Veg Restaurants: Central and Western Mass

All restaurants on these pages have committed to serving exclusively vegetarian foods (no meat, fowl, or fish). Many are vegan (no dairy, eggs, or honey) and are noted with our vegan icon.

Call or check their websites to confirm current hours, and for any menu or other details that may have evolved during the pandemic.

---

Central Mass

Belmont Vegetarian Restaurant
157 Belmont St (Rt. 9, corner Eastern Ave., near UMass Memorial)
Worcester, MA 01608
508-798-8898

All vegan, Jamaican/Caribbean cuisine, serves mainly take-out, with two booths for eating in.  Order and pick up at the counter. Daily changing menu with dishes such as vegan pepper steak, BBQ chunks, curried chicken, rice, tofu dishes, vegetable stew, cabbage, soup, patties, and mac ‘n’ cheese. The combo plate comes with all of the day’s selections. Delicious, satisfying food, served with a spirit of kindness. Read the 5-star love on Yelp. Free parking on the street.

Jennifer Lee’s Allergen Friendly & Vegan Shoppe
27 Cambridge Street
Worcester, MA 01603

All vegan. This allergen-friendly bakery makes an array of cookies, cupcakes, muffins, donuts, and other baked goods that are free of the top nine food allergens while maintaining and exceeding the taste and appeal of conventional baked goods. Does shipping and local home deliveries.

Loving Hut Chandler
415 Chandler Street
Worcester, MA 01602
508-459-0367

All vegan, Asian cuisine.  “Dedicated to providing a compassionate culinary experience.”  Spacious restaurant offering an extensive menu of delectable foods.  Their fresh spring rolls are a standout.  Choices galore of faux meat dishes and abundant fresh vegetables.  Service is very friendly, gracious, and accommodating from the vegan family who owns the restaurant.  Run by followers of Supreme Master Ching Hai, the spiritually inspired menu expresses their teaching to not kill or harm living creatures. They teach that keeping a vegetarian diet is a gift which we give to ourselves to feel better, lighten karmic indebtedness, and advance entrance into realms of inner experience.  They also do outreach with a food booth at area events.

Loving Hut Hamilton
56 Hamilton Street
Worcester, MA 01602
508-831-1322

Vegan Asian cuisine. This little storefront location is a favorite for locals seeking delicious veggie, tofu, and faux meat dishes in savory sauces.  Spring rolls, chickun fingers and nuggets, seaweed vegetable tofu soup, and fried veggie drumsticks are a few of their many offerings.  Big bowls of pho, the flavorful broth with veggies, keep people coming back for more.

Not Ya Mama’s Vegan Café
6 Waldo Street
Worcester, MA 01608
508-579-5479

All vegan. When the urge for classic comfort foods hits, many options await you at this cheerful family-owned café. Crispy Chick’n patty served with two thick waffles, Turkee BLT on sourdough bread, and Buffalo Chick’n Wrap with Cesar dressing, Romaine, and Parmesan to name a few. Their thick grilled Reuben with all the fillings and fixings gets high praise, and Breakfast Burritos and Sammies are served all day.

Planet-Based Vegan Pizza Co.
Opening Early 2023!
2162 Main Street
West Warren, MA 01092
All vegan, offering a made-to-order vegan menu, heat & eat takeout items, and catering services.

The Vegan Nest Café
54 High Street
Clinton, MA 01510
508-292-0035
See description below.

All vegan, using ingredients that are 100% non-GMO and mostly organic, this thriving café and catering busines celebrates a holistic and compassionate way of living that encourages good health, mindful living, and kindness. All of the plant-based meats, cheeses and sauces are hand-crafted in-house from scratch. This includes such items as creamy mac and cheese, vegan pastrami, egg & cheese on a grilled croissant, and a brunch crepe served with organic tofu scramble, maple sausage, and cashew mozzarella. They also offer grain & greens bowls, smoothies, and more. They offer weekly delivery of a savory “nesting box” of locally sourced, organic produce and pantry items along with housemade meats and cheeses, or a sweets box of their custom organic baked goods. Their focus is to provide health-promoting whole plant foods that are delicious and accessible.

---

Western Mass

Bela Vegetarian Restaurant
68 Masonic Street
Northampton, MA 01060
413-586-8011

Cash only and fragrance-free. Local and organic ingredients are used whenever possible in their tofu, tempeh, and seitan entrees, soups, burgers, beans, veggies, pasta. In addition to their regular menu, this small, longtime NoHo establishment is known for its board of innovative daily specials which keeps regulars returning again and again to explore tofu, tempeh, polenta, pasta, and legumes in intriguing combinations and sauces, as well as creative and satisfying salads, dressings, and desserts. Their walls display the works of local artists. 

Earthfoods Café at UMass Amherst
156 Bartlett Hall on the UMass Amherst Campus​
Amherst, MA 01003
413-545-1554
Open from the second week of each semester until the last week of classes.  Closed over Winter and Summer breaks.

This nonprofit, student-run vegetarian/vegan collective has been serving economical, healthy food to the student body and surrounding community since 1976. They offer a daily entree special made fresh each morning such as Chickpea Pot Pie, Yellow Thai Curry, Seitan Stroganoff, Tofu Scramble with Roasted Potatoes, Mac ‘n Squash, and Chana Masala. The previous day’s special is available at a discount. Menu staples available every day are rice, beans, kale, and salad. Large and small portions are offered for most items. A daily dessert special is offered, such as Rosemary Chocolate Chip Cookies, Pina Colada Cupdakes, Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins, or Pumpkin Brownies, with the previous day’s dessert at a discount.

Elixir
70 Railroad Street
Great Barrington, MA 01230
413-644-8999

Haymarket Café
185 Main Street
Northampton, MA 01060
413-586-9969

A social mecca with a coffee shop/café on the main level and a restaurant on the lower level. The restaurant offers an eclectic menu of entrees such as Coconut Curry with jasmine or brown rice, cauliflower, zucchini, mushrooms, peas, green curry, ginger, lime, and coconut milk, and Sambar, a thick and flavorful South Indian lentil soup. Their Jalapeno Burger blends chickpeas/quinoa/brown rice and tops it with vegan basil mayo, lettuce, tomato, caramelized onion and cashew vegan cheese. Breakfast offerings include Steel-cut Oats served with fruit compote, granola and soy milk, and Tofu Vegan Scramble with portobella mushrooms, roasted red peppers, soy sausage, shallots, served with house-made sourdough toast, fresh fruit, and roasted potatoes. Cozy atmosphere adds to the attractiveness of this NoHo favorite, named after Haymarket Square in Chicago where, in 1886, workers took to the streets on behalf of workers’ rights. The owners believe that waitstaff’s income should be consistent and guaranteed, and not reliant on tips. Thus, they pay a living wage, and service is included in the menu prices, so no need to tip.

Nourish Wellness Cafe and Juice Bar
10 Bridge Street
Northampton, MA 01060   
413-727-3260

With a focus on locally sourced, organic, unprocessed ingredients, their aim is to contribute to the health and well-being of the community through food. A menu of smoothies, juices, coffees, soups, hearty toasts, and wellness bowls includes such items as Butternut Squash Soup, Lentil Stew, Thai Peanut Noodles, Buddha Bowl, and Peanut Butter Cups.

Pulse Cafe
270 Russell Street
Hadley, MA 01035
413-387-0555
Closed Saturdays

All vegan. Pulse Cafe brings to the table handcrafted, 100% plant-based goodness inspired by local farm-fresh abundance, global flavors and good-for-you comfort food. Pulse Cafe’s special features include their very own Five College Farms organic, heirloom tomatoes served fresh in their many salads, burgers, and wraps, and brewed into their woodfired pizzas and calzones. Artisan nut and plant-based cheeses, handcrafted plant-meats, cold-pressed organic juices, juice cleanses, and smoothies along with their freshly-baked to-die-for cheesecakes and exclusive plant-based market make this an experience you won’t want to miss. Their Sunday brunch special menu—think seasoned tofu benedict with house-made hollandaise sauce, and chk’n and waffles with cashew gravy—carries out their mission to inspire holistic, plant-based wellness that is good for body, mind and spirit. Pulse makes their holistic, farm-to-table menu and Pulse Market one of the outstanding attractions of the Pioneer Valley.

The Humble Peach Bakery & Kitchen
174 N. Pleasant Street
Amherst, MA 01002
413-230-3556

All vegan. With a focus on local, sustainable, seasonal ingredients, they offer an array of smoothies made with soy or oat milk and local maple syrup and hemp seeds—bring your own cup and get 10% off! Their Carrot Lox sandwich has smokey carrots topped with capers, dill, lemon & house tofu cream cheese on house focaccia. Their Tempeh Reuben sandwich uses locally made tempeh and sauerkraut, vegan smoked gouda, and house thousand island dressing, served on house foccacia. A daily special seasonal soup is offered in three sizes—12, 16, and 32 ounces. A cashew pecan granola bowl, and hot and cold beverages such as fresh squeezed organic lemons with house lavender syrup and local mint, plus their baked goods such as Decaf Vegan Tiramisu and cookies fill out a menu of thoughtful offerings.

Thrive Diner
145 Wahconah Street
Pittsfield, MA 01201
413-344-9353

All vegan, this original diner has had a complete renovation but keeps an old-time diner vibe, with booths along the window wall, and padded stools along the counter. The menu is based on whole-food plant ingredients, and offers healthy vegetable soups, salads, sandwiches, bowls, and burgers, plus vegan versions of the comfort foods you may crave, like Buffalo Cauliflower Nuggets with vegan sour cream, and “Garbage” Fries piled high with toppings. Energize with one of the Buddha Bowls, such as the Mediterranean Bowl composed of grains, chickpeas, greens, mushrooms, and salad, or the Baked Potato Broccoli Cheddar Buddha Bowl. Room for dessert? How about their Cashew Creme Cheesecake with sweet balsamic reduction. Thrive’s food earns five-star raves in customer reviews as they carry out their goal to encourage cruelty-free living while preserving the planet’s natural resources through an animal-free menu, mindful ingredient sourcing and eco-friendly packaging. Thrive Diner offers another good reason to live in or visit the Berkshires.

Vegan Pizza Land
Easthampton, MA
veganpizzaland@gmail.com

All vegan. Offering pizza popups around the Pioneer Valley and beyond, and catering for private events, with a wide menu of pizzas—red pies, white pies, and pesto pies—and healthy, inventive salads. Along with homemade cashew cheese and tomato sauce, Red pies may be topped with a variety of healthy combinations such as kalamata olives, caramelized onions, and basil pesto, or seared broccoli rabe, garlic, and house sausage, or spinach, kimchi, sesame seeds, cremini mushrooms, sauteed peppers and onions. Their sweet potato and polenta White pie piles on caramelized onion cream sauce, sliced kale, cashew mozzarella, roasted sweet potatoes, crispy air-fried polenta bites, pickled red onion, and balsamic glaze.

Wild Chestnut Café
22 Chestnut Street
Florence (Northampton), MA 01062
413-341-3948

All vegan. Bravely opening in January, 2022, well into the pandemic, this cafe continues the vegan love in this Pioneer Valley magnet meeting spot at the closing of its predecessor, Cafe Evolution. With fresh, airy decor and spacious seating at tables or on a sofa, their opening menu of warm beverages, smoothies, soups with homemade bread, salad, and baked goods will expand over time. They offer innovative bakery flavors like apple ginger muffins, chocolate cupcakes with mint, strawberry, or mocha frosting, yellow cupcakes with lemon filling topped with cream cheese frosting, cinnamon buns, and a classic peanut butter bomb. With a stated goal of spreading more compassion throughout the world, “We do this work for the animals and the power of food is our chosen method of activism.” Daily Hampshire Gazette article on their opening.

---

See Restaurants Main
See Dining Vegan in Non-Vegetarian Restaurants
See Tips for Restaurant Owners