These Celebrity Chefs Have Opened Vegan Restaurants, So Just Take Our Money Already

With a 300 percent increase of U.S. citizens going plant-based over the last 15 years, high-end vegan restaurants are becoming increasingly ubiquitous. So, it comes as no surprise that a number of celebrity chefs have opened vegan restaurants over the last several years. Whether you're seeking out a new date night spot, or if you're simply looking for high quality eats, these restaurants are definitely worth your (dairy-free) cheddar.

Back in 2019, Chef Spike Mendelsohn from Top Chef, Season 4, opened a chain of plant-based burger joints in Whole Foods locations across Virginia, D.C., Maryland, and Pennsylvania called PLNT Burger. Customers can choose from a list of fries, milkshakes, and burgers for a next-level vegan indulgence. Spike is also a consultant for D.C.'s Good Stuff Eatery, which was visited by both Barack and Michelle Obama, after he named sandwiches after both of them.

Season 8 winner of MasterChef, Dino Angelo Luciano, just opened a vegan Mexican eatery in Montreal, Canada called Le Mariachi, according to VegNews. From California burritos stuffed with vegan beef and other goodies to oyster mushroom calamari tacos and loaded fries, you're guaranteed a delicious meal totally made from scratch. Le Mariachi's menu is regularly updated, so you never have to try the same thing twice. 

Eric Tucker, author of both The Millennium Cook Book and The Artful Vegan is the mastermind behind Los Angeles' wildly popular (and historical!) restaurant, Millennium Restaurant. Millennium opened back in 1994, and made history in the realm of plant-based cuisine as of one of the first high-end vegan eateries.

Chef Matthew Kenney owns a complete empire of vegan restaurants, hotels, and more across the globe, including New York City's Double Zero, Oleada Cocina, New Deli, Sestina, and Plant Food + Wine. Over the last few decades he has publisihed a total of 12 cookbooks and also founded Matthew Kenney Culinary, which is a vegan education business.

The first-ever vegan finalist of Cupcake Wars, Emma Frisch, opened Firelight Camps in Ithaca, N.Y. in 2014 alongside her husband, Bobby. Firelight Camps is a glamping site with complimentary locally-sourced breakfasts with various vegan options, a full bar, and "camp store provisions" with Beyond Sausages, seasonal sides, and more.

Isa Chandra Moskowitz is the critically-acclaimed author behind a wide variety of popular vegan cookbooks, including: Isa Does It, Veganomicon, and Vegan with a Vengeance. When Moskowitz isn't publishing recipes left and right, she also runs two of Brooklyn's best plant-based restaurants, including Modern Love and Post Punk Kitchen. They're both incredible plant-based pit stops for the next time you're visiting the Big Apple.

From Montreal, to Brooklyn, Washington D.C., and Los Angeles, there are so many celebrity chef restaurants across the globe that are definitely worth stopping by. We're dying to try them all, so once traveling is safe again, they can definitely anticipate some visits from us.