No animals were harmed in creating the dishes served in these restaurants, though the vegetables may have suffered terribly.
Cao Mu Jian
Vegetarian restaurant and tea house. Daily 10.30am-2pm, 5-10pm. 2/F Hua Teng Plaza, A-302 Jinsong San Qu (3 km south of China World on the Third Ring Road), Chaoyang District. (8773 0135) 草木间, 朝阳区劲松三区甲302号华腾大厦二层
Elaine’s Vegetarian Restaurant and Bar
Elaine’s quaint little garden supplies generous portions of Chinese vegetarian fare. The imitation meat dishes are popular with both vegetarian and non-vegetarian diners. Daily 10am-late. Walk 800m along the banks of Luoma Lake, 100m North of Luoma Roundabout, Houshayu, Shunyi District. (8048 5088) 素心小筑, 顺义区后沙峪镇罗马环岛向北100米左转, 沿罗马湖畔800米
Lotus in Moonlight
A large array of meatless and fishless dishes, made from tofu and related products. You can tell it’s the real deal by the number of monks who dine here. Hard to find, but worth the search. 11am-10pm. 1) 12 Liufang Nanli, Chaoyang District. (6465 3299); 2) 3/F, Disanji Creative Space, 66 Beisihuan Xilu, Haidian District. (6268 0848/1318) 荷塘月色素食, 1) 朝阳区柳芳南里12号楼; 2) 海淀区北四欢西路66号第三极3层
Pure Lotus Vegetarian
Voted “Best Vegetarian” in our 2006 Reader Restaurant Awards. Run by monks, their creative dishes will leave you with a full stomach and a clear conscience - and a considerably lightened wallet. Daily 9.30am-10pm. 1) Inside Zhongguo Wenlianyuan, 10 Nongzhanguan Nanlu, Chaoyang District. (6592 3627, 8703 6668, 6437 6288); 2) 3/F, Holiday Inn Lido, Jiangtai Road, Chaoyang District. (6437 6688 ext 3812) 净心莲, 1) 朝阳区农展馆南路10号(中国文联院内); 2) 朝阳区丽都假日饭店三层,首都机场将台路
Still Thoughts Vegetarian Restaurant
A clean, calm and cozy vegetarian oasis that forgoes the hype for thoughtfully prepared mock meats and other vegetarian dishes. Daily 11am-10pm. 1) 18A Dafosi Dongjie (in an unmarked hutong one block north of Qianliang Hutong, which is directly north of Sanlian Bookstore on Meishuguan Dongjie), Dongcheng District. (6400 8941); 2) 30A Gaoliangqiao Lu (inside the Meijuan Hotel), Haidian District. (6225 5792) 静思素食坊, 1) 东城区大佛寺东街甲18号(美术馆东街三联书店北,钱粮胡同北边小区); 2) 海淀区高梁桥路甲30号(梅园宾馆大院内)
Tianchu Miaoxiang
Tucked away in Wudaokou, this pleasant place offers mock meat versions of classic and more unusual Chinese fare, as well as select European and Japanese dishes. A large picture menu makes ordering easy. Daily 10am-10pm. 1/F, Chuangye Building, Qingua Keji Yuan, Haidian District. (6279 7078) www.liaofan.com 天厨妙像素食馆, 海淀区清华科技园创业大厦一层
Vanilla Garden
More than the sum of its parts, Vanilla Garden is a great place to enjoy vegetarian cuisine, sip imported organic coffees and herbal teas, or just hang out. Also boasts helpful and attentive staff, an English menu, desserts, and wireless Internet access. Location 2 calls itself Lily Vegetarian but it’s run by the same people. Daily 10am-10pm. 1) 23 Caoyuan Hutong, Beixiaojie, Dongzhimennei, Dongcheng District. (6405 2082); 2) Jimen Qiao, Beisanhuan (next to Jimen Hotel), Haidian District., Haidian District. (6202 5284) 百合素食香草园, 1) 东城区东直门内北小街草园胡同23号; 2) 海淀区北三环蓟门桥蓟门 饭店旁
Xiangyang Xiaozhu
Classic chinese dishes rendered guilt-free draw the staff vegan back to this restaurant again and again. We like to get hands-on with the veggie jingzhang rousi, and the special house rice (topped with vegetarian shredded beef, minced pork, pickles and more) is a meal on its own. The cheap prices mean that no matter how much we’ve stuffed our faces, there’s also cash left over to pick up some vegetarian groceries from the small in-house stock. 11am-2.30pm, 5pm-9pm. Beisanhuan (20m west of Dazhong Si), Haidian District. (8211 2104) 香阳小筑, 海淀区北三环大钟寺西20米
Xu Xiang Zhai Vegetarian Restaurant
Vegetarian gormandizers delight at the glorious all you can eat buffet (lunch RMB 48, supper RMB 58). Daily 9.30am-10pm. 26 Guozijian Dajie, Dongcheng District. (6404 6568) 叙香斋, 东城区国子监大街甲26-1号