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We’ve rounded up the best vegan Michelin-starred restaurants hailing from around the world that are reimagining fine dining with plant-based cuisine.
Many of these restaurants have been featured by the Michelin Guide’s list of best vegan and vegetarian establishments, while others are Michelin-starred restaurants that have since made the bold pivot to serve 100% plant-based cuisine.
1. Seven Swans (Frankfurt, Germany)
Seven Swans in the city of Frankfurt is a Michelin-starred restaurant serving gourmet vegan cuisine. Almost all ingredients used in Chef Ricky Saward’s kitchen is grown organically from their own permaculture garden. Guests can expect the menu to be full of dishes that celebrate fresh produce in all its glory, with each plate putting vegetables front and centre, from winter squash to endives.
2. Kajitsu (New York City, United States)
One-Michelin-starred Kajitsu in New York City serves authentic Japanese shojin cuisine. With Chef Hiroki Abe at the helm, the restaurant’s kaiseki experience will make any guest, herbivore or not, forget all about meat or seafood. From onion soup made with mizuna and potatoes, to the hassun tray of delicate burdock root and a bite of mountain yam, every dish celebrates ingredients as they are in nature.
3. Daigo (Tokyo, Japan)
Daigo in the Japanese capital Tokyo has held on to its two Michelin stars for over a decade ever since it was awarded in 2009. The restaurant has been serving shojin ryori since 1950, when it first opened its doors by the Seisho-ji temple near Mount Atago. Dining at Daigo is all about respecting the natural flavours of authentic plant-based ingredients grown and native to Japan. One of the most famous dishes here is the soba, served with grated yam and Japanese mustard.
4. Ona (Ares, France)
Ona is led by Chef Claire Vallée and has won both a Michelin star and a Green Star, which recognises the best sustainability practices in the food industry. The Ares-based restaurant became the first 100% vegan establishment in France to win a Michelin star, and serves up dishes crafted from seasonal, organic, locally-sourced ingredients and even their own edible plants grown by its kitchen.
5. Eleven Madison Park (New York City, United States)
New York’s famous three-Michelin-starred restaurant Eleven Madison Park recently made a bold move by taking meat, dairy and eggs completely off the menu. When it reopened from the pandemic earlier in May, Chef Daniel Humm decided it was clear that going 100% plant-based was a “risk worth taking” because animal agriculture was “simply not sustainable”. We’ve spoken to shojin cuisine master Chef Toshio, who spent 40 days with Humm to craft a number of shojin-inspired dishes guests can now enjoy at EMP.
6. Gauthier Soho (London, United Kingdom)
Gauthier Soho, the London restaurant led by Chef Alexis Gauthier and won a Michelin star within just a year of opening, took the leap to veganism after a PETA campaign exposed the cruelty and exploitation behind the animal meat industry. Gauthier reimagined all his classic French dishes to make them completely plant-based—even foie gras, the dish deeply entrenched in French cuisine but made from the livers of force-fed ducks and geese. He now serves a “faux gras” made from lentils, walnuts, mushrooms and cognac, and this recipe has even caught the attention of the UK government, who is consulting the chef on ethical foie gras alternatives.
Lead image courtesy of Seven Swans.
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