Vegan/Vegetarian Restaurant/Dining Help Thread

[RNMom1969]

Just booked Hollywood and Vine....anyone have any recent experience there as a vegan? We were having trouble finding a decent sitdown in Hollywood Studios

 

[curiouser & curiouser]

Hey! So my vegan friend is taking me on a trip to WDW in a few months. I really appreciate it and am doing the research on what the best vegan meals are! I have read about Chef TJ at Trail's End and will definitely be trying to do that with my friend. Can anyone suggest to me their other favorite TS dinners with vegan options, and QS lunches with vegan options???

Also, it's a family trip and I think my friend's family has booked a meal at California Grill- what do the vegan options look like there?

Thanks!

( I know there is a wealth of info in this thread- just looking for people's most recent recommendations as this is 96 pages long).

QS in MK: Pecos Bill's has a black bean and rice bowl that you can load up with guacamole and salsa at the toppings bar. I just let the cashier know I was vegan and he took care of ordering it correctly.

The Mickey pretzels and dole whips are vegan so those are a nice snack if they need something quick. Many of the stands have hummus and veggies which are great. There's vegan ice cream at the parlor on Main Street and if y'all make it over to Disney Springs you'll have to check out the vegan treats at Erin McKenna’s Bakery NYC.

This article is also great featuring Vegan Disney World's favorites from 2017, California Grill is in there:
https://vegandisneyworld.com/2018/01/01/vegan-disney-worlds-top-picks-of-2017/

I hope y'all have the best time!

 

[Miffy]

Just booked Hollywood and Vine....anyone have any recent experience there as a vegan? We were having trouble finding a decent sitdown in Hollywood Studios

Can't help you with Hollywood and Vine, but I always go to Mama Melrose's at DHS. They'll make a delish pasta with marinara sauce. It's not on the menu, but they will make it if you ask. And salad, of course. The bread there is vegan--but ask, since sometimes restaurants change suppliers. And they have Tofutti or something like it for dessert. Perhaps someone else will post who's eaten at H&V. I've never been there.

 

[hauntedcity]

Just booked Hollywood and Vine....anyone have any recent experience there as a vegan? We were having trouble finding a decent sitdown in Hollywood Studios

I'm not sure about how it works for vegans, but as a vegetarian it's one of my favorite buffets, with lots of options. I know that's no too helpful, but I'd love to hear about how it goes.

 

[reluctantredhead]

Just booked Hollywood and Vine....anyone have any recent experience there as a vegan? We were having trouble finding a decent sitdown in Hollywood Studios

I haven't had a recent experience there, but I was at WDW for a week in 2008 and was still eating vegan at the time (am now vegetarian). Unfortunately, it was by far the worst meal I've ever had at WDW, and the only place my H and I have said we'd never return to. It was noted on our reservation that I was vegan/no dairy/no eggs, so a chef came out to our table. I guess I got spoiled by all the other restaurants' chefs while we were there (had some of the best meals of my life, to the point where my FIL's running joke was that he was gonna "turn vegan" so he could have what I was having), but this guy just came out and basically pointed out the salad bar, raw vegetables and fruit, and one kind of bread. Unlike every other restaurant we went to on that trip, he also didn't offer to make me anything (and I'm way too shy to ask). He also tried to tell me that a dessert that had mini marshmallows on top was vegan. I said, "Oh wow, are those house-made gelatin-free marshmallows?" (I don't think they had Dandies at the parks yet) and he said, "Oh man...I always forget about gelatin!"

It was also an extremely noisy restaurant back then...the decor was all glass and chrome and other shiny things that the noise bounced off of, with nothing to absorb it. I ended up with a really bad headache.

Hopefully H&V has improved its vegan offerings since then, though. And you know, so much of it is what chef you happen to get on the day you go there. Some (life Chef TJ) are so excited to make special meals and really seem to take a lot of joy and pride in doing so...and others, not so much (which is understandable, especially when it's busy). Due to the "luck of the draw" nature of the chefs, nowadays I tend to book only at restaurants that have something on the official menu that I know I like and can eat...but admittedly, that is often very difficult to do as a vegan.

I also concur with the previous poster who mentioned Mama Melrose. My D has food allergies and when we went on our trip last year, her GI doctor had her on an egg/dairy free diet...she was previously a vegetarian, but this now meant she had to eat vegan. Being a kid, our D was devastated about this, so H and I agreed to eat vegan with her so we wouldn't be eating all her favorite dairy/egg dishes in front of her. We booked Mama Melrose, and because our reservation was labeled as egg/dairy allergy, the chef (a youngish male whose name i forget) came out and talked to us. We explained the situation, and he told my daughter that he'd be delighted to make her a very special dish if she'd just tell him what some of her favorite foods were. She mentioned eggplant, sundried tomatoes, whole wheat pasta, capers, and a few other things I'm forgetting right now, and WOW...he brought us a family-size portion of one of the best pastas I've ever had in my life. It had all these insanely delicious roasted veggies that were just gorgeous, and lots of other diners were looking jealously at our meal. The chef also brought us out some special bread and custom-made a dessert for us (it was good, but not as good as the pasta, so I forget what it was). So as you can see, we enthusiastically recommend Mama Melrose!

FWIW, for us, HS is always the toughest park to find good vegetarian/vegan food at. One other idea you might try is to take the short walk or boat ride over to the Beach Club and go to Beaches and Cream...they have a vegan veggie burger and several vegan ice cream and sundae options. They were also incredibly accommodating and kind to our D during our trip last year.

 

[married2mm]

Hi!

Booked breakfast at CRT as a surprise for our daughter (30!)

I don't mind so much going to a character meal where I won't eat much for 1 ts credit-however; there's no way I'm either using 2 credits or paying $63 for a bowl of fruit!

Has anyone ate there recently or know of any meatless substitutions available?

 

[married2mm]

Headed back to wdw in about month. Wondering which restaurants currently have vegetarian menus separate from what can be found online. It seems that traditional menus are losing veggie options. Wondering if more restaurants are moving this direction. Makes it difficult to make adrs when we're not sure though.

We've been presented menus at Jiko, San Angel, and La Hacienda. Any others?

Thanks y'all.

Edit: We also got a vegetarian menu at Flying Fish. Everything was yummy (though expensive) and much better than expected.

I'd love to know the answer to this also.

 

[kimbe21]

Anyone tried the vegetarian or vegan options at Ale ans Compass?

 

[jmv223]

I saw a picture this morning from the Vegan Disney World Blog that looked amazing. It was the breakfast protein bowl and it was posted as being Vegan, as is, on the regular menu. It looked delicious!

 

[married2mm]

Hi!

Booked breakfast at CRT as a surprise for our daughter (30!)

I don't mind so much going to a character meal where I won't eat much for 1 ts credit-however; there's no way I'm either using 2 credits or paying $63 for a bowl of fruit!

Has anyone ate there recently or know of any meatless substitutions available?

Any assistance available please?

 

[LongLiveRafiki]

Any assistance available please?

For breakfast, they will bring a plate of muffins and pastries to the table. For vegetarian entrees, if you eat eggs, there's a Caramel Apple French Toast. My cousin said it was really good, although a bit sweet. In addition to the caramel apples it's stuffed with, there's also cream cheese in the filling which helps to balance out the sweetness a little. There's also a goat cheese, mushroom, and pepper quiche. Theres also an oatmeal option served with fruit, a poached egg, a croissant, avocado, tomatoes, and arugula. Or you could get the traditional breakfast of eggs, potatoes, and meat and substitute the meat for fruit or more potatoes or eggs. For vegans (or if you are just a vegetarian who doesn't like eggs), though it's not listed on the menu, they will work with you to create a meal. Family members dining there have been served various combinations of Mickey waffles, salad, croissants, potatoes, fruit, oatmeal. Unfortunately, they don't seem as willing there to create something off the cuff and amazing like some Disney restaurants will do for vegans, but you will be able to have more than just fruit. Also, if you're dairy-free, you can get soy milk there if you ask for it.

 

[married2mm]

For breakfast, they will bring a plate of muffins and pastries to the table. For vegetarian entrees, if you eat eggs, there's a Caramel Apple French Toast. My cousin said it was really good, although a bit sweet. In addition to the caramel apples it's stuffed with, there's also cream cheese in the filling which helps to balance out the sweetness a little. There's also a goat cheese, mushroom, and pepper quiche. Theres also an oatmeal option served with fruit, a poached egg, a croissant, avocado, tomatoes, and arugula. Or you could get the traditional breakfast of eggs, potatoes, and meat and substitute the meat for fruit or more potatoes or eggs. For vegans (or if you are just a vegetarian who doesn't like eggs), though it's not listed on the menu, they will work with you to create a meal. Family members dining there have been served various combinations of Mickey waffles, salad, croissants, potatoes, fruit, oatmeal. Unfortunately, they don't seem as willing there to create something off the cuff and amazing like some Disney restaurants will do for vegans, but you will be able to have more than just fruit. Also, if you're dairy-free, you can get soy milk there if you ask for it.

Thanks very much for your informative response.

 

[carlandellie31]

Has anyone done brunch at California Grill by any chance? I would love to hear about any experiences.

 

[CarrieR]

Anyone tried the vegetarian or vegan options at Ale ans Compass?

I tried to. Unfortunately the vegan sausage has mushrooms in it and I had to pass. Had waffles instead... not vegan... they were okay but not worth the trek to yacht club. I used to love Captain’s Grille but A&C is a miss for me. (My friends weren’t even willing to try it at all based on the new menu.)

 

[disneyholic family]

from our experience in august, i'd say that the vegetarian options have really deteriorated...

 

[carlandellie31]

from our experience in august, i'd say that the vegetarian options have really deteriorated...

Any places you'd recommend? Anything particularly good?

 

[disneyholic family]

Any places you'd recommend? Anything particularly good?

i'll ask DD, she might have had better experiences in august - she and DSIL ate several times on their own...

as for me, the big disappointment in august was the loss of veggie burgers.....

sounds stupid, i suppose, but i used to depend on those and really enjoyed them..

they've switched it out in many places for a felafel burger which was drier than straw.....

i happen to like felafel, but that burger is vomitious in my opinion...i don't know why they did it, the veggie burger was perfectly fine for the purpose....

the only places we found that still had a veggie burger was at the plaza restaurant in MK - pretty good as veggie burgers go..

and at beaches and cream.....a really yummy veggie burger that i was willing to go out of my way for...

i don't know if it's vegan, as i eat vegetarian, not vegan, so i didn't pay attention...

as for 'real' food....we found less this time around.....and some of what was available was too spicy for some of us....

it used to be a lot easier...

 

[carlandellie31]

and at beaches and cream.....a really yummy veggie burger that i was willing to go out of my way for...

We eat vegetarian also. Thanks for this.

We love that veggie burger at B&C also. What we did last time was ask them for a veggie burger with the toppings from the patty melt - so the rye bread, onions, swiss, dressing. It was amazing!

 

[disneyholic family]

We eat vegetarian also. Thanks for this.

We love that veggie burger at B&C also. What we did last time was ask them for a veggie burger with the toppings from the patty melt - so the rye bread, onions, swiss, dressing. It was amazing!

sounds yummy!!

 

[carlandellie31]

Oh, and we really loved the tofu dish at Satu'li in Pandora. You can choose your base and your sauce to make it what you want. We like tofu anyway, but thought this was really good. A firmer tofu, so it has some heft to it.