Sizzling Success! Winnetka’s Spirit Elephant Wins Top PETA Award for Best Vegan Steak

For Immediate Release:
June 15, 2026

Contact:
Nicole Perreira 202-483-728

Well done! Ahead of Father’s Day (June 21), PETA is spotlighting the best vegan steaks from restaurants across the U.S. with its inaugural A Cut Above vegan steak awards—and Winnetka’s own Spirit Elephant has made the list. The northern suburb dining destination’s Steak Marsala is a summer special, featuring a premium vegan steak seared in a rich mushroom and red wine sauce, and served on a bed of garlic parmesan scalloped potatoes.

According to Spirit Elephant’s website, the fine-dining restaurant was “created to shine a light on all the great reasons to eat a diet rooted in plants instead of animals.”

“Spirit Elephant is serving up a phenomenal plant-powered steak that’s kind to cows and bursting with delicious flavor,” says PETA Founder Ingrid Newkirk. “Every vegan steak on PETA’s list is a prime pick, perfect for treating dad, or any special father figure, to a celebratory feast that leaves animals in peace.”

Cows have friends and mourn when a loved one dies or when they’re separated from each other. In the meat industry, they’re crammed into filthy sheds and feedlots, endure routine mutilations including tail docking, castration, and dehorning often with no painkillers, and are slaughtered at just a fraction of their natural lifespan. Every person who goes vegan saves the lives of nearly 200 animals each year and reduces their own risk of developing heart disease and cancer. PETA’s free vegan starter kit can help those looking to make the switch.

Spirit Elephant will receive a framed award certificate from PETA along with bragging rights. Other “A Cut Above” winners include the Premium Vegan Fillet at Vinyl Steakhouse in New York City; Steak Frites at Vegan Food House in Dallas, Texas; and Seared Steak + Fingerling Potatoes at Oleum in Baltimore, Maryland.

Spirit Elephant is located at 924 Green Bay Road in Winnetka, and is open for dinner Tuesday through Thursday from 4:30 p.m. to 9 p.m., Friday through Saturday from 4:30 p.m. to 10 p.m., and Sundays from 4:30 p.m. to 9 p.m.

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to eat”—points out that when it comes to the ability to feel pain, hunger, and thirst, a cow is a dog is a boy. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow PETA on X, Facebook, or Instagram.