Vegan food comes a long way. Having to eat in a vegan restaurant used to be, for non-vegetarians and even vegetarian, a bit of a chore, where you would go only if you had to. Then, it was often rebranded as “plant based”, giving it a cool and planet friendly image. Of course, there were exceptions, like Elizabeth’s Gone Raw in DC (now simply called Elizabeth’s), Vedge in Philadelphia, or the controversial change at Eleven Madison Park in New York. Of course, exceptions were not just reserved to fine dining: places like Double-Zero proposed some quite delicious food. So, I was very open to try Coletta, a vegan and kosher restaurant located few blocks from Madison Square Park. Why? The menu looked quite creative. And I was not disappointed. To the point that we went back. If you did not know it is vegan, you would not be able to tell by simply looking at the menu or even by eating some of their dishes. Take for instance the crispy calamari ($20). When it comes to the table, you really think they are the real deal, but in fact it is king oyster mushroom rings. The texture is slightly tougher than calamari and it has a more earthy taste, but it is a good vegan rendition of a classic appetizer. More surprising is the steak. Ground meat like the impossible is easier to make than a steak, because, for the latter, you need to recreate the texture of a piece of meat, that is not that simple. At Coletta, they are serving the steak ($38) from Chunk Food, an Israeli company that recreated a vegan version of steak with cultured soy protein (defatted soy flour, soy protein isolate, wheat gluten), coconut oil, natural flavors, beet juice concentrate (for color), salt, Iron, and cyanocobalamin (vitamin B12). The texture is incredible and, if you did not know, you may think it is real meat. Maybe not the best piece of steak you had, but something pretty tasty and close to the real deal.

More classic, they have pasta, my favorite being the eggplant lasagna ($27) over the cacio e Pepe ($26) that, although good, definitely had a nutty taste, and for sure the pizza (we had the wild mushroom truffle - $26) that had a delicious crust. They all have cheese, but vegan cheese, and it was pretty well made, to the point that I would go back for the pizza and lasagna for sure.

With our meals, we has some cocktails: for me, Sage & Spice, made with butter sage fat washed bourbon, amaro, pomegranate, apple and lemon ($20), or the sangria Bianca, made with Pinot Grigio, elderflower, pineapple, grapefruit, lemon and angostura bitters ($18); Kiss & tell for Jodi, a mocktail made with lychee, raspberry and lemon ($12).

Dessert was even more surprising with their olive oil cake ($16) that looked like a piece of art. It was made with a citrus vanilla sponge, housemade mascarpone, rosemary whipped cream and lemon zest. A must have!

Our dinners at Coletta were great: the food there is good, with surprising dishes that make you forget that you are in a vegan restaurant. I would go back for sure, to try some other dishes, or even get the same ones as they were pretty good. I highly recommend this place, even if you are not vegan or vegetarian.

Enjoy (I did)!

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Coletta - 365 3rd Ave, New York, NY 10016

Coletta, Vegan and Kosher restaurant in NYC, NY

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