This Is The #1 Restaurant in Los Angeles And It’s Vegan

Written by the VEGPRENEUR team

In an exciting announcement, Hey Sunshine Kitchen has been crowned the top restaurant in Yelp’s highly anticipated list of the Top 100 Places to Eat in Los Angeles for 2024. This accolade highlights the restaurant’s commitment to quality and innovation in the culinary scene, particularly within the realm of vegan cuisine.

How Yelp Curates Its Top Restaurants

Yelp employs a meticulous methodology to identify its top-rated eateries. For the 2024 list, Yelp focused on businesses within the restaurant category, ranking them based on several criteria. These included the volume and ratings of reviews submitted by Yelp Elite Squad members from August 2023 to August 2024. Only establishments located in Los Angeles County and marked as open on Yelp by August 29, 2024, were considered. Additionally, all featured restaurants boasted a passing health score as of the same date, ensuring that diners can trust the safety and hygiene of their dining experiences.

The Magic Behind Hey Sunshine Kitchen

Founded by sisters Heather Golden Ray and Jenny Engel, Hey Sunshine Kitchen has quickly become a beacon of plant-based eating in Los Angeles. The restaurant offers a diverse menu featuring warm bowls, fresh salads, hot sandwiches, tacos, and sides, all crafted from high-quality, non-GMO ingredients and locally sourced produce. Signature dishes include their innovative Chicken Caesar Salad made with grilled plant-based chicken and the Kids Crispy Nuggets, crafted from chickpeas, showcasing their mission to make vegan cuisine accessible and appealing to everyone.

Despite being first-time restaurateurs, Heather and Jenny are not new to the culinary scene. Before launching Hey Sunshine Kitchen, they established Spork Foods, a vegan cooking school in West Hollywood, where they educated home cooks and aspiring chefs on plant-based cooking. Their expertise extends to authorship, with two popular cookbooks—Spork-Fed and Vegan 101—to their name, further cementing their status as influential figures in the vegan movement.

Their dedication to quality and innovation has attracted attention from various celebrities, including actresses Emily and Zooey Deschanel, and music icon Moby, all of whom have praised the sisters’ culinary contributions.

A Taste of Community

The recognition from Yelp underscores the restaurant's commitment not only to delicious food but also to fostering a sense of community around plant-based eating. Hey Sunshine Kitchen’s welcoming atmosphere and emphasis on high-quality ingredients have resonated with diners, allowing them to enjoy flavorful, health-conscious meals without compromising on taste.