🇺🇸 Vegan Travel Guide to Memphis
10 vegan restaurants
United States
Tennessee
Memphis and veganism seem like an unlikely match — this is the city that perfected pulled pork, after all. But look closer and you'll find a growing plant-based movement that draws on Memphis's deep soul food traditions to create something entirely its own. Vegan BBQ sandwiches piled high with seitan, soul food platters of collard greens and black-eyed peas, and fried chicken that's fooled celebrities from Bill Clinton to Ariana Grande. Memphis's vegan scene is unapologetically Southern, deeply community-driven, and far more developed than most visitors expect.
What Memphis Is Like for Vegans
Memphis's vegan restaurants are concentrated in Midtown and the neighborhoods radiating from it — Cooper-Young, Overton Square, and the area around Young Avenue. This is Memphis's creative core, walkable and full of independent businesses. Downtown near Beale Street caters primarily to tourists and BBQ pilgrims, but a few spots accommodate vegans if you know where to look. East Memphis has scattered options along Poplar Avenue. The city is manageable by car with easy parking everywhere — this isn't a place where driving is stressful. Uber and Lyft work well too. Prices are among the lowest of any major US city: $8-14 for a generous vegan meal is standard. The vegan community here is tight-knit and predominantly Black-owned, reflecting Memphis's demographics and food culture in the best possible way.
Things to See & Do
The National Civil Rights Museum at the Lorraine Motel is one of America's most important museums — plan at least two hours and arrive early. Sun Studio is where Elvis, Johnny Cash, and B.B. King recorded their earliest tracks — the 45-minute guided tour is genuinely fascinating. Beale Street comes alive after dark with live blues pouring from every doorway, though it's touristy. The Stax Museum of American Soul Music tells the story of Otis Redding, Booker T., and the birth of Southern soul — less crowded than Sun Studio and equally powerful. Overton Park holds the Memphis Zoo, a beautiful old-growth forest, and free concerts at the Levitt Shell (where Elvis played his first paid gig). The Mississippi River is best experienced from the Big River Crossing — a pedestrian bridge that takes you from Tennessee to Arkansas and back. Mud Island River Park has a scale model of the entire Lower Mississippi that you can walk alongside. The Crosstown Concourse is a former Sears distribution center reimagined as a vertical urban village with restaurants, art, and community spaces.
Neighborhoods to Explore
Midtown / Cooper-Young — Memphis's beating creative heart. A walkable grid of independent shops, cafes, and restaurants including Imagine Vegan Cafe. Young Avenue is the main artery for vegan dining and nightlife.
Overton Square — Theater district with upscale-casual restaurants and strong vegan-friendly options. Good Fortune Co. operates nearby. A pleasant evening destination with cocktail bars and live entertainment.
Broad Avenue Arts District — Formerly industrial, now a creative corridor with artist studios, craft breweries, and eclectic food spots. SOB East anchors the vegan-friendly dining scene here.
Downtown / South Main — The tourist core centers on Beale Street and the river. South Main has more character with galleries and brunch spots. Limited dedicated vegan options but improving.
Binghampton — An up-and-coming neighborhood east of Midtown with community gardens, new restaurants, and an emerging food scene that's increasingly plant-forward.
Orange Mound — Historic Black neighborhood with soul food traditions that are being reimagined through a plant-based lens. Several vegan spots serve the community with pride.
Our Top Restaurant Picks
Hand-picked vegan and plant-based restaurants worth visiting in Memphis.
Imagine Vegan Cafe
Imagine Vegan Cafe is Memphis's OG — a family-run institution featured by USA Today for its vegan BBQ Memphis sandwich. Bill Clinton and Ariana Grande have eaten here. That tells you everything.
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Good Fortune Co.
Good Fortune Co. brings creative plant-based twists to Southern comfort food. Their vegan fried chicken and BBQ prove Memphis soul can thrive without a single animal product.
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Plant Based Heat
Plant Based Heat delivers exactly what the name promises — hot wings, fried chicken, and BBQ sandwiches with bold Memphis flavor and zero meat. Soul food as it should be.
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Shroomlicious Meals
Shroomlicious Meals makes mushrooms the star of satisfying vegan comfort dishes. Creative preparations that showcase what fungi can do when given center stage.
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Sun Of A Vegan
Sun Of A Vegan is Memphis's vegan brunch destination — waffles, hearty bowls, and morning dishes generous enough to fuel you through a day of exploring Beale Street.
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Last Vegan On Earth
Last Vegan On Earth specializes in vegan junk food with Memphis attitude: fried chicken drumsticks, double-patty burgers, and messy BBQ sandwiches with seitan and slaw.
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Fluffy Vegan
Fluffy Vegan delivers pastries, cakes, and sweet treats so light and airy you'd never guess they're entirely plant-based. The perfect finish to a Memphis meal.
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Pho Binh
Pho Binh is a beloved midtown Vietnamese institution. Their legendary lemongrass tofu and seitan dishes have fed Memphis's plant-based community for decades.
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Practical Tips for Vegan Travelers
Transport, tipping, language, and more to help you navigate Memphis.
- Memphis is a car city but distances are short — Midtown to downtown is 10 minutes, and parking is plentiful and often free
- Spring (March-May) is ideal. Fall is lovely too. Summer is brutally hot and humid — plan indoor activities for afternoon
- Most vegan restaurants are concentrated in Midtown and Cooper-Young — stay in this area and you can walk between spots
- Tipping 20% is standard — Memphis service workers depend on tips and the hospitality is genuine
- Live blues on Beale Street is free most nights — just walk in and out of venues. Cover charges are rare for the smaller clubs
- Memphis in May (the festival, not the month alone) draws massive crowds and prices spike. Book ahead if visiting during this period
- Sunday is brunch day — vegan spots often have special Sunday menus. Plan accordingly
- The city has experienced a real renaissance in the last 5 years — don't let outdated perceptions keep you from visiting
See Also
Top 10 Best Vegan Restaurants in Memphis
Our curated, ranked picks for the city.
Explore All Vegan Restaurants in Memphis
Browse the full list with maps, reviews, and ratings.