Vegan
American
Southern and soul food vegan restaurant launched 2021. Open Mon-Sun 5:00pm-9:30pm.
56 Reviews
First Review by JJones315
thommyd
Points +347
Soul food for the win always! - Edit
Vegan soul food in the heart of the big apple! Wonderful service, awesome vibes and really good food make this place want me to tell all my friends about it!
Read morePros: Atmosphere , Service , Food
Cons: A little loud
Guest
PastaLana
Points +243
Authentically Southern, Delightfully Vegan! - Edit
Anyone who has indulged in classic Southern/Soul Food would be dubious of how a cuisine so traditionally drenched in butter and meaty bits, could possibly be veganized while still maintaining its Southernness and soul.
Read moreWell, Cadence has done it, right down to a Mac and cheese that you'd never believe is vegan! The oyster mushroom and waffles are delightful. I think my favorite dish was honestly the collard green wraps in some kind of delicious broth.
I would say the only dish that didn't completely WOW us was the cobbler we had for dessert. While the ice cream on top was sensational, the cobbler itself was very soupy. Tasty soup no less, but not my favorite.
Go for the food, and the creative wine-based cocktails. Maybe skip the dessert and order the cornbread.
Pros: Delicious classic southern/soul favorites, Great for a date , Interesting & thoughtful cocktails/wine list
Cons: Very loud , Dessert isn't their strong suit
Guest
Beanz
Points +1694
Everything is delicious - Edit
Went for a family style dinner and ordered 6 of the menu items and all of them were delicious. Definitely a fat filled meal tho! The cider was also delicious.
Read moreGuest
hugemittons
Points +1616
Really enjoyable - Edit
Drinks and food was all really nice
Read moreGuest
Angelo23
Points +282
Delicious and flavorful - Edit
Went here to celebrate the eve of my birthday and the experience was amazing! Loved each item we ordered especially the Buffalo Oyster Mushroom, Palm Cake, and of course the Cobbler! Great spot for date night or to celebrate a special occasion. We will be back!
Read moreGuest
katefall48
Points +306
Great Southern Inspired Food - Edit
We loved every dish. The only problem is they serve family style and recommend sharing but the dishes are generally messy and hard to share! We managed nonetheless and loved everything we had.
Read moreGuest
Marcelasobella
Points +34
Very disappointed - Edit
I wanted to love this place but between the way I was treated and some of the food I was not very happy. The potato salad was the best thing out of the whole meal. Tried the fried lasagna and was not tasty .Gumbo needed seasoning and I had to request hit sauce. I really felt like our waitress did not like us and each plate took forever to come out. When me and my date got the bill it was the wrong bill and had 4 drinks when we orders two. We let the waitress know and she snatch the bill did not apologize at all. The whole dinner we watch the people next to use get special treatment while we were ignored.
Read moreUpdated from previous review on 2023-03-12
Pros: It’s vegan , Potatoes salad
Cons: Limited menu , Service will vary , Food needs seasoning
Guest
Walktell
Points +963
Delish Southern Comfort food - Edit
Great ambiance, small menu but everything we ordered was very good, stand out by far was the Southern Fried Lasagna and also really liked the Collard Green Wraps, the Fried Oyster Mushroom & Waffle was good but we needed a second side of maple syrup as waffle was quite thick and palm cake was good but I probably wouldn't order it again personally but that's mostly because I've figured out I don't love the consistency of hearts of palm. Staff was friendly, music was hip, vibe was cool, hopping but never too loud. Seeing how they do birthdays there was a lot of fun too! Will definitely be going back some time.
Read moreUpdated from previous review on 2023-02-17
Pros: Delicious vegan food, Cool atmosphere , Nice staff
Guest
IwaWella
Points +1249
Delicious - Edit
One of the best vegan meals I’ve had in nyc, very flavorful and portions were large.
Read moreGuest
AndreaJean
Points +118
Delicious vegan soul food - Edit
Really liked this place. Fav dishes were probably the palm cake and cornbread. Our server was super nice too. Three of us got 6 dishes (recommended by the server) but we probably would have been fine with 5 as we were super full!
Read moreUpdated from previous review on 2023-01-17
Guest
mjs-nj
Points +59
Excellent vegan restaurant for special occasions - Edit
Great service, limited menu, pricey
Read moreGuest
VeggieKev
Points +112
A new New York treasure - Edit
I would go with 10 stars if I could. Amazing ambiance, staff, flavors… I tried 10 items and every one was great. We can’t wait to go back.
Read morePros: Lots of unique choices, Great flavor combinations , Feels healthy
Cons: None
Guest
slo0go
Points +2179
Wonderful vegan soul food - Edit
I have never been to a restaurant quite like this! Food is served family style. Expect to order 3-4 dishes to share between two people. There is no designation between apps and entrees, and the food comes in no particular order. We got the fried okra, smoked grits, and southern style lasagna. Everything was so tasty. It was a meal to remember.
Read morePros: Southern vegan food!
Guest
DieterBalcaen
Points +51
Amazing place - Edit
Were very well received, super friendly staff and the food, OMG, amazing taste and portions are sufficient.
Read morePros: Amazing food, Wine-based cocktails that are up to par
Guest
Tucker333
Points +569
Incredible - Edit
I’m vegan and my mom is very anti-vegan. We went here and we both loved it. Very cute and intimate atmosphere and excellent staff. The miso corn was our favorite dish. The grits were excellent as well.
Read moreGuest
angeligj
Points +76
What a treat! - Edit
I’m still thinking about my dinner from Cadence last night, that’s how good it was! My husband and I went there to celebrate our 3 year wedding anniversary. We ordered the potato salad, fried okra, fried lasagna, and cornbread. I would say the potato salad and lasagna were my absolute favorites. A con was that they didn’t offer any sodas/soft beverages. They only had water, cocktails, wines, and mocktails. At the end our waitress surprised us with a champagne toast which was so sweet. I really appreciated that!
Read moreUpdated from previous review on 2022-08-11
Guest
hungryvegan23
Points +738
Delicious - but $170 for two people - Edit
We really enjoyed the food here - even though the waitress seemed a bit grumpy. The highlights were the jackfruit slider and the mushroom waffle - both taste sensations!
Read moreThey recommend four dishes between two people - which was indeed a good amouht. But with three glasses of wine between the two of us and the tip, it came to over $170 for the meal - a little over the top even for nyc.
Guest
sgriffgor
Points +271
Vegan Soul! Yum! - Edit
Similar atmosphere as Ladybird, equally delicious food.
Read morePros: 100% vegan menu, Soul food (unique), Attentive and friendly staff
Guest
janetgottlieb
Points +260
Loved it - Edit
We enjoyed the Buffalo Oyster Mushrooms and Fried Lasagna
Read moreNot everything vegan is health food. Get used to it.
Pros: Vegan soul food
Cons: Everything fried
Guest
virafmm
Points +39
Favourite vegan place in NYC - Edit
Really friendly staff, incredible food, not to be missed if you're vegan in NYC!
Read moreGuest
sglcklch
Points +3055
Mixed feelings - Edit
Maybe my hopes were too high coming in after having read all the rave reviews everywhere, our dinner turned out to be a little bit underwhelming. We tried six dishes that ranged from so-so to pretty good; none was amazing.
Read moreMy favorite of the night was the smoked grits, which was hearty and warming and just what we needed on a chilly winter night. The potato salad was tasty and spot-on. We also liked the cornbread; the flavor was great despite some gummy bits here and there. Not the best vegan cornbread I've ever had. The palm cakes and fried lasagna tasted flat and boring. The latter was downright disappointing because it was the one dish I was really excited about. We added the buffalo mushroom sandwich at the end after overhearing the table next to us gushing about it. I thought it was okay, too vinegary for my taste.
I do appreciate the fact that this restaurant exists because all vegan Southern/soul food is not easy to come by. But I'm just not crazy about the food. The restaurant is very tiny—they're in the process of expanding to the space next door—and the cooking smells were terrible. They desperately need better ventilation. We had actually reserved the chef's counter but couldn't stand it and asked to be seated outside. If you really want to dine in, wear clothes you don't mind throwing in the washer after.
Updated from previous review on 2021-12-25
Pros: all vegan
Cons: tiny space, unbearable cooking smells
Guest
Ljr27
Points +35
Not good - Edit
Food was not good, menu is meh, service is poor. Needs a card to reserve a reservation with a $25 cancellation fee but I had a reservation for chefs counter and they made me sit outside in the cold. This place ruined our night and wouldn’t recommend anyone go here. Cornbread was the only saving grace.
Read moreGuest
Truly
Points +136
Extraordinary! - Edit
I don’t usually review until I’ve been to a place a few times, but I saw that there were only a few reviews so I thought I would chime in. This is a destination restaurant. Plan ahead, the space is tiny and always sold out.
Shenarri Freeman is a name to remember. She is truly gifted not only at creating delicious vegan versions of foods we know, but also, at putting her own unique twist on traditional recipes. Take for example the Southern fried lasagna (a must-try) which turns an Italian staple into Southern comfort food, while also incorporating a pine nut-based ricotta.
The palm cakes rocked my world and the cornbread was the best vegan cornbread I’ve ever had. The grits and cobbler were also very good, but not as memorable. I wish I had a bigger stomach so I could have also tried the much-talked about oyster mushroom sandwich and the black-eyed pea pancake.
Don’t miss the wine list either, sourced entirely and impressively from Black-owned vineyards.
Pros: Next level tastes, Creative “veganizations”, Chill vibe
Cons: Small, Hard to get a reservation , Limited menu
Guest
amberrosemag
Points +408
Incredible food - Edit
Some of the best vegan food in NYC - try everything! We had the lasagne and the oyster mushroom burger as well as potato salad and cobbler. Incredible! Already made another reservation to go back.
Read moreGuest
C.j.Lindsey
Points +28
Sooooo gooood!!! So clean! Loved everything! Especially the cornbread!!! - Edit
Some of the best vegan soul food I’ve had!
Read moreGuest
TravelingVegan19
Points +173
Lives up to the hype - Edit
I was so excited to try Cadence, as I’d heard a lot about it, and I love all of Ravi DiRossi’s other restaurants. Let me tell you, it was everything I’d hoped and more - we immediately planned to come back, because we didn’t get too try everything we wanted. The black-eyed pea pancake was one of the best things I’ve ever tasted, and the corn bread is out of this world. The only thing that wasn’t spectacular was dessert, but there are lots of other places in the neighborhood for that, so you can take a walk to burn off some of dinner, and then go for something sweet!
Read morePros: Outstanding food, unlike anywhere else, Great service, Omg the food
Cons: Too hard to choose what to order!
Guest
ltheman
Points +20
Best vegan soul food in NYC. - Edit
Palm cakes, jerk mac and cheese, and potato salad will have ya grandma saying damn that’s good. All food was delicious and vegan. Staff very friendly.
Read morePros: Great food, Nice location , Staff
Guest
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