Heading out for a meal as a family can provide a great opportunity for bonding all while introducing your kids to unique flavors. Still, it can feel like a challenge to find restaurants with vegetarian and vegan choices when you don’t know where to look.

Crème de la Crème of Mesa, AZ has you covered! We’ve put together this list of restaurants right here in our own town, making it easy to find plant-based meals for any occasion. From restaurants dedicated to vegan meals to pizza parlors, Indian cuisine, and more with plenty of veggie-friendly options on the menu, the Mesa area has it all.

The Nile Coffee Shop

Image via Unsplash by nadiavalko

Located right in front of Downtown Mesa’s historic Nile Theater, The Nile Coffee Shop has treated the Mesa community to delicious eats since they first opened in 2015. With a diverse menu, you’ll have seemingly endless possibilities for trying out tasty food. Try one of their specialty vegan Rubens, or go for a burrito with add-ons like soyrizo and tofu as well as greens and other veggies. For breakfast, try the vegan Benedict, a plant-based alternative to the brunch classic. 

Whether you indulge in the locally roasted coffee specialties, the pastries baked in-house, or one of the vegan dishes, The Nile Coffee Shop offers an abundance of plant-based treats. And this local coffee shop may be known for its veggie-packed options, but it’s not just the food that sets this restaurant apart. It’s also a live music venue, hosting a variety of events at The Nile Theater to keep residents of our city entertained. 

Organ Stop Pizza

Treat the kiddos to a unique experience and some delicious pizza with a visit to Organ Stop Pizza. This unique Mesa restaurant serves up an array of vegetarian options (and more), building on a tradition that started when the original Organ Stop Pizza opened in 1972 in Phoenix, displaying a Wurlitzer pipe organ built for Grauman’s Hollywood Egyptian Theatre right in the pizza parlor. The landmark attraction was so successful that a new Organ Stop opened in Mesa in 1975. Today, the Mesa spot features the world’s largest Wurlitzer pipe organ where professional organists perform throughout the day.

Stop by this incredible pizza place for an interesting auditory backdrop to an assortment of delicious dishes. You can look forward to a range of menu options, making it easy to enjoy the experience here while ordering vegetarian-friendly meals.

You can build your own pizza from a variety of toppings or go for a specialty pizza — the vegetarian pizza includes cheese, mushrooms, olives, onions, green peppers, and diced tomatoes. There’s even the option for gluten-free pizza. You can also go for pasta like classic spaghetti with tomato sauce when you’re not in the mood for pizza. No matter what you settle on for your meal, you’ll want to start off the session with appetizers like fried zucchini or fried mushrooms.

Alessia’s Ristorante Italiano

Craving authentic Italian food? You can’t miss Alessia’s Ristorante Italiano. This Mesa favorite features dishes made from scratch. You’ll find a wide range of tasty treats here, like the Formaggio di Capri, which is warm goat cheese and bell peppers in rosemary olive oil served with crispy crostini. Or, go for an entree like the Erbe dish, which is rosemary, basil, sage, onion, garlic, and tomato sauce with Parmesan over pasta. This dish is also gluten-free!

The menu here boasts a range of plant-based Italian favorites alongside other classic Italian dishes. Start with a Caesar salad or one topped with Gorgonzola before moving onto flatbreads and pasta plates. Don’t forget to treat the family to a delicious dessert like cannoli or homemade tiramisu when you’re celebrating a special occasion.

The recipes on this menu hail from central and northern Italy, and the atmosphere feels homey and welcoming. All in all, a trip to Alessia’s Ristorante Italiano makes you feel like you’re jetting off on a fun Italian vacation, all without ever leaving Mesa.

The Original Blue Adobe Grille

The Original Blue Adobe Grille offers yet another restaurant to explore right in Downtown Mesa. You’ll find a range of vegetarian options on the extensive menu. Start with an appetizer like fresh guacamole or queso blanco, and then indulge in a tasty salad like the Silver City Spinach, which is a spinach salad topped with Gorgonzola cheese, strawberries, and roasted pine nuts, all tossed in a raspberry vinaigrette.

If you’re looking for a heartier meal, you can’t go wrong with choices like the portobello pizza or High Desert Pasta, which is linguini tossed with garlic, tomatoes, pine nuts, Asiago, and more. The Enchanted Garden Enchiladas, which are corn tortillas stuffed with sauteed mushrooms, spinach, zucchini, corn, onions, and mixed cheese, is another great choice.

India Oven

Introduce the kids to delicious Indian cuisine at Mesa’s India Oven. You’ll find plenty of plant-based dishes to love, including a whole section of the menu dedicated to vegetable dishes. Try out new flavors or indulge in dishes you already love while still sticking to vegetarian or vegan eating.

Favorites like chana masala (chickpeas in a special spiced sauce) and palak paneer (fresh spinach and cheese cooked in a curry-style sauce) offer so many different choices for a meal you can enjoy as a family. You’ll also find plant-based appetizers like vegetable samosas (crisp patties filled with potatoes and peas) and rice dishes like vegetable biriyani (rice with fresh veggies, nuts, and herbs), which means this menu boasts a ton of different choices that will have you eager to come back to this restaurant to try new dishes.

We hope we’ve inspired you to try out new restaurants right here in Mesa the next time you’re looking to eat out somewhere that serves delicious vegetarian or vegan options close to home. Did we leave one of your favorite local plant-based spots out of our list? If we did, let us know! We want to check your favorite restaurant out and add it to our roundup of great Mesa places to visit.