At Lucky Leek, a vegan restaurant in a cozy basement space near Kollwitzplatz, each and every plate emerging from the kitchen offers interesting textures, splashes of color and creative flavor combos. Forget the big bowls of sludgy lentil soups and soggy stews you might expect to find at mediocre vegetarian buffets. Here, all the offerings are delicious enough to have even the most hardcore of meat lovers marveling at the flesh-like tenderness of the breaded seitan steaks and delightful creaminess of the risotto.

It is, however, essential that room is left for the house-made desserts, such as a lavender and caramel-crusted Creme Catalana that somehow succeeds in being both rich and light. Berlin—a bastion for sausage and cheese gluttony—has finally been blessed with an insanely ambitious vegan restaurant, the kind that will attract both gourmand carnivores and devoted vegetarians.