For a few days out of the year, my Californian nieces are under my supervision while my sister goes on vacation.
Last year, we spent time in Palo Alto, CA. This year, I brought them back home to Las Vegas to show them all the fun things we could do and yummy foods we could eat on and off the strip.
Here are all the places we went to in Las Vegas that satisfied their non-vegan pallets, while having vegan dishes for me.
Consider all of these places as “safe” places for you to eat if you are vegan and going out with non-vegan people in Las Vegas.
Zenshin
Zenshin is an Asian restaurant at South Point. It’s pretty easy to find something vegan at an Asian restaurant in general, given that most Asian foods are prepared without dairy (and it’s pretty clear if an Asian dish has egg or not).
At Zenshin, I just got a tofu rice bowl, which actually was not that great, probably because I made the mistake of ordering it with the vegetables boiled rather than sautéed (I was trying to be healthy!). It was super bland, the vegetables were barely cooked, and the bowl had a disproportionate amount of rice to vegetables (it was like 3 cups of rice to a 1/2 cup of vegetables).
No bueno. But hey, it was food and I was hungry.
Dragon Tiger Noodle Company
Dragon Tiger Noodle Company has multiple locations in Las Vegas. They’re like the ramen version of Chipotle. You get to pick your noodles, your broth, protein, veggies, and other toppings, to basically build your own noodle soup bowl.
They also have “pre-fixed” noodle bowls though, and the vegan one is what caught my eye and made me want to take the nieces here.
Their vegan noodle bowl is called “plant-based Thai yum” and it’s got Shirataki noodles (not handmade onsite like their other noodles), vegan broth, tofu, bok choy, bamboo shoots, carrots, scallion, and nori (aka seaweed).
The overall flavor was great, but I honestly would have wanted a lot more in their serving size for the $15+ price point. The amount of noodles in there was pretty minimal–I’ve gotten way more noodles in a noodle soup bowl for way less money at Pho restaurants for example.
Nonetheless, this place satisfied my niece’s ramen cravings while having something vegan for me to eat, too, and I can appreciate that, especially since ramen places are typically heavy on the meats.
Link to Dragon Tiger Noodle Company Menu
Sorry, Not Sorry Creamery
This is one of my favorite ice cream places in Las Vegas. It is not all vegan, but they do have 3 vegan flavors, with “Rocky Road” being my all time fave.
It’s got huge, hole chunks of almond and marshmallows that make this chocolate ice cream super delicious.
Of course, the nieces enjoyed it too, as they indulged themselves in the full milky flavored ice cream flavors.
KJ Dim Sum and Seafood
It was a late night and we were craving Chinese food, so we went to KJ Dim Sum and Seafood at the Rio.
Again, being an Asian spot, it’s not hard to find something vegan. I kept my order simple by getting a huge platter of fried tofu (they have it listed on their menu as “bean curd in brown sauce”) with some rice. Generally Asian fried tofu is going to be vegan, so I was not concerned about there being any dairy or egg products in there.
I also could have easily ordered a side of vegetables to go with it, but I felt like I was lacking in protein and wanted to just fill myself up with protein that night.
Sushi Fever
This is my husband and my’s favorite sushi spot. Located on W.Sahara, this place is always busy with customers, has great service, and pretty well-size portioned food.
I was not super hungry, so I kept my order pretty light, just ordering a vegetable roll and a couple of avocado rolls. Generally, any vegetarian roll at a sushi restaurant is vegan-friendly, so veggie rolls are what I roll with.
Serrano Vista Cafe
I’ve got to say, this is a hidden gem at the Palms.
I have been here multiple times with the husband, and the service is always on point. This place has the friendliest waiting staff and the portion sizes of the dishes are no joke. They are guaranteed to make you full.
What I also love about this place is that they have a couple of items that they have designated as Vegan or can be made vegan.
On this trip, I specifically ordered their impossible burger (no cheese, no mayo) which came with skinny french fries. It was super filling and delicious, and I would definitely go back for more.
I forgot to ask if their bread was made without milk or egg. Most breads are, so I just assume that is the case when I order burgers. But if you want to be super diligent, then it does not hurt to ask if a restaurant’s burger buns contain dairy or eggs.
Mabel's BBQ
This BBQ spot at the Palms has 3 solid dishes you can order and make vegan (with modifications):
- their bowl
- their big chop salad
- their tacos
Each of these dishes come with some kind of vegetable base (although you may need to ask for no cheese), with the option to add one of their “Goods” on top, which includes meat or “veggies” (portabella mushrooms or vegan “chorizo”)
I got an order of 3 tacos with the “Works” style (cotija cheese and sour cream removed). I mixed it up and got 2 tacos with the mushrooms and 1 with the vegan chorizo.
It was super delicious, full of flavor, and surprisingly filling for 3 small-looking tacos. Everybody else’s dishes were also on point.
Griddlecakes
Griddlecakes is an American breakfast spot that specializes in pancakes.
There’s pretty much nothing explicitly “vegan” on their menu, so I just took one of their vegetarian dishes (their “garden skillet”) and ordered it without cheese and without butter on the toast.
I asked that they put the 3 eggs that came with it on the side, and I handed those over to my husband, who happily ate them with his chicken salad.
The nieces ordered a french toast and a BLT with bacon on the side (they wanted more bacon than what a typical BLT had to offer!)
My Garden Skillet was super flavor but also super greasy.
The French fries that came with it were also one of the greasiest fries I’ve ever had. It was one of those double-fried French fries: super crispy, but also super greasy.
Overall, everything was good, but the greasiness of the meal totally killed my appetite for the rest of the day.
Send Noodles
Also located at the Palms, Send Noodles does not have anything that is explicitly “vegan”.
Actually most of their dishes have some kind of meat in it. The only 2 things I could find on their menu that were vegan-friendly (without explicitly stating so) was their white rice and “vegetables” side dish.
So I ordered that, and it was actually quite filling. The “vegetable” side dish was quite plentiful and filling, despite it just being a “side dish”. I was actually afraid that the portion would be too small since it was a side, but it was actually a pretty sizable dish suitable for 2 people to share.
What I didn’t ask was what was in their “garlic sauce”. It might be worth asking that next time to make sure they did not add oyster or fish sauce, but it didn’t taste like there was any of that in there.
Makers & Finders
A local Las Vegas spot, this place is one of those rare restaurants that dedicates a portion of their menu to “vegan” or “plant-based” items.
I splurged a little and ordered 2 vegan entrees (knowing full well that my nieces would help me eat the second one).
It was difficult to choose, since everything sounded so good. But I eventually decided on the Impossible Sando and Vegan Power Bowl.
The Impossible Sando was impossibly delicious. Great flavor in every bite. I love it when a dish has a mixture of sweet (the tomato jam) and savory (the Just Egg and Impossible Sausage).
The Vegan Power Bowl was super filling and had a great portion of vegetables in there. Typically when “bowls” contain rice and beans, restaurants go heavy on the serving sizes for the rice and beans since those are the cheaper items to serve. But Makers & Finders’s vegan power bowl had a well-balanced portion of rice, beans, and vegetables, with one not out-portioning the other.
Din Tai Fung
Din Tai Fung marked the finale of our trip, since the nieces were craving dim sum for their last Las Vegas meal.
Yes, I could have taken them to some other spots off strip that serve dim sum for dinner. But Din Tin Fung at the Aria goes out of their way to mark various items as “vegan” on their menu, and since have a lot of items that are marked as such, then that means (selfishly) more options for me to choose from 🙂
On this trip, I ordered:
- Boy choy
- Shanghai rice cakes with vegetables
- Vegetable/Vegan buns
- red bean buns
- taro buns
- sweet taro Xiao long bao
The takeaway
Whether with kids, adults, or any other non-vegan eater, there is always something for a vegan to eat at a restaurant in Las Vegas.
Many restaurants in Las Vegas will call out which items on their menu are vegan. And if not, pretty much all restaurants will accommodate some modifications (within reason) to make a dish vegan friendly.
Just do your research before you go. Check out menus online or call ahead if you are not sure and ask if any vegan options are on the menu.
