5 Best Vegan Soul Food Restaurants in Atlanta
5 Best Restaurants for Vegan Soul Food in Atlanta
If you haven’t had vegan soul food in Atlanta yet, you’re definitely missing out! I had no clue how on point the vegan Atlanta soul food game was until I moved there. Then I ate at basically every Black-owned vegan and vegan-friendly spot in town for a few years!
Soul food is my favorite kind of food, so it was extremely difficult to give up when I went vegan 13 years ago. I’ve done my fair share of recreating vegan versions of my favorite soul food dishes, like baked mac and cheese, collard greens, fried “chicken”, and sweet potato pie.
However, it’s nice to sit down to a plate of bomb vegan soul food that you didn’t have to make! Thankfully for all of us, there are multiple spots in Atlanta that you can slide through to just grab yourself a vegan soul food plate without having to make it yourself! Even better, all of these Atlanta vegan soul food restaurants on my list are also Black-owned!
5 Best Restaurants for Vegan Soul Food in Atlanta – Lunch and Dinner
1. Bad Gyal Vegan
Location: 4064 Flowers Rd Suite 100, Atlanta, GA 30360
Phone number: (888) 223-4925
Website: Bad Gyal Vegan
Neighborhood: Doraville
Price range: $$$$$ (most expensive entree is ~$24 USD)
There are so many things that I love about Bad Gyal Vegan. First of all, it’s Atlanta’s only Black-owned, woman-owned, Jamaican/American fusion soul food restaurant. Second, they make all of their food from scratch and even have a patented dish on their menu. Third, their Mac and Jeeze is absolutely amazing, and quite possibly my favorite vegan mac and cheese in the world!
Let’s just talk about the baked Mac and Jeeze real quick. I rarely find vegan baked mac and cheese that truly takes the form of dairy-based baked mac and cheese. The Mac and Jeeze at Bad Gyal Vegan though is spot on and made me revisit their website to confirm that it was vegan… As if the restaurant name wasn’t enough confirmation!
The cheese sauce is flavorful and creamy and turns out to be the perfect consistency to make sure that the mac and cheese isn’t runny and falling apart, but also isn’t dry. It’s something that you just have to try with your own mouth for you to truly appreciate!
In addition to their Mac and Jeeze, Bad Gyal Vegan puts its own spin on other vegan soul food classics with dishes like their Steamed Cabbage and Sweet Baddie Yams. It gets even better though. Their made from scratch patented Voxtails (vegan oxtails) are straight-up mind-blowing! I’ll admit, I’ve never had animal-based oxtails. If they’re anything like these Voxtails though, I completely understand why people love them so much!
Bad Gyal Vegan clearly put a lot of time and effort into creating their vegan oxtail masterpiece. My meat-eating friends even told me that there are so many spot-on details that they’ve captured. From the size and shape, to the texture, even down to the ring of “fat” lining each piece of Voxtail, Bad Gyal Vegan truly made an amazing vegan version of oxtail!
If your taste buds are yearning for more options, they also have vegan wings, ackee spring rolls, shrimp, pasta, burgers, sandwiches, and of course, plantains and rice & peas. Everything that I’ve tried at Bad Gyal Vegan has been amazing. You can’t go wrong with anything on the menu!
If you aren’t able to go grab your food straight from the Bad Gyal Vegan kitchen, you can also order online and have their cold packaged food shipped nationwide for you to reheat at home!
2. Soul Vegetarian
Original Soul Vegetarian: 879 Ralph David Abernathy Blvd SW, Atlanta, GA 30310
Phone number: (404) 752-5194
Neighborhood: West End
Soul Vegetarian #2: 652 North Highland Avenue Northeast, Atlanta, GA 30306
Phone number: (404) 875-0145
Neighborhood: Poncey-Highland
Website: Soul Vegetarian
Price range: $$$$$ (most expensive entree is ~$18 USD)
Soul Vegetarian has a special place in my heart because it was literally the first vegan restaurant that I ever visited in Atlanta. I arrived fresh off the plane suitcases and all. A few of the employees saw me struggling and came outside to help me. I instantly felt a sense of community at Soul Vegetarian and I’ve loved this place ever since!
Their menu is mainly soul food-focused with vegan versions of classic sides like mac and cheese, collard greens, yams, brown rice & gravy, and cornbread. You can choose the Veggie Plate that consists of your choice of 3 sides or order an entree and two sides if you want the full experience.
Their entree options include Country Baked Steak, Barbeque Cauliflower, Barbeque Tofu, Barbeque Kalebone Twists, and Crispy Tofu Cutlets. You’re probably wondering what the heck a Barbeque Kalebone is, huh? Just think of ribs, except without the bone and guilt because they’re vegan, house-made seitan ribs!
If you get overwhelmed by all of the options in the hot bar, don’t worry. The staff will run you through what they have for the day and even give you samples of items if you are unsure of what to order!
My go-to order at Soul Vegetarian is the Barbeque Kalebone, mac and cheese, collard greens, extra side of yams, and cornbread (comes with the dinner plate). Ordering anything less than that just doesn’t feel like the full vegan soul food experience to me!
You can also order other items like sandwiches, salads, and soups if you want more than just soul food. On Saturdays and Sundays from 10:00 AM – 2:00 PM, they have a brunch hot bar with vegan breakfast soul food items like home fries and cheese grits.
To add to the strong sense of community at Soul Vegetarian, there are 4 other Black-owned vegan restaurants on the same block that support each other! Speaking of supporting other Black-owned businesses on the block, go ahead and pop into Hebrew Bakes next door if you’re looking for some sweet potato pie to finish off your soul food meal!
Hebrew Bakes is a Black-owned, all-vegan bakery that has a wide range of sweets and treats for you to choose from. Check out my post about Vegan Bakeries in Atlanta to learn more about Hebrew Bakes and other spots around town that will satisfy your sweet tooth!
3. Go Vegan Grill
Location: 2179 Lawrenceville Hwy Suite D, Decatur, GA 30033
Phone number: (404) 254-0728
Website: Go Vegan Grill
Neighborhood: Decatur
Price range: $$$$$ (most expensive entree is $21 USD)
I wish I were lying when I tell you that there was a period of about 2 months that I went to Go Vegan Grill at least 3 times a week. I’ve been a fan of Go Vegan Grill for so long that I remember when they used to be named Go Vegetarian Grill. Since then, they’ve switched up not only their name but also their menu and focused in on mainly soul food.
Their vegan soul food hot bar is full of favorites like mac and cheese, black-eyed peas, smothered chicken, collard greens, creole shrimp, steamed cabbage, baked beans, and candied yams, just to name a few. Although their mac and cheese isn’t my favorite, I love their black-eyed peas, steamed cabbage, and candied yams!
In addition to what’s in the daily hot bar, each day has its own specialty entree. Stop by for Meat Loaf Mondays, Fried Chicken Tuesdays, Fried Steak and Gravy Wednesdays, Braised Oxtail Thursdays, or Fried Fish Fridays. No matter which day you swing by, their platters come with 2 sides and a piece of cornbread or dinner roll. If you’re like me and need to have more than 2 sides, you can add sides as you please for an additional fee.
If you’re not feelin’ the hot bar, they also have made-to-order items like their Fried Shrimp, Chicken Strip, Wing, and Fried Talapia Baskets. Each basket comes served with fries and a dipping sauce.
5 Best Restaurants for Vegan Soul Food in Atlanta – Breakfast
Sometimes, I forget that breakfast soul food is its own thing! I’m talkin’ shrimp & grits, fish & grits, or just regular ol’ cheese grits (don’t come in here with that sugar grit non-sense!). Chicken and waffles. Biscuits and gravy. You know, classics like these that I definitely took for granted before I went vegan nearly 13 years ago. Thankfully, I’ve found a few spots in Atlanta that have vegan breakfast soul food for us to enjoy so we don’t have to miss out!
4. Gregory’s Atlanta Vegan Breakfast
Location: 114 Bulloch Ave, Roswell, GA 30075
Phone number: (404)500-7271
Website: Gregory’s Atlanta Vegan Breakfast
Neighborhood: Roswell
Price range: $$$$$ (most expensive entree is $24 USD)
Gregory’s Atlanta Vegan Breakfast is a Black-owned, woman-owned, vegan breakfast spot just outside of Atlanta in Roswell. We all love supporting a Black woman-owned vegan restaurant that has bomb food, but just know that their food is a little on the pricey side. Now, before you start asking me why I’m sending you way out to Roswell for a pricey vegan breakfast spot, please hear me out first!
I know that getting to Roswell can be a whole OTP trek and a half, but their menu full of tantalizing items is well worth the drive and price! The menu at Gregory’s Atlanta Vegan Breakfast has vegan breakfast soul food items like their Shrimp & Grits, Biscuits & Gravy Platter, and Rose’s Grit Breakfast Bowl.
If that doesn’t already have your mouth watering, how about their Columbus Egg & Cheez Biscuit? They stuff their house-made buttermilk biscuit with your choice of sausage or bacon, JUST egg (vegan egg), and cheese and serve it up with a side of home fries!
Or maybe their Banana’s Foster French Toast Platter is what you’re looking for. It comes topped with strawberries and served with scrambled JUST egg and your choice of sausage or bacon. If none of that has made you want to head out to Roswell for a plate, I don’t know what will!
Before heading out to Roswell though, I highly recommend either placing your order online or calling in your order. This spot is so popular, that they often have long wait times. Their location currently only has a few covered outdoor tables, so be prepared to wait for a place to sit or take your food to go.
5. Bar Vegan
Location: 675 Ponce De Leon Ave NE Suite N-215, Atlanta, GA 30308 (at Ponce City Market)
Phone number: (404) 600-6122
Website: Bar Vegan
Neighborhood: Midtown
Price range: $$$$$ (most expensive entree is $20 USD)
Bar Vegan is another Black-owned, woman-owned spot in Atlanta that has some impressive vegan breakfast soul food items on its menu! Bar vegan isn’t just owned by any Black woman though. It’s owned by Pinky Cole, the founder, and owner of Slutty Vegan!
Now if you’re vegan and don’t know of Slutty Vegan by now, just make sure to add them to your list of places that you HAVE TO VISIT while in Atlanta. If you do know about Slutty Vegan, you know it’s about time you make it over to Bar Vegan!
To learn more about Slutty Vegan, be sure to check out my 27 Best Vegan Restaurants in Atlanta post! I could go on and on about why I love Pinky Cole and Slutty Vegan, but back to Bar Vegan.
Bar Vegan is an all-vegan bar (yes, they serve liquor) located on the second floor of Ponce City Market. It’s not just any vegan bar though, it’s a bar with a live DJ and a brunch menu with items like Irie Chicken and Waffles, Red Velvet French Toast, and Shrimp N Grits.
That’s right! Atlanta vegans now have a spot of our own to engage in the turnt up Atlanta brunch scene! Their cocktails cost about as much as a meal though, so maybe let’s not get too buck wild. If their cocktail list isn’t enough for you and you’re really about that life, you can even order bottle service!
If you’re not feeling Bar Vegan for brunch, they have a full menu of other delicious items, so be sure to check out my 27 Best Vegan Restaurants in Atlanta post to learn about what else they have to offer.
Close Call: 5 Best Vegan Soul Food Restaurants in Atlanta
Planted Soul
Location: 800 Forrest St NW, Atlanta, GA 30318
Phone number: (678) 465-7576
Website: Planted Soul
Neighborhood: West Midtown
Price range: $$$$$ (most expensive entree is ~$22 USD)
Planted Soul is a vegan restaurant run out of a shared kitchen space in West Midtown. Their menu features soul food dishes like Chick’n & Waffles, Mac & Cheese, Shrimp & Grits, and Collard Greens. They didn’t quite make my list of the Best 5 Vegan Soul Food Restaurants in Atlanta, but you should still give their menu a try!
Conclusion: 5 Best Vegan Soul Food Restaurants in Atlanta
The short of it is, you’re in good hands if you’re in Atlanta looking for vegan soul food! I love and would recommend each spot on the list for different reasons.
Bad Gyal Vegan is my favorite place for mac and cheese not only just in Atlanta, but in the world! Soul Vegetarian makes me feel right at home and their Kalebone (vegan version of ribs) aren’t too shabby. Go Vegan Grill has a special entree each day with recurring daily items like their bomb black-eyed peas and cabbage!
Gregory’s Atlanta Vegan Breakfast is where it’s at for vegan shrimp and grits and homemade buttermilk biscuits. And last but not least, Bar Vegan is the spot for you if you’re looking for vegan breakfast soul food and you’re tryna turn up for brunch!
