Happy Labor Day weekend my vegan babies! I hope you all had a good one! Since no one asked about MY WEEKEND (ahem ahem), I’ll have you know it was a fantastic one! My sis, dog, and I decided to venture down to San Diego for the weekend and scope out all the vegan goodies. This was our third time going. The first was when we went on a family trip fifteen years ago to visit the San Diego Zoo. The second was about ten years ago when we visited our brother on his marine base – Camp Pendleton. Needless to say, we were overdue on a visit. Like majorly.

So while there are plenty of fun things to DO in San Diego (La Jolla, Old Town, Little Italy, etc), we’re all here to see what there is to EAT in San Diego, aren’t we? Below I’ll list and discuss all the places we went to – not in order of yumminess, just in the order of which my photos are organized on my laptop lol #dealwithit

1. Bar Kindred

Bar Kindred was by far one of the best 100% vegan places we have ever been to – and that’s saying a lot considering we have an entire blog dedicated to the vegan food we shove into our mouths on a daily basis. Not only was the restaurant SO trendy and aesthetically pleasing, but the staff was sooooo friendly and nice. We ended up ordering a drink and three brunch entrees.

The drink I got was a non-alcoholic concoction recommended by the waitress called Miracle Cure, which had pineapple, lime, coconut, passion fruit, Thai basil, lemongrass, and charcoal. It was SO good and refreshing. Made me feel like I was living on the island that Tokyo and Rio escaped to in Money Heist that one season. (If you didn’t get that reference, please go watch Money Heist pronto.)

Next, we got the pancakes with caramelized banana, bourbon butterscotch sauce, whipped coconut cream, walnuts, and syrup. IT WAS INSANE. This is literally the type of breakfast I imagine is served to you in literal heaven by shirtless male models. Like I can’t explain the creativity and deliciousness in this dish. You must go get it for yourself. 

We also got the Bhan Mi French Toast sticks, dipped in banana custard, and sprinkled with powdered sugar and mint. Before you get freaked out like we did, the “Bhan Mi” element of that is just referring to the type of bread used in Bhan Mi sandwiches, not all the fillings lmao. Regardless, it was also UNREAL. I can’t describe the flavor, but it was like sweet baguette french toast. So good. 

Last, but not least, we got the B.F.S, which was a breakfast sandwich on a freshly made biscuit and crispy potato wedges on the side. ALSO INCREDIBLE. The crispy potatoes dipped into the maple syrup from our other brunch items was *chef’s kiss.* We were straight-up drooling the entire breakfast. 

Would I recommend coming here? OBVIOUSLY. 

 

2. Donna Jean

Donna Jean is another all-vegan spot we went to in SD; however, this one was a pizza joint. We were so excited too because all the photos looked so good on Instagram. However, kids, let this be a lesson to you that Instagram is a fat lie. We honestly weren’t the biggest fans of Donna Jean, I’m so sorry. 

For our drink, we got the craft Kombucha – which we both felt could be much sweeter. Weren’t huge fans. 

For the appetizer, we got the beet tartare with whipped ricotta and toasted lavash. It was good and all the ingredients were fresh, but it wasn’t mind-blowing. It felt like it was lacking in flavor a bit. 

For the main, we got the classic Margherita pizza. TBH, it wasn’t very good. The “cheese” was more of a creme sauce and there wasn’t enough actual pizza sauce. We didn’t even finish the small pie. THAT’S how you know the pizza isn’t dank. 

Needless to say, we probably wouldn’t go back. However, we really appreciate a spot that is 100% dedicated to vegans and you should def check it out for yourself. It’s very possible we may have just ordered the wrong things on the menu! Plus, the restaurant was super cute and the staff was incredibly friendly, so there’s that!

 

3. Old Town

So, before you all start wagging your fingers, I know, Old Town is a little town, not a restaurant; however, they have plenty of vegan eats! For those of you who don’t know what Old Town is, let me enlighten you. Old Town is the first American Settlement in California! How do I know this? Because I paid attention in history class! I’m absolutely kidding. A really kind valet gave us a rundown of the history. How cool though!? 

Anyway, the town serves as a historical site, but also a celebration of the Mexican influence on this land. There is a bunch of stores with Mexican dolls and garments and candy and food, etc. It’s super fun and, if you have the time, you should definitely check it out. 

We didn’t eat any meals here (because we were still stuffed from Kindred brunch), but we did stop at one of the many Mexican candy shops (dulcerias #APSpanish) to get some goodies. We ended up getting Chili Lemon Mango and Lucas Salsaghetti, which was basically strawberry licorice strings with chili lime seasoning. Both were SO good. Would absolutely get it again if I ever run into it. There were a bunch of different candies that were probably vegan, so make sure to look around!

Right next to the dulceria was a little shack that sold aqua Frescas. Considering it was super hot and we were sweating balls, it would be a crime to not stop for one. We both got two watermelon aqua frescas with watermelon chunks and a tajin rim and tajin straw. SO refreshing! I wish we could have tried more food places. If only we had room in our stomachs… 

We were also able to buy a bunch of gifts for our Puerto Rican grandmother, whose bday is coming up. So if you want Mexican gifts and food, this is your spot. 

4. Nekosan Sushi 

UM, THIS PLACE IS FRICKEN AWESOME!? If you’re a sushi lover like myself (and vegan), you must run, not walk, to Nekosan Sushi. Nekosan Sushi is not a 100% vegan sushi place, but it does have an entire portion of the menu dedicated to creative, unique, BOMB vegan sushi rolls. Not to mention, it’s located in the cutest beach town in La Jolla, which has amazing shopping. 

There were so many options on the menu, it was hard to decide, but we ended up going with the seaweed salad and the cucumber salad to start, which were both amazing. 

Then…. came some of the best sushi we have EVER had. 

We got two rolls: the “Bea-U-Tofu” (pan-fried tofu, avocado, kanpyo, sprinkled with furikake seasoning) and the “Sweetie Pie” (crispy sweet potato topped with avocado, thin lemon slices, garnished with green onion, and garlic creme). 

Both were 1 MILLION/10. Literally, I am dreaming of the day I can go back and eat these rolls again. They were so creative and complex and DELICIOUS. You have to go here if you go to SD or I will hardcore judge you. 

5) Split Bakehouse  

Okay, if you go to San Diego as a vegan, and don’t go to Split Bakehouse… are you even vegan? Did you even go to San Diego?

This is an ALL VEGAN bakery with the most unique and delicious vegan pastry options. They don’t have their own brick and mortar (idk why but using the term “brick and mortar” made me realize how old I am) but you can order your pastries online and pick them up at Jaunt Coffee Roasters (review for their coffee below).

My sister and I ordered the oreo concha (YEAH), the almond croissant (best croissant flavor. FIGHT ME.), a berry pop tart, and a guava and cheese danish ( best pastry flavor in the entire world. Don’t @ me). 

First of all, everything was infinity/10. AMAZING. Breathtaking. Orgasmic. Scrumptious. Ssupercalifragilisticexpialidocious.

Our favorite pastry, HANDS DOWN, was the guava and cheese one. Eating it was like being kissed by an angel. If I could eat 20 of them right now, I WOULD. The cheese and guava compliment each other so well, and the flakey pastry is the cherry on top. The oreo concha was NEXT level and was so soft, I wanted an entire bed made out of it. The oreo flavor was subtle but impeccable and the entire pastry wasn’t too sweet which made it even better.

The almond croissant was incredible. So flaky and sweet. The only thing is that we wished the almond paste was on the inside and not just on top. But still 10/10. And the pop tart was also incredible. The only downside was that the jam in the middle was a little too tart. But overall, literally some of the best vegan pastries I’ve ever had in my life.

6) Jaunt Coffee Roasters 

While we were picking up our Split Bakehouse pastries here, we decided to check out the Jaunt menu and LET ME TELL YOU, we were not disappointed. They had so many cool and interesting latte and matcha recipes with everything from black sesame to hazelnut vanilla. The man at the counter was so nice and knowledgeable and helped us choose a drink to get. My sister got a black sesame oat milk and I got a black sesame matcha and they were 10/10/10/10. SOOOO unique and delicious. If you like the taste of black sesame, you will LOVE these drinks. I’ll add a picture of the menu below! 

They even had a board of free drinks that people paid for, in case somebody came in and couldn’t afford one. We ordered a rose latte and added a sticky note to the wall.

7) Holy Matcha 

Okay, so while I will praise this shop for it’s incredibly chic and adorable interior design…. the matcha sucks. Yes, a place specifically dedicated to matcha makes a bad matcha. I can’t explain the logic. The matcha lattes tasted watery and bland. I got a strawberry matcha which I assumed would be more than just pureed strawberry in matcha but nope. It was just that. The tart, unsweetened strawberry mash did nothing for the already bad matcha. My sister got the original matcha latte and also hated hers. We took two sips and tossed it in the trash can. Come here to take cute insta pics but don’t come here for the matcha.

 

8) Andaz San Diego 

So we stayed at the Andaz in San Diego which was great for it’s price, but probably not the most luxurious hotel. The biggest downside was that it was in Downtown San Diego which isn’t super nice? However, the employees who worked there were SOOOOO nice, the rooftop pool and restaurant area was so chic, the bed was SUPER comfy, and, even though the streets were super loud at night, the white noise machine in the room lulled me to sleep like a lil baby. Also, the hotel is dog friendly! So overall, I probably wouldn’t stay there again, BUT it was the perfect hotel for this trip and I would totally recommend it to somebody who didn’t want to BLOW money on a hotel, but still wanted a chic option. And honestly, the incredibly nice staff, alone, made the hotel amazing.

Their rooftop restaurant has a few modified vegan options. My sister got the avocado toast on sourdough bread with tomatoes. I got a plain everything bagel with a side of avocado, onions, capers, and tomatoes. Both were super yummy, filling, and the perfect breakfast to start the day. The bagel was surprisingly really yummy and so much better than the bagels I’ve had in LA. The bartender/lady taking our food was so helpful and nice too.

I also got an iced matcha with almond milk which came already sweetened and sussed my sister out beacuse she had a gut feeling that it wasn’t vegan and was made with a pre-made matcha powder that wasn’t vegan. So, maybe just ask them next time to double check if there is any dairy at all in the matcha.

Definitely venture out to San Diego!! And if you stay near La Jolla, you’ll see some cute sea lions (or seals… I actually don’t know the difference)!