California: 17 Vegan Friendly Places to Eat
- karenconnolly59
- 4 days ago
- 7 min read
"Fuelling our bodies with kindness and plants"
We toured California and parts of Nevada over 21 days and during that time looked for vegan places for us to eat.
In this guide we will share with you the places we can recommend and those we tried but maybe they didn't quite reach the bar for recommendation.
Following a plant based diet does exist in California and so we managed to find either fully plant based cafes and bistros or other eateries which offered a vegan/plant based choice.
Our trip was in 2022 which means sadly some of the great places we found are no longer available. We have included them for completeness only because we would still recommend them today. We do feel for the owners who have gone the extra mile to provide fully vegan cafes to find they are no longer sustainable so a big shout out to them for trying.
So...California: 17 Vegan Friendly Places to Eat - where are they?
1 San Fransisco
Nourish Cafe. This was a plant based cafe which we visited each morning for our avocado on sourdough and then purchased Nourish Bowls to take away with us. The food was delicious and worth the walk from our hotel in Nob Hill down the steep hills to this cafe. Sadly this cafe moved location and now seems permanently closed which is a real shame as it was definitely one to recommend.
Tonga Tiki Bar and Restaurant in the Fairmont Hotel in Nob Hill. You need to book for this restaurant and although it is not fully plant based they had a few Asian-Fusion dishes for you to try. You are seated around the lagoon in this restaurant being serenaded by a band on the boat accompanied by rain showers and thunderstorms. The experience is fun, it's casual dress for dinner and of course you stay lovely and dry whilst watching the rain pour down. (something unusual for us as we are no stra ngers to heavy downpours!)
Pier 1 1/2 is where La Mar is located. This is a peruvian style bistro with vegan options. The food is like a work of art and tastes fabulous. One definitely to be recommended and the whole bistro has a great atmosphere
2. Yountville - Napa Valley
There were quite a few restaurants and bistros in Yountville with a variety of styles and cultures so you are not stuck to find somewhere to eat.
Lucy Restaurant and Bar was a great place to eat. The menu has vegan options and the vegetables are picked from Lucy's garden outside the kitchen. Whilst you can still get dishes which are not vegan so any non vegan guests can dine with you we found our choices to be really tasty and a great atmosphere. This is definitely one to recommend in a place which is full of Michelin Star restaurants when you want really good food but not at Michelin Star prices.
3. Heavenly Village - Lake Tahoe
Heavenly Village has lots of places to eat and drink as it is set up after all for Apres Ski. We stopped at Base Camp Pizza Co and had a fabulous Mediterranean pizza without the cheese and a cold wine and coffee each. The prices were reasonable about $50 in total.
4. Yosemite National Park
We ate at our hotel the Yosemite View Lodge as to be honest you are a captive audience here as there are not really any places to drive to. The Lodge has on site places to eat and we opted for a pizza again as this could be made vegan. It was a popular little take away style cafe and you could sit inside or out. There was an onsite supermarket but your access to vegan food was really limited namely crisps 😂.
5. Pasadena
The Langham Hotel has a few different places where you can dine and we chose to enjoy the Tap Room where we had drinks and a selection of bar nibbles. We still dressed for the occasion and we were surprised with champagne and strawberries to celebrate our 40th wedding anniversary.
Sage in Old Town Pasadena was a Regenerative Kitchen and Micro Brewery where we had a great brunch. This had a great menu but sad to say this has also permenantly closed as it became non viable.
6. San diego
The US Grant Hotel has a fine dining restaurant in the Grant Grill. We had a fabulous celebratory dinner for our 40th Wedding Anniversary. The menu had limited vegan options but what we had did not disappoint.
Spill the Beans in Seaport San Diego had the best coffee and bagels to start the day or for lunch. You can sit outside this little hub and watch the world go by and whilst you wait for your order and then sit a little longer whilst you enjoy your brunch!
Tender Greens was a small sandwich cafe in downtown San Diego. It wasn't fully vegan but made up great bowls where you could select what went in to them. You can eat outside or take the bowls away to find a spot you fancy as there are lots of choices.
7. Santa Monica
Perry's Cafe on the beach just down from our Hotel Shutters on the Beach made great vegan burgers and had a large seating area with lots of comfortable chairs. It was a great place to hang out and watch the cool dudes go by on the boulevard.
Urth Caffe was a great find which had vegan/plant based options that were filling and tasty. This was a popular place with outdoor seating. This cafe has a few locations and we couldnt fault either the service or the food. The couple who own Urth are passionate about offering healthy fresh and sustainable ways of eating and drining. This is not 100% vegan but one to recommend.
Thai Vegan was a small take away style eatery in a small precinct in Santa Monica with outdoor seating. We were really excited to find a fully vegan takeaway and so ordered a selction of food to try. To be honest we ordered too much as a tasting menu and we were not that enmoured with the flavours. This was disappointing and not one we would really recommend.
Gelatoguy in the same precinct as Thai Vegan offers vegan ice cream which was a real treat and one we couldn't pass up.
9. Morro Bay
We visited Morro Bay especially for the vintage car rally and we were not disappointed.
We sat for a long time in the Stax Wine Bar where we had drinks and garlic mushrooms on ciabatta with fries. They were so delicious washed down with a Sauvignon Blanc and a beer! Whilst the menu didn't have vegan options the bar team made them vegan for us which was really hospitable.
We were mesmerised by the cars which drove passed us ready for the evening rally and got lots of tips from a couple of locals for our journey back up the coast.
10. Big Sur
Nepenthe Cafe is located up in the hills above Big Sur and has breathtaking views. The vegan option is a Tofu burger and fries served in a basket and if you are lucky you get seated overlooking the bay. This is a busy restaurant and so expect to wait for a table and although the staff will try and seat you where you prefer it isn't always possible. The service was good despite it being so busy.
11. Monterey
El Cantaro was a fully vegan mexican cafe a little walk out of the main Monterey town. It was worth the walk as the menu was very varied with lots of choice. You can eat in too. We didn't know what all the dishes were but it almost didn't matter as the food was so tasty and the 5 star reviews were accurate.
12. Pebble Beach
The Golf Club at Pebble Beach has lots of history and was a fabulous place for lunch. Sitting on the terrace in glorious sunshine and eating alfresco was superb. You can enter the golf facilities even though you are not a member, explore the shops and marvel at the view out to the ocean. We both had vegan burgers with cocktails after a little shopping and walking down to the water.
We hope you found California: 17 vegan friendly places to eat useful and whilst this is not a comprehensive guide to vegan eateries in California it is a few suggestions of places you can try if you are passing this way. We know there are many other places too but we only want to recommend here the places we have visited.
If you want to read more about our time in California and Nevada then see our earlier post here
If you have enjoyed reading our post please give it a like and add any comments below. Also if you would like to subscribe to our monthly newsletter please click the link on our homepage. We promise not to spam you but you will receive our monthly newsletter letting you know about recent posts and our future travels. Please check your spam folder at the beginning of the month incase we get lost in there.
See you in our next post...
Comments