Vegan Restaurants in Memphis

Memphis is a barbecue town, so the vegan scene surprises people — but it shouldn't. This is a city that does comfort food better than almost anywhere, and its plant-based cooks bring the same energy: vegan fried “chicken,” mushroom burgers, West African stews, soul food that happens to be all-plants.

Here's the guide — the fully vegan spots first, then the places with a real vegan menu by cuisine — every one verified at its own website in July 2026. (A few beloved names have closed, so we list those at the bottom too, to save you a wasted trip.) If you also need gluten-free, cross-check our gluten-free Memphis guide — a couple of these spots land on both.

Fully vegan (100% plant-based)

Order anything on the menu — it's all plants at these four.

• Imagine Vegan CafeCooper-Young, 2158 Young

  The anchor of vegan Memphis — a family-run, 100% vegan cafe since 2011 doing full-on Southern comfort food: vegan BBQ platters, “chicken” and waffles, a Big-Mac-style Big Smack, mozzarella sticks, caramel pie. Where you take the skeptic. Mon–Fri 11–7, weekends 11–9.

• Shroomlicious MealsMidtown, 394 N Watkins

  Chef Daishu McGriff — Memphis's “mushroom queen” — turned a beloved pop-up into a permanent Midtown storefront billed as the city's best plant-based mushroom restaurant. Mushroom burgers, “wings,” tacos, all vegan. Wed–Sat 12–8.

• Plant Based HeatHighland, 669 S Highland

  A Black-owned, 100% vegan comfort-food spot doing “good ole American classics” — soul food and diner favorites made entirely plant-based, with gluten-free options too. Mon–Fri 11–7, Sat 12–7.

• RawGirlsEast Memphis, 5502 Poplar

  The Best-Food-Truck regular in the New Balance lot — 100% plant-based, gluten-free, and seed-oil-free: cold-pressed juices, bowls, soups, RN-designed clean meals. A window at a fixed daily spot, not a dine-in room. Mon–Sat 10–6. Also in our gluten-free guide.

Vegan menus by cuisine

Not all-vegan, but each has a real, marked vegan menu worth crossing town for.

• Bala's BistroWhitehaven, 4571 Elvis Presley Blvd

  A West African (Malian) kitchen with a dedicated “All About Vegan” menu — plant-based meatballs, okra soup, peanut stew, corn fufu, plantain, and a make-your-own vegan plate. The most fun vegan menu in town. Daily 11–8.

• AbyssiniaMidtown, 2600 Poplar

  Ethiopian food is naturally built for this — Abyssinia's vegetarian combo platter (spicy red lentils, yellow split peas, collards, mixed vegetables, beet and potato salads) arrives on injera, no utensils needed. Family-run since 2000. Mon–Fri 11–8.

• Good Fortune Co.South Main, 361 S Main

  Scratch ramen and dumplings that mark the vegan (v) items front and center — Coco Curry ramen with fried tofu and thai basil, a veg-broth Tan Tan, cashew-cream potato dumplings, Impossible-beef dumplings. Downtown's plant-based noodle stop.

• City Silo Table + PantryEast Memphis + Germantown

  The plant-forward health cafe says vegan (and gluten-free) options are available for most menu items — Cauliwings, a bean-and-lentil Silo Burger, buffalo-tempeh hummus wrap, smoothie bowls. Breakfast through dinner. Mon–Sat 7–8. Also in our gluten-free guide.

Also worth knowing (vegetarian-friendly)

A few more spots that treat plant-based eaters well, even if they're not all-vegan: Global Café in Crosstown Concourse is an international food hall where immigrant and refugee chefs (Venezuelan, Sudanese, Mexican) cook made-from-scratch dishes, many of them naturally vegetarian. Ecco on Overton Park is a house-made-pasta bistro that's genuinely vegetarian-friendly (though cheese-forward, so not fully vegan). And for a plant-based splurge, [Dory](/fine-dining-memphis) — the East Memphis tasting-menu room — will build a bespoke vegan menu by request.

Recently closed

So you don't drive out for nothing: Pho Binh, the longtime all-vegetarian Buddhist Vietnamese spot on Madison, closed in early 2024 (the space is now a conventional pho house). DejaVu, which did vegan Creole options, closed in 2026. And two more veg-friendly names are gone — Fuel Cafe in Midtown and Lucky Cat Ramen. Everything above was verified open at its own site in July 2026; when something changes, we change the page.

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