Embracing the vegan lifestyle is a slow, sometimes tricky process. First, you might relinquish meat from your diet, then fish and eggs and cheese and slowly but surely wean yourself off of the last of your animal products, including dairy-infused beverages or condiments.
The next step is braving the culinary outside your home. The good news? It is much easier to eat out at as vegan today than say, five years ago. The better news? The vegan options open in Tampa are not only remarkably delicious, they’re also growing.
Check out our list of 10 Vegan Friendly Restaurants in Tampa, FL:
1. Taco Bus
Taco bus brings you a vegan and vegetarian menu that makes you forget you once rolled up to a taco shop and lamented your loss of chicken tacos. Taco Bus brings you all the naturally vegan options – guacamole, rice, beans, salsa – plus vegan “steak” strips, tofu, tempeh and butternut squash.
2. BurgerFi
Shopping around for your go-to veggie burger? Try BurgerFi’s original Vegefi Burger, served with quinoa, lettuce, tomato and the mouth-watering BurgerFi sauce.
3. Bamboozle Cafe
Not only is the menu gluten free and vegetarian, but the food is also actually good. The vegan options on the menu are delicious and easy to accommodate as substitutions for entrees.
4. Independent Bar and Cafe
If you’re vegan and have friends who can’t understand how you could possibly be vegan, take said friends to the Independent Bar and Cafe for the vegan veggie burger. Whether or not your friends share a belief in your reasons for practicing a vegan diet, they’ll definitely become curious about vegan cuisine.
5. Gourmet Pizza Company
The hardest part about becoming vegan we left out of that list? Giving up pizza! It’s a country favorite for a reason, but being vegan definitely does not have to intervene in this love affair. Check out Gourmet Pizza Company for pesto or cheesiness vegan pizza followed by a scrumptious vegan dessert.
6. Seasons 52
Seasons 52 is not a specifically vegan restaurant, but they do have a vegan menu for all the mixed-diet groups. After all, eating according to nutritional needs or personal beliefs should certainly not keep you and your friends form dining out together.
7. Rollin Oats Market & Cafe
Rollin Oats gets as close to vegan comfort food as we ever thought possible. Try a vegan pot pie, homemade vegan carrot cake or a vegan broccoli salad.
8. Pane Rustica Bakery & Cafe
Yet another Tampa favorite for a veggie burger than puts your non-vegan friend’s burger to flavor shame. Stop in for a bite to test the theory yourself.
9. Thai Island
Swap out your meat option for tofu, and it’s easy to enjoy the heavenly delights of curry at Thai Island. If you haven’t tried crispy vegetarian spring rolls, we definitely recommend it.
10. Chipotle
That’s right! Don’t forget about your classic Chipotle Mexican Grill. As long as you build your bowl without including meat, cheese or sour cream, you are set to go with a vegan-friendly meal. Try brown rice, black beans, fajitas, a salsa (or two) of your choice, corn and lettuce. Still hungry? Ask for hard shell taco shells on the side. And don’t forget with a veggie bowl, your guacamole is free!
Are you one of the top rising vegan-friendly restaurants Tampa? Glimpse can help you reach your restaurant potential through automated video analysis and data-driven inventory audits. Get in touch with our team to learn more about the services we offer and how to get started with us, today.