Las Vegas isn’t a hotbed for Eastern European cuisine and even less so for Bulgarian. So, of course we were thrilled when we stumbled upon BG Bistro, a vegan-friendly Bulgarian restaurant in Las Vegas off of W. Tropicana Ave. In fact, BG Bistro claims to be the only all-Bulgarian restaurant on the West Coast.
If you want a meal with fresh veggies that are gluten-free, avoid fake meats and cheese and other processed products, BG Bistro has your vegan goodness covered.
Tuck into their bar, dining room or enjoy a beautiful Vegas day on their large patio with plush seating and feast on the veggie dishes BG Bistro offers.
There are handful of dishes which are inherently vegan — the refreshing Healthy Salad made with lettuce, cucumber, avocado, tomatoes, green onions and peppers and tossed in a lemon olive oil dressing; an assortment of pickled veggies; Kyopolou (veggie meatballs made with roasted sweet red peppers, eggplant and more; grilled peppers marinated in olive oil and garlic; the homemade Lutenica dip with roasted sweet pepper, tomato, garlic, onion and olive oil; and the vegetarian skewer featuring mushrooms, zucchini, peppers and onion.
Vegan sides at BG Bistro include steamed white rice, cabbage and carrot salad, and french fries.
However, the kitchen at BG Bistro is accommodating, understands vegan requirements and can easily make most of their vegetarian dishes vegan by simply swapping out the butter for olive oil and leaving off the cheese or eggs.
With this in mind, we ordered the sautéed potatoes which come served with crispy edges and soft insides, and flavored with garlic, dill and spices.
We also tried the mushrooms sautéed in olive oil, which were amazing.
Most of the veggie dishes you can veganize are salads, but with options like the Vitamin Salad with beets, carrots and crushed walnuts (hold the dressing because of the honey and skip the parmesan) and their Spinach Salad with spinach (of course), avocado, tomatoes, sunflower and chia seeds tossed in olive oil (hold the cheese), you may want to give them a try, too.
Bonus: they’re open late every night.
6160 W. Tropicana Ave., 89103, 702-222-9003, Monday – Saturday: 10 a.m. – 1 a.m., Sunday: 10 a.m. – 2 a.m.
Diana Edelman is the founder of Vegans, Baby. She previously lived and worked in Thailand working for an elephant sanctuary and has traveled around the world speaking about the realities of elephant tourism, being a positive activist and entrepreneur at events including TBEX, SEED Food + Wine, VegFest Puerto Rico, VegFest Toronto and more. Diana is a proud partner with the James Beard Foundation and curates their Vegas Vegan Dinner series at the famous James Beard House, as well as the vegan activation, The Farm Stand, at Las Vegas’ Life Is Beautiful festival.
