’s Joy
Netting two stars in the inaugural Beijing Michelin Guide at the end of 2019 cemented King's Joy as Beijing's most upscale vegetarian restaurant. Expect to pay upwards of RMB 600 per person for set menus of plant-based cuisine that are uncompromising in their pursuit of flavor and variety. The menu changes frequently but a recent winter edition included dishes like char-roasted bean curd with black truffle and organic seasonal greens with rose salt and wild mushroom oil. Be sure to book in advance.
京兆尹：东城区五道营胡同2号
READ: Here are five restaurants offering deals on plant-based dishes.
Photos: Shutterstock, Kyle Mulin, Nooxo, Uni You, Lin's Dining Lounge, Root Pop, Dazhong Dianping
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