Three Girls on Spring-
121Spring Street, Downtown
Three Girls on Spring offers a delicious, all-vegan menu featuring Italian entrees and desserts. Entrees include lasagna and "chicken" parmigiana. Three Girls also offers grab-and-go items including marinated vegan mozzarella, nacho sauce, pesto, and heat-at-home pizzas.
Basic Kitchen-
82 Wentworth St, Downtown
Basic Kitchen is a lovely, casual cafe in downtown Charleston that offers a myriad of vegan options. There are vegan nachos, cauliflower wings, a rice and veggie bowl and a Rainbow bowl with Thai peanut sauce. Many other items on the menu are already vegan or can easily be made vegan. And they are open for lunch and dinner Monday through Saturday and brunch on Sunday. So you can get your veggie on any day of the week!
The Harbinger Cafe & Bakery-1107 King Street, Downtown
The Harbinger is a charming, mostly-veg cafe on upper-upper King Street. They offer a variety of open-faced sandwiches and salads, along with a large selection of vegan baked goods and desserts. Everything is delicious! They are open for breakfast and lunch every day.
Huriyali-
401 Huger Street, Downtown
Huriyali Gardens is a casual restaurant offering amazing fresh juices, smoothie bowls, sandwiches and salads. Most items on the menu can be made vegan and much of the produce is organic and locally-sourced. And they have a beautiful courtyard in the back for eating and relaxing. According to their website, Huriyali means green vibrance, so check them out for some good green vibes!
Off Track Ice Cream-
6 Beaufain Street, Downtown
Off Track Ice Cream always has a variety of vegan ice creams that are all made in-house with a base of cashews, coconut cream and natural flavors. And they are DELICIOUS! Some of their amazing flavors include PB&J and Strawberry. They also offer vegan hot fudge and caramel, vegan milkshakes and soda floats. You can even get a vegan affogato (ice cream drowned in coffee).
Beech-
315 King St and 475 E Bay St, Downtown
Beech is a casual restaurant/juice bar. It features acai bowls, poke bowls and cold-pressed juices. For vegans, sub agave for honey in the acai bowl. For the poke bowls, you can start with tofu or pickled shiitake mushrooms, add a base of rice, zucchini noodles or kale salad and add a variety of toppings. Beech also offers hummus wraps, bagels, avocado toast and smoothies. So many options! (Menus differ by location)
Bon Banh Mi-
162 C Spring St, Downtown
Bon Banh Mi Southeast Asian Kitchen offers Five Spice Tofu that you can get in a salad, sandwich (banh mi), rice bowl, or taco. Just ask for vegan mayo and no sriracha-lime cream or nuoc cham. Note-The following items are NOT vegan: the Cold Noodle Salad (fish sauce and pork), the Ginger-Lime Slaw (fish sauce) and the Cold Soba Noodle Bowl (honey).
Chipotle Mexican Grill-
374 King Street,
Downtown
Fast-casual Mexican restaurant chain offering many different vegetarian and vegan items such as their sofritas which is a richly seasoned and tasty meat substitute that can be made into burritos, tacos, salads and bowls. Just make sure to ask for no cheese or sour cream.
CO Restaurant-340 King Street, Downtown
This hip King Street restaurant offers some yummy vegan Vietnamese food. Supporting CO is a no-brainer, they have a separate vegan menu (just ask for it) and their food is super flavorful! Offerings include mango summer rolls, cold noodle salad, tofu banh mi and spicy udon.
The Daily-
652 B King Street, Downtown
The Daily is a casual cafe that also has a small grocery/grab and go section. Along with a plentiful selection of caffeinated beverages there is a delectable menu of breakfast and lunch items, including an Impossible sausage patty on bread for breakfast and a hummus bowl or pita for lunch. They also offer a few smoothies.
D'Allesandro's Pizza-
229 St. Philip St, Downtown
D'Allesandro's is a casual pizza place in downtown Charleston. They list three vegan pizzas on their menu, The Om, The Amy, and The Satsang, which do not have cheese. There are also several vegetarian pizzas that can be made without cheese, like the It's Too Easy Being Green. Or you can always build your own pizza with your choice of toppings. They also offer salads.
El Pincho Taco-616 C Meeting St, Downtown
El Pincho Taco is a casual Mexican taqueria. They offer four veg-friendly fillings for tacos-Hongos al Pastor (mushrooms and pineapple), Soy Chorizo, Tinga Vegeteriana (onion, carrot and marinated hibiscus flower), and Nopales, or cactus (ask for no cheese). The burrito can be made vegan and there is also a variety of salsas to choose from.
Jeni's Splendid
Ice Creams-
501A King Street, Downtown
Jeni's is a gourmet ice cream chain with a scoop shop on upper King Street. Their vegan flavors include Dark Chocolate Truffle and Frose Sorbet (which actually contains wine). They use bone char-free sugar in all their ice creams and sorbets. Pints of their products are also available at several local grocery stores.
Marty's Place-
96 Wentworth St, Downtown
Marty's Place, aka the Dr. Martin Perlmutter Dining Hall, is a vegan/vegetarian/kosher dining hall for the College of Charleston. Although it is for the college, it is open to the public. It has a small menu of veg-friendly salads, sandwiches, entrees and sides. It is open seasonally, with the school year.
Poke Tea House-441 Meeting St, Downtown
Poke Tea House serves-you guessed it-Poke and Tea. Specifically, they have a nice selection of build-your-own poke bowl options as well as a variety of bubble teas. Their house specialties include a Vegan Poke Bowl and a Veggie Burrito (wrapped in rice and a seaweed wrap). (Mayo may not be vegan). Their Poke Bowls start with a base of rice or salad or any bowl can be made as a burrito. The myriad of toppings includes tofu, ogo seaweed, mango, pickled cucumber and pickled ginger.
The Rarebit-
474 King Street,
Downtown
The Rarebit is a trendy restaurant on Upper King Street, downtown. They have a vegan section on the menu that includes a Farmer's Plate, Chick'n & Waffles, a BBQ jackfruit sandwich, an Impossible Patty Melt and a house-made Vegan Burger There are also several salads and sides that can be made vegan.
Saffron Restaurant and Bakery-
333 East Bay St, Downtown
Saffron is a great Mediterranean restaurant that also has a full bakery. The restaurant offers several vegan appetizers including hummus, eggplant mirza and Shirazi salad, which consists of tomatoes and cucumber. The stuffed grape leaves can be made vegan without the yogurt sauce. There are several vegan entrees, including a tofu kabob and an eggplant pita. The Mediterranean salad can be made vegan, also. The bakery side of the house has great breads, some of which are vegan. But, unfortunately, few to none of the pastries or desserts are vegan-friendly.
Slightly North of Broad aka SNOB-192 East Bay St,
Downtown
You can probably tell by the name, SNOB is both special occasion restaurant and a staple in Charleston. Think white tablecloths and incredible service. While they do not have a ton to order off of the menu they do an AWESOME vegetable plate if you ask. Everything is incredibly fresh and local. There is so much on your plate it will make your dining partners jealous. Be sure to tell them you are vegan so they modify accordingly. Great fancy place for mixed (veg and non-veg) groups.
Sorghum & Salt-186 Coming St, Downtown
Sorghum & Salt is an upscale restaurant with an eclectic and innovative vegetable-forward menu. The menu is always changing based upon what is in season locally. If you call ahead and make a reservation, they will write up a personalized vegan menu. If you walk in and let them know you are vegan, they will mark all the items on the menu that are vegan or veganizable.
Stella's-
114 St Phillip St, Downtown
Stella's is a Greek restaurant with a variety of vegan options, mainly listed among the sides. Options include tabouli, hummus, melitzanosalata (eggplant dip) and roasted potatoes. Listed under the meze is Yia Yia's Skillet, a roasted dish of beans, kale, tomatoes and olives. There are also many other items on the menu that can be made vegan with the omission of cheese or tzatziki, including several green salads.
Taco Boy-
217 Huger Street,
Downtown
This funky, casual Mexican joint offers a vegan chorizo taco, a tempura avocado taco, jackfruit carnitas, and black beans can easily be added to other menu options to veganize them. They also offer a veggie rice bowl and a taco salad. For all items, ask for no cheese or sour cream. Some of their flour tortillas contain lard, so ask for a vegan-friendly tortilla. Taco Boy downtown has an incredible outdoor patio. If you are getting an adult bev, go for the Frozen Driver with a floater!
Xiao Bao Biscuit-224 Rutledge St,
Downtown
This hip restaurant is located on the corner of Spring & Rutledge and is housed in a former gas station. The space has a ton of character and outdoor patio seating. Expect a couple of vegan choices. The staff is knowledgeable and can easily share what is vegan or veganize-able.