Long Islanders looking for a plant-based plate are in luck.
Belgium’s Le Botaniste, a fast-casual plant-based chain, opened its first Long Island location in Elmont’s Belmont Park Village shopping center earlier this month.
“People really want to eat more vegetables,” said Le Botaniste co-founder Laurent Francois. “The beauty of what we’re doing is it’s all vegetables.”
He said the inspiration for the vegan restaurant, which first opened in Belgium in 2015, came from his partner and co-founder Alain Coumont, who wanted to show that vegetables could be more than just a side dish or an afterthought.
“He didn’t want to mimic fake meat whatsoever,” Francois said. “For us, it’s really putting the vegetable, the plants, forward. Really making it craveable and making people understand that you don’t always need meat or animal protein when you are having lunch or dinner.”
The restaurant serves a seasonal menu, primarily featuring bowls, soups, and dips, with certain offerings changing four times a year, Francois said. Some current items include the Tibetan Mama bowl with brown rice, coconut peanut butter curry sauce, steamed greens, and kimchi, the Vegetable Tajine bowl with quinoa, potatoes, and Moroccan vegetable stew, a chili bowl, and a botanical salad.
Long Islanders can also find an array of appetizers, including veggie sushi rolls, red beet caviar, coconut ceviche, and green pea hummus, along with desserts, like raw raspberry and chocolate cakes.
Francois emphasized that his vegan meals were accessible, saying guests would find meals at Le Botaniste at a similar price point to other fast-casual chains like Chiplote, Cava, and Sweetgreen.
“We are thrilled to welcome Le Botaniste to the Village, bringing their plant-based, feel-good cuisine to Long Island for the first time,” said Simon Williamson, chief merchant at Belmont Park Village. “We welcome guests to visit.”
Le Botaniste currently has six locations in Manhattan. Francois said he and Coumont wanted to bring the restaurant to Elmont because a good portion of his Manhattan customers were telling him they were coming in from Long Island or even neighboring states.
“Our food is really speaking to more and more people. So we thought, we need to be able to satisfy our customers. We see a huge opportunity for our concept to expand in smaller towns and in more suburban locations,” Francois said. He added that they were considering expanding into upstate and Connecticut as well.
Francois said Le Botaniste attracts more than just vegans, many of whom are shocked by how much they enjoy the food and quickly become return customers.
“We’re surprising people, one bowl after the other,” Francois said. “People tell us, ‘I wasn’t expecting that I could crave vegetables, or ‘I wasn’t expecting vegetables could be so delicious.’”
So far, Francois said, Long Islanders have been loving the restaurant.
“People think it’s great,” Francois said. “The reactions have been very positive, and we’re very much looking forward to the village continuing its expansion and the customers and sales that will follow that. We’re very excited about the future.”
