Plant-Based PLANTA Queen Changing Vegetarian Restaurant Game
By Ariana Eftimiu
With two locations in NoMad and Williamsburg, PLANTA Queen has brought a plethora of vegetarian sushi dishes, elaborate cocktails, and other innovative Asian cuisine dishes to the City – there are also locations in Chicago, Bethesda, Toronto, and Florida. A third New York location, “Planta Cocina,” is set to open in Soho, among ones in DC, Marina del Rey, Brentwood, and Atlanta. Arpita Iyer, Sophia Strugnell, and I, intrigued to find out what all the buzz was about and avid fans of vegetarian restaurants, set out on a Sunday night.
In 2016, Steven Salm founded PLANTA Queen, which aims to “reimagine and revitalize the plant-based dining experience across multiple cuisines,” making it no surprise that his series of restaurants appear to be taking the world by storm.
Alas, your friends who dislike seafood can now accompany you if you’d like to grab sushi, as the menu features vegan options much more extensive than a simple avocado roll, typically the extent of most vegetarian sushi offerings. PLANTA Queen also offers several gluten-free options (vegan sushi and the majority of the “Chilled & Raw” items).
Walking into PLANTA Queen, the establishment appears moody, but not dark – each table had a light fixture that helped highlight the detail of the dishes, which we all noticed immediately. Despite the relaxed setting, the restaurant seemed hip and busy, even for a Sunday night.
The restaurant’s drink menu features cleverly titled and beautifully garnished choices, including “free spirits,” multi-colored mocktails. Between “Lych Please,” “Herb Your Enthusiasm” and “Mez-cal Me Maybe,” there’s no way to go wrong. When we visited, I got the free spirit mocktail “Been There, Thai’d That,” and I’m glad I did– the drink featured Seedlip Spice 94 (a non-alcoholic spirit), watermelon, thai basil, green cardamom, cascarilla, yuzu, and agave. It was subtly sweet, with a prominent citrus taste, appropriately topped with mint leaf. They also offer cold-pressed juices, of which Arpita got the “Melon Rosé,” featuring watermelon, rose water, lemon, mint, and agave, and really liked it – the hint of rose was quite notable, and made the drink a standout.
From the restaurant’s plethora of course offerings, we chose to try multiple sushi dishes, along with the popular Bang Bang Broccoli with sweet chili and peanut sauce (also an inspiration for their merchandise), and the Singapore Noodles from the Wok & Noodles section. Of the sushi, we ordered the Unagi Eggplant Nigiri with miso truffle – appearances wise, it was difficult to believe there wasn’t seafood included in the dish! – and the Rainbow Roll (ahi watermelon, slaw, avocado, gochujang, peanuts), one of their most ordered. Every element went well together; every bite light but flavorful. We decided to have everything family style, and would recommend doing the same to be able to experience their vast menu.
At the end of the day, our dining trio left satisfied, and eager to return. We also hope to try the Williamsburg location, PLANTA Queen’s exclusive deals on Mondays and weekends, and in general, to dine there more often. Whether you follow a vegan diet yourself or just want to try something new, we’d definitely recommend a visit.
Ariana Eftimiu is a sophomore at Barnard College majoring in Political Science, also interested in Psychology and passionate about music. She is also involved in the Columbia Daily Spectator and Political Review. In her spare time, Ariana can be found maximizing her caffeine intake, working on her zine, Potted Purple, or putting an absurd amount of effort into her Spotify playlists.