Ranked by overall rating, signature dish strength, and how much reviewers praise the food. If you only have a weekend, start here.
Try the mapo tofu hummus—a popular and uniquely flavorful dish.
Try the sweet & sour lotus root and mapo tofu for standout flavors
Try the vegan pizza with cashew cheese and spicy mushrooms
Try the orange chicken and dry dumplings for standout dishes.
Try the mushroom kebab and Dai style shredded chicken
Must go · #7 #7 Use Alipay or WeChat to scan QR code menus as menus lack English
Must go · #8 #8 Expect good value with an all-you-can-eat experience for about 33 RMB
Try the spicy mala tofu buns
Must go · #10 #10 Try the wide variety of Yunnan mushrooms, including lion’s mane and mushroom sashimi when available
Must go · #11 #11 Try the xiao long bao (vegan soup dumplings) and celery pancake
Come hungry to enjoy the continuous flow of dishes in this all-you-can-eat style
Visit for affordable, all-you-can-eat vegan buffet meals
Visit on Sundays for the monthly vegan Sunday roast or in December for the vegan Christmas meal.
Must go · #15 #15 Ask staff about vegan choices as they are not clearly indicated on the menu
Dishes ranked by how well this city's plant-based venues make them, compared to the other 157 cities we track.
5 places worth stopping for bao
Try the xiao long bao (vegan soup dumplings) and celery pancake
Try the mapo tofu hummus—a popular and uniquely flavorful dish.
Try the orange chicken and dry dumplings for standout dishes.
Try the vegetable and mock meat baozi at the takeout window
Try the spicy mala tofu buns
5 places worth stopping for dumplings
Try the eggplant dishes with basil and the mushroom xiaolong bao, highly recommended by multiple diners
Try the vegan duck and three fish soup made from mock meats
Try the wide variety of Yunnan mushrooms, including lion’s mane and mushroom sashimi when available
Try the mushroom dumplings, a popular choice among visitors
Try the orange chicken and dry dumplings for standout dishes.
5 places worth stopping for dumpling
Try the xiao long bao (vegan soup dumplings) and celery pancake
Try the eggplant dishes with basil and the mushroom xiaolong bao, highly recommended by multiple diners
Try the wide variety of Yunnan mushrooms, including lion’s mane and mushroom sashimi when available
Try the vegan duck and three fish soup made from mock meats
Try the mushroom dumplings, a popular choice among visitors
Completely plant-based kitchens. No swaps, no asking, no surprises.
Try the eggplant dishes with basil and the mushroom xiaolong bao, highly recommended by multiple diners
Try the sweet & sour lotus root and mapo tofu for standout flavors
Try the mapo tofu hummus—a popular and uniquely flavorful dish.
Try the vegan pizza with cashew cheese and spicy mushrooms
Mainstream restaurants where the vegan side of the menu is treated seriously.
Visit on Sundays for the monthly vegan Sunday roast or in December for the vegan Christmas meal.
Try the nine-course set menu paired with tea or wine for a complete experience
Try building your own vegan pizza as they accommodate no vegan cheese requests.
Try the onion pakora, noted for its crisp and delicate texture.
Weekday fuel and weekend stretches.
Try the sweet & sour lotus root and mapo tofu for standout flavors
Try the eggplant dishes with basil and the mushroom xiaolong bao, highly recommended by multiple diners
Try the orange chicken and dry dumplings for standout dishes.
Try the mushroom kebab and Dai style shredded chicken
The reason you planned the trip.
Try the vegan pizza with cashew cheese and spicy mushrooms
Try the mapo tofu hummus—a popular and uniquely flavorful dish.
Try the wide variety of Yunnan mushrooms, including lion’s mane and mushroom sashimi when available
Try the veganized traditional Chinese pastries, including egg bun and pork floss bread.
Try the hearty noodle bowls with mock meat for filling vegan meals.
English menu is available, making ordering easier for non-Chinese speakers
Try the vegan duck and three fish soup made from mock meats
spinach · Vegan Food Guide All 162 Shanghai venues on the map. Filter by what's open, save what you'd return for, get walking directions in two taps.
Cities where the bao signature also earns a spot in the top essentials — pack a weekend around one.
Yes — Shanghai has 162 vegan-ready venues. The top-ranked are Lín Hú SùShí - The Lakeside Veggie, Duli, Qing Chun By Perma. Spinach ranks them daily on overall rating, signature dish strength, and reviewer praise for the food.
Shanghai scores 26.3/100 on the Spinach vegan city index. The city has 34 vegan-friendly venues and 32 high-quality restaurants out of 162 analyzed.
Shanghai has 32 fully vegan restaurants and 53 vegetarian restaurants. 34 venues score B or higher on the Vegan Friendliness grade.
Shanghai's top signature dishes for vegans are bao, dumplings, dumpling. Signature dishes are ranked by how the city's venues score against the other 157 cities we track.
The vegan scene in Shanghai leans Chinese. Chinese is particularly strong, with 10 venues serving quality plant-based options.
Lín Hú SùShí - The Lakeside Veggie is ranked #1 in Shanghai by the Spinach Essentials algorithm, which weights rating, signature dish performance, and reviewer praise. See all 15 Essentials for the full ranking.
Spinach ranks vegan venues using the same algorithm the mobile app runs: a composite of Google Maps rating, the Spinach Rating (Wilson-confidence scored), dish-quality Wilson scores from extracted review signals, and city-specific signature dish strength. Essentials add a tier weighting; category lists add their own mood/occasion weights. No pay-to-play.
The ranking refreshes daily from Supabase. The last refresh is stamped at the top of this page. Venue data comes from Google Maps, HappyCow, and Spinach's own review-analysis pipeline.