During my time in San Francisco I took on a vegan challenge; to eat 100% nourishing plant based food during my time there. It was surprisingly easy, there are tonnes of healthy cafes and restaurants which are veggie and vegan friendly. Here are my top picks:
Seed & Salt
This pristine cafe is a hub of health. They serve up organic, plant based and locally sourced bowls of goodness. The Taco salad isn’t to be missed with it’s flavoursome eggplant “bacon” and walnut “chorizo”. If you’re fancying something sweet, the almond butter and chia jam on toast is insane. It literally tastes like a doughnut!!!
Gracias Madre
An incredible Mexican restaurant which is 100% vegan. Be sure to book as it gets super busy! Our favourite dishes included the Coliflor Frito – flash fried cauliflower with “nacho cheese” and lemon; and Bowl Dos – lentils, mushrooms, spinach, peanut sauce, coconut brown rice, pico de gallo, pineapple salsa and avocado. Try adding some tempeh “chorizo” for a protein hit. Dreamy!
Judahlicious
Located near Golden Gate Park, this cosy spot serves up some seriously delicious treats. They arent shy with their portions, their acai bowls are piled high and topped with ridiculous amounts of granola and peanut butter. Don’t miss their famous vegan waffles topped with acai. Yes, waffles topped with acai! They taste as good as they sound!
Nourish Cafe
This plant based cafe only serve up organic whole food based meals, packed full of nutrients and flavour. They have tonnes of healthy bowls, sandwiches, smoothies and toasts. They also have a large selection of vegan desserts, we tried a whole host of them but our favourite was the walnut muffin. Give it a go, it won’t disappoint!
Greens
This award-winning vegetarian restaurant has tonnes of vegan options too. It was one of our favourite dinners of our trip, but be warned it gets busy and has a queue out the door before it even opens so be sure to book for dinner. We loved the fresh spring rolls and the fire roasted poblano chilli stuffed with quinoa and veggies (just ask for them to remove the cheese!).
Bowl’d Acai
Bowl’d Acai have three food trucks spread across San Francisco. They serve up a small menu of acai bowls, juices and smoothies. I went for the nut butter bowl, with the honey removed to keep it vegan. It was still super sweet and delicious. They smother it in nut butter, which I’m not complaining about!
Let me know if you hit any of these places up by tagging me in your social media posts! @zannavandijk
