Vegetable in Studio City, CA

There are so many vegan or vegan-friendly restaurants in Southern California that I have a running wish list of those I haven't been able to get to yet. There are SO MANY I haven't visited yet, and Vegetable used to be one of them, despite rave reviews I've heard about it.

The restaurant is tucked away in Studio City, right below Universal Studios. It is located where SunCafe used to be, and I have to say I love what they have done with the space! The ambiance is cozy, even though I feel like they were able to squeeze more tables in. I also love the black chalkboard wall on one side and a brick wall on the other side. It feels modern and retro at the same time, if that makes sense.

Vegetable's adorable interior

Anyways, since I don't get up to Studio City much, I decided to go to Vegetable when I was up there for Halloween Horror Nights in September. We had an early dinner there since Universal Studios has super-limited vegan options (see my post on that HERE).

The chalk walls and wood planters were so cute!

Vegetable isn't a completely vegan restaurant, but they are very plant-focused and the majority of their menu options can be veganized. Their focus is creating guilt-free comfort food out of simple, organic ingredients. I was very excited about finally getting to try them out!

Vegetable menu

Now, this review isn't the timeliest, as I went to Vegetable at the end of September (as you can see from the date on the menus), but I still wanted to share my delicious experience there with you. I went with three other people, none of whom were vegan, but who were all excited to try the menu.

Vegetable menu

The menu is set up for sharing and most of the dishes on the menu come in small portions so you can try a lot! We took our time, started with a few plates and then kept ordering whenever something else struck our fancy. Here are some of the dishes we tried:

Grilled spicy sweet potato with maple candied jalapeno pepper, crushed chili spice blend, burnt maple syrup 

Roasted broccoli with pan-seared shallot, cashew alfredo sauce, freshly cracked pepper

Cheesy fingerling potato with nacho cashew cheese sauce, herbs, coconut sour cream

Veganized three-bean chili

Saffron-infused pan-seared savory corn cake with spicy chickpea  and sweet onion stew, sauteed garlic kale, fresh cilantro, mango and jalapeno pico de gallo, balsamic reduction, smoked sriracha aioli

Herbed focaccia and gravy with gluten-free focaccia bread, mushroom and sweet onion cashew cream ragu, fresh herbs

Dessert was a key lime pudding and brownie with peanut butter ice cream

Everything was incredibly delicious - like eyes-roll-back-into-your-head delicious! All the omnis were blown away by how amazing vegan food tasted and one (who happens to be a restaurant owner up north) even said he loved the cashew cheese so much he would eat it every day and gladly serve any of the dishes at his restaurant! My personal favorites were the cheesy fingerling potatoes, the herbed focaccia, and the corn cakes. Also, I have a total sweet tooth so I have to give a special shout out to the desserts - the key lime pudding was perfectly tart and sweet and OMG, the peanut butter ice cream and brownie had me at first bite!

I had a fantastic first experience at Vegetable, and honestly I can't wait to go back!

You can learn more and check out the current menu via Vegetable's website!