Vegan-friendly
Lacto
Ovo
American
International
Organic
Beer/Wine
Delivery
Cafe serving vegetarian cuisine with international flair, such as vegetarian sushi, sandwiches, salads, a raw tapas plate, fruit smoothies and elixirs, and dinner plates. Reported closed June 2025.
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40 Wall St (at downtown), Asheville, North Carolina, USA, 28801
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- Outdoor seating
- Accepts credit cards
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Last update on 09 Jun 2025 by Davesw
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214 Reviews
First Review by aglenn0
WNCVeggie
Points +539
Great Vegetarian Restaurant - Edit
Laughing Seed has been around a long time and I know plenty of omnivores who love it just as much as vegetarians. Their brunch on weekends is amazing and many things on the menu are available as vegan and are delicious. Great lunch and dinner menu and delicious smoothies. Highly recommend!
Read morePros: Awesome Brunch, Many Vegan Options, All Vegetarian Menu
Guest
LaurenV
Points +187
A Sure Bet! - Edit
Laughing Seed was one of the first restaurants we visited during our house hunting trips in Asheville. 10 months later in our new home, this has become one of our favorite, go-to spots. All food is fresh with really creative flavors. This is a vegetarian restaurant with many vegan and GF options. They are also super accommodating. If you come to Asheville and you don't go to Laughing Seed, you're missing out! Heads up - they're closed on Monday and Tuesday. Wed-Sat. is lunch and dinner and Sunday is brunch only.
Read morePros: Great variety, Fun location, Awesome Flavors
Cons: Can get busy
Guest
mikey725
Points +196
fantastic! - Edit
We really enjoyed our meal here. Very tasty food, our waitress was helpful and knowledgeable about the menu and provided great service. The Reuben sandwich and the "raw" manicotti was excellent! I loved the raspberry/jalapeño lemonade! Wow! We'll be back next time we're in Asheville. I'll recommend.
Read morePros: good food, great friendly service, vegan gluten free options
Guest
Hanseat
Points +81
Not what I expected - Edit
I have eaten here on two occasions. The brunch on the weekend was a bit disappointing. Everything was overcooked and dry, the wait staff did not seem very efficient, the atmosphere was loud and hectic. On another occasion my lunch was ok, but nothing to rave about. The only thing that still makes my mouth water were the spicy fries. I hope my disappointing experience was an exception, I will try them again next time I come to Asheville.
Read morePros: Nice interior, Good location
Cons: meals were not hot, quality of the food was disappointing
Guest
Alyannkar
Points +1175
Cute and creative - Edit
I have been here several times and have enjoyed my visit each time. There are several vegan items as well as many vegetarian items that can easily be converted to vegan. The staff is wonderful, as well as the menu. I have had both their dinner and brunch, both of which are nom worthy. They have a lot of international dishes that are quite interesting.
Read morePros: Great atmosphere, Accommodating , Good food
Guest
jennafusal
Points +248
Fabulous! - Edit
This place is heavenly! I went with my omni boss on a business trip and we were both very impressed. I had raw vegan zucchini manicotti that was out of this world. The vegan sushi special appetizer was incredible. My boss had the V roll and loved it. I splurged on dessert and had a vegan cookie a la mode with the most wonderful vanilla vegan ice cream. The server was delightful and the atmosphere is lovely. Highly recommended.
Read moreGuest
rickyboy
Points +35
oh yeah - Edit
love it! nothing more to say.
Read moreGuest
gypsyiam
Points +19
Best Vegetarian In the area! - Edit
This restaurant has been voted by locals for years as best place to dine for.vegetarian food. I agree. Always fresh and delicious. They offer some awesome smoothies and juices too. Have a nice bar where they made some cocktails also. Highly recommend eating here if you are in the area and looking for this type of food. Right downtown within all the city action. They have a nice outdoor patio to sit at during nice weather. Very popular place. Wait staff is attentive and friendly.
Read morePros: fresh, tasty, affordable
Cons: wait in high tourist season
Guest
am22ssj
Points +80
Great vegan lunch - Edit
As soon as I arrived in Asheville, it was already after 2pm, so the first stop was at The Laughing Seed Cafe. There were so many options on the menu, and everything looked good, but I had read about the raw manicotti online. It was freezing, so I thought it would be crazy to eat raw. I started with a cup of the cream of broccoli soup. It was so delicious! Once warmed up, I had the raw spinach pesto manicotti with cashew ricotta cheese. It was sooooo good! I tried a few of the jalapeno onion fries with vegan ranch which were awesome! Cute, casual cafe (upstairs from Jack in the Wood Celtic bar) with very friendly staff and good service.
Read morePros: Lots of vegan options, Full bar and drink specials, Nice cafe and friendly staff
Guest
tcasalena
Points +99
decent choice, elegant - Edit
It's a nice place. The pate of the day was spot on served with fresh warm pita. The bahn mi sandwich was just ok for the price.
Read moreGuest
jenly
Points +241
just okay - Edit
We took a family vacation in Asheville in June and this was the first restaurant we visited. The next day I forced my family to return for lunch so I could try the Banh Mi sandwich, which I regretted not ordering at dinner the previous night.
Read moreWe tried some of the specials and we ordered many of the items from the standard menu.
Everything was just okay. Don't know what the problem was, exactly, but no one "loved" anything they ordered. Fresh vegetables in all of the dishes, but they lacked flavor and oomph. It is an expensive restaurant and for those prices the food should have been lick-the-plate delicious.
Sorry to post this vaguely negative review about a veg stalwart but I do think there is room for improvement.
Guest
SkipStein
Points +152
Great Place to Eat in Asheville - Edit
I had heard of and wanted to try the Laughing Seed Cafe in downtown Asheville. It was also highly recommended by several friends so we decided to have a bit of a late lunch/early-dinner. Well we were not disappointed. I had a sort of combination bowl (hot/warm) called the Harmony Bowl – Excellent! A LOT of food. Nancy had a veg-burger that was just OK. The best was the Jalapeno Onion Fries; try some!
Read morePros: Delicious Jalapeno Onion Fries, Good Service, Reasonable prices
Cons: Can be hard to find
Guest
DaveMiami
Points +96
This is my favorite type of healthy/vegan place! - Edit
Awesome menu! I got a zucchini marinara dish which was amazing. They also have juices and smoothies and kombucha. But most awesomely they have tonics! The tonics are mixtures of awesome herbs for digestion etc.
Read morePros: Menu, Tonics, kombucha
Guest
JLP
Points +117
a wonderful jewel in a neat part of Asheville - Edit
This is a definite good place for dinner
Read moreThe daily special has two vegan soups, three vegan appetizers, and two wonderful appetizers... Also great vegan dessert selections. See photos
Guest
kingopilates
Points +13
Good variety; fresh - Edit
A good selection of healthy items menu items. Service is fast and staff is knowledgeable of ingredients and food preparation. Upbeat atmosphere and happy customers keep the place full, even during off-peak hours.
Read morePros: Excellent food, Great atmosphere
Cons: parking
Guest
NatalieHunter
Points +25
Good for vegetarians, vegan, gluten free - Edit
If your vegetarian vegan gluten-free or even raw you can find a tasty dish here. They're healthy options for the kids. It should definitely be on your list of places to eat in Asheville.
Read moreGuest
Worldvegkitchen
Points +1383
Hit or miss - Edit
I love Laughing Seed for its variety and location. Some meals are delicious (raw dish) and some are just ok (barbecue Seitan sandwich). Definitely come here, just choose wisely!
Read morePros: Location, Service
Cons: Some food better than others
Guest
NJCAMANY
Points +44
Good Not Great - Edit
In the area on vacation found it on Happy Cow.
Read moreFood was good but no wow factor.
Menu had a good variety to select from.
I tried the Apple Parsnip soup pretty blah.
Onion Jalapeno fries were pricey but good.
Would try again.
Guest
Farmaroundthebend
Points +211
Great!!! One of my favorites! - Edit
Tons of vegan options, this entirely vegetarian restaurant is amazing. I've had pretty much everything on the menu and it's all amazing. The raw manicotti is awesome. If you can- go for brunch!!!! You can sit outside with your dogs, they're super accommodating to make vegetarian items vegan. Brunch is simply out of this world.
Read moreUpdated from previous review on Saturday November 09, 2013
Pros: All vegetarian lots of vegan!, In lovely downtown Asheville , Vegan brunch on the weekends-a rarity!
Cons: Staff sometimes not overly friendly, Can be a little pricey
Guest
rmills12
Points +69
Terribly Disappointed - Edit
We were so excited to visit this place on many recommendations. We go to Asheville on a Tuesday only to find out they were closed on Tuesdays. Anyway, we decided to go the following day for lunch. We were the first ones in the door. We started with the jalapeno onion fries...Amazing! I then ordered the vegan Rueben and my girl ordered a veg plate. She got black beans (out of a can), brown rice(dry and chewy), and dahl, which was actually soup? She was gonna just suck it up and eat what she could until I found not 1 hair, not 2 hairs, but 3 hairs in my Rueben. Gross. Needless to say we both lost our appetite. They did comp the entire bill which was nice. Sadly, we will never go back :(
Read morePros: Vegan options, Atmosphere, Location
Cons: Hairs in food, Bland, Pricey
Guest
gwild
Points +1610
great location amazing manicotti - Edit
I ate the raw manicotti was and it was amazing. I loved it. My husband had the Sloppy Joe which he said was fair. It was mainly lettuce in a bun with some sauce. My daughter had the Indian thali which was very good.
Read moreThe hummus and pita was good but after being spoiled with the Bombay hummus from Rebar in Victoria BC nothing measures up.
Another reviewer said prices here were half what they are at Plant but I found otherwise. My raw manicotti at Laughing seed was $14 while my raw enchilada at Plant was $15.
The food is a overall better at Plant but they are a bit more expensive. Laughing seed has a better location and is larger. I preferred the atmosphere at Laughing Seed.
Pros: location, patio, atmosphere
Cons: some food good some not so good
Guest
bunyak
Points +49
Amazing Brunch! - Edit
My wife and I have been vegan for about for about 14 years and veg 5 years before that. We have an 11 y/o vegan son. We've eaten at the best vegan restaurants in the country. Does it compare to Vedge, in Philly? No. Plant? Eh, questionable. It depends how you're judging.
Read moreWe've been avoiding meat substitutes and wheat/corn for over a year. This week was vacation and all that went out the window, to have some comfort food. Laughing Seed delivered in a big way. We started with their Sunday brunch. It was a beautiful morning, so we sat outside. What a great setting. The biscuits, gravy and grits were ridiculous.
We followed up with dinner, another night. My son had Indian Dal, I had the Cuban and my wife had barbecued seitan. All delivered, at about half the cost of Plant. Based on that, I score them about equal. Nothing fancy, just good.
One more thing to add. We had different servers, on our two visits. They could not have been nicer, more eager to please people.
Pros: Delicious comfort food., Excellent service., Reasonable prices.
Cons: Have to go to Asheville to get vegan, biscuits and gravy, like this!
Guest
Doli
Points +15
Very good - Edit
Our group of 6 (we all eat meat) loved everything we had at brunch
Read moreGuest
wuthering
Points +72
Not nearly as good as it used to be - Edit
I've held this place in the holy grail category of veggie restaurants for about 15 years. My hubby and I just went back there again (June 2013) with my parents and had those same high hopes. Dashed, they were, dashed. Unfortunately, the food isn't up to par. Small portions on huge plates, which makes it look even more like they've hit a wall. We had some strange 'vegan chorizo' thing, and the vegetables with it were steamed badly and had (no kidding) no sauce, dressing or anything. It's like they don't care. We tried dessert, mainly because we were still hungry. The chocolate beet cake was good, but incredibly dense. The funniest thing, or worst depending on your outlook, is that they charged $2 for a tablespoon of vegan ice cream. Seriously, a tablespoon size. (Save your money and go to The Hop for vegan ice cream.)
Read moreWe did find out the ex-head chef left to go to Plant, and clearly took the interest and excitement with them. Most likely won't be going back until we find they've got a new chef with some chutzpah and when they lower their prices below extortion-level.
Pros: Central location, Nice servers, Some drinks specials sometimes
Cons: Out-dated decor, Food isn't great anymore, Sitting back on their laurels
Guest
Carrie C. Reid
Points +47
Cute - Edit
The atmosphere is cute here, with its themed setting. It is a great place to spend a morning brunch or evening. It is clean, and reasonably priced. The portions are big. I would love it if they were a bit more informed about which items are vegan or not, but overall it was a pleasant experience, and I would go back.
Read morePros: clean, fun
Guest
TRaeCH
Points +384
Nice Brunch - Edit
After stuffing myself at plant the night before I slept in and visited Laughing Seed Cafe for brunch. The place was quite busy (tattoo convention in town along with college crowd and people in the city for the Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds concert) so it was hard to really rate the service. I thought it was adequate.
Read moreThe food is priced very reasonably and it pretty tasty. The selection was rather impressive for a mere brunch. There are a lot of elements that are shared between dishes. I ordered the tempeh and root hash which was filling and tasty. I particularly liked the 'Freaky Tiki' drink - just the right type of sweet.
I would like to visit again during dinner service to see what aspects I was missing out on.
I give it three cows for now, but has potential for 4 if I make it back.
Pros: Price, Good brunch, Location
Cons: Service not the best when busy
Guest
appandy15
Points +44
Must visit - Edit
My wife and I enjoyed brunch so much we went back for dinner the same day. I had the Sunday Sooner, WOW, amazing breakfast/brunch extravaganza (pic added) that included home fries, gravy, sauteed spinach, tofu scramble, grits, toasted pita triangles, seitan, and guacamole for only $7!! I would eat this every Sunday if I lived in Asheville, and it was enough to share, in my opinion. My wife had the waffles with fruit but quickly started eating off my plate... The services for brunch was great as well.
Read moreDinner was less exciting but was still tasty. I had the reuben, which in its original state is practically all animal based, was decent but not worth writing home about. My wife had a pasta dish which she devoured.
Laughing Seed offers a great local beer selection and cute clothing sporting their logo. Indoor and outdoor seating available with great decor.
Pros: Great veg and vegan options, Local craft beer
Guest
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