Vegan
Delivery
Take-out
Asian
Korean
Vegan restaurant offering buddhist Korean cuisine menu with dishes like savory pancake, rice noodle soups, dumplings, kimchi, and its signature Dr. K's soup. For dessert, there's ginger tea with ice cream and maple cookies. Open Wed-Sun 12:00pm-9:00pm. Closed Mon-Tue.
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Last update on 22 Apr 2024 by Vegan Vagabond
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105 Reviews
First Review by mollypitcher
dmoongdess
Points +308
True Gem - Edit
Longtime vegan restaurant with a truly beautiful menu. They serve the typical bi bim bop but also many other items including dumplings and savory vegetable pancakes. Go for their soups! Decor is okay but the food and staff are simply great. Restaurant is always filed with regulars. It's a peaceful setting. Not loud. One negative is that they refused to seat us once when we arrived 55 mins before closing time. They would only allow us to order something to go even after promising to just order and eat quickly. I was starving and didn't want to go back home, but they wouldn't budge! So... I boycotted them for 6 months after that, but finally gave in and returned as a happy patron a few weeks ago.
Read morePros: 100% vegan restaurant with a large menu, Thoughtful authentic Korean food., Attentive staff (too attentive sometimes.)
Cons: A bit far and more $$$ than other Asian places, Don't come less than an hour before closing, because they won't seat you. To go only! :(
Guest
Globivore
Points +72
Best Vegan Restaurant in Chicago - Edit
Wow this food is very vibrant in color, rich in flavor and tasteful to the mouth and soul. Kimchi Pizza and Korean pancakes are to die for. The owner, Bill is great as well. Highly recommend visiting.
Read morePros: Delicious food , Cozy atmosphere, Lovely owner and staff
Guest
Rece_da_vegan
Points +24
🔥🔥🔥🔥 - Edit
Great food and the healing soups are amazing...
Read moreGuest
rachellp
Points +47
favorite vegan restaurant by far! - Edit
Amitabul is my favorite vegan restaurant ever! Always freshest ingredients, healthy, and so delicious! This is the only vegan restaurant that my non-vegan family enjoys!
Read morePros: So many tasty dishes, Healthy, Oil-free options
Guest
ashleynt646
Points +283
One of my favorite restaurants - Edit
Amitabul is one of my favorite restaurants ever. It’s got so many different dishes and each one has a unique flavor and ingredients. I’ve tried many of the options and have never been disappointed. My favorites are the black rice pancakes, Dr K’s stew, and the dumplings. The portions are huge. The smoothies and teas are amazing. And even the desserts are delicious. I always come back here when I’m in town and look forward to a very relaxing and enjoyable meal.
Read morePros: All vegan, Low/no oil, Very flavorful
Cons: Service can be slow , Parking can be difficult , Can get expensive
Guest
Amiestella
Points +36
fantastic - Edit
This was our first visit. We choose the Chef Special. We each got a separate entrees. Which was great since we like to sample off each other's plates. It was a huge amount of food. Come hungry or take some home. What we appreciated besides the fantastic taste was how well balanced and intricate the dishes were. So many varieties of veggies, beans, nuts, etc. The sauces were so flavorful. My husband compared
Read moreIt to other restaurants when you think it was good but I can make it better at home. This would take lots of practice and a ton of work to even try to make the smallest resemblance. We highly recommend and will be back frequently.
Pros: colorful, unique, thoughtful
Guest
Brita
Points +170
Don't come on a Saturday night - Edit
I can understand having to wait for a table to open up, but it took an hour for our food to come after we ordered it.
Read moreThe steamed dumplings were still cold in the middle.
My entree was ok, but the dish my husband ordered was described as steamed assorted mushrooms, but was actually stir fry veggies with a few mushrooms thrown in.
On the plus side the vegetables were fresh and cooked tender crisp.
Pros: Healthy food cooked with little or no oil.
Cons: Very slow. One dish was not as described.
Guest
Safetyisnumberone
Points +79
Nowhere like it - Edit
It's unique. Not only vegan but mainly oil-free and with a spiritual element thrown in. The soups are legendary.
Read moreGuest
vegstravaganza
Points +98
Absolutely in love with Amitabul - Edit
This is my boyfriend and my favorite place to eat. We try to do low oil when we can, and all of the items on this menu are labeled clearly low or no oil. Everything we have tried on the menu is amazing and I try to get something new each time we go. You can choose mild, medium, or hot which is nice on days you're not feeling to adventurous. Each dish is made to order with love. The portions are huge. Some of the soups are definitely a 2 person (or 2 meal) job. Run to Amitabul!
Read morePros: All vegan, good prices, delicious food
Cons: Small - make reservations for Fri/Sat night, Closed Sundays :(
Guest
rasplizzy
Points +215
Amitabul is THE BEST. - Edit
Amitabul... definitely has to be my favorite vegan restaurant in Chicago. Most of their dishes are oil free (they call it, steam stirred!) and they're all loaded with vegetables. First of all, Amitabul does NOT skimp on portions... or flavor! I LOVE their food. Chef Bill Choi is wonderful, and very accommodating. The pic I have here is the 9 Ways to Nirvana soup which is the ultimate healing soup (and it's MASSIVE)... but you can't go wrong at that place. My other favorites include the dumplings, the rainbow maki rolls, and Dark Side of the Moon (amazing mushroom dish). Amitabul is a MUST--vegan Korean food... what could be better? PS. THEY HAVE VEGAN GREEN TEA ICE CREAM! Just sayin' :)
Read morePros: Inexpensive, Huge Portions, Delicious food
Guest
ultraviolet.gomez
Points +5445
One of the best meals I have ever had!!! - Edit
Delicious food and great customer service. Enjoyed the calm atmosphere. I was staying in a city centre on my stay but heard so much about Amitabul that the long journey by train and bus didnt stop me. Took me almost hour to get there but it was definitely worth it!
Read moreGuest
steven01
Points +21
Great food!!! - Edit
Taste great, a "bob" restaurant, may take a bit of time, but worth it.
Read moreGuest
Ali5on
Points +196
Flavorful and healthful! - Edit
Chef uses no salt nor oil. I couldn’t tell. Love it! I had the mushroom bi bim bop. Very good. Could have used more pickled vegetables. I love that everything is homemade (gochujang sauce, miso, etc. ). Green tea was smooth and flavorful (could have been matcha tea). Plenty of noodle dishes. If I lived nearby, it would be my local hangout; The chef/owner chatted up people who were regulars.
Read morePros: Tasty clean food
Cons: A bit too casual for a newcomer
Guest
MarEichler17
Points +289
Excellent! - Edit
The food was delicious and there were so many options. I got the Grill Tofu Curry Stir which had a ton of good veggies with a lovely, flavorful curry that was not too heavy. This place is a bit of drive but well worth the trip.
Read moreGuest
Marcyp7
Points +188
Favorite! - Edit
Best food around! So delicious and flavorful! I especially love the fact that it is so healthy! You can choose no oil or light oil. Both are equally fantastic! I could eat this food every day. The portion size is great. Love the ginger energy tea. Perfect restaurant.
Read morePros: Healthy and delicious
Cons: None
Guest
ManjotSingh
Points +38
good but oil free - Edit
It was really good but I missed the oil. Even a little would go a long way. Food felt dry. Flavors were amazing
Read moreGuest
SandroNissan
Points +26
Great food - Edit
Food was so fresh and delicious!!
Read moreGuest
tsworth
Points +155
Amazing atmosphere and food - Edit
This place was excellent. The miso soup was one of the best I’ve ever had.
Read moreGuest
earthgirl22
Points +24
Amitabul is wonderful. - Edit
Delicious tasty food!
Read morePros: peaceful comfortable little place. yummy veggies.
Guest
KimberlyNikolDodson
Points +157
Devine - Edit
This place has not only amazing food but a wonderfully calm atmosphere. Well priced yummy food. Left here feeling full and happy.
Read moreGuest
veggieseal
Points +63
Great! - Edit
It was so worth the *expensive* lyft ride I took to get ALL the way across town on my recent business trip to Chicago. The food was so yummy and the service was friendly and warm. I have never really eaten Korean food at a restaurant because it's usually so tricky to tell if things are vegan. Amitabul did not disappoint, though! I ordered too much food (both a kimchi-topped salad and a mixed rice dish) but I probably could've eaten it all - so delicious! I enjoy quite a bit of heat in my food so I added quite a bit to the rice, but the salad was perfectly spicy as it was. If I ever move to Chicago, I'll be looking for a place to live nearby. :-)
Read morePros: Great food, Nice servers, pleasant atmosphere
Cons: too far away from me!
Guest
VeganScientist
Points +847
fantastic and so interesting! - Edit
Let your food be your medicine and your medicine be your food. Amazing savory pancakes, pizza, veggieful dishes that are healthy and delicious.
Read morePros: cozy atmosphere, convenient parking, pleasant staf
Guest
Alysoun Mahoney
Points +877
Korean vegan is the best! - Edit
Had my first meal at Amitabul last night - I being the only vegan in a party of four with two vegetarians and one omnivore. We all absolutely loved the food!
Read moreWe started by sharing a plate of vegan dumplings.
For main course, I had the Buddha's 3 Luck with maple and wild sesame leaf sauce, chewy brown rice cakes and mystic Asian veggies served over brown rice. Absolutely delicious - and so healthy, cooked without oil.
Two of my friends ordered different Bi Bim Bops, and one ordered the Energy Pancakes - all big hits!
Chef Bill and his team are flexible about spiciness level, which is great - you can order spicy, medium or mild.
For many years, my favorite New York vegan restaurant has been a Korean place - and now I think Amitabul has become my favorite Chicago vegan restaurant for food quality.
Pros: Delicious, healthy food., Simple but attractive decor, Friendly service
Cons: Service a bit slow
Guest
StarshineM
Points +86
Lovely Food, Lovely Atmosphere - Edit
The restaurant itself was a great one. While somewhat small and easy to miss from the street, the interior decor made the restaurant really stick out! There was a lot of artwork from Asia and the music was very calming and ambient.
Read moreI ordered the tofu w/ veggies as an appetizer, which was good. The tofu was soft and a bit bland, but enjoyable nonetheless.
As an entree, I ordered the Hello Dolly and Bill. The curry sauce was very nice, and not too strong (comes in different levels of spice). This was mixed with tofu, veggies and a mound of white rice.
My compatriot had the mandu dumplings, and the spicy Kim Chi Tofu Bi Bim Bop. The dumplings had the texture of pirogies which were also wonderful, as was the Bi Bim Bop. For desert we shared a Giant Red Bean Cake, which I did not enjoy much, but my friend ate the rest.
Pros: Staff were very attentive, Music/atmosphere was very calming, Great food!
Cons: Didn't enjoy desert much, will try another
Guest
Ahrengirl
Points +24
Nice Saturday Lunch - Edit
We drove a 1/2 hour to try this place. It was good. We started with the Spicy Kimchi Maki. I had the High Tabetian spiced medium. It was really spicy but tasty. I plan to go back to try some of the other dishes.
Read moreGuest
LinnDaugherty
Points +618
delicious - Edit
Me and my non vegan bf loved this place and left full. Dr k's soup was the first thing that we ordered - one order was enough to feed and stuff both of us. HOWEVER we ordered another dish -no idea what we ordered - but it had rice cakes in it - SO GOOD!
Read moreGuest
ErikHayner
Points +16
Favorite Food in Chicago - Edit
I love Amitabul, and I really think it is the best vegan restaurant in Chicago. Every single thing I've ordered there has been super delicious and I also appreciate that it's specifically a whole foods, plant-based restaurant, so health is a priority. I would recommend the place to anyone. I wish I could eat there every day!
Read morePros: healthy , delicious , affordable with large portions
Guest
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