Best Vegetarian / Vegan Restaurants in Van Ness

I’ve eaten at Bistro Aracosia many times since it opened, and love bringing friends for their first experience with Afghan-influenced food and tastes. I keep coming even after moving to Takoma Park, and am always glad to return!

Yesterday evening we celebrated my daughter's 38th birthday at Elizabeth's- and now all of us are ready to go back tonight.The minute you walk in the door of Elizabeth's you feel as if you have been welcomed into a cosy and elegant historical home.  We were greeted warmly by Elizabeth and the staff, all of whom are incredibly friendly, knowledgeable and culinarily multi-talented. And the dinner experience is similar to being served a new piece of artwork with each course. Would I ever be able to replicate the Klamath Return, a kombu-marinated chioggia beet, caraway crisp and celery root, or the Cleopatra's Ambrosia, with sea buckthorn, pink banana sorbet and kinome leaf,  or the Velvet Immortal with the saffron pickled enoki mushroom? Not in my wildest dreams.  My family normally inhales their food, but this time conversation was at a minimum as we took time to appreciate each new amazing taste sensation. Our party consisted of one vegan,  one vegetarian , and two omnivores,  and all of us agreed Elizabeth's is the best restaurant in DC.

Whether one is vegan or not, the food was amazingly delicious and creative. After a few minutes at our table, my wife and I could tell that this restaurant was intelligently well run. We ordered their 4 course tasting menu to let them surprise us with their creativity….and they did. 👍

I love the selection of dishes at True Food. I like to eat vegetarian, which isn’t so easy at most restaurants. It is at True Food. I got the Ancient Grains bowl and added tofu. There were other protein options available. My friend and I shared the charred cauliflower appetizer. Everything was delicious. Service was outstanding. It is a bit noisy—high ceilings and noisy fans going, but our overall experience was very positive.

The service was great! The food was unseasoned. I expected better. It looks nice. The ambiance was great, but the food was not good at all.