The 19 Best Healthy Restaurants in NYC in 2024

Last Updated on February 21, 2024 | 0 Comments
healthy restaurants NYC

Eating healthy in the big city begins with finding the best healthy restaurants in NYC. Wouldn't it be great to find fast and easy options that check off all the boxes on your nutritious and delicious eating to-do list? Our informative guide to the 19 best healthy restaurants in NYC is here to assist!

Learning how to start eating healthy in the big city is a much easier task when you know where to find fresh eats and wholesome treats. No matter what cuisine suits your cravings, the best healthy restaurants in NYC are ready and waiting to serve. Check out these selections to find healthy restaurants in NYC that make mindful dining a cinch.

 

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Find the Best Restaurants in NYC

The easiest way to find the best healthy restaurants NYC has to offer is with guided food tours in NYC. Whether you're familiar with the landscape or exploring the skyline for the first time, you'll have helpful culinary hosts leading you to phenomenal dining they've scouted out ahead of time. They'll make quick and delicious work of getting you set up for an unforgettable experience.

19 Best Healthy Restaurants in NYC

1. Bareburger

Natural ingredients like grass-fed beef and antibiotic-free chicken make Bareburger a choice healthy restaurant in NYC for eaters who like their food as close to nature as possible. Fully vegan options on the menu reach far beyond garden-variety fare.

The Vibe

Fast-casual dining spots have rarely been so cute — or so fresh!

What to Order

A Be My Burger lets diners build their own savory stack from the bun up. Pile on the veggies and sauces to make a meal that matters. The best NYC burger might just be the one you put together yourself!

Bareburger | Multiple Locations | $$ 

Bareburger is a cute healthy restaurant in NYC.
via Bareburger

2. Little Beet Table

Simplicity is a key ingredient on the menu at Little Beet Table. Thoughtful modern dishes get the gourmet treatment for a spread that feels fancy while tasting naturally delicious.

The Vibe

Warm, earthy interiors with open-air breakaway street-side windows provide a perfect locale for health-minded things to do in NYC with your crew.

What to Order

Spoil yourself with an order of sunflower seed hummus starter and a mushroom and black bean burger chaser. This is how the healthy restaurants in NYC show patrons a nutritious good time!

Little Beet Table | 333 Park Ave. S., New York, NY 10010 | $$

healthy food on a bright table
via Little Beet Table

3. Spice Symphony

If thoughtful Asian cuisine is what you're looking for in a healthy restaurant in NYC, Spice Symphony is the place to be. A mix of some of the best Chinese food in NYC and the best Indian food in NYC provides a range of tantalizing tastes, with plenty of possibilities for vegetarian diners to dig into.  

The Vibe

A posh yet cozy place to eat in NYC, with white tablecloths on every table and open seating that makes the space feel social.

What to Order

Exciting mash-ups like the paneer Szechuan vegetarian lunch box promise a global feast. Non-vegetarian boxes include beef, chicken, seafood and even lamb.

Spice Symphony | Multiple Locations | $$

Spice Symphony is a delicious healthy restaurant in NYC.
via Spice Symphony

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4. Rawsome Treats

Why should investigating healthy restaurants in NYC mean leaving out the sweet stuff when Rawsome Treats is part of the scene? This clever confectioner concocts delightfully nutritious desserts from fruits, nuts and seeds, with no added sugars.

The Vibe

A thoroughly-modern bakery space, perfect for a date night in NYC with your sweetest someone.

What to Order

The Tirawmisu is more than just a play on words. It's a twist on a classic Italian dessert with creamy layers that guarantee sweet satisfaction in every bite.

Rawsome Treats | 158 Orchard St., New York, NY 10002 | $$

raw food tiramisu
via Rawsome Treats

5. Mango Mango Dessert

Hong Kong styling applied to contemporary sweets is what you're in for at Mango Mango Dessert. Inventive chefs prepare pretty fruit-based desserts that are as lovely to look at as they are to taste.

The Vibe

A clean, minimalist and thoroughly modern healthy restaurant for NYC, perfect for quiet indulgences with friends.

What to Order

The artful fruit bowls feature exotic elements like snow white mango and lychee jelly, creating a fruit-flavored adventure you can eat with a spoon.

Mango Mango Dessert | 23 St. Marks Pl., New York, NY 10003 | $$

Mango Mango Dessert is a sweet healthy restaurant in NYC.
via Mango Mango Dessert

6. Crave Fishbar

Diners looking to incorporate pescatarian outlets while cruising through the healthy restaurants in NYC should dive into Crave Fishbar. Fresh local catches keep the menu varied and 100% sustainable, a first for an NYC restaurant, healthy or otherwise!

The Vibe

Nautical charm rules the roost, right down to the whimsy of the snaky, tentacled mural that graces the ceilings overhead.

What to Order

The raw oyster bar featuring oysters, clams and shrimp from all around the Eastern Seaboard provides diners an oceanic smorgasbord. Catch a roasted, blackened or grilled filet of fluke or salmon for the ultimate in healthful gourmet seafood.

Crave Fishbar | Multiple Locations | $$$

grilled salmon with tzatziki, peas and potatoes
via Crave Fishbar

7. Beatnic

A snappy name like Beatnic heralds a fun and healthy restaurant in NYC for vegans looking for vibrant eats. Though the menu bears a fair amount of crispy, crunchy comfort food, clean eaters will find oversized salads to be the cream of the crop.

The Vibe

Laid-back to the max and perfect for snacks that aren't nutritionally lax when your hunger attacks.

What to Order

This is the place to build your own salad, complete with greens, grains and jackfruit chicken that brings your plant-based protein dreams to life.

Beatnic | Multiple Locations | $$

Beatnic is a super vegan healthy restaurant in NYC.
via Beatnic

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8. Urban Vegan Kitchen

The imaginative dishes at Urban Vegan Kitchen make this intriguing gourmet spot the most modern healthy restaurant in NYC's expansive line-up. Peppering the menu are creative plant-based versions of familiar favorites like BLTs with tempeh bacon and quesadillas featuring cashew-based cheese.

The Vibe

Contemporary and comfortable, with just the right amount of chill.

What to Order

The chorizo empanada is all plant-based, defying the laws of food physics in a most delicious way. With a UVK burger, you get a house-made mushroom and barley patty dressed to the nines. With Chick-un and waffles, you get a delightful fusion of Southern fried seitan, sautéed garlic kale, crispy Belgian waffle and maple mustard aioli.

Urban Vegan Kitchen | 41 Carmine St., New York, NY 10014 | $$

vegan chicken and waffles
via Urban Vegan Kitchen

9. Franchia Vegan Café

Franchia Vegan Café represents a sophisticated take on healthy food restaurants in NYC. For Asian fusion vegan dining in the heart of the city, this cool yet welcoming dining room provides mindful fare in an intimate setting.

The Vibe

Classy and classic, a perfect locale for wholesome food and fresh jazz.

What to Order

Vegan sushi, kimchi dumplings, stuffed mushrooms…there's a plant-based stand-in for every quintessential Asian dish you know and love. Be ready to make a second trip to try the rest of the menu.

Franchia Vegan Café | 12 Park Ave., New York, NY 10016 | $$

vegan sushi
via Franchia Vegan Café

10. Seeds & Weeds

For Seeds & Weeds, the name says it all. Vegan and vegetarian recipes created with gourmet-level care create upscale fare at one of the key healthy restaurants in NYC for lovers of high-style dining. The menu reads like a catalog from a farmers market!

The Vibe

Warm and woodsy, with a market filled with fresh produce to wander through on your way out.

What to Order

Crispy olive oil artichokes and mushroom walnut Bolognese are game changers for ingenious healthy restaurants in NYC, bringing field to table without sacrificing metropolitan manners.

Seeds & Weeds | 96 South St., New York, NY 10038 | $$

Seeds & Weeds is an excellent healthy restaurant in NYC.
via Seeds & Weeds

11. Dirt Candy

As a Michelin-guide restaurant, Dirt Candy is a stand-out healthy restaurant in NYC. The dishes here wear their plant-forward status as a badge of honor, elevating vegan and vegetarian dining to the realm of culinary magic. And the food is almost too pretty to eat.

The Vibe

Top-shelf gourmet stylings intended for the most discerning of healthy eaters.

What to Order

The menu is seasonal, so be prepared for a new experience with every visit. The spring selection includes pea-filled ravioli and mushroom mousse, poetic reinventions of age-old ingredients.

Dirt Candy | 86 Allen St., New York, NY 10002 | $$$$

Dirt Candy is a wonderful healthy NYC restaurant.
via Dirt Candy

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12. Bodhi Kosher

In the vast and varied array of healthy restaurants in NYC, a kosher Chinese Buddhist restaurant like Bodhi Kosher is truly one of a kind. This dim sum hall proudly aims to protect animal lives while delivering some of the most savory and healthful Asian food in town.  

The Vibe

Warm and inviting, with touches of classic neighborhood restaurant enchantment.

What to Order

Vegan chicken lo mein meat for plant-based protein that keeps its incredible essence, while the meat-free BBQ fried rice is a masterful interpretation of the original.

Bodhi Kosher | 77 Mulberry St., New York, NY 10013 | $$

vegetarian lo mein
via Bodhi Kosher

13. The Butcher's Daughter

Billing itself as a "vegetable slaughterhouse," The Butcher's Daughter presents vegetarian dining with juice bar leanings. Everything from breakfast to dessert gets the plant-forward treatment.

The Vibe

As folksy and homespun as a trip to the country. A bright, comforting spot for a low-key birthday dinner in NYC.

What to Order

Take a taste of the Healing Harvest bowl, filled with quinoa, microgreens and sweet potatoes for a tasty, nutritional super-boost, the epitome of what healthy restaurants in NYC provide.

The Butcher's Daughter | Multiple Locations | $$$

bright, open dining room of The Butcher's Daughter
via The Butcher's Daughter

14. Shuka

With Shuka on the must-try list of healthy restaurants in NYC, you have a Mediterranean menu that brings mindful dining a splash of Blue Zone sunshine. 

The Vibe

A breezy dining room offers booth seating that's perfect for snuggling.

What to Order

Spit-roasted chicken shawarma perfectly captures the vibrancy of Mediterranean cuisine. For more modest bites, try the falafel served with zesty turmeric pickles.

Shuka | 38 MacDougal St., New York, NY 10012 | $$$

Shuka is a healthy Mediterranean restaurant in NYC.
via Shuka

15. Springbone

Dipping into the bone broth movement, Springbone offers a unique menu of soups and bowls created with healing in mind. The menu may be trim, but it's packed with as many nutrients as the other healthy restaurants in NYC combined (approximately)!

The Vibe

Streaming sunlight illuminates this modest but alluring counter-service setup.

What to Order

Boost your resistance during winter in NYC (or any time!) with Immunity Broth, a mix of chicken, garlic and ginger with a blast of vitamin C, or try a cashew kale Caesar salad for a crunchy mix of gratifying greens.

Springbone | Multiple Locations | $$

broth
via Springbone

16. Friend of a Farmer

Farm-to-table dining finds a champion in Friend of a Farmer. An early adopter of serving fresh, local ingredients to eager customers, this homey representative of healthy restaurants in NYC has been on the scene since 1986. 

The Vibe

Farm-style with a sharp, post-modern presentation.

What to Order

Pot pies made with chicken, beef or vegetables offer a hearty and wholesome meal that brings old-fashioned nourishment to the NYC food scene.

Friend of a Farmer | Multiple Locations | $$

Friend of a Farmer is a quaint healthy restaurant in NYC.
via Friend of a Farmer

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17. Tap NYC

Brazilian café Tap NYC brings South American heat to healthy restaurants in NYC for ethical food created with a conscience. Gluten-free diners will be in health food heaven with flourless wraps and traditional breads.

The Vibe

Up-to-date diner stylings with the comfort of a café.

What to Order

An organic chicken club wrap transforms shredded chicken and mozzarella in a Parmesan crust into a slice of the good life.

Tap NYC | Multiple Locations | $$$

chicken wrap
via Tap NYC

18. Dig

Home cooking culture with deep roots informs the dining at Dig. This no-nonsense kitchen cooks up straightforward fare with an eye on real ingredients prepared really well.

The Vibe

If down-to-earth took the form of a healthy restaurant in NYC, Dig would be the place.

What to Order

Herb roasted chicken, wild Alaskan salmon and maple glazed crispy tofu are a trifecta of delicious dishes for the diverse eaters in your crew. There's something healthy for everyone here.

Dig | Multiple Locations | $$

Dig is a fantastic healthy restaurant in NYC.
via Dig

19. Nish Nush

Not only is Nish Nush fun to say, it's also one of the healthiest restaurant in NYC with a menu full of vegetarian Mediterranean wonder food. The chefs follow the ways of their ancestors to create fresh food that nourishes.

The Vibe

Fast-casual feels that won’t be mad if you linger awhile in a sunny window while you dine.

What to Order

Rumor has it the falafel is some of the best in town. Enjoy it in burger or platter form. 

Nish Nush | Multiple Locations | $$

Nish Nush falafel
via Nish Nush

Locating your favorite healthy restaurants in NYC is a journey of discovery you undertake one bite at a time. Whether you’re investigating plant-centered options or diving into pescatarian fare, the wild range of healthy restaurants in NYC is sure to keep you satisfied.

For even more ways to explore NYC and beyond, check out other experiences happening on Cozymeal.