Vegetarian Restaurants Offer Fare for All in Austin

Austin’s reputation for being laidback, despite the inherent irony, was not earned lightly. Austin business owners have pioneered services, products, and food businesses that only a dreamer would dare open in any other city. One flourishing subset of Austin original enterprises is vegetarian and vegan friendly restaurants. Austin’s other reputation is as a health-conscious city, and animal-free food, whether eaten exclusively or occasionally, is a healthy option that attracts omnivores and herbivores alike.

Below are a few of the vegetarian and vegan restaurants that have made a name for themselves on the eatery circuit – meat including and not – around town:

Beets Café

Sylvia Heisey is the chef and owner at Beets Café, a raw food restaurant in Downtown Austin offering fresh juices and smoothies, breakfast, lunch, dinner, and cooking classes in raw food basics and Asian fusion techniques. Raw food means eating fruits and vegetables in their natural form to maximize their nutritional value, which may bring to mind pictures of salad, but Beets Café offers everything from taco platters to Reuben sandwiches.

Casa De Luz

Casa de Luz is a 100% vegan and organic restaurant in South Austin. The dining room, philosophy, and food create a comfortable and peaceful ambience. Hot kukicha tea and cold lemongrass tea are always complimentary. Breakfast is buffet style, while lunch and dinner consist of soup, a side salad, and an entrée plate with grains, greens, veggies, beans, and pickled vegetables.

Mother’s Café & Garden

This vegetarian restaurant is located in Central Austin in the Hyde Park neighborhood and offers a large, incandescently lit dining room that serves vegan bar-b-que, homemade blueberry pie, a host of tacos and enchiladas, and a large menus’ worth of other favorite foods made vegetarian.

Mr. Natural

Mr. Natural, located close to the Olympic Heights neighborhood, is a natural foods restaurant, bakery, juice bar, and health food store rolled into one. The award-winning vegetarian restaurant offers non-dairy, wheat-free, vegan, or vegetarian food using all-natural ingredients in unique Mexican vegetarian dishes. Mr. Natural’s Bakery provides one of the healthiest selections of baked goods in Austin. The store also sells natural drinks, meat-substitute entrees, vitamin and mineral supplements, and other herbal products in its Health Food Store. Mr. Natural offers yoga and meditation classes in its Meditation Room.

Promise Pizza

Promise Pizza, located in North Austin not far from the Milwood neighborhood, was founded on a mission of social responsibility and eco-consciousness. Dedicated to making a planet-friendly product, Promise Pizza offers delicious pies made with organic and natural ingredients. Vegan and gluten free ingredients can also be substituted by special request to make these pizzas especially special diet friendly.

If you’d like to join the ranks of one of America’s most health conscious and global-minded cities, contact an Austin realtor to help begin your search for Austin homes.