With light and airy interiors, an open kitchen and a chef's counter that's ideal for date nights, Dirt Candy gives vegan food a glam makeover. Celebrated chef Amanda Cohen was an early pioneer of the veg-forward movement, having opened the first all-vegetable restaurant in the city. Today, her love for legumes culminates in two tasting menus (the 10-course "Vegetable Garden" is better value) packed with flair and finesse. DIY brussels-sprout tacos arrive on a sizzling-hot plate, aubergines are flambéed tableside and a mushroomy chocolate pudding is rich and velvety. Be frivolous and opt for the paired wine flight; all wines are sourced from women-run wineries. Dirt Candy isn't strictly vegan but near-enough every dish can be adapted to suit.

Catering for your hard-to-please, steak-eating friends, your die-hard veggie mates and those who just want to nod their head to some old school jams, this easy-going Ethiopian restaurant in Brooklyn serves standout sharing food with no dud dishes. The easiest route to ensure everyone gets a bit of everything is to order The Feast, an array of brightly coloured stews that are served in the style of a Pollock painting. Tear off slices of injera, a spongy pancake-cum-sourdough hybrid that is fermented for two days and used as a bowl, utensil and bread. Dip it into yellow split peas, fiery red lentils and an addictive kale-avocado medley called kedija selata. Avoid wearing white - this is strictly finger food territory.

The Butcher's Daughter can be likened to your friend that's sporting that post-LA glow after completing a social-media detox on the West Coast. Get your own with one of The Butcher's Daughter's slaughtered-on-site cold pressed juices or its elite-level avocado on toast. Inside each of its four locations - the OG Nolita site is our personal favourite - it's all succulents, bleached-wood banquet tables and herbal home remedies lined up on the back bar. Extending beyond the flat whites (with oat milk, obvs), huckleberry-ginger muffins and homemade granola, is an all-day menu that chops, filets and carves vegetables into squash-noodle carbonara, quinoa-and-sweet-potato "crab cakes" and tacos made with lettuce tortillas and jackfruit chorizo.

The country's first vegan food truck quickly outgrew its four wheels and pitched up in The Pennsy Food Hall, next to Penn Station, for its first brick-and-mortar offering. Expect lengthy queues as the crème brulee doughnuts and gooey cinnamon snails (a take on cinnamon rolls) are decadent enough to bring anyone over to the green side. The Cinnamon Snail's cult L.A.B. (a lentil-artichoke burger) has had a facelift; the 2.0 version comes with moreish cucumber marinated in umeboshi plums, artichoke hearts and white-bean purée on a grilled pretzel bun. Order a side of kimchi tater tots with sizzling sriracha mayo for snacking.

We're a huge fan of anywhere that serves four types of fondue - even more so when one is made with chardonnay and another from bubbling chocolate. Transforming from a dreamy date-night venue to drunken food spot without, Ladybird's falling ferns, pine-coloured velvet armchairs and ornate stucco ceilings attract everyone from Lower East Side mothers enticed by the mildly nutritious promise of vegetable-packed cocktails to wild groups keen to chomp on breaded mac 'n' cheese bites and continue the party with barrels of boozy kombucha. Aside from providing late night sustenance, Ladybird serves an ever-expanding menu of sophisticated small plates. The part-raw, part-fried medley of seaweed and avocado is a winning example of this restaurant's haute vegetable harmony.

With vintage kung-fu posters plastered over the walls and a menu that's heavy on the (cashew) cheese fries, Toad Style is a low-key, laid-back joint with a grab-and-go vibe - helped by the fact it's as small as a Brooklyn studio apartment and that there are only 14 seats (which are nearly always taken). Try the Casino Dog (which pays homage to the owner's New Jersey roots), the portobello-mushroom riff on a Philly cheesesteak and the barbecued-jackfruit on a potato bun. All ingredients right down to the ketchups, mustards and pickles, are made on site and everything is soy-, palm oil- and GMO-free - this is junk food at its finest.

Despite its (slightly cringe) Woodstock-esque name that conjures up images of Birkenstocks and bowls of brown rice, Modern Love is less hippie and more high ceilings, industrial chandeliers and Brooklynite grit. Heavy on the comfort food and light on the microgreens, its plates come piled high (expect Southern-sized portions) with little concern for waistbands. The gut-busting truffled poutine comes with a jenga-stack of fries slathered in gravy and topped with fresh almond ricotta while the Caribbean jerk tofu curry is served with thick plantain chunks and a tower of coconut rice. A long-standing favourite, the French onion soup surpasses the original non-vegan recipe. Melted Swiss "cheese", grilled garlic bread and a generous portion of gloopy onions at the bottom is simply glorious.

Ditch the dollar slices in a favour of this all-vegan pizza joint. You'll be hard-pressed to taste the difference between Screamer's Pizza and the classic pies found on the sidewalk. The Clean Slide is nothing like its name suggests; expect layers of broccoli rabe, seitan sausage, pesto, sunflower seeds and enough vegan cheese chucked on top that it threatens to slide to the floor - avoid disaster and fold the paper plate in half and take a hefty bite. For an extra slap of greasiness, order the Napoleon Dynamite pizza covered in garlic oil, tater tots, punchy house chilli and oozing nacho cheese.