I have put together a complete guide to my favorite restaurants in the United States and abroad that are plant-based and adhere to my rigorous standards. Losing the ability to dine out when health becomes an absolute priority can be devastating. It can recharge our batteries and provide opportunities to connect with others meaningfully. It is not easy to find a restaurant that understands the importance of healthy food – this can be tricky – but it is so amazing when you do.
Eating Out and Staying Safe
Knowing what to look out for when you’re at a restaurant can immensely help you relax and create a better experience overall. Remember your personal food guidelines, create expectations, and boundaries. In restaurants, it can be helpful to frame your restrictions as allergies.
If you can, try steering your experience towards plant-based restaurants and cafes, juice bars, and health-conscious establishments. This helps with avoiding cross-contamination and the risk of food poisoning.
Check out the menu online ahead of time and create a plan. Call in and ask questions, let them know your concerns, or see if you can pre-order. Sometimes you can email ahead of time, too!
When you are there, make your order clear. For example, “I would like STEAMED vegetables with NO oil on them with a PLAIN baked potato, a WHOLE UNCUT avocado, and a side of lemon, thank you!”
Medical Medium® Tips to Avoid Food Poisoning
- If you eat out at an establishment that serves cuts of meat, poultry, and fish, choose fully cooked meals instead of raw meals or salads.
- If you opt for raw meals, you can add onion, garlic, and lemon. You can also ask for a whole, uncut avocado to be brought to you and cut at the table.
- Ask for lukewarm plates to be thoroughly reheated.
- Always be polite during your visit and when asking for amendments or changes to your dish. This is important because an upset waiter or chef can mess with your dish if they feel inclined.
- Ask your waiter to hold any cold sauces that are added to the plate before serving. Bottled sauces can breed bacteria as they sit.
- Order your meat medium or well-done. Rare pieces of meat can cause food poisoning. It only takes one time!
- If you wish to be plant-based in a restaurant serving everything, look at the menu and scan for the vegetables listed. Even though they might be included in or paired with a dish you may not eat, you can talk to the kitchen or chef and ask them to make you a veggie dish based on what they already have in the kitchen or on the menu.
- Set yourself up for success before and after your meal: celery juice, ginger tea, lemon water, and oil of oregano beforehand, peppermint tea afterward
My Restaurant Guide
I put this together in 2024 and have expanded it to include the restaurants collaborating with the Medical Medium® in the past year. It currently only lists 2 restaurants outside of the United States so look out for my international list soon in the future!
Even though this is a trusted list ALWAYS make sure to ask about dietary restrictions. This includes oil, eggs, dairy, gluten, corn, soy, and canola.
Restaurants in the US
- Love Life Cafe in Miami, FL
- Bolay in Miami, FL
- Manna Life Food in Miami, FL
- Holi Vegan Kitchen in Miami, FL
- Full Bloom Miami is fully vegan and will customize dishes on request. Please check that in your dishes no troublesome oils are used.
- ‘Ve in West Palm Beach
- Christopher’s Kitchen—Palm Beach Gardens, FL, USA—is fully vegan and will customize dishes. It is very MM compliant (they have the Proper HMDS on their menu!). Their chef loves Medical Medium and is converting many dishes to be MM compliant.
- Coco Plum Cafe in Key Largo, Florida
- abcV in New York City
- Organic Krush Kitchen in New York – another establishment (with multiple locations in New York) that has collaborated with MM!
- Avant Gardens in New York City
- Divya’s Kitchen in New York City
- Double Zero Pizza in New York City – all vegan cheeses contain nutritional yeast so have them make your pizza without the cheese.
- Bar Verde in New York City – gluten-free Mexican with a great guacamole with a crudité optio
- Simply Green in Ramsey, NJ
- Raw Roots Cafe in Northvale, NJ
- Organika Kitchen in Southport, CT
- Berbere in Los Angeles, CA- Closed after the LA fires and pending re-opening. Chef T makes organic ethiopian food and has close ties to the Medical Medium community.
- Cafe Gratitude in Los Angeles, CA – vegan restaurant with several menu items created in collaboration with Medical Medium (try the pizzas!)
- Spring Cafe Aspen in NYC and Aspen, CO- Their menu is vegetarian, no seed oils, and organic. Both establishments were made using natural and low-chemical materials. They offer cafe drinks, juices, smoothies, salads, and a lot of gluten-free and vegan-cooked food options for brunch, lunch, and dinner.
- True Food- They have multiple locations around the States. They focus on nourishing, healthy food, and have commited to using healthier oils like olive and avocado. You can find MM friendly options when dining here. Go here to find a location.
- Sweet Green– You can find locations all over the states. Fast food re-imagined, their mission is to give you healthy and whole-food meals on the go. Their fries are particularly yummy and only made with potato and avocado oil. Be wary of their raw salad ingredients, though, as they have had to invest in Blockchain technology to address food poisoning concerns in 2018.They have a very thorough nutrition guide.
International Restaurants
- Health Hotel in Austria- A hotel in the Grossarl mountain valley of Austria that regularly offers Medical Medium® cleanse retreats! You can also request Medical Medium® dishes when you are staying there.
- Imiloa Insitute in Costa Rica- A popular place for retreats and vacations in the jungle. Serves locally sourced, gourmet vegan food year-round, and can customize your meals even further to accommodate for restrictions.
- Vegan Agrivilla I Pini in Tuscany, Italy- A vegan farmhouse located in a rich agricultural area of Italy and focused on organic, sustainable, and gourmet food. They use no soy, corn, canola oil, or refined sugars and gluten-free options are available when requested in advance.
My Favorite Restaurants and Why
I am often asked, so I thought I would offer what my two favorite restaurants are: I love abcV and Divya’s Kitchen in New York City!
These two are raw-friendly, have very clean and delicious options, and are willing to customize a meal for you. I love raw food restaurants, but those are hard to come by.
Divya’s is a plant-based Ayurvedic restaurant that reimagines popular Italian, Indian, Asian, and Mediterranean cuisines through the Ayurvedic lens.
abcV is another plant-based restaurant in NYC. It is the brainchild of chef Jean-Georges, who believes in the future of plant-based living. They offer juices, tonics, salads, fruit, and vegetable-forward dishes. They have ditched the unhealthy oils, salts, and additives.
Voting With Our Dollar: Shifting Tides
It is hard to eat out when you have restrictions, and your options are among those places that don’t care about your health. To this end, there is great power in advocating for your health when you dine out: this helps enact positive changes in the food industry.
Support the businesses that support you! This is how we create change. Our dollars and our voices count.
There is a reason that in the past year restaurants like Organic Krush Kitchen and Cafe Gratitude have decided to collaborate with Anthony William, the Medical Medium®, it is because there is demand for healthier menus now more than ever!
As more people unapologetically explain their dietary restrictions, or that they follow a Medical Medium® diet, more establishments will create healthier menus (e.g. using healthier oils and sea salt, ditching corn, soy, and MSG) and draw in a more health-conscious crowd. As that happens, this list of restaurants will expand!
Supporting A Struggling Business
After the wildfires devastated LA this January, a lot of businesses found their buildings burned down and their operations shuttered. Berbere, well known by Anthony William and the Medical Medium® community, was in Santa Monica and has had to close its doors since. If you want to support an innovative restaurant with close ties to the Medical Medium® community, Berbere is asking for help as they secure a new location. Please consider donating as every dollar makes a difference! To read more about the cause click here!
What are your favorite places to get a healthy and nourishing meal? Comment down below and let’s start a conversation!
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To your peace and happiness,
Muneeza
