Whether you’re a hardcore vegan or simply looking for an animal-free meal, here’s your guide to dining out in and around Winter Park.
The vegan movement is in full swing, and Winter Park is no exception. Within Rollins College, vegan options are served throughout the day. You can make vegan rice bowls in the Cornell Courtyard Cafe. You can pick up vegan coffees and treats at Diane's Cafe. But for those willing to experiment with new vegan foods, or who are simply bored with their current diet, restaurant throughout Winter Park offer a variety of vegan options. These vegan eateries have created meals ranging from home cooked to raw detoxes. Regardless of if you are a hardcore vegan or simply looking for an animal free meal, here are a few suggestions for vegan dining throughout Winter Park.
Ethos
601 S New York Ave.
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Many vegans believe they lose comfort food and food that tastes homemade when they make the switch to an animal-free diet. No more mac n' cheese. No more barbecue chicken. No more milkshakes or fluffy cookies.
Ethos, an environmentally friendly and health-conscious vegan restaurant, destroys that fear. The owners, Kelly and Laina Shockley, have recreated popular dishes in vegan form, serving up homemade-tasting meals that rival non-vegan options. Some of the main menu items include mac n’ cheese with peas, shepherd’s pie, burgers, and chickun Marsala. Absolutely everything is vegan.
Beyond entrees, the restaurant offers a variety of amazing vegan desserts. These desserts range from the cowboy cookie (mixed coconut, vegan dark chocolate, and oats) to a Chocolate Amaretto Mousse, a gluten-free light treat. Inside the restaurant, on the far side, there is a bar that serves select organic brews. The staff is incredibly friendly and willing to accommodate parties of varying sizes. The best part? Ethos does pick up. Call in advance and your meal will be ready in 10 to 15 minutes.
My favorite: Crispy chickun salad with agave mustard dressing
Dandelion Communitea Cafe
618 N Thornton Ave.
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Dandelion Communitea Cafe is the earthy, feel-good vegan restaurant. The restaurant is off the beaten path, but is easy to find. Out front, a tree has been draped with electric lights. A fire pit, often surrounded by a band or restaurant goers, is easily visible from the road.
The menu reflects the café’s values, offering organic, local, and cruelty-free entrees and teas. You can indulge in something that feels unhealthy like the Machos Libre, which layers organic tortilla chips with tempeh chili, vegan queso, and diced tomatoes. You can also go extremely healthy with a variety of salads. My personal favorite,
The tea at Dandelion Communitea Cafe is also to die for. Their Moroccan Mint is perfectly sweetened and amazing to drink out by the fire. Live music and readings are also held within the main eating area, allowing diners to enjoy entertainment along with their food.
My favorite: Polynesian banana fantasy
Skyebird
3201 Corrine Dr.
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Located in the East End Market and described as a juice bar and experimental kitchen, Skyebird offers a delicious approach to wholesome and healthy. Skyebird leaves just feeling great, cleansed of all the preservatives, hormones, and chemicals we ingest in our everyday life. The menu includes a variety of cold-pressed juices, ranging from sweet to green. Tropical kale, one of the most popular juices, is made from kale, pineapple, 
cucumber, and ginger.
Beyond the juice, you can also choose a variety of smoothies and “roughies.” These products have a bit more substance than juice but with the same benefits and taste. They also serve entrees. Served up in glass mason jars, you can get salads, vegetable noodles, or Acai bowls.
And it would be unfair to not mention the kale chips. When I go to Skyebird, I pick up two bags knowing the first one will be gone in a day. The kale chips are dehydrated, and don’t lose their crunch like baked kale chips. They come in a variety of flavors that change depending on the day. You can eat inside at the bar located right next to the kitchen area, or you can eat outside on picnic tables near East End Market’s community garden.
My favorites: Pizza kale chips, enlightenment cold-pressed juice, zucchini pesto.
Café 118
153 E Morse Blvd.
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The raw movement is gaining speed, and with it has come an avalanche of raw eateries. Café118 is one of the eateries born of this movement—but with a twist. The restaurant offers innovative vegan fare that has not been cooked in above 118 degrees Fahrenheit—the maximum temperature an item can be cooked at for it to be considered “raw.” This means that much of the food at Café 118 offers the maximum nutrition and taste.
The organic juice bar is incredible, offering decently priced juices made fresh. All the beverages and meals are free of soy, dairy, and artificial sweeteners. The menu, kept clean and simple, includes items like shitake mushroom lasagna, spinach and beet ravioli, and spicy bean burritos.
For me, the thing that stands out at Café 118 is the raw ice cream. A custom treat that is hard to find, raw ice cream lacks any soy or dairy ingredients. At Café 118, you can get a variety of raw ice creams including cacao mint chip, banana almond butter cup, and coconut macaroon.
My favorites: Ruby red grapefruit, raw s’mores, and spinach and beet ravioli
Loving Hut
2101 E Colonial Dr.
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Orlando is lucky to host one of the locations of Loving Hut, a chain vegan restaurant. Loving Hut has 200 locations worldwide, but most of these locations are based internationally with only 40 Loving Huts in the U.S. The 
restaurant blends vegan options with international cuisines. You can get anything from Happy Dawgs, a corn dog made of vegan soy protein, to the Ocean Basket, which offers a selection of seafood all made from veggie protein alongside tempura sweet potato. Loving Hut is affordable for any budget, offering menu items that range from $3 to $14. Alongside entrees, they also offer raw juice and a variety of smoothies. The dessert menu is also all vegan, and offers amazing cheesecake made of silken tofu, and banana fritters, a dessert made of bananas, powdered sugar, and chocolate syrup.
My favorites: Banana fritters and lemongrass noodle
Beyond the vegan restaurant spotlighted in this article, there are a variety of restaurants in Winter Park that offer amazing vegan and vegetarian options. If you are traveling with meat eaters but are tired of ordering the house salad, I would suggest checking out Orchid Thai Cuisine. Orchid serves a variety of vegan dishes, including a green papaya salad and amazing Thai summer rolls. Many menu options can also be ordered vegan. Bosphorus Turkish Cuisine and Powerhouse Café are also vegan-friendly restaurant on Park Avenue that serve falafel and a variety of vegetarian and vegan appetizers.