Looking for plant-based restaurants? Check out 5 Sacramento vegetarian spots
For vegan and vegetarian folks, craving juicy, tender tacos or a melt-in-your-mouth salmon sushi dish can feel agonizing. But these diners living in the capital region are among the fortunate ones, treated to an abundance of options right in their backyard.
The Sacramento area’s well-founded farm-to-fork reputation has rendered it a good home for numerous vegan and vegetarian-focused restaurants.
A diverse slate of eateries offer exclusively plant-based foods for diners who enjoy all sorts of cuisines. Sushi, Mexican food, soul food and more are available without meat throughout the capital region.
Celebrate this Earth Day by indulging in the fruits, vegetables, fungi and legumes the region plentifully provides at these capital region eateries.
Where to eat exclusively vegetarian or vegan in Sacramento
El Cantaro Vegan Taqueria
Some of the area’s most affordable vegan food is found in the back corner of a Rosemont shopping center.
El Cantaro Vegan Taqueria skillfully incorporates meat alternatives into Mexican food, a cuisine known for its love of marinated and grilled meats.
Without reading the sign out front that advertises the restaurant’s vegan focus, it’s easy to forget a dish is actually made with soy protein or eggplant. Each generously sized taco ($5.50) is stuffed with well-seasoned proteins and toppings.
Larger plates with mole or chilaquiles can cost upward of $20, which leaves the sphere of low-cost options. However, for quality vegan food, it is worth the price.
Read more about El Cantaro Vegan Taqueria’s affordable offerings on The Bee.
El Cantaro Vegan Taqueria
Address: 9123 Kiefer Blvd., Suite A, Rosemont
Hours: 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Sunday-Thursday; 11 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Friday; Closed Saturdays
Phone: 916-898-2691
Website: www.cantarovegansac.com
Vegetarian options: The entire menu is vegetarian or vegan
Noise level: Moderate
Elevated Eats 916
Entrepreneur Carlton Brown was inspired to try a new diet after his doctor told him it was critical he lose weight at 473 pounds. After trying a vegan “detox” for 37 days, his worldview was wholly changed, and Brown felt the need to share the vegan gospel with the community.
Brown runs Elevated Eats 916 out of the Old North Sacramento-based TAP Wine Lounge, where he and his business partner whip up mushroom burgers and classic sides, all made with vegan ingredients.
The most popular menu item — the slider sampler ($14.50) — allows diners to get a taste of Elevated Eats’ three flagship burgers. The oyster mushroom burgers are topped with different ingredients and sauces, creating jerk, “bacon”-guacamole and agave-garlic flavors.
On the side, a bowl of macaroni ($10) oozes with a thick, sweet butternut squash-cashew cheese sauce.
Brown emphasizes that his dishes are made with entirely healthful ingredients. The chef deep-fries his mushroom patties in avocado oil after coating them with acorn flour.
“There’s nothing but health and love,” Brown previously told The Bee.
The restaurant is temporarily closed, according to its Instagram. It expects to reopen before the summer.
Read more about Elevated Eats 916 on The Bee.
Elevated Eats 916
Address: 1011 Del Paso Blvd., Old North Sacramento
Hours: noon-7 p.m. Thursday-Saturday
Phone: 415-528-1174
Website: www.elevatedeats916.com
Vegetarian options: The entire menu is vegetarian or vegan
Noise level: Moderate to loud
Mother
The second incarnation of one of Sacramento’s most beloved vegetarian restaurants, Mother’s current spot in midtown serves American comfort food classics using “just real ingredients, traditional cooking,” according to chef-owner Robb Venditti.
Mainstays include a mushroom po’boy ($18), filled with crisp-fried shreds of mushroom and topped with bright slices of pickles and served with housemade potato chips.
The chile verde ($20) has the heft of white beans and hominy standing in for meat. As with many dishes on the menu, it is vegetarian by default, but can be made vegan on request.
Save room for dessert. The s’mores pie ($10) is vegan, gluten free — and astonishingly decadent.
Read more about Mother on The Bee.
Mother
Address: 2319 K St., midtown
Hours: 11 a.m. - 8 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday; 11 a.m. - 9 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays; closed Sundays and Mondays
Phone: 279-273-1353
Website: mothersacramento.com
Vegetarian options: The entire menu is vegetarian or vegan
Noise level: Quiet on our visits, but may get loud if busy
Vegan Mob
Toriano Gordon’s vegan food truck has a loyal following, having spun out from his brick and mortar concept when it closed in 2023.
Though based in the Bay Area, Vegan Mob pops up most Fridays in Stockton and Sundays in Sacramento; follow their Instagram for the most updated information.
Vegan Mob serves plant-based soul food, with alternative-meat versions of classics like fried chicken, brisket and hot links served alongside veganized sides including collard greens, candied sweet potatoes, mac and cheese, and cole slaw.
A Mob Plate ($25.30) gets you one protein and three sides. Ordering ahead is advised, lest you may have to wait in line for your vegan goodness.
Vegan Mob
Address and hours: See Vegan Mob’s Instagram for the most updated information on location and hours.
Website: veganmob.biz
Vegetarian options: Entirely vegan
Noise level: Moderate
Village of OM Plant Kitchen
Village of OM Plant Kitchen opened in December 2024 as Sacramento’s first fully vegan sushi restaurant. It offers rolls, nigiri and pan-Asian cuisine at 1915 S St. in the Newton Booth neighborhood of midtown.
“We want customers to be able to experience different things that they haven’t experienced before,” restaurateur and owner Andy Nguyen told The Sacramento Bee. “We’re always trying to push that envelope of what we can do that’s plant-based.”
Village of OM hosts live music on Fridays — with a large dining room and smaller bar seating — and happy hours on Wednesdays and Thursdays.
The restaurant is a splurge to be sure: Their sushi rolls run from the economical avocado roll ($8) to the extravagant Oshi salmon roll ($23.50). But if you’re seeking a unique experience, the Oshi salmon lomi nigiri ($13) and the smokey vale roll ($18) certainly fit the bill.
Don’t skip out on the cocktail menu if drinks are your thing. It’s broken up into elements water, fire, earth and void. The water menu’s passion fruit mojito ($14) the void’s sole entry, Reincarnation ($13), stretches the stylistic continuity of the moody restaurant.
Read more about Village of OM on The Bee.
Village of OM Plant Kitchen
Address: 1915 S St., midtown
Hours: noon-9 p.m. Monday-Thursday; noon-10 p.m. Friday and Saturday; noon-8:30 p.m. Sunday
Phone: 279-222-4819
Website: www.villageofom.com
Vegetarian options: Menu is entirely vegan and gluten-free
Noise level: Moderately noisy, louder on live music Fridays
Vegetarian menus at other restaurants
While some restaurants specifically cater to the non-meat-eaters of the region, vegan and vegetarian diners still deserve options at all restaurants.
These three Sacramento eateries go above and beyond adding a salad section to their menus.
Allora
Allora’s vegetarian tasting menu isn’t an afterthought. It’s the foundation. Chef Deneb Williams begins the entire process with vegetables.
“I was raised a vegetarian. My mom was a macrobiotic vegetarian my whole entire life. She still is; I only started eating meat when I started working in kitchens,” he said.
Allora’s vegetarian menu is as fully realized as its omnivore counterpart, with multiple options to choose from – not just the requisite mushroom risotto.
The menu is admittedly a splurge, which is all the more reason why Williams wants vegetarians to feel included in the fine dining experience.
“I want them to leave feeling like they got an exceptional experience,” Williams said.
Read more about Allora’s vegetarian menu at The Bee.
Allora
Address: 5215 Folsom Blvd., East Sacramento
Hours: 5 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. Sunday-Thursday; 5 p.m. - 9:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays
Phone: 916-538-6434
Website: allorasacramento.com
Vegetarian options: A fully realized vegetarian and vegan tasting menu is available
Noise level: Quiet
Emma’s Tamales
Emma’s Tamales, which has outposts in Old Sacramento and south Sacramento, has 20 flavors of tamales, burritos and enchiladas. Fewer than half of the options have meat in them.
Sweet and savory tamales at ridiculously low prices are available hot and ready to eat or cold to save for later. A four-pack of chili relleno-style tamales in Old Sacramento goes for $9.99, while a single tamal is only $3.50.
The Mexican eatery splits its menu into three, differentiating between meat dishes, vegetarian items and vegan dishes to avoid any potential confusion.
For bigger groups or meal preppers, a platter of nine tamales with a pint of homemade salsa, a large bag of homemade corn chips, rice and beans, and four drinks goes for only $49.99.
Read more about Emma’s Tamales at The Bee.
Emma’s Tamales
Address: 1100 Front St., Suite 130, Old Sacramento
Hours: 11:00 a.m.-3 p.m. Wednesday-Thursday; 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Friday; 10:30 a.m.-7 p.m. Saturday; 11 a.m.-6:30 p.m. Sunday; Closed Mondays and Tuesdays
Phone: 916-942-9147
Website: www.emmastamales.com/old-sac-location
Vegetarian options: Vegetarian and vegan menus available
Noise level: Moderate
Mayahuel
While not a vegetarian restaurant, high-end Mexican concept and “museum of tequila” Mayahuel in the K Street Mall downtown offers a full vegan menu every day.
From the Yucatecan pumpkin seed dip sikil p’ak ($8.95), which is vegan from its origin, to huitlacoche enchiladas ($17.50), made with a truffle-like fungus that grows on corn, each dish is rooted in authentic Mexican cuisine.
If you’re hungry, you can go in for a five-course tasting menu ($45), with the verde sweet Mexico ($7.50 virgin, $12 as a tequila cocktail) and one selection each from the four sections of the menu: starters, appetizers, entrees and sweets.
Mayahuel
Address: 1200 K St., downtown
Hours: 12 p.m.-8 p.m. Monday-Thursday; 12 p.m.-10 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays; 12 p.m.-7 p.m. Sundays
Phone: 916-441-7200
Website: experiencemayahuel.com
Vegetarian options: Several vegetarian dishes are available in addition to the vegan menu.
Noise level: Moderate
This story was originally published April 22, 2026 at 7:00 AM.
