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Portland, Maine may not seem like a vegan foodie hotspot compared to the West Coast city it shares its name with (which was named after, by the way) and you wouldn't be entirely wrong. The 70-square mile city that was "settled" nearly four centuries ago doesn't have a single 100% vegan brick-and-mortar restaurant. In fact, a preliminary search on HappyCow shows that the entire state of Maine has only two fully vegan restaurants: Vicky's Veggie Table in Biddeford and Salt and Pepper Social in Newcastle. There is, however, a vegan food truck if you can find it.
Fortunately, Portland has plenty of vegan-friendly options at restaurants, with many that have vegan menus as part of their larger ones. Here are a few of the ones I recommend along with other options as part of my vegan food guide to Portland, Maine.
Green Elephant Vegetarian Bistro
This restaurant serving Asian-inspired vegetarian food is a must-visit in Portland. They pride themselves on sourcing as many local products as possible and that is reflected in the food that they serve. Most of the options on the menu can be made vegan and are clearly labeled, and a few are or can be made gluten-free. They have rotating specials but their core menu can be found online. We had the summer rolls, veggie dumplings, and Char Guay Teow: a spicy Malaysian stir-fried noodle dish (just remember to ask for it with no egg). They also have a few desserts! We opted not to try any as my friend had lychee popsicles in her freezer.
LB Kitchen
This is a cute, fairly unassuming spot on the corner of Congress and Smith Streets. They sell a lot of in-house goodies (like their golden pancake mix), chocolates and snacks, other tchotchkes, and there's a case with drinks and snacks you can grab on the go, including a log of cookie dough. Here I had an iced vegan coconut caramel latte and the vegan breakfast sandwich that comes with fried tofu, carrot bacon, greens, cashew cheese, and sriracha mayo on sprouted wheat bread. I have never been a big breakfast sandwich kinda gal but I would go back every weekend for this one. It was divine.
Fair warning if you go at peak brunch time: there isn't a ton of space to sit inside but if you get a spot by the front window, you can people watch. I also recommend visiting the bookstore Print right next door (even if you're only browsing like I was because I've banned myself from buying books temporarily).
The Holy Donut
The Holy Donut is a quintessential Maine institution serving up potato donuts made fresh daily. They have five different locations but the one on Commercial St in Portland is in the center of Old Port. They have quite a few vegan options labeled on their menu and a variety of rotating seasonal flavors as well as gluten-free options. If you are both vegan and gluten-free, you won't find any options here. I had the maple and pomegranate donuts, and enjoyed both. I recommend ordering ahead online because the lines to get in will get long.
Mainely Noods
Given from its very appropriate name, this shop serves up all kinds of noodles. They have ten signature bowls, one of which is vegan, and a build-your-own-bowl option with plenty of vegan options that are clearly labeled on the menu. I had to try the signature Portland bowl (the lone vegan one), which contained rice noodles with tofu, bean sprouts, baby bok choy, ground peanuts, chili oil, and veggie broth. They also had buns available the day we went and we tried the red bean and sesame versions, which were both great.
Uncharted
Uncharted is a cute bubble tea shop and cafe on Congress Street. They use local ingredients and compostable single-use packaging. There's also plenty of seating available if you want an afternoon of bubble tea, books, and board games. They have a reasonably-sized menu and I tried the Black Pearl bubble tea: black tea, oat milk, maple syrup, and boba. Wasn't a fan of the boba (too chewy) but the drink itself was great. Non-dairy milk options include oat, mylk, coconut, macadamia, and almond milk. For vegan food options, they have avocado toast, hummus toast, and chocolate mochi.
Norimoto
The James Beard Award-winning Norimoto Bakery came as a recommendation from a friend. If you plan to visit (and you should), get there early because lines get long and they sell out. For my fellow vegans, their vegan options are only available on Wednesdays. This means I, unfortunately, wasn't able to go. According to reviews, they have Anzac cookies, regular and chocolate croissants, and Kouign Amann's.
Three Dollar Deweys
Voted the best pub in Portland two years in a row by portlandoldport.com and hailed as the first place to pour a pint in Portland, Three Dollar Deweys is another quintessential Portland institution. But if you're like me, you may not be a drinker. They do have non-alcoholic mocktails on their menu (and a few rotating ones you can ask about) and special soft drinks that aren't your typical sodas. There's also plenty of food and vegans can rejoice. Their menu has a separate vegan and vegetarian section with sandwiches, nachos, poutine, and a build-your-own-burger concept.
Nura | Hummus and Falafel Bar
This Middle Eastern restaurant has an incredibly vegan-friendly menu. The old school falafel pocket and mushroom shwarma pocket sandwiches are both vegan, as are the hummus bowl and falafel salad. The snacks and the tahini and spicy harissa sauces are all labeled vegan.
Portland Pie Co.
This also came as a recommendation from a friend but I didn't get a chance to try it. I am also a pizza snob. Portland Pie Company, however, has nine locations so you're bound to run into one. You can build your own pie: the basil, garlic, and cauliflower doughs are all vegan, as are the red, marinara, BBQ, and garlic and oil sauces. They offer vegan cheese, which counts as a topping so it'll be charged as such, and you can top that with Beyond Burger pieces and over a dozen veggie toppings.
Sticky Sweet
One of my only regrets on this trip was not finding time to try Sticky Sweet, Portland's only 100% vegan and gluten-free ice cream shop. They are allergy-friendly and offer waffle cones too! They also sell pints if you want to take their ice cream home. A cursory glance through their Instagram finds flavors like wild blueberry jam, strawberry pretzel, and even Tahitian vanilla soft serve. They do have rotating seasonal flavors as well.
Did I miss any recommendations in Portland? Let me know in the comments!
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