Photo by Joann Pai. Photoillustration by Lille Allen
Dairy-free Brie at a plant-based cheese shop, a vegan tasting menu at a new hotspot, locavore tacos and tortelloni at a trendy hotel, and more of Paris’s best animal-free meals
The vegan scene in Paris has finally come into its own with the opening of restaurants and shops that serve food worthy of the French capital’s storied gastronomic credentials. Growing numbers of Parisians are aware of the health and environmental benefits of eating vegan.
As American baker Amanda Bankert of Boneshaker Donuts says, “The evolution in Paris has been pretty amazing. But the French being the French, they insist that vegan food deliver the same gastronomic pleasure as traditional diets do.”
Often led by foreign chefs, vegan restaurants in Paris look to Asian and South American kitchens for inspiration, and contemporary California cuisine is a big influence, too. Where Paris vegan cuisine remains profoundly French is in the subtlety of its seasoning, the quality of the produce, and the technical precision that is a Gallic gastronomic signature.
Note: Not all of the restaurants on this list are strictly vegan. Confirm items fit your dietary needs directly with restaurants.
Alexander Lobrano is a Paris restaurant expert and author of Hungry for Paris, Hungry for France, and his gastronomic coming-of-age story My Place at the Table. He blogs about restaurants and writes often for the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, Saveur, and other publications.
