Beijing's Best Vegetarian and Vegan-Friendly Restaurants

Gung Ho! Pizza
Gung Ho! has long been a favorite spot for alternative pizza options and they have recently cemented that reputation by expanding their range of vegetarian, vegan, and allergy-friendly toppings and pizza bases, and adding options like vegan cheese. Their extensive vegan menu has eight different pizzas (try the Robert Plant, which is brimming with different veggies), as well as soups, salads, sides, and even a mock chicken burger.

Daily 11am-11pm. 1/F, Bldg 3, China View, Gongti Donglu (opposite Worker's Stadium East Gate), Chaoyang District (8587 1663)
叫板！比萨：朝阳区工体东路2号中国红街3号楼1层

Lin’s Dining Lounge
Lin's Dining Lounge is one of Beijing's more upscale vegetarian Chinese restaurants, netting a Michelin Plate award in the 2020 Beijing Michelin Guide. The kitchen blends elements of Western cooking and plating with traditional Chinese techniques for interesting (and often delicious) results. Try dishes such as wild rice with assorted mushrooms or deep-fried mock fish with spicy chilies.

Daily, 10am-10pm. 2/F, New Grand Dynasty Hotel, 58 Maizidian Jie, Chaoyang District (6500 6766 / 6500 6266)
北京市朝阳区麦子店街58号北京新大宗饭店二层 

Arrow Factory Brewing
Arrow Factory are big champions of plant-based cuisine, coming out with plenty of creative dishes in recent years, including meat-free-yet-still-meaty pizzas and burgers. For example, their Double Smeesh Seitan Burger combines seitan, a type of vital wheat gluten, with chickpeas and black beans for a full slate of protein, dietary fiber, and vitamins and minerals. They also frequently do special vegan set menus for events like Thanksgiving and Christmas.

ZeroGo
Despite being in the relative wilds of Wangjing, vegan diners flock to ZeroGo for their creative, globetrotting menu of plant-based dishes. Grain bowls sit alongside pizza, Korean-style army stews, and towering burgers topped with runny vegan cheese made with cashews, lemon, and miso. They also do great espresso-based coffees made with Oatly oat milk.

Daily, 10.30am-10pm. 1/F, Bldg 8, Poly Central Park, Area 7, Wangjing Dongyuan, Chaoyang District (135 2205 0952)
朝阳区望京东园七区保利好食界8-1号

Tianchu Miaoxiang
A very popular, centrally located vegetarian restaurant (there is another branch near Tsinghua), Tianchu Miaoxiang is well-known for its creativity with mock meat as well as a wide range of mushroom-based dishes. Be sure to go slightly outside of peak hours; otherwise, you will have to queue alongside all the nearby office workers.

Vege Wonder
WF Central's Vege Wonder not only provides the city with another option for fine dining; it is also a treat for vegetarian diners. The restaurant serves only set menus, starting from RMB 680 per person, and the dishes make the most of the natural flavor and texture of vegetables, some familiar – asparagus, romaine lettuce, pumpkin – and some less so. For example, Hijiki, a brown sea vegetable more common in Japanese cuisine, is used to garnish a dish of celery and celeriac, the latter braised in soy until it looks and tastes almost like tofu skin.

Daily, 11am-2pm; 5-10pm. 2/F, West Bldg, WF Central, Wangfujing Dajie, Dongcheng District (6888 8798)
山河万朵中国素食：东城区王府井大街王府中环西座2层

King’s Joy
Netting two stars in the inaugural Beijing Michelin Guide at the end of 2019 cemented King's Joy as Beijing's most upscale vegetarian restaurant. Expect to pay upwards of RMB 600 per person for set menus of plant-based cuisine that are uncompromising in their pursuit of flavor and variety. The menu changes frequently but a recent winter edition included dishes like char-roasted bean curd with black truffle and organic seasonal greens with rose salt and wild mushroom oil. Be sure to book in advance.

Photos: Shutterstock, Kyle Mulin, Nooxo, Uni You, Lin's Dining Lounge, Root Pop, Dazhong Dianping