Veganism is on the rise worldwide—and Chapel Hill isn’t an outlier to this trend. There is a plethora of vegetarian or vegan restaurants in our town, and still more restaurants beginning to offer vegan options among their traditional dishes. Vegan restaurants might get a bad rep as judgy, health-obsessed hippie-centers, but here in Chapel Hill, owners are the friendliest people you’ll meet and cuisines range from all over the world, with an option for everyone. As a non-vegan, here’s my opinion on a few:
Soul Cocina
Food: In this Latin fusion-inspired kitchen, everything on the menu is plant-based. We got oven-roasted plantains, and both of their arepas, thick corn tortillas with substantial fillings—chickpea artichoke and black bean zucchini. Everything was delicious! The plantains were warm, not-too-sweet and nicely crisped on the sides.
Vibes: The owners here are a lovely couple who are very friendly. The location is a stall inside the Blue Dogwood Public Market off of Franklin, so there isn’t much seating, but everything moves pretty fast. It’s a fun place to grab a quick bite.
Prices: Costs are fair considering its central location on Franklin Street—both arepas were around $8 each and the plantains were $4.
Overall: Highly recommend! 4.5/5
Vegan Flava Cafe
Food: The style of this all-vegan cafe can be loosely described as Southern comfort food. We got the BBQ jackfruit taco special. It had a lot of greenery, including good amounts of avocado, which is always good. The jackfruit “meat” was decent with good BBQ spices, flavors, and a unique, slightly-stringy texture which is a pretty good imitation of chicken. The toppings were all fresh and the portion size was reasonable.
Vibes: The staff was friendly and helpful. They made sure to accommodate my friend’s walnut allergy. It is also a small stall in the Blue Dogwood Market, but there is a good amount of seating.
Prices: Again, given its location, prices are reasonable. We spent $11 for both tacos.
Overall: Would try again! 4/5
Spotted Dog
Food: Their menu is full of vegan and vegetarian options. We ordered the Veggie Wings and the Spot’s Boneless Burger, which came with fries. The wings (made from tofu) were tangy and somewhat spicy but not very flavorful. The veggie burger too lacked much flavor, although the fries were surprisingly good. Overall, the food was decent, but I wouldn’t recommend either of these particular dishes.
Vibes: The restaurant itself looks really cool, located on a V-shaped intersection (V for vegan!) and full of eccentric animal paintings. Unfortunately, our server was pretty unfriendly toward us and left us with a poor impression of the service.
Prices: It totaled to $20 for the wings, burger and fries.
Overall: Too much choice? We didn’t have a great experience this time, but their menu is so extensive that it might be worth another chance. ⅖
Sage Vegetarian Cafe
Food: So many options! Sage is a Persian-style restaurant but also has Italian dishes such as gnocchi. Almost everything is either vegan or gluten-free or can be adapted to fit those diets. We got the daily hummus (for us it was garlic), the osh lentil soup and an off-menu special called the Soy Chicken Cutlet (which is actually a curry with rice). They were all delicious and were really flavorful, with real spices rather than just a lot of salt and oil.
Vibes: It’s a cozy cafe tucked into an unassuming strip mall (Timberlyne storefronts aren’t really the most aesthetic) and just walking in envelops you with a wonderful smell. The waitress was very friendly.
Prices: As it is a formal restaurant, expect to spend around $20-$30. Entrees are around $15 each.
Overall: They’ve been in business for decades and there’s a good reason why—try them out! 4.5/5
