When most people think of Nicky’s of Beverly, they picture an Italian beef dripping with giardiniera, or the double stack Big Baby blanketed in cheddar & grilled onions. Fair enough—we’re proud of all of it. But there’s a whole side of our menu that doesn’t get nearly enough attention: our plant-based, vegetarian, & vegan-friendly dishes.
This post is for the plant-curious, the committed vegans, the vegetarians who’ve learned to lower their expectations at neighborhood spots, & the omnivores who just want something fresh & light once in a while. Whoever you are, here’s a look at our greener side & how it came to be.
Why We Take Plant-Based Food Seriously
It starts with the neighborhood.
Beverly is one of Chicago’s most tightly-knit communities, & our regulars reflect that diversity. Families come in together—but they rarely eat the same things. We’ve had tables where one person is vegan, another is pescatarian, & three others want Italian beef. We want every one of them to leave happy.
Then there’s the kitchen. Chef Alberto and the rest of our hardworking kitchen team believe that cooking with fresh vegetables isn’t a compromise—it’s a skill set. When you’re working with quality produce & building flavor from the ground up, plant-based cooking is genuinely exciting. A great salad isn’t a consolation prize. It’s a dish in its own right, & it deserves the same care as anything else coming out of our kitchen.
But the main reason we’re committed to vegan and vegetarian options is the customers. Over the years, more & more guests have come in looking for options that fit a plant-forward lifestyle. You asked for them, and we heard you. So we’ve added, tweaked, & refined some more. What’s on the menu today reflects what we love to cook & what our community told us they want.
A Honest Guide to the Plant-Based Options on Our Menu
We’re not going to oversell this. Not every item on our menu is vegan-friendly, & we’d rather be straight with you than have you show up surprised. What we can tell you is that the options we do have are genuinely good—not afterthoughts.
Here’s a breakdown.
The Plant Based Menu: More Than You’d Expect
Here’s the part of this post we’re most excited to tell you about—because it’s the part that surprises most people. Nicky’s has an entire dedicated Plant Based section on our menu. Not one or two token items. A full roster of vegan dishes, built from the ground up, that stand on their own as real food.
Here’s every item, in full.
Vegan Buffalo Chicken Salad Crispy vegan buffalo chicken (Gardein, made from seitan), fresh romaine, onion, tomatoes, & vegan cheese, served with vegan ranch dressing. All the heat & crunch of a buffalo chicken salad, none of the animal products. This one tends to surprise people.
Vegan Falafel Sandwich Crisp housemade falafel on warm pita with arugula, red onion, tomatoes, cucumber, & tahini. Clean, bright, & filling. If you’ve ever settled for a sad falafel somewhere else, this is the one to reset your expectations.
Vegan Banh Mi A fully vegan take on the Vietnamese classic. Shredded vegan beef, pickled slaw, fresh jalapeños, pickled red onion, vegan spicy mayo, & cilantro on toasted Valenzano French bread. This is one of the most requested items on the plant-based menu, & it earns it. The pickled elements & the heat from the jalapeños do exactly what a banh mi is supposed to do.
Veggie Big Baby Two Beyond Meat patties stacked with your choice of vegan or regular cheese, ketchup, mustard, pickle, & grilled onion on a brioche bun (vegan bun available on request). This is the plant-based version of our signature South Side burger, the Big Baby—same build, same satisfaction, different protein. Beyond patties are made with yellow peas, red lentils, faba beans & brown rice.
Veggie Burger A single Beyond Meat patty grilled & served on a brioche bun with mustard, mayo, lettuce, tomatoes, red onion, pickles, & cheddar. The classic, done right. (Vegan bun & cheese available upon request.)
Vegan Sausage Beyond Sausage on French bread with mustard, grilled onions, & sport peppers. For anyone who’s ever walked past a Chicago sausage stand & felt left out, this one’s for you.
Vegan Brat Beyond Brat on a pretzel bun with mustard, sweet relish, & grilled onions. Simple, satisfying, & genuinely good. The pretzel bun is a nice touch.
Vegan Jerk Chicken Pita Gardein plant-based chicken marinated & tossed in jerk sauce, served on pita with vegan mayo, lettuce, tomatoes, & grilled onions. Bold seasoning, real flavor. If you like heat & Caribbean-inspired dishes, don’t sleep on this one.
Vegan Shrimp Dinner Fried vegan shrimp served with toasted French bread, crispy fries, & a side salad. A full plate—not a snack, not a side—with everything you’d want in a seafood dinner, plant-based.
Vegan Shiitake Mushroom Potstickers Five potstickers filled with bok choy, carrots, & shiitake mushrooms, seasoned with garlic, ginger, & sesame, folded in a wheat flour wrapper, & fried crisp. Served with dipping sauce. These are a standout appetizer & one of the more creative items on the entire menu.
Vegan Nachos Tortilla chips, Beyond crumbles, vegan nacho cheese, & jalapeños. A shareable plate that works as a starter or a full meal if you’re hungry enough.
Grilled Cheese Two slices of cheddar, two slices of swiss. That’s it. We’re not reinventing anything here—we’re just doing it right. Sometimes that’s all you want, & we think there’s real dignity in a perfectly made grilled cheese.
The Salads
Our salad menu is where the plant-based story started at Nicky’s. These aren’t side salads. They’re full, composed dishes built with real ingredients.
Greek Salad This one is vegetarian as written, no modifications needed. Crisp romaine, crumbled feta, tomatoes, red onion, brined cucumbers, pepperoncini peppers, kalamata olives, & oregano, all dressed with a bright Greek dressing. It’s bold, briny, & satisfying. If you’re looking for a vegetarian option you can order without any awkward substitution conversations, this is your dish.
Mediterranean Salad (vegan-adaptable) The base of this salad is a plant-based dream: hearts of palm, garbanzo beans, black olives, cucumber, tomatoes, red onion, & pepperoncini. As written, it comes with shrimp & feta—but order it without those & you’ve got a filling, protein-rich vegan salad. The garbanzo beans do real work here. Don’t skip this one.
Southwest Salad (vegan-adaptable) Corn, black beans, tortilla strips, tomatoes, onions, & chipotle ranch on crisp romaine. It’s listed as a chicken salad, but you can omit it or sub grilled or crispy vegan chicken for a small upcharge. The vegetable & bean base is hearty enough to stand alone. Swap the jack cheese for vegan cheese if you want to keep it fully plant-based. The chipotle ranch adds a smoky kick that ties the whole thing together.
Asian Salad (vegan-adaptable) Romaine, red cabbage, onions, cilantro, water chestnuts, wonton strips, & Asian ginger dressing. Vibrant, crunchy, & genuinely refreshing. Skip the chicken, or sub it for grilled or crispy vegan chicken, & you have a naturally vegan-leaning bowl with a lot going on texturally. The ginger dressing is the star.
A note on all of our salads: if you have questions about ingredients in any dressing or want to know what can be left out, just call us at (773) 233-3072 or add a note when ordering online. We’ll be straight with you.
A Word on Customization
We know plant-based dining often involves a bit of back-and-forth, & we’re happy to have that conversation. Many of our dishes can be adjusted—proteins removed, dairy left off, dressings swapped. We can’t guarantee zero cross-contamination in our kitchen, & we won’t make that promise to anyone with a serious allergy. But for lifestyle-based preferences, we’re flexible. Just ask.
The best way to customize an order is to call us directly at (773) 233-3072, especially if you have specific needs. We’d rather talk it through than have you guess.
Coming to Nicky’s as a Plant-Based Diner: What to Expect
We’re a neighborhood restaurant, not a vegan café. Our menu is broad & our kitchen is busy. What you can expect from us is genuine care, fresh ingredients, & a staff that’s happy to help you find something you’ll love.
What you’ll find when you walk in: a comfortable, unpretentious space where the Beverly community comes to eat together. Families, regulars, first-timers. People who’ve been coming since we opened & people who just moved to the neighborhood. If you’re plant-based & you’ve felt like South Side dining wasn’t really for you, we’d like to change your mind.
We’re at 10500 S Western Ave in Beverly, open Monday through Saturday 10 am–9 pm & Sunday 11 am–9 pm.
Your Questions, Answered
We get a lot of the same questions from plant-based diners, so we’ve put the most common ones here.
Is Nicky’s of Beverly a vegan restaurant? No, & we won’t pretend to be. We’re a neighborhood street food spot with a broad menu. But we do have genuinely good vegetarian & vegan-friendly options, & we take them seriously. If you’re looking for a fully vegan kitchen, we’re not that. If you’re looking for a welcoming neighborhood spot with solid plant-based choices, we think you’ll be happy here.
Which items on your menu are fully vegan? More than most people expect. We have an entire dedicated Plant Based section on our menu with 11 items, all built to be vegan from the ground up: the Vegan Banh Mi, Vegan Falafel Sandwich, Vegan Buffalo Chicken Salad, Veggie Big Baby, Veggie Burger, Vegan Sausage, Vegan Brat, Vegan Jerk Chicken Pita, Vegan Shrimp Dinner, Vegan Shiitake Mushroom Potstickers, and Vegan Nachos. (For the veggie burgers, you can sub vegan options for the brioche and dairy cheese.) In addition, several of our regular salads can also be made fully vegan with simple modifications—see the salad section of this post for details.
Which items are vegetarian without any modifications? The Greek Salad, Grilled Cheese, and Seasonal Pepper & Egg sandwich are all vegetarian as they appear on the menu—no substitutions needed.
Can I request modifications to other menu items? Yes, within reason. We can remove proteins from salads, leave off cheese, & in some cases suggest a dressing swap. The best way to sort this out is to call us at (773) 233-3072 or add a note to your online order. We’d rather talk it through than have you guess or go without.
Do you use separate prep surfaces or equipment for plant-based orders? We’re a full-service kitchen preparing a wide range of dishes. We can’t guarantee zero cross-contact with animal products, so if you have a serious allergy or medical dietary restriction, please let us know when you call. For lifestyle-based plant-based preferences, we’ll do our best to accommodate you.
Are your dressings vegan? Some are, some aren’t. The Asian ginger dressing & Greek dressing are good ones to ask about specifically — call us & we can confirm what’s in any dressing before you order.
I’m the only plant-based person coming with a group. Is Nicky’s a good fit? Absolutely. This is actually one of the situations we had in mind when building out these options. You order a Mediterranean Salad or a Southwest Salad, your friends order Italian beef & Phillys, everyone eats well. That’s the goal.
Will you be adding more plant-based options in the future? We’re always thinking about it. Follow us on Instagram or Facebook, or join our mailing list, & you’ll be the first to hear when something new hits the menu.
We’re Always Growing the Menu
Plant-based options aren’t a box we’ve checked—they’re something we’re actively thinking about. As ingredients change with the seasons & we hear more from our customers, we add & refine. If there’s something you’d love to see on our menu, tell us. Come in & say it, leave a note on an order, or reach out on Instagram or Facebook. We’re listening.
In the meantime, we hope this gives you a clearer picture of what Nicky’s has to offer—whether you’re fully plant-based or just looking for something fresh.
