I’m not particularly interested in vegetarian restaurants, and I got lots of snarky comments when I put this in the survey. That being said, there are lots of people in Portland who this is important to, as well as restaurants that work their tails off to make them happy. The results here were split among many local restaurants, and no single one got a huge number of votes. The three top choices listed here were very close, with about 9%.
Out of 428 votes cast:
- Portobello – 1125 SE Division, Portland, OR 97214 (503) 754-5993 Map
- Blossoming Lotus – 1713 Northeast 15th Ave., Portland, OR 97212 (503) 228-0048 Map Our review.
- The Farm Cafe – 10 SE 7th Ave., Portland OR. 97214 (503) 736-3276 Map
Honorable mentions: Andina – my review, Vita Cafe
I usually send friends to Andina, because I think the menu is really interesting, and they have a separate menu for vegans and vegetarians. It should be noted that Portobello has a very high rating among various online sites.
I would say the survey results reflect my personal experience. One of the reasons Portobello is fabulous is that they really create a lot of dishes that I would just never put the time into doing myself.
Speaking of categories I’m guessing you aren’t interested in but that a lot of people are…..what about a Best Ethiopian Food category next year? This cuisine seems to get entirely ignored here despite there being tons of Ethiopian restaurants in town and lots of fans of the food
I agree. Go Bete Lukas.
I am surprised there aren’t more vegetarian restaurants in Portland. The New Seasons deli continues to fill this gap for me.
My only suggestion would be to change this category name from “Best Vegetarian Restaurant” to “Best Restaurant for Vegetarians.” A slight change, but I think it would open the gates to places that might have meat on the menu, but that do a great job for vegetarians, as is the case with Andina, as you say. My experience in Portland has been that most Thai and Persian places have better food for vegetarians than places that are exclusively veggie.
“My experience in Portland has been that most Thai and Persian places have better food for vegetarians”
Ordering something vegetarian at a Thai restaurants is often like pulling teeth (especially at the popular “no-substution” joints). Most curries contain ground shrimp paste and fish sauce is ubiquitous. I have only eaten at a couple of Persian places, one of which was vegetarian. IMO, the lebanese in this town is a much better option for vegetarians.
I also disagree about the dearth of good vegetarian options.
Natural selection, the vegan “Beast” is simply exquisite (since it *just* opened it did not make the list).
PDX monthly review
Portobello does a stunning job with its fresh pasta (gnocchi expecially) and their pizzaiolo Will Fain rocks. Blossoming lotus is hit or miss but their raw food and vegan mexican is fresh and very inventive.
For more pedestrian vegan/vegetarian food Proper Eats, Bye and bye, and Vita have solid to excellent menu choices.
The vegan/vegetarian food cart is unequivocally the best in the country. Whole bowl and kitchen dances are simply amazing while Gorditos, Nutri, Whiffies, Potato Champion, and Wyeast offer good to excellent vegan items.
I’d have to agree with “Sustainability” Thai restaurants can be unreliable apparently they don’t realize that fish are animals. Mexican restaurants can be dicey too as a lot of them use lard to cook, something I don’t thing I’d be okay with even if I did eat meat. But many don’t and all you have to do is ask. Or just go to Vege Thai, there food is pretty damn good.
I have yet to try Portabella but all I’ve heard are raves. Ditto for Natural Selection
As far as food carts goes, DC Vegetarian’s “chicken” salad sandwich, Wiffies vegan empanada and Ziba’s Pitas are some of my favorite things to eat of all time.