Los Angeles is seeing a boom of plant-based cuisine. The vegan movement has evolved; the focus is no longer on replicating meat but on showcasing vegetables while highlighting local and seasonal produce. Here are the standouts:

Ubuntu, which opened Aug. 1, is bringing newness with West African-inspired ingredients. Familiar names are behind the project — 2022 James Beard Award semifinalist Shenarri “Greens” Freeman and 2022 James Beard Award nominee Ravi DeRossi. Of buzzy New York City restaurants Cadence and Overthrow Hospitality, respectively, they’ve come West to transport Angelenos to Senegal, Nigeria and Ghana. With their own take on traditional dishes, the menu features jackfruit yassa and curry jollof arancini, paired with wines from Black-owned vintners including Aslina, Kumusha and House of Brown. Mixologist Colin Asare-Appiah oversaw the cocktail menu, also highlighting African ingredients. Ubuntu is open Tuesday to Sunday from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m., with a special “Soul Food Sunday.” (7469 Melrose Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90046; 323-433-4141)

In May, Love.Life opened doors in Culver City, California. Here, food is medicine. It’s a branch of Love.Life Telehealth, a telemedicine service working in the prevention and reversal of chronic disease cofounded by Whole Foods Market cocreator and former chief executive officer John Mackey. “A portion of the menu is dedicated to food that helps optimize well-being, reduce inflammation and promote vitality,” notes the restaurant. Dishes include a shepherd’s pie made of cauliflower — Yukon mash, carrot, celery, onion, English peas, corn, shiitake, oyster mushroom and chive; Thai-style green curry with gai lan, kabocha squash, shimeji mushrooms and marinated tofu, and a tagine bowl with Moroccan chickpea, sweet potato stew and quinoa. “We want to create a different kind of plant-based restaurant that takes things a step further,” said Michael Robertson, president of the Southern Pacific region at Love.Life. “We’re focused on health and are fully transparent, so customers know exactly what they are ordering.” Love.Life is open daily from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. (8900 Venice Blvd. Ste. 101, Culver City, CA 90232; 310-563-7335)

Also in May came Planta Cocina, a plant-based chain that first opened in Toronto in 2016. Expanding to the U.S., chief executive officer Steven Salm and executive chef David Lee landed in Marina Del Rey on the West Coast. “This is truly a paradise for David and me to get inspiration from,” Salm said of access to L.A. farmer’s markets. “[To be able to] handpick what our guests are going to be eating is just a connection that we haven’t really had available to us, and in such close proximity that it feels really exciting to be able to operate a restaurant that is plant-based under those conditions.” They’ve created Latin-inspired meals like crab tostada using hearts of palm and queso fundido using cashew mozzarella, but also serve sushi and other Japanese-inspired additions. Next, they head to Brentwood. Planta Cocina is open Monday to Thursday from 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Friday from 11:30 a.m. to 11 p.m.; Saturday from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. (4625 Admiralty Way Ste. 104, Marina Del Rey, CA 90292; 310-362-7730)

Of note, Plant Food + Wine has relocated from its original location on Abbot Kinney Boulevard in Venice to the Four Seasons Hotel on Doheny Drive near Beverly Hills. Unveiled in July, the new space is poolside, open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. “Expect the menu to be entirely updated from what we have offered in Venice, while still embracing local and seasonal ingredients and applying the multiple techniques we have developed in our test kitchen over recent years,” said chef Matthew Kenney. Breakfast items include vegan French toast on brioche with coconut whip and hibiscus syrup, as well as confit oyster mushrooms with porcini sunflower pâté on country toast with an herb salad. The afternoon menu offers a raw heirloom tomato-zucchini lasagna with pistachio pesto and macadamia ricotta, and broccoli asada tacos with black beans, butternut queso and salsa fresca, while the evening menu features butternut cashew fundido with charred broccoli, blue corn tostada and Tajín; summer squash enchiladas with spiced tofu, huitlacoche and avocado crema, and saffron arancini with tomato jam, kimchi wraps with napa cabbage, and kimchi foam. Leave room for dessert; there’s vegan banana cream pie; olive oil panna cotta with summer berries, and vegan chocolate cake with pistachio and rosewater. Plant Food + Wine is open daily from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. (300 S Doheny Dr., Los Angeles, CA 90048; 310-273-2222)