Welcome to Downtown Disney! Let’s eat some vegan food!

These are the options to the best of my knowledge as of October 2018. Please be aware that I try to update as thoroughly as I can, but the food options change regularly at Disneyland Resort, so the information becomes out of date at some point. Please contact me if you find that something has changed and that a previously vegan item is no longer vegan so that I can update the post! 🙂 Messaging me on Instagram (@happiestveganonearth) is the quickest way to contact me.

Table of Contents (Jump to a section!)

Salt and Straw
Earl of Sandwich
Tortilla Jo’s
Splitsville
La Brea Bakery (Express)
Starbucks
Naples
Sprinkles Cupcakes
Ralph Brennan’s Jazz Kitchen
Uva Bar and Café
Catal Restaurant
Surfside Lounge (Paradise Pier Hotel)
Jamba Juice
Marceline’s Confectionary
The Habit Burgers Truck
Crepes Bonaparte
Sephora
Curl Surf
Coming soon: Ballast Point!
Coming soon: Black Tap Burgers and Shakes!

 

• Salt and Straw

In the old Haagen Dazs location, we now have Salt and Straw, which is a Portland based ice cream company with more vegan flavors! I went on opening day and got one of each of the vegan flavors. They are all marked clearly on the menu with a (V):

1. Roasted Strawberry Coconut
2. Dandelion Chocolate Hazelnut Cookies and Cream
3. Freckled Mint Tcho-colate Chip
4. Mummy’s Pumpkin Spiced Potion (Seasonal Menu)

The sugar cones, pictured here, are vegan, but the waffle cones (the larger ones) contain egg. You can also get scoops in a cup.

I got a photo of the ingredients lists of the toppings, too! You can see here that the chocolate syrup and sprinkles are marked as vegan.

Here are the lists if the photo is hard to read:

Holy Kakow Chocolate Syrup: organic agave syrup, organic cacao powder, filtered water, organic vanilla extract, organic coconut oil, Himalayan pink salt, organic guar gum.

Fancy Sprinkles Deluxe Rainbow: Powdered sugar, Fractionated Palm Kernel Oil, Corn Starch, Glucose, Soy Lecithin, Carnauba Wax, FD & C Artificial Colors, Gum Arabica.

I’m not sure why the sugar cone isn’t marked in the left column as vegan, but the ingredients list shows that it is: Enriched bleached flour, brown sugar, vegetable oil shortening, oat fiber, salt, caramel color, artificial flavor, soy lecithin.

I love that they use real, metal spoons here for the samples — they’re not throwing away all of those tiny plastic spoons like most ice cream shops do! Their big spoons for takeaway are of course plastic though, so make sure to bring your own spoon or spork to avoid the plastic spoon.

They also have three types of vegan chocolate bars! Two from Portland Woodblock Chocolates, and one from a company called Compartes:

The Portland Woodblock “Madagascar” has only two ingredients: cacao and sugar, and the “Salt” flavor is just cacao, sugar, and salt.

The Compartes “California Love” bar is listed under the “Vegan Chocolate Bars” section of their website.

The ingredients list above says: “dark chocolate (cocoa mass, sugar, cocoa butter, soy lecithin as an emulsifier, vanilla), pretzels (wheat flour, salt, sunflower oil, yeast, vinegar, baking soda).

Watch out for the sitting next to it, the “Salty Malty” in a black and white package, which contains dairy.

 

• Earl of Sandwich

This location has recently reopened after being closed all summer, and I got some up to date photos of their two easily veganizable sandwiches!

1. Caprese: Omit the cheese, and add avocado if desired. Say “avocado instead of cheese” and they shouldn’t charge you extra.

2. Veggie sandwich: Omit the cheese and dressing and it’s vegan!

The white (default) bread is vegan, but the wheat bread contains honey.

• Tortilla Jo’s

The veggie burrito is vegan with no modifications! I double checked with the chef that the quinoa meatballs are vegan, no eggs or dairy. And it doesn’t come with cheese or sour cream, but it doesn’t hurt to say “no cheese or sour cream” when you order, just in case! The burrito has house made quinoa meatballs, black beans, roasted tomatoes, poblano peppers, and red onion, topped with salsa ranchera and served with cilantro rice!

The portobello mushroom fajitas are also vegan! I don’t have a photo of those yet. They’re not supposed to come with cheese or sour cream, but again, it doesn’t hurt to say it just in case.

Just for reference if you want to get any sides or modify any menu items, the server told me that the red rice is made in chicken stock, and the refried beans contain lard. So the vegan alternatives to those are the cilantro lime rice and the black beans.

• Splitsville

This is a bowling alley with beautiful mid-century design and some impressive vegan options to match! They have recently added these impossible sliders! It says right on the menu how to order it vegan — omit the cheese and sauce.

There is some controversy around Impossible Foods, so please read up on it if you have not already and decide if it’s something you’re comfortable with.

This next one is the veggie sushi roll, which used to be on the secret menu, but is now on the regular menu! It’s packed with fresh and crunchy veggies! Make sure to ask to switch the kimchee ponzu sauce for regular ponzu sauce (there is fish in the kimchee), and omit the pickled radish, which has fish sauce.

Another great option is the modified Grilled Avocado. Normally this comes with tuna, and you can replace the tuna with either grilled veggies or tofu — I went with tofu! Switch out the kimchee ponzu sauce (contains fish) for regular ponzu sauce, omit the spicy mayo (I added sriracha once it arrived), and switch out the wonton chips (contain egg) for cucumber chips!

There is also the modified Sweet and Spicy chicken bowl, substituting tofu for the chicken. You also need to switch the thai chili sauce (contains dairy) for ponzu sauce, and then add sriracha if you’re a sriracha fan!

You can also modify the Poke Bowl — get it with tofu instead of fish, omit the spicy mayo, wonton chips, and pickled radish, and ask for extra veggies.

You can get the edamame appetizer as well, just switch the sauce, since the spicy sauce it comes with has dairy.

They also have lots of fun drinks! I got a cucumber cooler, which is Tito’s vodka, lime juice, simple syrup, and sliced cucumber. Because the bartender had already seen me cover my food in sriracha, she asked if I wanted tajín on the rim of my glass, and of course I said yes 🙂

• La Brea Bakery (Express)

At the express side of the restaurant, they have a veggie burger that sometimes shows up on the specials menu board, but the cast member cold me that they can almost always make it, even if it’s not on the specials board! It’s a house made vegan patty that is rice and quinoa based. Order with no mayo and no cheese. The chef checked for dairy, egg, and honey in the bread. It was a really delicious burger, I would totally get it again! It comes with either chips or mixed greens with balsamic dressing.

This burger is also on the permanent menu on the La Brea Bakery table service part of the restaurant!

• Starbucks

Here you’ll find all of the vegan options you would normally find at a Starbucks! My favorites are the Soy Vanilla Latte, or the Soy Hot Chocolate around Christmas time! I can’t go over all of the options here, but they have soy, almond, and coconut milk, and most of the drinks can be veganized with them! Just be careful of some of the syrups, with have dairy in them, for example the pumpkin spice. If you’re unsure, google “ordering vegan at Starbucks” and you’ll find some comprehensive lists.

• Naples

They have a special allergy menu on request that marks what is vegetarian, vegan, and gluten free. The minestrone soup is vegan by default! Any of the pizzas can be made vegan by omitting cheese/meat. I had my server double check on the pizza dough — it is vegan! — and the said that the veggies are sauteed in olive oil. Here is a build-your-own that we did with pineapple, red peppers, and onions:

They also have a pizza that is served with no cheese by default, the “Marinara e capperi,” with capers, garlic, oregano, and tomato sauce. I added mushrooms in this photo. It is super garlicky, so be prepared for that!

Their “della casa” salad is also vegan by default, as well as the sides of roasted potatoes, sauteed spinach, and sauteed broccoli.

The minestrone soup. Not a great photo because of the blue umbrellas that throw off the color, but it was a decent soup!

• Sprinkles Cupcakes

There is one vegan flavor here — red velvet! It’s not the the display case, but just ask for the vegan red velvet and they will bring you one from the back. The cake is so moist and the frosting is amazing! I think it’s a coconut milk based frosting, it does have a bit of a coconut flavor to it. Super tasty!

• Ralph Brennan’s Jazz Kitchen

This place is actually a lot more vegan-friendly than it may seem! The regular menu is very meat-based, but in the fine print it says “special dietary menu available on request.” This menu lists a “vegan plate” and a “vegan pasta.”

This one is the vegan plate and it’s ridiculously delicious! I would definitely get it again. Asparagus, zucchini, potatoes, artichokes, bell peppers, onions, and broccolini:

This is the vegan pasta and it’s also delicious! Penne pasta, tomato basil sauce, zucchini, artichoke hearts, garlic, spinach, onions, and bell pepper:

• Uva Bar and Café

Uva bar is the smaller and more casual part these two connected restaurants, Uva + Catal. At the Uva bar, there are a couple of options: sweet potato fries are vegan by default, guacamole with no cheese, and the modified chicken spinach salad — omit the chicken, cheese, and candied walnuts (they contain dairy). So the salad consists of spinach, cherry tomatoes, grapes, pumpkin seeds, and a balsamic dressing. It’s quite big, and along with the sweet potato fries, it was a lot of food! My server told me that the chips and fries are made in a separate fryer from the animal products.

• Catal Restaurant

Catal is the upstairs portion of Uva, and it’s a lot fancier. The menu doesn’t have anything remotely modifiable, so they have a secret menu item for vegans and vegetarians: the vegan paella. It was so tasty, I would definitely get it again! Very filling and satisfying.

 

• Surfside Lounge (Paradise Pier Hotel)

This is in the Paradise Pier Hotel, a short walk from Downtown Disney. They recently added the Impossible Burger to their menu! It’s just called a “Veggie Burger” on the menu but it’s really an Impossible Burger 😉

The chef told me that they’ve been experimenting and getting different sauces, and he was proud to show me the JUST Awesome Sauce that they put on the Impossible Burger! It was so good, a bit like a tartar sauce.

He told me that the bun doesn’t have eggs, dairy, or honey in the ingredients list, but the package has a “made in a shared facility with eggs” disclaimer on it.

The burger comes with fries (from a shared fryer), fruit, or steamed veggies.

Another easily veganized menu item is the Poke Bowl! I will come back to get this soon! You can see on the menu, just choose tofu for your protein and avoid the mayo and fish eggs.

I didn’t have time to ask about it, but I think this Kale and Quinoa salad is already vegan or easily modifiable — will have to ask about the dressing.

 

• Jamba Juice

Lots of vegan options at Jamba Juice! VegNews made a super helpful guide to vegan options here 🙂

• Marceline’s Confectionary

There are quite a few vegan candies in packaging here, though none of the candies in the display case are vegan to my knowledge — we have to keep writing them emails to change that! Here are some photos of the vegan ones I could find. Please note that food dyes are kind of a gray area and do your own research to see if that’s something you’d like to avoid. Quite a few of the candies here have confectioner’s glaze (shellac, from beetles), or beeswax, so I didn’t take photos of those. Please note that some of these have palm oil as well.

• The Habit Food Truck

There are currently some food trucks parked at the end of Downtown Disney, where the closed Rainforest Café and movie theater are. The Habit has a vegan burger! The only modification needed is to leave off the sweet mustard sauce. The patty and wheat bun are vegan, as you can see in this PDF from the Habit’s website.

• Crepes Bonaparte Truck

It’s not on the menu board, but they actually have a vegan and gluten-free crepe batter here! Many of fillings and toppings contain dairy, but I was able to get a crepe filled with bananas, strawberries, and blackberries, and it was delicious! They also have peanut butter on the menu, so you could do a peanut butter/banana crepe as well. They said the would be parked at Downtown Disney most likely through the end of October.

• Sephora

There is quite a bit of vegan/cruelty-free makeup here! The cast member actually showed me a binder that they reference for the vegan brands!

Kat von D and Milk are all-vegan companies.

Tarte is all cruelty-free with many vegan items. They label next to each product which ones are vegan.

• Curl Surf

Here you can get some vegan and cruelty-free sunscreen by Sun Bum! This is from the FAQ on their website:

“Most of our products are Vegan including our Original Sunscreen Lotions (SPF 15-50), Original Sunscreen Sprays, Mineral Sunscreen Collection, SPF Lip Balms, Cool Down lotions and sprays along with our extensive line of Baby Bum and Hair Care products.

Cocobalms, Tinted Lip Balms, Signature Lip Balm, Mineral Lip Balm and Baby Bum Diaper Rash Cream contain beeswax. We are currently working on a solution using synthetic beeswax. Our Blonde range of hair products uses natural Lehua Honey.”

• Coming soon: Ballast Point!

This is in the area where Build a Bear and Ridemakers used to be. As you can see on Barnivore, all of their current beers are vegan!  There are still entries for older beers that weren’t vegan, but it appears they aren’t making those any more.

• Coming soon: Black Tap Craft Burgers and Shakes!

This is in the area where Build a Bear and Ridemakers used to be. Their website lists a vegan burger, so we’ll have at least one new option here! Stay tuned!

Those are all of the Downtown Disney options that I know about at the moment! Please also check out my other posts on the vegan options at Disneyland and vegan options at California Adventure!

Please let me know if this has been helpful and feel free to message me on Instagram (@happiestveganonearth) if you have any questions or would like advice planning your trip 🙂