In recent years, the demand for healthy eating options has grown significantly as people become more health-conscious and prioritize wellness in their lives.
This trend towards healthier eating habits has resulted in a surge of restaurants across America that offer delicious, nutritious meals that don’t sacrifice taste for health benefits.
From vegan to gluten-free options, there are plenty of restaurants that cater to various dietary restrictions and preferences.
To help you discover some of the best healthy eateries in America, we’ve compiled a list of 36 hottest healthy restaurants. Whether you’re looking for trendy spots or hidden gems, this list has something for everyone.
So sit back, relax and get ready to explore some of the most delicious and nutritious food destinations across the country.
1. Founding Farmers
Locations: D.C., Montgomery County, Md., Tysons, Va.
Founding Farmers is a restaurant that lives up to its name by sourcing daily ingredients from hundreds of family farms across the United States.
Their menu offers both indulgent treats, such as homemade sodas, “candy corn” farm bread, and bananas foster pancakes, as well as healthier options like a meatless mushroom and Swiss reuben and cauliflower steak risotto.
It’s safe to say that Founding Farmers is the ideal family-friendly restaurant.
2. Seasons 52
Locations: Nationwide
In Seasons 52, the motto is “The best of each season straight to your table,” and this motto is impeccably reflected in their menu. All of their entrées rely heavily on fresh vegetables, which helps the chefs keep everything under the 700-calorie mark, with many carrying fewer than 500-calories.
Their side dishes are veggie-centric and low-cal; a few of our favorites: the charcoal roasted veggies in a sherry vinaigrette (90 calories), the shaved kale salad in a roasted peanut vinaigrette (310 cals) and the quinoa and citrus salad (270 calories).
SUITABLE FOR SPECIAL DIETS
3. Dirt Candy
Locations: New York, N.Y.
Vegetarian hotspot is one of the few to be awarded Bib Gourmand status by the folks at Michelin Guide (yes, as in Michelin Star), a recognition awarded to chilled out joints with exceptional food.
It is very simple to see why Dirt Candy is a winner; they’re not serving up any sad veggie burgers or tired tofu at this eatery.
Another thing about them is their menu. Is packed with artfully composed, delectable dishes like zucchini pancakes, Brussels sprout tacos, carrot sliders on carrot buns, and kale matzoh ball soup, served with a poached egg and okra.
4. By Chloe
Locations: New York, N.Y., Boston, Mass. (summer 2016)
This vegan, certified Kosher, fast-service restaurant is best known for their healthified comfort foods. They aim to shake the assumption that eating well is tasteless and boring—and they’re killin’ it.
Some of their most popular dishes include their dairy-free ice creams ($4.95 – $9.95), their quinoa “taco” salad, their classic burger ($8.95), which is made with tempeh, lentils (one of the best vegetarian protein sources, chia and walnuts and topped with a beet ketchup, and their mac n’ cheese ($4.95 – $8.95)
It is served with sweet-potato-cashew “cheese” sauce, shiitake “bacon,” and an almond “parmesan.”
5. Restaurant Nora
Locations: D.C.
America’s first certified organic restaurant is Restaurant Nora, where all produce is sourced from certified organic farmers and producers. This ensures that their meats and vegetables are free from synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, antibiotics, hormones, and GMOs.
Their menu features a variety of healthy small plates and protein-packed entrées that are simply irresistible. Among them, the pan-seared rockfish stands out as the most delectable, served with parsnip beet puree, carrots, kale, green beans, and a light herb emulsion.
If you find yourself in the nation’s capital, a visit to Restaurant Nora is definitely worth your while.
6. Hu Kitchen
Locations: New York, N.Y.
Hu Kitchen, the best-ever cafeteria-style restaurant for Paleo-followers and processed food-haters alike, allows customers to assemble their ideal meal at the eatery’s various food stations.
In the plated meal area, customers can piece together veggie and whole grain side dishes with grass-fed, pastured meats, organic poultry, or wild seafood. At the Mashbar station, patrons with a sweet tooth can #CheatClean with Hu’s healthy twist on build your fro-yo.
Instead of dairy-based ice cream, they offer things like chia pudding and cashew cream, and the traditional sugary toppings are replaced with organic superfoods, such as chia seeds, fruit, grain-free granola, house-made almond butter, and toasted coconut.
We could go on and on about this place; from smoothies and date-based dessert balls to coconut-wrap egg sandwiches and house-made chocolate bars, they literally have everything. Try it once and you’ll be hooked.
7. Miya’s Sushi
Locations: New Haven, Conn.
Usually, sushi joints offer just one or two boring veggie rolls to accommodate their vegan and vegetarian patrons. Miya’s Sushi, however, is not about that life, putting a far more creative spin on fish-free sushi.
The eatery’s Roll of Milk and Honey, infused the flavors of figs, dates, raisins, sheep’s milk feta, roasted barley, cinnamon, spicy red pepper, honey, pistachio, extra virgin olive oil, and manna. Another menu star:
The Japafrican Queen, a concoction that infuses an Ethiopian berbere spice mix with eggplant, okra, goat cheese, apricots, avocado, pickled radish, and chives. The best part: There are tons of delicious options for carnivores, too; there’s something for everyone.
8. Natural Selection
Locations: Portland, Ore.
Natural Selection’s menu is built on a fresh mix of vegetables, fruits and grains, making a must-visit location for vegetarian around the nation.
Though all of their dishes are sold à la carte, they have a drool-worthy, four-course tasting menu that’s just $45 per person! The menu is always-changing—and always delicious—and is best complimented by their cocktails and non-alcoholic sips which are made table-side on a rolling bar cart.
9. Le Pain Quotidien
Locations: N.Y., Penn., D.C., Calif.
Though Le Pain Quotidien is French for “the daily bread,” the organic menu spans far beyond carbs and crusts. In their 200+ locations, they serve Instagram-worthy healthy fare like brightly-colored berry cups, chia seed pudding, avocado toast, open-faced sandwiches, salads, and soups. They also carry a number of organic wines and craft beers for customers looking to get a little loose.
10. Pizza Fusion
Locations: Calif., Ariz., Tex., Fla., Ga., Pa. and Va.
With organic ingredients sourced from local farms and gluten- and lactose-free menu items, Pizza Fusion is not your typical neighborhood pizzeria. Don’t feel like dining out? Place an order from home and your food will be transported to your front door in one of the company’s hybrid cars. Talk about a pizza company with a conscience!
11. N/naka
Locations: Los Angeles, Calif.
If you’ve been meaning to check out n/Naka (which was featured in Chef’s Table on Netflix), you best come in with a big appetite—and a few hours to spare! Ordering à la carte at this kaiseki restaurant isn’t an option. (Kaiseki is a traditional multi-course Japanese dinner.)
Guests have the option of a 13-course modern menu ($185) or a 13-course vegetarian menu ($160), both of which are made with seasonal ingredients and take a good two and a half hours to work through. The slower you eat, the less likely you are to overeat, so this concept is actually pretty genius and waistline-friendly.
12. Coppi’s Organic Restaurant
Locations: D.C.
Not only does this D.C.-based Italian eatery use wood-burning ovens to cook their pizzas, but they also power the entire restaurant with wind-powered electricity.
This healthy restaurant also gets points for using sustainably sourced fish, organic produce, and grass-fed, free-range meat. While you’re there check out the Zucca al Forno, an oven seared butternut squash antipasta topped with ricotta, red onions, pine nuts, capers, and garlic
Looking for a new brunch spot? Besides Coppi’s traditional a.m. menu, it also has two additional menus devoted to vegan and vegetarian offerings.
Vegan-friendly highlights include the 14th Dalai Lama Peace Breakfast, which is comprised of quinoa with toasted coconut, pistachio, and fruit and the Lower East Side Veggie Reuben, which is made with tempeh cooked in brine, sauerkraut, Russian Dressing, and caraway seeds.
13. Makoto
Locations: Bal Harbour, Fla.
If you’re familiar with other Stephen Starr restaurants (El Vez, Buddakan, The Continental Restaurant and Martini Bar) you already know they’re all a-maz-ing destinations filled with interesting decor and food that always leaves your taste buds wanting more. And this Florida-based Japanese restaurant is no different. Chef Makoto Okuwa, one of Morimoto’s protégés, created a menu featuring a creative mix of sushi and sashimi (made with fresh fish flown in from Tokyo three times weekly), and small and large plate bites, which allows diners who want to eat smart to keep their meals to a reasonable portion size. Some Eat This! Approved menu items include the miso sea bass, the edamame namesake (eggplant and tofu hummus, edamame tapenade, nori wonton chips), the watermelon ceviche (tuna, white fish, octopus, squid, cucumber, serrano lime), the asparagus with sesame soy and the spicy yellowtail roll topped with wasabi, scallion, avocado and sliced jalapeno.
14. Just Salad
Locations: New York, N.Y., Chicago, Ill.
Although it’s named Just Salad, we believe that this fast-casual restaurant offers more than just the option to customize salads and wraps.
Their nutrition and fitness ambassador program allows them to provide a menu created by a registered dietician and also offer loyal customers discounts on nearby fitness classes. In our opinion, any establishment that facilitates a healthy lifestyle for its patrons is deserving of praise.
15. Juice Generation
Locations: New York, N.Y.
Juice Generation may seem like a typical smoothie and cold-pressed juice shop, but we believe it’s much more than that. Established in 1999, the company has remained up-to-date and attentive to their customers’ needs by opening locations in areas where health-conscious individuals gather, including several shops inside Equinox gyms.
CEO Eric Helms recognized a growing demand for convenient, clean packaged meals and snacks and responded by introducing a new menu called “Vegan4Lunch.” This chef-made menu features a range of options such as Jackfruit Tacos, Kale Quinoa Burgers, Green Papaya Pad Thai, and Mushroom Avocado Rolls.
16. Protein Bar
Locations: Chicago, Ill., Col., D.C.
Protein Bar is a sanctuary for health-conscious individuals with busy schedules, providing popular items from Eat This, Not That!, such as matcha green tea, oatmeal (with toppings like quinoa, flaxseed, and millet), egg scrambles, and savory bowls (which can be tailored to suit vegans).
17. Panera Bread
Locations: Nationwide
While Panera Bread may not be the healthiest restaurant option available, its widespread accessibility is a major advantage. With over 1,800 locations across the country, it’s easy to find a meal under 600 calories at their soup, salad, and sandwich bar.
Our favorites include the lentil quinoa bowl with chicken broth (390 calories), tomato mozzarella flatbread, and Fuji apple chicken salad (550 calories). However, it’s important to note that some dishes contain up to half of the daily recommended amount of sodium and a full day’s worth of fat, such as the Avocado Chicken Cobb with Ranch.
17. Noodles and Company
Locations: Nationwide
Noodles and Company provides a variety of noodle-based dishes, salads, and protein-rich “Buff Bowls” that are influenced by Asian, Mediterranean, and American flavors.
They offer two sizes for every dish, regular and small, which is great for those who want to indulge in something like Pad Thai without consuming over 1,000 calories. However, it’s best to avoid the desserts as they all exceed 450 calories and are not suitable for weight loss goals.
Additionally, many of their dishes can be made with whole grain linguini.
18. Jason’s Deli
Locations: Nationwide
This deli not only offers a menu filled with dishes that are as wholesome as homemade meals, but they also prioritize organic ingredients and cater to guests with dietary restrictions by providing vegetarian and gluten-sensitive options.
However, the deli’s unique selling point is their quinoa shrimp and mango salad, which was created in collaboration with medical professionals from the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. It’s a feat that most restaurants, even sit-down ones, can’t match.
19. Pret a Manger
Locations: New York, N.Y., Boston, Mass., Chicago, Ill., D.C.
This fast food chain based in the UK differs greatly from typical American fast food. It would be inaccurate to label it as fast food due to its nutritious offerings. Pret’s menu surpasses that of McDonald’s in terms of health benefits and convenience.
Upon entering a Pret establishment, customers are greeted with refrigerators displaying an array of healthy meals and snacks.
For breakfast, ETNT staff members indulge in options such as five-grain oatmeal, overnight oats, or a hard-boiled egg, avocado, and quinoa dish. Popular lunch items include Moroccan lentil soup, kale chicken Caesar salad, and balsamic chicken and avocado sandwich.
Additionally, Pret offers perfectly portioned desserts alongside their larger pastries at checkout.
20. Chipotle
Locations: Nationwide
You may be skeptical, but Chipotle deserves a spot on the list of healthy restaurants. Despite past e.coli outbreaks and their high-calorie burritos, this fast-casual Tex-Mex eatery offers some of the most nutritious options in the country.
With a build-your-own style service, customers have control over the calorie count in their salad, bowl, or taco. Additionally, Chipotle uses hormone- and antibiotic-free meats and sources many organic ingredients from local suppliers.
21. Dig Inn
Locations: New York, N.Y.
Eating at Dig Inn is like having a Sunday family dinner without the unhealthy casseroles and pies. This market-style eatery offers locally sourced and reasonably priced meals that you can customize by choosing a base, protein, and sides.
The sides include roasted sweet potatoes, pan-sauteed cauliflower, crunchy summer couscous, and kale and rhubarb salad. For around eight to ten bucks, you can have a healthy and filling plate of food. It’s definitely worth a visit!
22. Blaze Pizza
Locations: Nationwide
This create-your-own pizza joint is like the offspring of Chipotle and Pizza Hut, but with a focus on healthy, artisanal ingredients. Blaze offers an impressive selection of cheeses, veggies, meats, and sauces that you can pile onto your pizza for only $7.65.
The best part? Their blazing oven cooks your customized pie in just three minutes, making it a seriously speedy service.
23. Evos
Locations: Fla.
EVOS offers the Airfry and Airbaked Chicken Strip, along with air-baked taters and nuggets, which have 50-70 percent less fat than traditional versions. They prioritize healthy options without compromising on taste by using slow roasted meat and avoiding unhealthy grease and artificial ingredients.
Their milkshakes, made with organic milk and real sugar, contain no more than 310 calories. EVOS is also transparent about their nutrition and allergen information, voluntarily providing it to guests since 1994. This honesty is one of the reasons why we appreciate the chain.
24. Northstar Café
Locations: Columbus, Ohio
Northstar Caf, a chain in Columbus, Ohio, caters to vegans, vegetarians, and those seeking wholesome food options. Their lunch and dinner menu highlights seasonal salads and a house burger made entirely of organic black beans, brown rice, and beets.
For those visiting before noon, they offer a refreshing mint iced cold-brewed coffee and a single ricotta pancake. We approve of any establishment that satisfies customers’ sweet cravings while maintaining reasonable portion sizes.
25. Claire’s Corner Copia
Locations: New Haven, Conn.
For over 40 years, Claire’s has been serving up a cornucopia of fresh, vegetable-centric menu offerings to her Connecticut clientele. For breakfast, we love their Seasonal Goodness Sandwich, which is build on an organic whole wheat english muffin and piled with sauteed organic seasonal vegetables, a poached organic egg, pesto ricotta, and mozzarella and their smoothies, which are all rumored to fall under the 250-calorie mark.
The lunch and dinner menu is overflowing with entree-sized salads, Mexican fare like quesadillas and burritos, vegan and gluten-free sandwiches, flatbread pizzas, veggie burgers, curries, pasta, and roasted veggie plates. It’s an eclectic menu with something for everyone. Oh, and don’t miss out on the desserts; they have a Lithuanian coffee cake that’s to die for.
26. Spa Cafe
Locations: Goleta, Calif.
For those seeking a restaurant with a menu that comprises entirely of healthy and seasonal options, the Spa Cafe at Bacara Resort & Spa is the place to go. They obtain their fish from local fishermen and their produce from nearby farms.
Moreover, they cater to all taste buds and budgets with dishes ranging from a $10 Irish oatmeal br l e to a $20 freekeh free-range chicken bowl.
27. Blue Hill at Stone Barns
Locations: Pocantico Hills, N.Y.
Twenty-five miles north of Manhattan sits Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture, a nonprofit farm and education center in Pocantico Hills, New York.
On the same grounds lives Blue Hill at Stone Barns, a famous restaurant that sources its fare from its very own fields and pastures, as well as other local farms. That means things that were picked from the ground just hours earlier, wind up on diner’s plates.
The best part: There are no menus at Blue Hill at Stone Barns. Instead, guests are offered the multi-taste “Grazing, Rooting, Pecking” menu featuring the best offerings the fields and local market has to offer. While the $168 – $218 per guest overhead is admittedly quite steep, we think this is a once-in-a-lifetime dining experience every healthy foodie and veggie-lover should save up for.
28. ABC Kitchen
Locations: New York, N.Y.
ABC Kitchen grows most of the vegetables used in their seasonal dishes on their own roof, while the rest comes from regional farmers and fair trade cooperatives. Additionally, their entire menu is free from pesticides, synthetic fertilizers, insecticides, antibiotics, and hormones.
As starters for your table, try their whole wheat pizzas and roasted cauliflower with onion, walnut crumbs and a fried egg. For your main course, go for the salmon with sweet and spicy carrot sauce, roasted carrots and basil. It’s absolutely delicious!
29. The Little Beet Table
Locations: New York, N.Y.
As a resident of New York City and a huge veggie-fan, I have to a admit that just writing about The Little Beet Table makes my heart skip a beat. Not only is the rustic atmosphere totally Instagram-worthy, but their produce-centric menu is designed for sharing, which means you can try a bunch of different things!
During my first time eating there, I split a number of small plates with my dining companion before asking our waitress for an order of the lemon, sea salt and chili Brussels sprouts for dessert. Yes, I said dessert—I’m crazy like that! She didn’t bat an eye at our strange request; I fell in love right then and there with this amazing dining spot.
30. Lyfe Kitchen
Locations: Calif., Colo., Ill., Nev., Tenn., Tex.
Lyfe Kitchen offers customers locally-sourced and sustainable meals that are ready within minutes of ordering. Surprisingly, despite being founded by ex-McDonald’s executives, every menu item contains under 600 calories and reasonable sodium counts.
In addition to breakfast wraps, pancakes, fruit, flatbreads, wraps, burgers, salads, bowls, and plates (such as roasted salmon with tomato and fennel), the restaurant also provides a variety of vegan and gluten-free options.
Their unique drinks include Lyfe Water with orange ginger chia made from fresh-squeezed orange juice, filtered water, lime, ginger, and mint chia seeds.
31. The Veggie Grill
Locations: Calif., Ore., Wash.
If you’re struggling to incorporate more vegetables into your diet due to their unpleasant taste, The Veggie Grill is the perfect solution. Rather than serving unappetizing dishes like soggy bean sprouts and bizarre tofu creations.
They offer familiar American favorites such as hamburgers, fries (made with cauliflower), buffalo chicken wraps, ‘crab’ cakes, and mac n’ cheese. In addition, they offer seasonal menus that showcase the finest produce available throughout the year.
Their spring menu features delectable dishes such as spring pea guacamole, refreshing chilled soups, and mouth-watering chargrilled asparagus.
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Conclusion
In conclusion, healthy eating is no longer a niche trend in America but has become a mainstream way of living. With the rise of health-conscious consumers, restaurants across the country are offering more and more nutritious options for those who want to maintain a healthy lifestyle without sacrificing taste.
The best 31 healthy restaurants in America offer delicious food that is also good for you, making it easier than ever to eat well while dining out. It’s time to ditch the unhealthy options and opt for one of these amazing eateries instead.
So next time you’re looking for a meal out, try one of these top healthy restaurants and see how good you feel afterward!