From Oat Milk Lattes to Fancy Vegan Burgers, These Desert Restaurants Have Mastered Plant-Based Dining
Palm Springs is a health and wellness destination: endless vitamin D, nearly daily farmers markets, creme de la creme tennis courts, natural hot springs and date shakes. With that in mind, we’ve put together a list of nine vegan– and vegetarian-friendly restaurants you can’t miss while in town. Plant-Based Palm Springs
Heirloom Craft Kitchen
Must-Order: Vegan Po’ boy
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Vibrant California cuisine comes to life at this fast-casual Indio restaurant! Spearheaded by award-winning celebrity chef Andie Hubka, Heirloom Craft Kitchen offers plant-based eaters a variety of tasty options. And while the main menu consists of scratch-made soups, salads, small plates and sandwiches, the restaurant also boasts one of the best vegan menus in the valley! Start with an order of the blistered shishitos, then move onto mains like the vegan po’ boy, farmers market salad and XXL burrito.
Location: Indio
Plant-Based Palm Springs
The Beer Hunter
Must-Order: Veggie Bistro Wrap
The Beer Hunter in La Quinta is known for its happy-hour staples, top-notch selection of beers and spirits and abundance of TVs for big-game viewing. And while this sports bar definitely serves up their fair share of pub grub, they also offer a menu of healthy eats! In recent years, The Beer Hunter partnered with local health and wellness center Live Well Clinic to create a menu with an emphasis on health-conscious food items, including vegan, vegetarian and gluten-free options!
Location: La Quinta
Chef Tanya’s Kitchen
Must-Order: Coachella Forever Salad and Tu”No” on Rye
Chef Tanya’s Kitchen is an unpretentious and delicious vegan and organic restaurant with multiple desert locations. The menu has all of your deli favorites, from sandwiches, salads and soups to deli sides, drinks and desserts. Chef Tanya Petrovna is the vegan queen of the desert—and perhaps even the US. Prior to opening two restaurants in her own name in the desert, she opened the first all-vegetarian restaurant in the Coachella Valley in 1990 and later founded Native Foods in various states.
Local Insight: Be sure to give yourself extra time to shop the vegan market inside!
Locations: Palm Springs, Palm Desert, La Quinta
Plant-Based Palm Springs
Native Foods
Must-Order: Buddha Bowl and Peanut Butter Parfait
You can’t go wrong when a restaurant has Chef Tanya’s name attached. This modern vegan cafe could easily convince a carnivore to extend Veganuary. The menu has all of your favorite fast-food and health food items, such as an extensive list of burgers, sandwiches, nachos, nutrient-dense bowls, soups, salads, fries and tenders. Don’t forget to order dessert!
Location: Palm Springs
7/30
Nature’s Health Food & Cafe
Must-Order: Garden Wrap and Health Tonic Elixir
Open for breakfast and lunch with a plethora of vegan options, this all-vegetarian cafe is a must-visit! Breakfast includes toast options, burritos and bowls, while the lunch menu offers various burgers, sandwiches, salads and wraps to choose from. Their entrees include Mexican plates, bowls and quesadillas as well as stir fry, fried rice and pastas. Food here is truly medicine (and delicious)!
Location: Palm Springs
Plant-Based Palm Springs
Ice Cream & Shop(pe)
Must-Order: Vegan Date Shake
Craving ice cream? Ice Cream & Shop(pe) at ARRIVE Palm Springs has your vegan ice cream dreams covered, and they have gluten-free cones to boot! The interior is bright and cheerful as is the seating outside, and they sell a charming selection of Palm Springs-inspired gifts inside. Don’t leave without trying one of their vegan date shakes!
Location: Palm Springs
Palm Greens Cafe
Must-Order: Vegan Lasagna
An all-organic, health-conscious cafe open for breakfast and lunch, Palm Greens Cafe is a stellar spot to eat if you’re trying to avoid preservatives, additives and animal products. They have anything from juices to bowls and plates, with vegan and gluten-free options galore, including all of their desserts. Their indoor space is cozy, while the outdoor tented areas in front and on the side are light and breezy.
Location: Palm Springs
MidMod Cafe
Must-Order: Vegan Potato Flautas
MidMod Cafe is Palm Greens Cafe’s newer sister restaurant that features a variety of great vegan and gluten-free options made with local and organic ingredients. They even have a dedicated fryer for french fries and flautas. They also have bowls, plates, juices, burgers and more. Their indoor area has a coder-cool vibe, and their outdoor space gives you the most beautiful backdrop of the San Jacinto Mountains.
Location: Palm Springs
Plant-Based Palm Springs
Ernest Coffee
Must-Order: Matcha Oat Milk Latte
As far as we are concerned, there isn’t anywhere else to drink coffee or matcha in Palm Springs. Ernest Coffee is the only small-batch coffee shop in the area, and they change their specials each season, keeping you and your taste buds on the edge of your seats. And if they haven’t run out of Cherry’s Famous (vegan and gluten-free) Rugelach, buy a box—you won’t regret it. The inside is perfect for hanging out or getting work done, and plenty of outside seating offers a stellar view of the surrounding mountains.
Location: Palm Springs
Christina P. Kantzavelos is a San Diego and Joshua Tree-based gluten-free and health-conscious food, travel and lifestyle freelance writer (@buenqamino), and therapist @beginwithintoday. In clinical practice (@BeginWithinToday), she treats those with chronic illness, and physical, developmental, and age-related disabilities. She recently published 'Begin Within - A Daily Healing Journal,' for those living life with chronic illness or other health-related challenges.
