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Authentic Vegan Italian in NYC: John’s of 12th Street
15July 11th, 2011more restaurants (not LA), NYCwe get a lot of field reports here on the blog from all over the place, and i think this one has to be my favorite of all. jon sent us this post from john’s of 12th street in nyc, an italian restaurant that’s been around for over a century and recently added a separate vegan menu. i’m kinda freaking out. i seriously can’t wait to get to manhattan and hit this place up ASAP!
Basically, John’s has been around for 103 years – very old school NYC Italian restaurant. About 1.5-2 years ago, they decided to make some changes and introduced an entirely separate vegan menu, which includes separate vegan cooking utensils (whaaaaat?!).
Vegan Garlic Bread
They didn’t half-ass anything, either. They brought in vegan authors to learn about veganism and the chefs tinkered with recipes until they were 100% perfect and worthy of being served.
Seitan Alla Rosa
I went with my family and some of us shared a few vegan dishes. We got the Seitan Alla Rosa, which was phenomenal. They make all of their seitan in house!
Vegan Fettucini Alfredo
We also got the Fettucini Alfredo, which you would never know was vegan.
Vegan Spinach Tofu Ravioli
Finally, we got the spinach/tofu Ravioli. That was probably everybody’s favorite, including Scott (of Scott’s Pizza Tours).
Vegan Dessert Menu!
For dessert, some of us got ice cream which they get from Lula’s Apothecary.
Vegan Cannoli
I was most excited about the vegan, gluten-free cannoli – we got 1 regular and 1 chocolate.
Vegan Chocolate Cannoli
Vegan Flan
One owner also brought us a vegan flan, which was tasty, though not my cup of tea. The cannoli was probably the greatest thing I ate all month.
I highly encourage anybody to go to John’s of 12th St, especially if you’re trying to find a nice meal with vegans and omnis. They have an extensive wine list, though some are not vegan. Some servers might not know, but most seem knowledgable for the most part.
John’s of 12th Street
302 E 12TH STREET (1st/2nd)
(212) 475-9531PS: here’s a short video interview jon shot at the restaurant. enjoy!
Tags: dessert, field report, manhattan, new york, NYC, pizza
15 responses to “Authentic Vegan Italian in NYC: John’s of 12th Street” 
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holy shit. looks AMAZING.
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Stacy July 11th, 2011 at 09:17
That is freaking AMAZING!!!! I like seriously want to book a plane ticket now!
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Gauri Radha गौरी राधा July 11th, 2011 at 12:13
How cool is this?!!
Dying to try the vegan pasta dishes and those desserts!!:-) -
Ashley July 11th, 2011 at 18:52
Going there for the first time when my momma comes to visit in August.
Has anybody heard WHY they decided to add vegan options? I read somewhere that they realized vegan food is the way of the future…but..it’s amazing to see such an old school place take the financial risk to add so many vegan dishes!!
I hope this post brings them lot’s of extra business!
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Glad to see it looks like John’s is hitting its stride! We tried the vegan menu when it was brand new, and it was…just okay. This looks a million times more awesome, though, and I’m especially glad that they have vegan creamer on hand for coffee now. I’m definitely going back to give it another shot!
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Wow – looks awesome! I’ve not been yet. Thought about going there the other night, but – no kidding – they were filming a movie in the restaurant!
The reason John’s is serving up vegan food is most likely (or definitely) because right next store is Angelica’s Kitchen (vegan restaurant). Everytime I’ve gone to Angelica’s I’ve had to wait in line..guess the neighbors are just “keeping up with the Joneses.” Hope it catches on!
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I am literally going there immediately! This place looks amazing, and its PERFECT for me and my omni boyfs. I swear that’s usually the hardest thing, finding a place where both my boyfriend and I can eat happily. You are a saint fo posting this. I would have never known!
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Wow, separate utensils and everything! They’re doing it right. Thanks for the tip!
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How many days until Christmas? I’m heading home to NYC and it looks like Santa came early!
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I was in NYC last week and read this post so I decided to give John’s a try. I frequently travel to NYC and for a vegan, NYC is one of the best places to find amazing vegan restaurants like Blossom, Sacred Chow, Candle 79, etc. Here’s my humble review of my dining experience.
* Service:
The service I received at John’s was mostly friendly, but the waiter I had seemed quite cold and indifferent.
* Atmosphere
It was cozy, comfortable, and appeared quite clean.
* My meal:
Garlic Bread – it came clearly burnt and I was disappointed that they were so indifferent as to serve it that way
Seitan with Daiya Cheese and pasta – the best part of this dish was the Daiya. The Seitan was bland, the pasta certainly didn’t taste home made, and I have had better store bought pasta sauce.
Being unimpressed with the meal I decided to skip the desertI really wanted to like John’s and I applaud them for adding vegan dishes to their menu, but unfortunately the food I had at John’s was mediocre at best so I couldn’t recommend them at this time.
samil July 11th, 2011 at 09:05