What Are The Vegan Options At Ninety Nine Restaurants? (Updated Guide)

Ah, buffalo wings. What’s more satisfying than being able to eat your favorite dish?

I’m talking about vegan Buffalo wings, by the way. Because why not? Nowadays, more people have called for vegan meat, and fortunately, many restaurants have also responded positively.

But for Ninety Nine Restaurants, vegan meat isn’t in our favor. There are very limited vegan options at the restaurant, especially since they are more about meat-based dishes. Their signature broiled sirloin tip, for instance, is very famous.

But if you find yourself dining in at one of its locations, we’re here to help. Let’s find out what you can get at this meat-based spot.

Ninety Nine Restaurants, Always The Real Deal

Entrepreneur Charlie Doe envisioned a place where people would not only get to eat good food with great value but would also feel at home. From his creative idea, Ninety Nine Restaurants was born in 1952.

Ninety Nine Restaurants is now a subsidiary of Restaurant Growth Services and is headquartered in Woburn, MA. It continued to grow with a philosophy to update and refine its menu regularly to keep providing fresh options for its customers both new and old.

It was named Ninety Nine Restaurants after its first location address at 99 State St., in Boston, MA. Charlie Doe’s wife, Shirley gave him a horseshoe, which is believed to be a good luck charm. Doe hung it around the numeral 99 at the location, which has become the restaurant’s logo.

To this date, Ninety Nine Restaurants has more than 100 locations around New England and New York with over 400 employees.

Ninety Nine Restaurants Vegan Options

Before the list, you need to know exactly what 99 does and doesn’t tell you. The chain’s own allergen & nutrition link leads to a per-item allergen tool that declares nine allergens: milk, eggs, fish, shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, soy and sesame. There is no vegan or vegetarian filter and no ingredient list anywhere. So “doesn’t contain milk or eggs” is an allergen result, not a vegan certification — it says nothing about honey, gelatin, beef or chicken stock, fish sauce, lard, or mono- and diglycerides.

Three corrections this guide previously got wrong, straight from 99’s own allergen tool: the coleslaw contains eggs (it’s mayonnaise-based), the Russet Mashed Potatoes contain milk, and the Rice Pilaf contains milk. All three used to appear on this page as vegan sides. They are not vegan, and none of them belongs on your order.

99 is also blunt about its kitchen. Its allergen pages carry this warning: “because of the handcrafted nature of our menu items, the variety of procedures used in our kitchens, shared cooking and preparation areas, including common fryer oil… we cannot make any guarantees as to its accuracy… All items are prepared in common areas and may come in contact with or have traces of these products.” On a menu built around fried seafood and fried chicken, that common fryer oil line matters a lot for anything that comes out of the fryer.

With that said, here is what’s actually left. Let’s take a look at Ninety Nine Restaurants’ menu to see what vegan options you can have.

Sides With No Declared Milk Or Eggs

• French Fries — no declared milk or eggs, but they come out of the shared fryer 99 warns about.
• Sweet Potato Fries (a Premium Side) — same allergen result, same shared fryer.
• Corn
• Broccoli — the cleanest item here; it declares none of the nine allergens at all.
• Grilled Asparagus — this is the item this guide used to call “Grilled Dijon Asparagus”. It’s been renamed and moved to the paid Premium Sides tier.
• Mott’s Natural Applesauce and Mandarin Oranges, on the kids side menu — both declare none of the nine allergens.

On The Menu, But Nobody Can Tell You If It’s Vegan

• Baked Potato (served after 4PM) — 99 publishes no allergen entry for it, so what goes on it before it reaches you is unknown. Ask.
• In-Season Vegetable (kids side) — the item changes with the season and has no allergen entry. Ask what it is and what it’s cooked in.
• Kids House Salad — no allergen entry. Worth knowing that the adult Side House Salad, ordered without dressing, still declares milk, wheat and soy, which lines up with the parmesan and croutons that come on it as standard.
• Kids Pasta — it’s served with either classic marinara or butter sauce. Butter sauce is dairy by definition, so that’s out. The marinara version has no published allergen entry, so it can’t be confirmed either way. (There’s no garlic bread with it; kids meals come with one side.)
• Beverages. Ninety Nine offers signature cocktails, wines, beers, alcohol-free drinks and fountain drinks, and publishes nothing about how any of them are made or fined. The common non-vegan ingredients to ask about are isinglass, chitin, casein and gelatin — I wrote more about those in this article.

Do Not Order These As Vegan

Per 99’s own allergen tool: coleslaw contains eggs (kids version included), Russet Mashed Potatoes contain milk (kids version included), and Rice Pilaf contains milk (kids version included). The Mediterranean Bean Salad this guide used to recommend is no longer on the menu at all. And the House Salad arrives with parmesan and croutons, so it needs both removed — and a dressing checked separately, since dressings are their own items.

Two more things readers ask about. The Southwest Fajita Bowl is the closest thing 99 has to a plant-forward main — sautéed onions and peppers, romaine, corn, black beans, pico de gallo, guacamole, jalapeños and rice pilaf, topped with cilantro and chipotle sauce. But the rice pilaf in it contains milk and the chipotle sauce has no published allergen entry, so it’s a question for your server, not a confirmed vegan main. And the Crispy Cauliflower and Crispy Cauliflower Tacos are tempura-battered and served with sriracha ranch, which is dairy.

Pro Tip: Ninety Nine’s menu says to tell your server before ordering if anyone in your party has a food allergy. Use that. It’s also your opening to ask what the fryer is shared with and how a side is finished.

Vegan Beef Vs Real Beef

Ninety Nine Restaurants is known for its Broiled Sirloin Tips and Buffalo Wings. But of course, vegans are not for meat. However, on the plus side, many restaurants and vegan aficionados have created fake meat, also known as vegan meat to meet the needs of the people who follow a plant-based diet.

So, if you ask which one is healthier, it’s the vegan beef…obviously. Imagine having no fat and cholesterol, and no saturated fat on your vegan burger patty? Sounds very healthy, right?

But to give you a gist here’s an estimated figure between vegan ground beef and real ground beef.

Do you notice the huge difference in calories, total fat, cholesterol, and sodium? These are the most crucial food content that our body ingests every time we munch on something.

If you consume vegan meat, you don’t get to spend your lifetime burning those whopping calories from real meat. Beef, for instance, is very common in burgers, but if you choose a vegan burger made from plant-based ground beef, you’ll get zero cholesterol and less fat.

However, you’ll also need to consider the vegan meat’s sodium content because it’s way higher than the real meat. You must be wondering why. Well, it’s simple.

Vegan meat has to achieve the flavor of real meat and therefore needs more flavorings, seasonings, and other alternatives to achieve that meaty taste. This leads to higher salt or sodium content compared to real meat that already has its meaty texture and flavor.

Health experts have warned that excessive sodium intake can cause your blood pressure to rise, which leads to strokes and heart diseases. Your kidneys are also in danger when you take too much salt. Also, there are certain types of cancer that are at bay when your body ingests excessive sodium.

The USDA advises adults to keep their sodium intake below 2,300 mg daily to reduce health risks. To help counteract excess sodium, including more fiber- and flavonoid-rich fruits and vegetables in your diet is a smart choice.

Veggies and fruits like oranges, bananas, apples, berries, leafy vegetables, pineapples, lettuce, onions, tomatoes, grapes, peaches, kale, and more are rich in fiber and flavonoids. Consider piling them up in your pantry to help tone down your sodium intake.

What Ingredients Are Used To Make Vegan Meat?

Good question! When I started my vegan journey, I had to read and learn about vegan meat, especially since I had to bid goodbye to real meat.

I was honestly surprised that you can make vegan meat out of tofu and seitan. Like seriously?

But, yes. That’s really amazing and the taste is as real as animal meat, and for me, it’s even tastier. So, I went on and check more vegan-friendly ingredients to make plant-based meat. And yes, I was even more surprised. Ha!

Here’s what I found out.

• Seitan
  • Also known as gluten meat, Seitan is wheat’s main protein. The wheat flour dough is washed with water to remove the starch granules making the insoluble gluten become elastic. It is then cooked before it can be consumed and converted into fake meat.
• Tofu
  • Also called Bean Curd, Tofu is coagulated soy milk with its curds being pressed into solid white blocks. It can be soft, silken, firm, extra firm, or even super firm. Because of its spongy texture, tofu is among the most widely used ingredient in making vegan meat, especially since it can absorb flavors easily.
• Chickpeas
  • Chickpeas, also called Garbanzo Bean, are a kind of annual legumes that are high in protein. They are ground into smaller particles as a meat substitute that are commonly used in tacos, vegan meatballs, and more.
• Lentils
  • Lentils are lens-shaped seeds high in fiber and complex carbs. These are also widely used as a meat substitute used in pasta, tacos, burritos, and a lot more. They are gluten-free and are also low in calories and fat.
• Mushrooms
  • Who would expect that these spore-bearing bodies of fungi can be a meat substitute? Mushrooms are ground and are used as a meat alternative in many different vegan dishes. These are rich in B vitamins and are naturally low in sodium content.
• Jackfruit
  • The jackfruit’s meat texture is what makes this fruit a perfect alternative for pulled pork you wouldn’t even know that you’re eating a vegan pulled pork dish.

Top-Rated Vegan Restaurants In The US

While Ninety Nine Restaurants have very limited vegan options, other restaurants in America are in our favor. Rejoice!

And because I also love eating out, and tasting different dishes at vegan restaurants, I have great recommendations for you. Vegan restaurants are literally everywhere in the US. I don’t think you’ll ever have a hard time checking them out yourself.

You can check these top 10 vegan restaurants below… Well, at least for me. Wink!

• Daily Grill
• Bareburger
• Mellow Mushroom
• Olive Garden
• TGI Fridays
• Freebirds World Burrito
• Blaze Pizza
• The Cheesecake Factory
• Buca Di Beppo
• Yard House

The Takeaway

Ninety Nine doesn’t offer a confirmed vegan main, and the honest side list is short: french fries and sweet potato fries (shared fryer), corn, broccoli, grilled asparagus, applesauce and mandarin oranges. Skip the coleslaw — it contains egg. Skip the rice pilaf and the mashed potatoes — both contain milk. And remember that 99 publishes allergens only, with no vegan filter and no ingredient lists, so “no milk, no egg” is the most anyone can honestly tell you.

Otherwise, there are many vegan restaurants around you that give justice to your umami taste. Because really. Who doesn’t want their cravings satisfied?