Located on Jasper Avenue, An Chay offers plant-based dishes with a scenic downtown view. If you’re looking to get acquainted with vegan and plant-based food, An Chay makes an excellent introduction. The menu presents Vietnamese creations that are packed with fresh, crisp ingredients and spice. There is a range of dishes from vermicelli and tofu, to soups and papaya salad. The Vermicelli Special bowl is indeed special — it’s a mix of fresh vegetables, noodles, tempura and crunchy spring rolls, a lighter version of noodles as a comfort food. — Kateryna Didukh 11203 Jasper Ave.,780-752-2203
2. The Moth Cafe
When you look at The Moth Cafe’s menu, filled with tonics and elixirs and superfood additives that boast a wide variety of medical benefits, it’s easy to get lost in the philosophical side of why you’re eating from a plant-based menu. But this magazine doesn’t exist to definitively champion one type of diet over another; for Best Restaurants, what we care about is if the food is tasty and the atmosphere is great. On our latest visit to The Moth Cafe, the place was packed for lunch. A delightful and hearty mushroom coconut soup was on special and the mix of lavender, kombucha and lemonade made for a sweet-and-sour drink delight. But the star of the menu is the Big Moth burger, a plant-based homage to the Big Mac, with a special sauce and lots of tang to go with the patty. It’s hefty and, in a world now filled with veggie burgers, this one stands above the rest. — Steven Sandor 9449 Jasper Ave., 780-244-9702, themothcafe.com
3. Padmanadi
Edmonton’s vegan-and-plant-based culinary community is starting to hit its stride, and Padmanadi is a big reason why. Environmentally and health conscious, with a serene, even spiritual decor (a resting Buddha statue resonates good vibes throughout the downtown location), the restaurant serves Indonesian, Chinese, Thai and Indian dishes that are filling and flavourful. As Indonesian immigrants who fell in love with Edmonton in 2002, the Kasim family represents what’s best, and most healthy (and delicious) about our city. — Cory Schachtel
