6 Top-Notch Vegetarian Restaurants in OKC - 405 Magazine

6 Top-Notch Vegetarian Restaurants in OKC

All the comfort, none of the meat. Here are six vegetarian restaurants in OKC.

The "Herbivore" sandwich is from vegetarian restaurant The Mule in OKC.

Photo provided by The Mule

Vegetarian food has come a long way from crunchy granola stereotypes and tofu tropes. Its dishes were previously regarded by many as mere mockeries of meat, with things like tempeh and mushrooms trying their best to sub in for burgers, but savvy chefs and bakers have shown that you don’t need butter or beef to make something comforting. Here are six vegetarian restaurants in OKC paving the way for the plant-based renaissance. 

The Mule

1800 NW 16th St.

A restaurant known for sandwiches stuffed with mac & cheese and pulled pork may not seem the most obvious pick for vegan fare, but The Mule just happens to serve one of the best veggie sandwiches in the city. Aptly dubbed, the Herbivore is a rich symphony of texture and color, layering cashew “cheese,” roasted beets, mushrooms, sun-dried tomato pesto, avocado, grilled jalapeño, grilled onions and chipotle aioli between nutty Vienna wheat bread. 

Buffalo Mac and Mashed Potato bowl from Loaded Bowl in OKC.
Photo provided by Loaded Bowl

The Loaded Bowl

1211 SW 2nd St.

After originating as OKC’s first vegan food truck in 2013, The Loaded Bowl put down brick and mortar roots in the Farmers Market District, cementing its status as an epicenter of meat-free comfort food. Offerings prove that you don’t need meat to be big and bold, like Mac Bowls made with rotini pasta and cashew “cheese” and Mashed Potato Bowls heaped with sage gravy and grilled corn. It’s also renowned for its vegan baked goods, like frosted cupcakes and cookies. 

Elemental Coffee

815 N. Hudson Ave.

As Oklahoma City’s first craft coffee roaster, Midtown’s Elemental Coffee has always been a pioneer. It’s a sentiment that’s just as true with its above-and-beyond food menu, as evidenced by its impressive selection of eats and sweets. Much is vegan or vegan-friendly, from its habit-forming salted chocolate chip cookies baked with vegan butter to Soul Bowls brimming with quinoa, tahini, butternut squash and pepper- and walnut-based muhammara. Menu specials, especially in the bakery department, offer a rotating spree of always-interesting treats, like tahini-banana bread and orange sugar cookies. 

Picasso Cafe

3009 Paseo

Since its inception in 2009, Picasso Cafe has been a community anchor in the Paseo Arts District — a beacon of something-for-everyone hospitality, in a vibrant space where the art on the walls reflects the artistry on the plate. A major facet is the restaurant’s vegetarian and vegan menu section, featuring fan-favorite fixtures like chicken-fried portobello mushrooms, quinoa tacos, jackfruit tikka masala and vegan meatloaf. 

Peace in the Middle East wrap from Guyutes in OKC.
Photo provided by Guyutes

Guyutes

730 NW 23rd St.

With menu options as varied as bacon-wrapped tomatoes, catfish wontons and plantain quesadillas, you’d be hard-pressed to find a more eclectic restaurant than Guyutes, a punk-rock cornerstone that puts just as much heft into vegetarian items. Start with the Gimme The Beat, a lustrous platter of roasted beet hummus with housemade sweet potato chips, or try that same hummus on the pesto-based Whole Earth pizza or in the Peace in the Middle East wrap, rolled in a whole-wheat tortilla with falafel, cauliflower, couscous, quinoa, pickled carrots and lemon vinaigrette.

The Beet Box

1738 NW 16th St.

Another food truck fueled by vegetables, The Beet Box recently put down roots in the Plaza District as well, offering a vegetal approach to the soul food that co-owner Randon Moore grew up eating. Putting a vegan spin on tradition, the menu keeps things hearty with Hot Honey “Chickless” Sandwiches, where both the chicken and the honey are vegan, “Filet-O-Fish-less” Sandwiches and piled-high Veggie Dagwood Sandwiches stacked with seasonal produce and hummus. 

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