Anyone who has spent a grueling 12-hour day at Disney knows that it’s only fun until you’re hungry. There are tons of parks and activities to explore in Orlando, FL, but without the right fuel, one can quickly become a groupie. Fortunately, the city of Orlando has copied Disney in scaling up its vegetarian options, now offering a plethora of dishes to suit almost any craving. Check out these eight vegetarian-friendly restaurants before or after your day at Epcot or Universal Studios to keep your inner-vegan at bay.
Vegan Options at Orlando Theme Parks
If you’re not a local, visiting a local, or planning to be in town for the 2024 US Olympic Marathon Trials, you can probably visit Orlando at one or more of its nine major theme parks. Whether you plan to drink around the world at Epcot or immerse yourself in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal’s Island of Adventure, you’ve got to eat something at one of these parks.
Led by Disney and adopted by surrounding parks, Orlando’s attractions offer a wide range of plant-based cuisine, from fast-casual to fancy sit-down. Just like the parks themselves, some of these offerings are destinations in themselves. We can’t visit Disney World without first stopping at Disney Springs to stock our hotel room with vegan and gluten-free treats from Erin McKenna’s Bakery. From bite-sized brownies to thick slices of buttery cinnamon crumb cake, we always walk away from that pink shop with more than one item.
Disney Park
For enough breakfast to get you through your (multi-park?) days, Disney’s Animal Kingdom is worth the ticket. Tusker’s House offers an all-you-can-enjoy vegetarian platter that includes scrambled just eggs, Impossible Sausage Patties, vegan gluten-free Mickey Waffles, mashed potatoes and fresh fruit with non-dairy yogurt. But really, they were at our Mickey Waffles.
Outside of Disney World, we recommend making reservations at Mythos Restaurant at Universal’s Island of Adventure. The kitchen can prepare vegetarian meals upon request and is above and beyond theme park food. We recommend trying everything from the Meze Platter to the Vegan Pad Thai.
8 Vegetarian-Friendly Restaurants in Orlando
Outside of the city’s theme parks, Orlando’s vegan offerings are not to be missed, in fact, from great bakeries to welcoming diners, these vegan-friendly Orlando eateries are attractions in their own right.
Valhalla Bakery
1Valhalla Bakery
Located within South of Market, a shared space for vegan ideas, Valhalla Bakery offers a tempting array of vegan donuts, pies, cinnamon rolls, cupcakes, cookies and more. Every morning it receives a delivery of freshly made donuts from its sister store, Valkyrie Doughnuts. One of the bakery’s most popular items is the brookie—half chocolate chunk cookie, half dark chocolate brownie, topped with velvety ganache. For those who have truly developed a sweet tooth, look no further than the Death Bar—a fudgy brownie smothered in peanut butter crunch, Oreos, chocolate chips, and ganache. Finally, if you’re celebrating a special occasion during your trip to Orlando, contact the bakery within 48 hours and order a special vegan cake. As the Mad Hatter says, “Happy Birthday!”
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Valkyrie Donuts
2Valkyrie Donuts
Get your sugar fix before a day at the park with one of these Homer Simpson-sized vegan donuts. Flavors rotate daily, but you can always count on this bakery to update Instagram bright and early with its daily offerings. Some of the flavors in rotation include Churro, Blueberry Cheesecake, Matcha Berry, Fruity Pebbles and Strawberry Passionfruit. Again, if you’re celebrating, or just want to go all out with a few friends on your vacation, order the BFD (Big F*kin’ Donut) which is the same size as eight donuts combined (and must be ordered 48 hours in advance). . To stay on trend with other gourmet donut shops, Valkyrie also offers vegan soft serve and ice cream donut sandwiches. Go ahead; Embrace that inner child on your vacation with a good old-fashioned sugar rush.
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Legos
3 Legos
Located inside the trendy Hourglass Social House, Leguminati specializes in all kinds of vegan crunch wraps. Basically, they take your favorite sandwich and transform it into a flatter, more textured handhold. Try the Buffalo Crunch—a pressed wrap filled with exactly what you’d expect: crispy, breaded vegan chicken, buffalo sauce, ranch, lettuce, tomato, and a crunchy tostada shell. The Sloppy Crunch is another standout, made with vegan beef, slop sauce, queso, rice pepper bacon, a tostada shell, jalapeños and fried onions. No matter what you order, we guarantee you’ll need a napkin.
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Lovely hut
4 Lovely hut
As a fast-growing international vegan fast-food chain, you may already be familiar with Loving Hut. Many of the Asian-inspired menu items are standard across its 200 international locations (including 38 in the U.S.), but each eatery also adds its own unique dishes. Stick to the tried-and-true fabulous pho or wonton soup, or sample the grilled teriyaki plate or noble rice dish. Most dishes consist of vegan meat, vegetables, rice or noodles and an incredible sauce. It’s a tough choice when you’re tired after a long day and just need something healthy and filling to deliver to your hotel room.
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Winter Park Biscuit Company
5 Winter Park Biscuit Company
Originally launched as a pop-up in 2019, Mary Matter’s Winter Park Biscuit Company is still going strong. It’s made a name for itself in more than just biscuits (although biscuits are definitely the first thing you should order); The menu includes vegan chicken sandwiches, nutritious chickpea wraps, fries and more than a dozen drool-worthy spreads and dipping sauces. You’ll have to stop by a few times during your Orlando stay to get a true taste of all the wonderful delicious offerings on this menu.
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Ethos Vegan Kitchen
6Ethos Vegan Kitchen
Ethos Vegan Kitchen can be found just north of the city of Winter Park, not technically within Orlando’s city limits. The restaurant’s down-home fare and unparalleled hospitality are definitely worth the Uber drive. The extensive menu includes appetizers, salads, sandwiches, pizza, pasta, main courses, desserts and even a kids menu. Can’t decide? Guest favorites include Yo Mama’s lasagna made with five layers of noodles, vegan ricotta, veggies and mozzarella; and lamb pie – a vegetarian take on the traditional shepherd’s pie. As much as you’ll want to try everything on the menu, save room for dessert; Chocolate amaretto mousse with whipped cream and sliced almonds will transport you to a whole new world.
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the plants
7the plants
When you want a no-frills, stick-to-your-rib burger, you go to Planty’s. The tight menu includes a tried-and-true vegan cheeseburger with grilled onions, plantain sauce, lettuce, tomato and pickles; plant-based chicken tenders and sandwiches; a kale salad; and stir fry. Pair any of these treats with a classic chocolate, strawberry, vanilla, or Oreo shake. Sometimes, keeping it simple is just what you need.
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Hungry pants
8Hungry pants
This casual-cool, health-focused restaurant is ideal for a mixed company of diners. The menu offers a plethora of tempting vegan options in addition to omnivore items. Each category—Nibble, Nosh, Hungry, Famished, and Sweet Tooth—has several plant-based iterations where decision paralysis sets in, especially if you’re really hungry. A few highlights include BBSP wontons (nibble), cheesy broccoli (nosh), coconut curry bowl (hungry), CLT (curry lime tempeh) sandwich (famed), and chocolate silk pie slice (sweet). The restaurant also offers brunch. Really, we could eat here every day and be completely satisfied.
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Jennifer Winters A self-proclaimed health geek living in Connecticut with her husband and two children.