Local eateries cook up first ever Milwaukee Vegan Restaurant Week November 3-9
25+ local small businesses from bakeries and breweries to pizzerias and taquerias will host events, offer specials and create new menu favorites to showcase the diversity of Milwaukee’s restaurant scene
To celebrate vegan and vegan-curious diners in the Cream City, 29 restaurants have teamed to create the first-ever Milwaukee Vegan Restaurant Week. The grassroots effort, designed to feature small businesses and celebrate the area’s best plant-based menu items and those who love eating them, runs Nov. 3-9.
Timed to the first full week of National Vegan Month, Milwaukee Vegan Restaurant Week is the dream-come-true of Café Corazón Owner and Milwaukee Vegan Restaurant Week Founder Wendy Mireles.
“Our hope for Milwaukee Vegan Restaurant Week is simple,” Mireles said. “We want to shine a bright spotlight on all of the options we have for dining out in our amazing city. Just like we do at Café Corazón, we don’t want folks to eat our vegan menu items because the dishes are vegan. We want guests to love our vegan offerings because they are delicious and just happen to be vegan, as well.”
Participants in the inaugural week run the gamut from 100% vegan restaurants to spots where vegans and non-vegans alike dine together. Local Milwaukee bars, cafes, bakeries, breweries, caterers, distilleries, pizzerias, taquerias, and ice cream shops have all joined. The only ask of participating locations: Offer at least one vegan item on their menus Nov. 3-9. Free for restaurants (and diners) to participate, no added registration, cover charges, or tickets are needed to join most Vegan Restaurant Week activities.
“The beauty of Milwaukee Vegan Restaurant Week is it offers all of us a great way to try something different, discover restaurants new to us, and support local small businesses all at the same time,” Mireles added.
Milwaukee Vegan Restaurant Week Participants
Milwaukee Vegan Restaurant Week 2025 participants include Beans & Barley, Beerline Cafe, Café Corazón, Central Standard Crafthouse & Kitchen, Classic Slice, Comet Cafe, Dead Bird Brewing, Gather Bakehouse, Haven Cafe, Hen’s Deli, Honeypie Cafe, Ian’s Pizza Milwaukee, Karma Cafe & Smoothie Bar, Lucky Ginger, LuLu Cafe and Bar, Odd Duck, Paloma Taco & Tequila, Palomino Bar, Purple Door Ice Cream, Ruta’s Fresh Indian Fare, Screaming Tuna Sushi, Solful Kitchen, Strange Town, Temple Goddess Cafe, Thai-namite, Trickleebee Café, Twisted Plants, VEGAN SOUL, and Wonderland.
Preliminary Milwaukee Vegan Restaurant Week Planned Activities and Specials
• Beans & Barley (1901 E. North Ave.) will continue to offer their wide selection of vegan appetizers, entrees, and desserts, including their popular coconut curry tofu stir fry.
• Café Corazón (Bay View, Brown Deer and Riverwest) will host a Vegan Meetup & Menu Tasting for Charity, Monday, Nov. 3; Offer new vegan specials including an appetizer, nopales (cactus) as a protein option, Vegan Flan, their first vegan dessert, and a specialty cocktail; To showcase its weekly $1 off Vegan Thursdays, Corazón will also give all guests their first Happy Hour House Margarita (Corazón’s most popular vegan menu item) for free from 4-5 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 6.
Central Standard Crafthouse & Kitchen (320 E. Clybourn St.) will offer $2 off all vegan brunch, lunch, and dinner options during the week.
• Classic Slice (2797 S. Kinnickinnic Ave.) will offer $1 off all vegan menu items, including slices, breadsticks, cheese sticks, and salads.
• Comet Cafe (1947 N. Farwell Ave.) will present, along with their extensive vegan-friendly menu and • Honeypie Bakeshop vegan sweets and pies, a vegan twist on their famed Compact Turkey Dinner – featuring slow-roasted plant-based “turkey” (which is beer-battered and fried), sage stuffing, and chive mashed potatoes, all topped with vegan country gravy.
• Gather Bakehouse (1100 E. Oklahoma Ave.) will have vegan donuts, a vegan sandwich, vegan cheesecake, a new vegan croissant, and other surprises.
• Hen’s Deli (209 W. Florida St.) will highlight their Seitan Sub, which is house-made seitan sliced thin with a choice of toppings and, of course, with the addition of vegan cream cheese.
• Honeypie Cafe (2569 S. Kinnickinnic Ave.) will bring back “The Klug,” their beloved pulled jackfruit hoagie, alongside a new Warm Kale Salad featuring lacinato kale, roasted peppers, eggplant, capers, toasted quinoa, and herbed tahini dressing. These join their existing vegan favorites like Mushroom Stroganoff and Tofu Banh Mi, and of course, their famed vegan sweets and pies.
• Ian’s Pizza Milwaukee (East Side, Downtown and Story Hill) will offer $1 off all vegan slices.
Lucky Ginger (221 N. Water St.) will have Green Curry on the menu for the first time ever. The Green Curry will have green beans, bamboo, red bell peppers, and carrots with the choice of tofu or a veggie mix available. Lucky Ginger also plans to showcase vegetable tempura for the first time.
• LuLu Cafe and Bar (2265 S. Howell Ave.) will make their weekly special vegan.
• Odd Duck (939 S. 2nd St.) will continue to offer multiple daily ever-changing vegan options, from snacks to small plates, and always a vegan dessert. Reservations recommended.
• Paloma Taco & Tequila (W. North Ave. and Bay View) will have their Crispy Tofu Taco or Tostada on special: Golden crispy tofu kissed with bold seasoning, layered with avocado, vibrant salsa, their signature pickled red onion, a crunchy crown of vegan cheese, fresh cilantro, and micro radish sprouts.
• Palomino Bar (2491 S. Superior St.) will showcase their Veggie Po Boy with black-eyed pea falafel, slaw, tomato, and garlic chipotle aioli on a baguette, plus their legendary vegan hot fried “chicken” sandwich that even meat-eaters can’t resist. They’ll also feature other vegan treats, such as fried buffalo cauliflower, fried pickles, and Honeypie Bakeshop’s vegan apple pie.
• Purple Door Ice Cream (205 S. 2nd St.) will offer a vegan Purple Moon shake as their weekly special, in addition to their regular rotating 2-3 vegan ice cream flavor options.
• Screaming Tuna Sushi (106 W. Seeboth St.) will do a second round of their big hit from this past Earth Day: Wisconsin’s First Ever Vegan Omakase, a one-night ticketed event. Their Vegan for Two sushi platter, typically only served at their Mequon location, will be available for the rest of the week.
• Solful Kitchen (4424 W. North Ave.) will host a special pop-up at Tricklebee Cafe on Monday, Nov. 3, offering “Jerk & Tingz” – a vegan jerk plate including Jerk Jackfruit Eggrolls with bang-bang sauce, fried cabbage, plantain fritters, their award-winning jerk mushrooms over rice and peas, and salted caramel banana pudding featuring gingersnaps.
• Strange Town (2101 N. Prospect Ave.) will run a burger special for the week in addition to their fully vegan menu and extensive natural wine list. The burger will be a house-made maitake and walnut burger on a crisp sesame bun.
• Thai-namite (Brady St., Milwaukee Public Market and Wauwatosa) will offer a complimentary veggie spring roll with every vegan order (dine-in only).
• Trickleebee Café (4424 W. North Ave.) will continue to offer their fully vegan pay-what-you-can menu with special drinks. Cafe merchandise (shirts, hoodies, hats, etc.) will also be 50% off for the week.
• Twisted Plants (Brady St. & West Allis) will offer 15% off orders to customers who mention Milwaukee Vegan Restaurant Week when ordering (dine-in & carryout only).
• VEGAN SOUL (4424 W. North Ave.) will host a special pop-up at Tricklebee Café on Tuesday, Nov. 4 (from 3-7 p.m.), offering “A Taste of Soul”: Carolina Gold BBQ Ribz Tips, Cheezy Mac N Cheeze, Crazy Greens (medley of seasonal garden-fresh collards, kale, cabbage, etc.), candied sweet potatoes, golden cornbread, and Bourbon Peach Cobbler.
• Wonderland (732 E. Burleigh St.) will, in addition to the number of vegan breakfast, lunch, and dinner options on their everyday menu, offer a vegan dinner special for Milwaukee Vegan Restaurant Week.
A full listing of all Milwaukee Vegan Restaurant Week events, offers, specials and new menu items will be released leading up to Nov. 3. For the latest updates and developments, please follow the Milwaukee Vegan Restaurant Week Instagram feed.
Still Time for Additional Restaurants to Participate
All Milwaukee restaurants are invited to participate in this inaugural week. Owners or general managers interested in Milwaukee Vegan Restaurant Week participation can reach out to Stephanie Vienonen, Café Corazón’s Vegan Community Ambassador, at [email protected] to get involved.
When asked about the future of Milwaukee Vegan Restaurant Week, Mireles added. “We hope it becomes an annual tradition and continues to expand. We’d love for folks in 5 years to look back at our humble beginning in 2025 and be amazed by how much Milwaukee Vegan Restaurant Week has grown and evolved since this inaugural week.”
