Hi r/VeganLA! I'm Kala, owner of The Chocolate Dispensary & Tasting Room in Echo Park. I wanted to introduce us here because a lot of what we've been building is for this community.

The Chocolate Dispensary is the largest craft chocolate store in the country, with over 1,000 chocolates that are all ethically and sustainably sourced. Many of these chocolates are vegan. All dark chocolate is naturally dairy-free anyway, but plenty of "dark" chocolate sneaks in milk solids or butterfat, and labels don't always make it obvious. That’s why we built a dedicated vegan section where you don't have to squint at ingredient lists. Every bar there is plant-based, and we're happy to tell you about the makers, the cacao origins, and how each one is made. And, beyond that, we have hundreds more throughout the shop that are vegan, also, including all the bars in our “Hardcore” section (that’s 80-100% cacao)

The drinks in our cafe are also vegan using oat milk. These include a French drinking chocolate that Yelp rated #3 on their list of “10 Outrageous Gourmet Hot Chocolates 2025.” In addition to that, we have vegan hot chocolate (with vegan marshmallows!), vegan ICED hot chocolate, and a ceremonial 100% cacao drink and coffee and cacao cold brew (that’s like a chocolate tea). 

Some more of what you'll find:

• Vegan bars from small-batch makers around the world
• Oat milk, coconut milk, and other dairy-free "milk" and white dchocolates and caramels for anyone who misses the creamy stuff
• Our vegan café: With rare exceptions, all of our drinks at our cafe are vegan and oat-based
• Tastings: we always have vegan samples for you to try and are happy to make substitutions!

We also private tastings and events, so if you're planning a birthday, team outing, or party with vegan guests, we can build a vegan craft chocolate tasting.

📍 1605 Grafton Street, Los Angeles—steps away from Bacetti and Canyon Coffee 😉
🕐 Our shop and café are open daily 8am-7pm (and until 8pm on Fri & Sat). 

We have some of the best AC in town - trust us!

If you stop by, please say you saw this on r/VeganLA. I'd honestly love to hear what you think, and what you'd want us to carry that we don't yet. Happy to answer questions in the comments!

LA vegan friends! VegNews released their list of vegan restaurants of the year: https://vegnews.com/restaurant-awards-2026

Which restaurants are you glad made the list? Do you think they missed any hard hitters?

I’m so happy that Pura Vita is receiving so much love, but idk about listing it four times (share the love!). I’m surprised that Cafe Gratitude made the list (they weren’t even vegan last I checked a year ago, since they served honey and bee pollen in their smoothies at the time). Also a little disappointed that they included chain restaurants (Mr. Charlie’s, Veggie Grill, Planta) in the list.

Imo, it’s crazy that they didn’t list any LA restaurants on the Latin food list!! We ride for The Grain Cafe, El Cocinero, and Cena Vegan at dawn!!!

Best Vegan Fast-Food Restaurant

Plant Power Fast Food
California & Nevada

2nd Place: Slutty Vegan (Multiple Locations)
3rd Place: Mr. Charlie’s (Multiple Locations)
Editors’ Vote: Mr. Charlie’s (Multiple Locations)


Best Vegan Fast-Casual Restaurant

Next Level Veggie Grill
Nationwide

2nd Place: Chloe’s (New York, NY)
3rd Place: Native Foods (California & Colorado)
Editors’ Vote: Winter Park Biscuit Co. (Orlando, FL)


Best Casual Vegan Restaurant

Monster Vegan
Philadelphia, PA

2nd Place: Follow Your Heart Cafe (Canoga Park, CA)
3rd Place: BeeWali’s Vegan AF (Los Angeles, CA)
Editors’ Vote: The Plot (Oceanside, CA)


Best Vegan Upscale Restaurant

Crossroads Kitchen
Los Angeles, CA & Las Vegas, NV

2nd Place: Pura Vita (West Hollywood, CA)
3rd Place: Anixi (New York, NY)
Editors’ Vote: Little Saint (Healdsburg, CA)


Best Vegan Diner

Doomie’s Home Cookin’
Los Angeles, CA

2nd Place: The Modern Vegan (Las Vegas, NV)
3rd Place: The Tasty (Philadelphia, PA)
Editors’ Vote: The Tasty (Philadelphia, PA)


Best Vegan Pizzeria

Boxcar Pizza
Portland, OR

2nd Place: Donna Jean (San Diego, CA)
3rd Place: Paranormal Pizza (Bethlehem, PA)
Editors’ Vote: Paranormal Pizza (Bethlehem, PA)


Best Vegan Deli

Ben & Esther’s
Portland, OR & San Diego, CA

2nd Place: Maciel’s Plant-Based Butcher & Deli (Los Angeles, CA)
3rd Place: The Butcher’s Son (Berkeley, CA)
Editors’ Vote: The Herbivorous Butcher(Minneapolis, MN)


Best Vegan Italian Restaurant

Pura Vita
West Hollywood, CA

2nd Place: Tarantino’s Vegan (Las Vegas, NV)
3rd Place: Monster Vegan (Philadelphia, PA)
Editors’ Vote: Pura Vita (West Hollywood, CA)


Best Vegan Asian Restaurant

Spicy Moon
New York, NY

2nd Place: Chef Kenny’s Dim Sum (Las Vegas, NV)
3rd Place: Alice & Friends (Chicago, IL)
Editors’ Vote: Spicy Moon (New York, NY)


Best Vegan Sushi Restaurant

Planta
Multiple Locations

2nd Place: Beyond Sushi (New York, NY)
3rd Place: Shizen (San Francisco, CA)
Editors’ Vote: Ma-Kin Sushi (Agoura Hills, CA)


Best Vegan Soul Food Restaurant

Souley Vegan
Oakland, CA

2nd Place: Dirty Lettuce (Portland, OR)
3rd Place: Soul Veg City (Chicago, IL)
Editors’ Vote: The Land of Kush (Baltimore, MD)

Best Vegan Latin Restaurant

Tacotarian
Las Vegas, NV & San Diego, CA

2nd Place: Mis Tacones (Portland, OR)
3rd Place: Penelope’s Vegan Taqueria (Chicago, IL)
Editors’ Vote: The Cocinita (Miami, FL)


Best Vegan Healthy Restaurant

Cafe Gratitude
Los Angeles, CA

2nd Place: Le Botaniste (New York, NY)
3rd Place: Caravan of Dreams (New York, NY)
Editors’ Vote: Trilogy Sanctuary (La Jolla, CA)


Best Vegan Doughnut Shop

Donut Friend
Los Angeles, CA

2nd Place: Doe Donuts (Portland, OR)
3rd Place: Dottie’s Donuts (Philadelphia, PA)
Editors’ Vote: Vegan Doughnut Company(Lakewood, OH)


Best Vegan Ice Cream Spot

Like No Udder
Providence, RI

2nd Place: Kate’s Ice Cream (Portland, OR)
3rd Place: Awan (West Hollywood & Los Angeles, CA)
Editors’ Vote: Runaway Cow (Chicago, IL)


Best Vegan Bakery

Vegan Treats
Bethlehem, PA

2nd Place: Cinnaholic (Nationwide)
3rd Place: Houlden’s Rise Above (Tucson, AZ)
Editors’ Vote: Délice de Bernay (New York, NY)


Best Vegan Coffee Shop

Grindcore House
Philadelphia, PA

2nd Place: Timeless Coffee (Oakland, CA)
3rd Place: Coffee and Plants (Studio City, CA)
Editors’ Vote: Clownboy Coffee (Rochester, NY)


Best Vegan Bar

Mothership
San Diego, CA

2nd Place: Ladybird (New York, NY)
3rd Place: Charlie was a sinner. (Philadelphia, PA)
Editors’ Vote: Ladybird (New York, NY)


Best Vegan Chef

Tara Punzone
Pura Vita—West Hollywood, CA

2nd Place: Haley Duren (Long Count—New York, NY)
3rd Place: Tal Ronnen (Crossroads Kitchen—Los Angeles, CA)
Editors’ Vote: Tara Punzone (Pura Vita—West Hollywood, CA)


Best New Vegan Restaurant

Fungi Foods
Oakland, CA

2nd Place: Not Ya Mama’s Vegan Café (Salem, MA)
3rd Place: Mother Other (Denver, CO)
Editors’ Vote: Secret Vegan Kitchen (Oceanside, NY)


Best Vegan Restaurant in America

Crossroads Kitchen
Los Angeles, CA & Las Vegas, NV

2nd Place: Monster Vegan (Philadelphia, PA)
3rd Place: Pura Vita (West Hollywood, CA)
Editors’ Vote: Little Saint (Healdsburg, CA)