Hey guys! My friend Emma and I took a trip to Monterey recently and it was so much fun!! If you’ve never been to Monterey, it is a little beach town right on the water. It was so adorable and the vibes were so relaxing and chill. We also visited Carmel-By-The-Sea, a little cozy beach town 30 minutes away from Monterey, which was also adorable and had little antique shops and cottages by the ocean. 

Since I spent most of my time in Monterey, I will talk the most about it (we only went to one place in Carmel). It’s not the most vegan friendly but there are options. At first, I was a little stressed out beacuse most places didn’t have any vegan options (Except for french fries or cheese-less pizza, which if you’re vegan, is your worst nightmare), but the more I looked, the more I found some.

Most places in Monterey have vegan burgers. Almost every other place we went to offered some type of vegan burger. My friend Emma loved Italian food, so most places also offered some sort of vegan pasta with marinara sauce. Not the healthiest of options, but vacation isn’t for being healthy! DUH!

Would I recommend Monterey as a destination for vegan cuisine? No. But if you do find yourself there to shop, kayak, see some seals and otters up close, and have a girl’s trip, here is your guide to vegan food in Monterey! (And Carmel)

Schooners Monterey

Schooners was the restaurant in the hotel we stayed at. Be careful as there can be a 45 minute wait time because it’s super popular. The waiters are so nice and the tables outside are right next to the water. Such a beautiful view. This restaurant actually had the impossible burger, which shocked me!! The bun wasn’t vegan so I got it with a lettuce wrap but it was honestly really yummy and filling. (Side note: If you willingly choose to get a lettuce wrap over a bun, you’re a crazy person). While you wait for your food, they also give you nuts and some water with your choice of lime or lemon (fancy af!!) I also got this tropical pineapple drink that was incredible. 10/10 recommend this place for a simple but filling meal.

Paluca Trattoria 

Home of Big Little Lies . Yep. You heard that right. You know that scene where Madeline and Celeste eat at that little cafe by the water? That’s this place! They even have a sign outdoors that says “HBO Big Little Lies was filmed here”. My friend and I liked this place so much that we came back TWICE. The interior was so cute, the staff was friendly, and the food was yummy. Why not come back twice?

I got an an arnold palmer, the fig salad (without cheese or bacon), and the linguine with marinara sauce. Everything was yummy, fresh, and filling.

Little Napoli (in Carmel)

So this place actually was in Carmel which is 25 minutes away from Monterey. I totally recommend going to Carmel. I did my best shopping there. I got vintage books, Christmas decor, sweatshirts for my friends and family, etc.

Anyway, my friend took me to a restaurant called Little Napoli where I got an arnold palmer (im straight up addicted), a white bean soup, and pasta primavera. Just make sure to tell the waiter you are vegan. It was filling and warm which I appreciated it. It wasn’t the best vegan food I’ve ever had but I was super hungry and appreciated them modifying things!

LALLA Grill

There weren’t many vegan options at this restaurant but they tried really hard to be accommodating and I really appreciate that! They also have those massive fishbowl alcoholic drinks here which are so insta-worthy!! I ordered fries beacuse I was hungry and a coconut pineapple non-alcoholic drink (beacuse im a pussy) and those were good.

For my main course, I ordered nachos without any cheese or meat because they suggested it as an option that could be made vegan if they added more veggies. When it came, I was kind of…. not into it? It was basically tortilla chips with soggy broccoli and carrots and some salsa. So I asked if I could get something else instead like the margarita flat bread without the cheese. They were so nice and accommodating so I really appreciate that. The flat bread was okay. I wouldn’t recommend coming here for vegan food but I appreciate all of their help. Maybe just come here to get wasted with friends!

Troya 

There is a little baklava place in town that I stumbled into and asked if they had any vegan options. They told me they had a couple turkish delights (Hello?! NARNIA ANYONE?!) that were vegan and I got a little box of them. One was original in powdered sugar (my favorite), the other was pistachio, and the other was…. honestly cannot remember? My favorite was the little square powdered sugar ones (they even look like the ones from Narnia!) Would I go out of my way for this? Not really. But if you passed, I recommend trying one!

Yama Sushi

I actually Postmated from here and really enjoyed what I got. I ordered a vegan sushi roll (it was called the “vegan roll”), as well as inari, and steamed rice with soy sauce. Let me tell you a little fun fact about myself, IM OBSESSED WITH INARI. It’s literal crack to me. If somebody walked into my apartment with a tray of inari and an arnold palmer, I would be straight up be in heaven. I actually really liked this place and the vegan roll was delicious and the inari made my heart happy. 10/10 recommend.

T-Zone

My friend and I found this tea/boba place when we were strolling in town and I asked what vegan options they had and they said most of the drinks were made with non-dairy creamer. I WAS STOKED. These type of stores are my shit. I got the regular milk tea with taro and it was INCREDIBLE. I think he said to get a regular milk tea with taro instead of a taro milk tea so that it wasn’t overly sweet, and it was PERFECT. It tasted like cake in a  cup. I also added boba to mine beacuse #DUH. 10/10 recommend.

Lily Mae’s 

There is a cinnamon roll place on main street that I kept passing and WISHING there was vegan options. I mean, hello? That’s like if Cinnabon had a vegan option. Mind-blowing. Later in the trip, my friend said that she read online that they have a vegan/GF cinnamon roll but that they didnt have vegan icing. like LAME AF. I was like ????? So on our last day, we passed by it again but this time, I noticed the words “vegan icing” on their menu. So we went inside to check and found out that they actually have a vegan cinnamon roll with vegan icing!!!! They do warm up their cinnamon roll in the microwave which some people find gross, but I was like GIVE ME A CINNAMON ROLL. I don’t care how it’s heated up. It was so delicious and warm and gooey and I totally recommend.

Kara’s Cupcakes

This is basically like Sprinkles (but worse? #shade) They had one vegan option. A chocolate cupcake with chocolate frosting. I’m not a huge fan of cupcakes but I was open to trying the vegan one. Let me start off by saying this may have been the worst cupcake I’ve ever had in my life. The frosting was so fake and hard (not soft nor creamy in the slightest). So I knocked that frosting right off and went in for the cake part. It not only crumbled every time I tried to take a bite, but it also was SO airy that if you squished the entire cake part into a ball, it would be the size of a marble. After eating our cupcakes, my friend and I were totally scarred and couldn’t stop talking about how gross they were. So there you go pal.

Candy Stores

Monterey randomly has a candy store on like every block so my friend Emma and I stocked up on candy and slushies and had a movie night! (More like a Food Network night. Hello Chopped Junior anyone?) Deff make sure to look up what candy is vegan before going though!

Tidal

Tidal is a little coffee shop next to the hotel that has coffee and even those vegan dark chocolate coconut Ocho bars. My friend and I ordered strawberry smoothies. They didn’t really have many options and the smoothies weren’t really on the menu. When we asked about their smoothies, they said “We have strawberry and strawberry banana” and when I asked what was in them, the guy said “You know, we have a blend and stuff”. So I’m assuming it wasn’t just fruit? Maybe they add syrups? Not sure but he did say they were vegan. We got ours blended with almond milk. Was it the best smoothie ever? No. Did it taste a little artificial? Yes. But I still drank it! #yolo

The Great Wall

We ordered Chinese food from this place. They had a a vegetarian menu and on the vegetarian menu they had vegan chow mein, so i got that. My friend and I also split a garlic tofu/brocoli thing (which im heavily assuming was vegan as it was on the vegetarian menu and wouldn’t have dairy or fish sauce). Both were yummy but we were STUFFED after. Sorry for the horrible photos in advance.

Because I was with my non-vegan friend, a lot of the trip was spent modifying non-vegan things to be vegan but Monterey does have a lot of hidden vegan gems that we didn’t get the chance to go to. Here are some of them:

• El Cantaro (all vegan mexican place)
• Aloha cafe (smoothie and acai place)
• Cafe Lumière (avocado toast)
• The Morning Dove Bakery (vegan bakery options)
• Julia’s Vegetarian (Vegan options)
• And in general, most places had a vegan burger option

So there you have it! I had so much fun in Monterey and even though the food was not necessarily a highlight, it was still such a fun trip!!! I miss Monterey!!!