To be vegan in Mexico City is to be surprised constantly. Most vegans are used to having limited options, but Mexico City is an outlier.
On HappyCow’s map feature, vegan restaurants are color-coded in green. The map of Mexico City looks like someone took a handful of the most vibrant cilantro and dumped it all over the map.
Points of interest overlap with one another because vegan spots can be found every few feet.
It is a city of amazement for any plant-based foodie.
Since we were in town for just three days, I was able to try seven vegan restaurants in Mexico City for this post. Each of them offers delicious food in their own ways. All are worth multiple visits. None can be missed!
Querida Simona: Vegan Breakfast in Mexico City
Querida Simona was our first stop in Mexico City after checking into our Airbnb. We arrived from Oaxaca on a late afternoon flight with a 2-hour delay, so to say we were hungry is an understatement.
For an entrée, I recommend the chilaquiles. Crisp corn tortilla chips are covered in a red sauce, beans, vegan chorizo, and are topped with fresh avocado slices and a creamy sauce.
For dessert, I tried a concha for the first time. Conchas are Mexican sweet breads, made from a lightly sweet dough and topped with a sweeter glaze. I got chocolate ice cream on the side and highly recommend the same to you.
We loved Querida Simona so much that we went back the next day for breakfast. The second time around, I ordered molletes. Refried beans, melted vegan cheese, and pico de gallo are served on hearty wheat bread. I loved this dish and the thin chili oil you can add on top.
This was a light breakfast, but filling enough to last me until afternoon churros.
Querida Simona
Colima 220, Roma Nte., Cuauhtémoc
06700 Ciudad de México, CDMX, Mexico
Google Maps
Monday: 12pm-7:30pm
Sunday, Tuesday-Wednesday: 9:30am-8pm
Thursday-Saturday: 9:30am-9pm
Querida Simona on HappyCow
Churrería El Moro: Vegan Churros in Mexico City
When in Mexico, you must, and I mean must, eat churros. It’s an indisputable fact.
Even if you’re not sure you’ll like them, try one anyway. It may surprise you.
They are dense, yet still fluffy dough with a crispy coating from seconds in a deep fryer. Crystals of sugar coat the outsides, and if you’re espeically lucky, they come with a dipping cup of rich, deep chocolate. That’s shoh-coh-latte. Not chocolate.
After walking in the unforgiving sun at its afternoon zenith, a stop and a seat in El Moro is the break you’ll be glad you took.
Churrería El Moro
Eje Central Lázaro Cárdenas 42
Centro Histórico de la Cdad. de México
06000 Ciudad de México, CDMX, Mexico
Google Maps
Monday-Thursday: 7am-11pm
Friday-Saturday: 7am-1am
Sunday: 8am-11pm
elmoro.mx
Plantasia: Upscale Vegan Food in Mexico City
Val deserves all the credit for this find. Absolutely magnificent, unexpected, so incredible I can still taste the flavors if I close my eyes and think just a little bit.
On an evening walk in the few quiet streets of Mexico City, we stumbled upon the threshold of this place. Yes, we were looking for it, but the bartender caught our attention first. In their open-air bar, he made drinks with such an elegant rhythm it bade us pause.
We looked up. There it was.
Plantasia.
To sit down, we had to descend into a booth below the rest of the floor. It was intimate, cozy, chic.
We shared an appetizer with crunchy rice and “salmon” made of smoked watermelon. Yes, the July 4th fruit you ate and then spit the seeds out in a contest with your bratty cousins as a child. They smoked that and then put it on top of the rice in this appetizer. If, by some miracle, you’re here without having considered Mexico City as worth your travel budget, be convinced for this app alone.
My entrée was their sushi with a creamy sauce on top that I never, ever get to eat. I’ve been to Japan and this is the best vegan sushi I’ve eaten to date. And no shade on Tokyo’s vegan culture here—most vegan options there are not sushi.
For dessert, we shared little cake donuts with berries and dipped them in a Thai milk tea. Decadent. Simply decadent.
Plantasia
Puebla 120, Roma Nte., Cuauhtémoc
06700 Ciudad de México, CDMX, Mexico
Google Maps
Monday-Wednesday: 11am-10pm
Thursday: 11am-11pm
Friday-Saturday: 10am-11pm
Sunday: 10am-7pm
plantasia.cafe
Mandragora Vegan: Vegan Street Food in Mexico City
The next morning, in the lingering hustle and bustle of Mexico City that alluded to the rush hour that preceded it, we emerged. After an oak milk latte from Blend Station, which I talked about in my CDMX travel guide, we walked 10 minutes to brunch.
Mandragora Vegan is a street food stand we passed with the symbol for folks like me, the green V that says “No one with a mama was harmed in the making of this cuisine.”
As I mentioned before, this happens often in Mexico City. So what made us pick this one over the others? Call it kismet. I just knew it was The One.
The first time I ate chilaquiles, it was breakfast for dinner. I told you about it above, the dish in the little blue bowl.
The second time was in the morning, on the street. This take on chilaquiles was a tad spicier and I loved the shaved texture of the light vegan cheese on top.
The bonus? Any time I get to see my food as it’s being made is a win to me.
Mandragora Vegan
Calle de Durango 167
Roma Nte., Cuauhtémoc,
06700 Ciudad de México, CDMX, Mexico
Google Maps
Monday-Thursday, Saturday: 9:30am-4:30pm
Friday: 9:30am-3:30pm
Sunday: Closed
Mandragora Vegan on HappyCow
Forever: Vegan Food in Roma Norte
Our second day in CDMX ended in not one, but two dinners.
This is dinner part one: Gorditas from Forever, a trendy spot in a trendy area that locals love to hate. Who can blame them? Like a couple of sucker tourists, there we were.
And I will tell you, the gorditas were good. The décor was beautiful. I’m glad we went.
Is this the place for you? Only you can answer that. But the star of this night was part two…
Forever
Guanajuato 54, Roma Nte., Cuauhtémoc
06700 Ciudad de México, CDMX, Mexico
Google Maps
Monday-Wednesday: 9:30am-10pm
Thursday-Saturday: 9:30am-11pm
Sunday: 9am-7pm
forevervegano.com
Gracias Madre Taquería Vegana: Vegan Street Food in Mexico City
This was the moment my perception of Mexican vegan street food changed forever.
I tried a volcán.
A tortilla is topped with (vegan) meat of your choice, onion, garlic, a cacophony of seasonings, and a deliciously light vegan cheese. The bottom goes on the grill, and is then flipped over to get the top of the cheese crispy.
I took the first bite, and everything else stopped. The seemingly simple act of frying the top of the cheese instead of just melting it—brilliant. I loved everything about it.
There’s no photo of the actual volcán because it was completely devoured before my blogger brain kicked in. The ‘gram didn’t matter in that moment. That’s when you know it’s good.
Gracias Madre Taquería Vegana
Tabasco 97 B 06700
Roma Nte., 06700 Ciudad de México, CDMX, Mexico
Google Maps
Monday-Saturday: 9am-11pm
Sunday: 9am-10pm
graciasmadretaqueriavegana.com
Por Siempre Vegana: Vegan Tacos in Mexico City
In a place as massive and vegan-friendly as Mexico City, the top spot on HappyCow is a coveted one. Restaurants can pay for you to see them first, so to filter it by customer reviews, change the ranking to “Highest Rated.”
In the number one sport for CDMX is Por Siempre Vegana, a plant-based taquería loved by locals and travelers.
On our last day in the city, Val and I took our time. We walked all the way from our Airbnb in Condesa to Por Siempre Vegana II, with a pit stop for a much-needed shot of caffeine.
Twenty minutes later, we were seated on the street with two large menus and appetites eager for the best Mexico City has to offer.
After seeing such positive reviews for their vegan meats, I ordered a bistec taco. Perfectly cooked and seasoned seitan was topped with sautéed veggies, a sharp vegan cheddar, raw onion, cilantro, and a chunk of ripe avocado. I also ordered a gordita, which had similar ingredients with another tortilla on top.
If you go (and you really should!) I recommend getting two or three tacos of different meats. Make sure you add the toppings that come with them—you can see the silver tray in the background of my photos. They allow you to curate your own flavors, to design each dish exactly the way you want it to taste.
After this lunch, I see exactly how Por Siempre Vegana earned its place in the Mexico City vegan scene.
If you prefer street food, Por Siempre Vegana has a street food stand at this address:
C. Manzanillo 19, Roma Nte., Cuauhtémoc, 06700 Ciudad de México, CDMX, Mexico
Google Maps
If you prefer to sit down, head to Por Siempre Vegana II:
Por Siempre Vegana II
Coahuila 169, Roma Nte., Cuauhtémoc
06700 Ciudad de México, CDMX, Mexico
Google Maps
Monday-Saturday: 10am-11pm
Sunday: 10am-9pm
Por Siempre Vegana II on HappyCow
This Mexico City vegan guide is the last installment of my Mexico series from 2022.
Every meal, every restaurant, every flavor revealed a piece of such a beautiful culture to me, a stranger to a place that has nurtured some of the most famous civilizations in world history.
Along with each came a plethora of dishes, ingredients, and customs that have maintained their rightful place in open-air kitchens ever since. Any trip to Mexico City is incomplete without immersing oneself into a culinary tradition as rich as this at every opportunity.
After years of watching and waiting, the door to the world creaked open again this year. Mexico was my first international destination after months of wondering when I’d get to continue the Journey to 197, when I’d get to feel more like myself again.
This time, I was a different traveler than before. Who isn’t, honestly?
In 2020, when I touched down in Nashville, I had no idea that the next two years would bring the beginning of my food business, big writing dreams, more bylines, so many sorrows, and the evolution of what this blog is meant to be. Thinking of her is like seeing another person entirely, not a younger version of myself.
As I left Mexico City in the quiet stillness and stepped in to the cool, dark morning hours before sunrise, I was content with every moment. Going back to Nashville was comforting this time around, and my peace came with a promising stipulation:
I knew it would be mere weeks before I was wheels up again.
Read more Mexico travel guides:
- Mexico Travel Guide: Culture, History, and Cuisine
- Chichen Itza Day Trip and Ik Kil Cenote Without a Tour
- Tulum Ruins Travel Guide
- 5 Tulum Vegan Restaurants You’ll Love
- Oaxaca Travel Guide
- Oaxaca Vegan Food You Should Try
- What to Do In Mexico City in 3 Days
- Lonely Planet Mexico (2022 edition)
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