New York City’s East Village is home to an abundance of vegan restaurants. Overthrow Hospitality deserves a lot of the credit for how vegan-friendly the neighborhood is. With a handful of restaurants, including Soda Club and the much buzzed about Cadence, the vegan hospitality group is firmly cementing its presence in the culinary scene. Etérea is another of their restaurants making a name for itself.

It’s entirely plant-based and entirely gluten-free, making it the perfect spot in New York City if you’re  gluten-free and vegan. Or just want want a vibrant, flavor-packed meal without all the processed eats.

@thedianaedelman The nachos are epic 🌱 #PassTheBIC #nycveganrestaurants #nycfoodie #vegantravel #nyctiktok #womenchef #nycvegan ♬ BOMBÓN – Daddy Yankee & El Alfa & Lil Jon

Opened at the end of April 2021, the popular NYC vegan restaurant isn’t even a year old and it’s packing the house nightly. Led by Executive Chef Xila Caudillo, it serves plant-based, gluten-free small plates that honor her Mexican heritage and Southern California upbringing.

New York City Vegan Restaurant: Etérea

Etérea offers a menu loaded with choices, including craft cocktails with a focus on both mezcal and tequila. So, start your meal off with our pick, the Retox made with Reposado, jalapeño, maple, lemon and chili salt. If that’s not your vibe, it’s ok — their cocktail list is impressive. They even have a couple of cocktails that benefit charities, like Pocket Seeds made with Resposado, citrus, sunflower seed orgeat, curaçao and pimento. Money from that drink goes to the Ukranian National Women’s League of America.

But, let’s be real. You’re here for the feast, and that’s exactly what you’ll get. The menu is broken down into sections — bocados, platos, tacos and postres.

Bocados

Small plates, bocados range from broccoli coated in corn dog batter with chipotle aioli, salsa verde, pickled jalapeños and slaw. Be sure to dip it into the few dollops of mustard on the plate to give it a little extra kick.

We also love the tostados. They’re served two-a-plate and come topped with marinated tomato, fresh slices of perfect avocado and chipotle aioli. Crispy leeks top it all off.

In addition, other bocados include guac and ceviche made with mushrooms, avocado and mango.

Tacos

For those who want tacos, they’ve got two choices.

First, there’s the zucchini taco. It comes with fried, smoked cheese (so good!), along with BBQ sauce, cole slaw and pickled jalapeño. 

Second is the aciento taco. It’s made with mushrooms and a nut and seed aciento and topped with mezcal habanero salsa, mango and spiced peanuts.

Platos

First, we’ve got to talk about the star of the show — Etérea’s nachos. We were warned they were huge, but it wasn’t until the massive came out did we fully comprehend the magnitude of the dish.

It’s a sea of fresh nachos covered with jackfruit, pickled jalapeños and onions and beans. It’s finished off with cheese sauce, crema, mezcal salsa and cilantro and adorned with edible, glitter-sprinkled flowers. It serves at least two people and makes the perfect starter.

However, our fave dish is the Corn Ribs Elote. This gorgeously photogenic dish featured corn on-the-cob that’s been sliced into “ribs” and covered in smoked paprika and cilantro aioli along with pickled red onion and crumbled cheese. The corn is oh-so tender and bursts with flavor. So, get your hands a little dirty and nibble on these.

There are a few other platos on the menu as well. They serve tamales with trumpet ‘shrooms and jackfruit, plus brussels sprouts, and cauliflower in a ranchero sauce with crispy black beans.

Dessert

Finally, there’s dessert if you’ve still got room. The hibiscus dulce de leche comes topped with a scoop of guava ice cream, fresh berries and a flower. Super photogenic. And delicious.

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