The Best Meatless Eats and Treats Around Gainesville

With so many food options in the Gainesville area, it can be difficult to know what places offer vegetarian or vegan dishes. Here is a quick guide to some of the best local meatless eats.

Best Full Meals

The TOP (4 stars on Yelp)

The TOP is one of my personal favorites. I am not a vegetarian myself, but I always love the new vegetarian-friendly dishes that I try here. Some of their most delicious meatless meals include their black bean or falafel burger, build-your-own grilled cheese or the pesto melt with either tofu or tempeh.

Located: 30 N. Main St.

One Love Cafe (4 stars on Yelp)

One Love Cafe not only offers fantastic all-natural, non-GMO food, but they also have my favorite outdoor seating area in Gainesville. Some of their popular dishes include the pimento cheese and hummus plate, black bean or lentil sliders, and several salad selections.

“Many items we make in house including our pickles, lentil burgers, black bean burgers, jam, peanut butter, hummus and pimento,” said Juli Denney, head chef at One Love Cafe. “We get local tempeh from Artie (of Arto Moro Tempeh Co.) and can sub that out for most meats in many of our dishes, making many more unique vegetarian options available.”

Location: 4989 NW 40th Place

Curia on the Drag (4.5 stars on Yelp)

Curia on the Drag offers not only food, but also many local coffee, tea, kombucha, wine and beer options. Some of their popular, and tasty, dishes are the Thai curry roti, loaded tater tots and the mac and cheese, said Elena Moore, a junior at the University of Florida. The Thai curry roti is made of curried chickpeas with romaine, cucumber relish and other seasonings and vegetables.

“We are a wholly 100% vegan kitchen and serve up some incredible BBQ Jackfruit,” said Annie Manatad, owner of the restaurant. “Not sure if this is true, but we’ve heard we’re the only place serving up BBQ Jackfruit Quesadillas in all of Florida (pictured above). Our kitchen team and bakers are super passionate about bringing to you the best in vegan cooking in Central Florida.”

Located: 2029 NW 6th St.

Daily Green (4.5 stars on Yelp)

Daily Green offers a wide array of vegan and vegetarian foods that include decadent and colorful salads served in waffle cones, eggs Benedict, sandwiches and local Wellspring Kombucha on tap. They also have juices and smoothies, both of which you can create your own. On Sundays, they also offer a creative, fresh take on vegetarian brunch.

Located: 436 SE 2nd St. 

Best Brunch

Civilization (4 stars on Yelp)

For brunch or lunch, Civilization has several vegetarian plates that can satisfy both sweet and savory cravings. Their french toasts are perfect for a sweet breakfast, while the ALT (avocado, lettuce, tomato) is a great and classic brunch option.

“My favorite is the vegan sourdough french toast because I love sourdough bread and it’s not overly sweet like other french toasts,” said Rachel Moore, a junior at the University of Florida.

Don’t forget to check out their daily specials, which feature creative, vegetarian-friendly bites that keep even the brunch connoisseur of the group on their toes.

Located: 1511 NW 2^nd St.

Maple Street Biscuit Co. (4.5 stars on Yelp)

Maple Street Biscuit Company has locations all over Florida and the southeast, including the one in Gainesville. I have had their vegetarian gravy made with mushrooms. I was thoroughly impressed with the fact that it tasted just like normal sausage gravy. Another decadent, vegetarian-friendly item featured on the menu worth trying is the Iron Goat, which is a biscuit with goat cheese and spinach.  They have great sides too, which include macaroni and cheese that is to-die-for and fried green tomatoes.

Located: 3904 SW Archer Road 

Daybreak Pleasant Street (5 stars on Yelp)

Daybreak Pleasant Street opened this past October and is already gaining popularity. They have many vegetarian and vegan options for breakfast and lunch, which include a collard melt with falafel and black bean patty and braised collards, breakfast fried rice and the falafel black bean burger.

“Breakfast is unique in that most dishes have options and we have vegan items as standard options,” said Patricia and Michael Sneed, owner and chef at Daybreak. “Popular items would be the tofu scramble breakfast with veggie sausage, potatoes and chia seed pancakes, or the Daybreak Hash with marinated tempeh and tofu scramble.”

Located: 308 NW 5^th Ave. 

Best International Fare

Boca Fiesta (3.5 stars on Yelp)

Boca Fiesta is known for their margaritas and cocktails, but don’t pass up on ordering their food to pair with your happy hour. My personal favorite is their fried mac and cheese balls for an appetizer and the pineapple pesto sliders for an entree.

“Our food stands apart from many other places in town because of the time and energy we put into our preparation,” said Warren Oakes, co-owner of Boca Fiesta. “Every side, every sauce and every protein on our menu is made from real ingredients in our kitchen, not shipped in and thawed out in a microwave and we believe that you can absolutely taste the difference.”

Located: 232 SE. 1^st St. 

Sababa (4.5 stars on Yelp)

After I traveled to Israel, I was worried I would not find authentic Israeli food back in the States. But, Sababa is the perfect restaurant to take me back to that country. They offer many delicious Mediterranean and Israeli eats including falafel (the best in town, in my opinion), vegan shawarma and a salad sampler. Their vegan shawarma is soy-based chicken and Israeli seasonings in a pita. Stop by this restaurant’s brick-and-mortar location, or grab from their tent at the Union Street Farmer’s Market every Wednesday from 4 to 7 p.m.

Located: 101 SE 2^nd Place

Best Salads

Oggi Italian (4.5 stars on Yelp)

My favorite salad is from Oggi Italian. It is a simple salad with homemade mozzarella and the best vinaigrette, which you can buy pints of to bring home with you. The butternut squash is my favorite entree and is one of the most mouth-watering dishes I have had in Gainesville.

“For people who enjoy salads, we make our own mozzarella in house, fresh daily,” said Nikki, the regional manager. “It’s absolutely incredible and the Caprese salad is enough to share and delicious!”

Located: 3117 SW 34^th Street 

Satchel’s Pizza (4 stars on Yelp)

Not only is their pizza tasty, but Satchel’s house salad with house vinaigrette and nuts is worth the trip to this charming Gainesville favorite. I also recommend adding feta cheese to it. The salad is the perfect addition to any pie. They also have many veggie options for pizza toppings, but I love a good calzone from Satchel’s.

Located: 1800 NE 23^rd Ave.

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