Whether you’re trying to start the new year on a healthier note — or simply looking to incorporate more greens — plant-based options are plentiful. The following eateries offer a variety of plant-based dishes:
AV Restaurant
Located in Kaimuki, AV Restaurant (1135 11th Ave.) — which stands for “all vegan” — offers a 10-course modern vegan tasting menu. New dishes are introduced every Tuesday.
The course menu includes dishes like watermelon ahi with nori caviar and daikon, truffle xiao long bao, beet salad (vegan goat cheese, fig and pecan jam, barley and granita), and desserts like brown sugar and molasses ice cream with charcoal honeycomb and ganache and coffee cake with apricot syrup, Turkish delight, orange blossom and cardamom gelato.
Call 808-888-3528 or visit xorghawaii.com/av-restaurant.
Honobono
Honobono pops up at Fishcake in Kakaako (307 Kamani St.) on the second and fourth Sundays of the month. The menu changes periodically with each pop-up, but dishes at Honobono do not have any meat, fish, eggs, dairy products, refined sugar, honey, gelatin or MSG.
Previous offerings include Honobono lasagna, Ippuku (amazake with yuzu puree, unsweetened yuzu sparkling soda and premium matcha from Japan) and Honowontons (Onomeat, Japanese shiso leaves, mushrooms, yuzu pepper and vegetables wrapped in a wonton Honobono original Chinese koji soup broth).
Follow the biz on Instagram (@honobonohawaii).
Leahi Health
If you’re searching for plates loaded with delicious combos of legumes, whole grains, fruits and vegetables, look no further than Leahi Health (various locations). The biz offers a 100% vegan menu that includes a variety of smoothies and drinks, along with healthy grinds.
Choose from popular dishes like kale avocado tacos, breakfast tacos (made with a tofu scramble), mock tuna bowl, beet poke salad and Thai crunch salad.
Visit leahihealth.com.
Little Vessels
Flavorful, vegan yeast doughnuts? It sounds too good to be true, but that’s what you’ll find at Kaimuki-based Little Vessels Donut Co. (3458 Waialae Ave.).
“These doughnuts are 100% plant based,” confirms business owner Sachi Maclachlan. “Many vegan doughnuts you find are cake doughnuts. I was born and raised a vegetarian and felt that I missed out on treats because of ingredients like eggs.”
These doughnuts are handmade in small batches from start to finish. Popular flavors include maple “bacon,” which is made with vegan coconut bacon bits, and chocolate raspberry.
Visit little-vessels-co.square.site or follow the biz on Instagram (@littlevesselsco).
Nature Waikiki
natuRe waikiki (413 Seaside Ave. Ste. 2F) is a sustainability-focused, French-inspired restaurant that features a farm-to-table concept. While the entire restaurant is not plant-based, natuRe does offer a plant-based six-course tasting menu that’s popular among customers.
The plant-based tasting menu includes courses like okra, beet poke, gobo and more.
Call 808-212-9282 or visit naturewaikiki.com.
Tane Vegan Izakaya
Upon looking at the gorgeous dishes at Tane Vegan Izakaya (2065 S. Beretania St.), one might be surprised to find that everything is plant-based. Ramen noodle broths are made with mushrooms, seaweed and flowers, resulting in aromatic flavors and light tastes. Nigiri feature options like enoki, eggplant, shiitake and peppers. Choose from rolls like California (shredded tofu and avocado), Philadelphia (smoked bean curd, vegan cream cheese and avocado) and spicy tofuna (spicy tofu with cucumber).
Specialty rolls are colorful and feature complex combos of fruits, mushrooms, vegetables and flowers. Examples include Pacifica (tempura eggplant, bell peppers, zucchini, carrot, yellow onion, garlic aioli and sweet shoyu sauce) and Leahi (smoked beets, cashews, creamy tofu, asparagus, avocado, sweet mustard and orange).
Call 808-888-7678 or visit tanevegan.com.
Planted by La Tour Café
Planted by La Tour Café (820 W. Hind Drive Ste. 1291) is currently open in Aina Haina with plans to open another location soon in Ward Village. The biz features a plant-based take on some of the bestsellers from La Tour Café.
Feast on bestsellers like Planted burger (made with an Impossible patty), mushroom dip (featuring garlic-roasted maitake, alii and shimeji mushrooms) and falafel banh mi. This location even has assorted plant-based macarons for dessert.
Call 808-373-5174 or visit latourcafe.com.