Excellent quality that made my day! Their location is slightly off the beaten track of Cannery Row but it's within easy walking distance and it's well worth it for vegan, vegetarian, and carnivorous tourists and locals. If you're a tourist looking for good Mexican food and you aren't specifically craving meat, this is the place to go. Their tofu vegetarian burrito is amazing, with lots of flavor and a little heat but I wouldn't say it's spicy. Grilled veggies that are cooked but still have the right amount of crisp, black beans, perfectly cooked Spanish rice, vegan cheese (which was surprisingly good, and I love cheese), and tender tofu, wrapped in whichever type of tortilla you prefer (the spinach one was delicious) and you're in burrito heaven. I can also vouch for their cantaloupe water which is almost more of a pulpy juice than a true Mexican flavored water but very fresh, naturally sweet, and refreshing; their guacamole is also fresh and flavorful but not spicy. Excellent food with big portions (slightly smaller than Chipotle) at about the average price for good Mexican ($7-$9 for an entree) and with a great variety of choices; you can eat in or take it to go, even order in advance and pick it up; overall it was fabulous and a gold star experience! read more

I was really excited and overwhelmed knowing I could order anything off the menu. I would go here again, but was not overwhelmed in the way I hoped I would be. The vegan cheese didn't melt. I've definitely found better cheese substitutes at the grocery store. read more

Excellent Vegan Food. Taste like regular food. They are so popular be prepared to wait awhile. Calling in your order is better. I suggest that they get more help, and to find a bigger place with better parking. Otherwise they are excellent! read more

This place was absolutely amazing. For a vegetarian, this was a dream come true. I ordered the veggie supreme burrito, all the flavors were on the spot and the spice level was great. Only thing i would say was that the service and wait for the food was quite long, it seemed a little bit understaffed when i went. They only had one person taking the order and serving the food, this led to s line out the door and a decent wait for the food. However the food was so good that I didn't really mind that much. Some other food that other members of my group enjoyed were the Nopales tacos, bean and cheese burrito, and some more veggie tacos. This place is a must go in the Monterey area!!!! read more

this is the most amazing Vegan restaurant I have ever been too. we had the nachos, potato tacos, tamale, and chile rellano all too die for!!!!! and the prices are very reasonable. best hot sauce ever. comes with homemade tortillas. read more

My husband and I are both vegan, and when we went to Monterey on vacation for a few days, we did an online search for vegan restaurants in Monterey, and came up with this restaurant; first of all, it was conveniently located within easy walking distance of the Monterey Aquarium (another excellent destination spot in Monterey, and the main reason I wanted to go there; unlike Seaworld and other places like that that keep dolphins and whales in captivity and exploit them by making them perform, this aquarium doesn't do that-- they specialize in research and conservation, and don't keep ANY large whales or dolphins in captivity!) and Cannery Row, so it's easy to get to for lunch or dinner after you're done with your other shopping or tourist vacation activities; secondly (and most importantly) they had some of THE BEST vegan food we've ever had anywhere! There are one or two Mexican restaurants in our neighborhood back in L.A. that are entirely vegan or at least offer vegan options, but none of them are as good as El Cantaro! In fact, I'm willing to bet that even non-vegans would really enjoy the food and not even necessarily notice that it IS vegan, since it's so good and flavorful! We enjoyed it so much that we ate there twice even though we were only in Monterey for four days; and although every dish we had was excellent, our favorites were the grilled pineapple burrito with a spinach tortilla (which was the best and freshest-tasting spinach tortilla I've ever had), as well as the potato tacos, and even just the basic bean & vegan-cheese burrito was excellent as well (an item which can be a bit too bland and surprisingly easy to screw up at other Mexican restaurants). The best part, though, was theIr DELICIOUS dessert selection; as anyone who's vegan knows, sometimes it can be difficult to find good vegan desserts; even restaurants that have good vegan lunch and/or dinner courses don't always have the best selection of desserts, but every dessert we tried at El Cantaro was DELICIOUS! My husband tried the sweet potato dish, which was topped with a sweet cinnamon syrup and delicious vegan ice cream and pecans, and I had the fried plantains, which was also topped with vegan ice cream, carob chocolate sauce, and a really delicious & sweet strawberry sauce; we'd recommend them both highly! We also split the chocolate cake with the sweet coffee sauce the second time we ate there, and that was excellent as well! We wish these guys were in L.A., because we'd be eating there at least once a week! Highly recommended for vegans and non-vegans alike! :) read more

I'd been dying to try this place FOREVER! My first impression was ... not good. The woman at the counter had no interest in being there and had no problem letting cutomers know. She didn't greet you or smile, yet alone ask if you were ready to order. Instead, she sat there staring blankly at me. SUPER awkward. I asked about a specific dish and what they use as the meat substitute and she literally said, "I have no idea what's in that" -straight faced. *ummmmmmm* The cooks were 10 feet away from her and she didn't bother to ask. Wow. Okay... so we ordered anyway taking a chance. The food came out looking great and, in all honesty, it was VERY tasty and surprisingly delish! After being there a while eating our meal, I realized the woman didn't want to gauge my eyes out (how she originally presented), she was actually quite rude to everyone. So I decided it wasn't me...it was just a pissy person. We finished our meal and went to walk out. The cooks yelled out, "thank you, have a good night" - which did restore my faith a little in their otherwise shit service. Overall, A for food and D for customer service. I rated highly because it's not fair to judge what could be an amazing place over one person's bad attitude. Also, I always want to promote good vegan food:) read more

WOW! About time we got a vegan restaurant in the Monterey area! Been here several times now and the food was terrific. One little issue? .. it is tiny and now that it has a deserved good reputation its not always possible to get a table. It is however worth the wait. Thanks El Cantaro we love you guys! read more

Really unique place and tasty food. The mole was excellent, usually a good judge of a Mexican restaurant! The tacos, burritos, salads, all worth the visit! read more

The horchata was good, but if you are gluten-free, celiac or vegan, do not eat at this place. We got so sick from it. The staff will say anything to get your business. The old adage of, "Screw me once, shame on you; screw me twice, shame on me," applies here. read more

If you are vegan and/or have no food allergies, this is the place for you. But if you have any allergies, DO NOT GO HERE. I came here the night I moved to Monterey from Los Angeles. I thought El Cantaro would have both vegan and non-vegan food based on the menu. They didn't specify on it that all the meat is fake. So if it says steak, it's not steak. It's vegan fake meat steak. I wish this was specified. I have a lot of severe food allergies, including dairy, beans, and soy. Fake-steak is full of soy. I TOLD the staff all of my allergies, highlighting that I was allergic to soy, so that I could make sure my burrito wouldn't have anything to set off an allergic reaction. They did NOT tell me that the meat was fake and full of soy. Again, their menu says "STEAK" and not "VEGAN STEAK." And when I gave them a list of my allergies, they did NOT tell me that their meat was fake and made with soy. I ate it and became extremely sick after one bite, and almost had to go to the hospital. I am EXTREMELY mad that the staff is completely ignorant about what their food is made of. On the up-side, my boyfriend, who has no allergies, said his burrito was indeed delicious. read more

Far more than a vegan restaurant. I visit this place every time I come through Monterey. Only two downsides--closed on Saturdays and fried is still fried even if it's vegan. read more

Yum! Yum! And more yum! So far every time I have eaten here the food is delicious, fresh, fast, and best of all settles well in my tummy. Whenever I eat a plate of non-vegan Mexican food, I just want to roll over and take a nap! Not at El Cantaro! not only is the food delicious...I think even most hard core meat eaters could still find enjoyment in this food, but it leaves you satisfied minus the usual "plate of heavy Mexican food" tummy ache. I love love love this place. Vegans, vegetarians, and meat eaters, give it a try! We need to keep our healthy Monterey Restaurants open and thriving. I recommend the fish tacos and tamales. read more

When we come to Monterey, we make it a point to go here...and none of us are vegans. Flavors are great, lots to choose from, nice staff and just a few blocks from the aquarium. Place closed on Saturdays because building owner is a 7th Day Adventist (cashier told us it's a bldg rule, not theirs). Free parking on side and if you get a lot spot. Great way to experience vegan. read more

Love vegan Mexican! Just wish it wasn't so expensive. But any Mexican where I don't have to worry about what it's made with is worth it.

Amazing ! Had the empanadas and it was sooooo good . Service was friendly and the atmosphere welcoming . It's fuss free but the food speaks for itself ! Will be coming back ! read more

Took my daughter out to brunch for her birthday. Nice friendly people, place was clean including the rest room. The food was very good and reasonably priced. First time I've eaten at a Mexican vegan restraunt, but plan on going again when I'm in the area. read more

We were the only ones in line and still had to stand around for about 5-7 minutes waiting for someone to take our order. When we finally did order there were no clean tables to sit at so we had to ask someone to bus one of the tables. After that they did forget our drinks but brought them out quickly after we told them we had ordered drinks as well. The food was blandly spiced and under salted for my taste and the fries they brought out were soggy. Also, not sure if this is a coincidence or not, but both me and my wife got very bad diarrhea a couple hours after eating here. read more

Amazing food! My entire family loved the variety and flavors.

This was incredibly good vegan food. Our group really enjoyed the nopales tacos and "chicken" taquito for a really good price. Goes to show just getting a small distance from cannery row gets you a quality low cost meal. read more

This place was absolutely TERRIBLE! In sum: BAD SERVICE AND BAD FOOD. I don't know why this place has such good reviews on yelp. We went to order chile rellenoes and the most RUDE and unfriendly cashier told us they were out of them. Dismayed, we asked what was in the vegetable enchiladas - and he said cucumber! I think he meant zucchini. Either way, that didn't sound appetizing, so then we tried to order cheese enchiladas, and he told us they didn't serve cheese enchiladas. However, a kind woman standing and cooking behind him said she'd make some special for us - and then charged us for chicken enchiladas, which are way more expensive than vegetarian enchiladas. I also tried to order a chicken tamale platter (chicken tamales with rice and beans) but I had to explain to him FIVE TIMES that I wanted to replace the chicken tamales with mole and chicken tamales. Finally, I just had to order one mole tamale ala carte, and a couple sides of beans and rice. We tried to order horchata - surprise surprise, they were out. We tried to order any one of the warm beverages, and they had NONE of those too! Finally we just ordered a Pellegrino, and we were brought apple juice. The service is simply dismal here. I usually will put up with bad service if the food is outstanding, but the food here was bad. The enchilada was just warmed up tortillas with cold sauced and old cheese on them. The tamale was so small, I was starving afterwards, and had to buy food somewhere else. Even the chips were stale! Don't go here, you will experience nothing but a waste of time and money. We paid over $20.00 for just our enchiladas, tamale with rice and beans, and Pellegrino. What a rip. read more

super tasty, and still tasty healthier options if you want those too. i loved the steak quesadilla. i could hardly tell it was a vegan restaurant. wish i lived closer so i could get everything on their large menu. my friend and i got a lot of food for a pretty good price. read more

We actually don't have many vegan Mexican places in San Diego (weird, right?), so this place was a treat! Everything I tried was great: the "fish" taco, and the Chikn Tortilla Soup. Fish taco was perfect....not too fishy but still tasted right. Not sure how they do that, but hey, try it! My daughter liked her Chikn Taquitos as well. And the Watermelon Drink they made there was excellent and refreshing. My only criticism is that it's a little pricey for fast food. Bill was well over $20 for just a few items. Will still return, though, to try more things! Also, very convenient location near the Aquarium (which we don't frequent, as vegans), with easy on-site parking. read more

I went to this restaurant this weekend for a couple of burritos/tacos to go. I waited over a half hour and my food still wasn't ready. I asked them how much longer they said 5 minutes--and when that passed I asked for a refund. The owner didn't even apologize. Unbelievable. read more

Drove from the other side of town for dinner and they decided to close early. Both on Yelp and on the door sign it said 9pm, got here at 7:30,and they were cleaning.... Very disappointed. read more

If you don't want to go here because you don't like "vegan" food, you're doing yourself a disservice. Don't be so quick to judge -- meat and dairy are not essential for a good meal! The potato tacos are good, the tortas are good, the taquitos are good, the nachos are good, the mushroom tacos are !!!AMAZING!!!, their black beans are always on point, watermelon juice/pineapple orange juice/horchata = ALL GOOD. That's all I've tried so far but considering it's all been good... I'll keep coming back. read more

Delicious vegan food and friendly staff. The tortilla soup was filling and perfect for the overcast and cool weather. Very family friendly

Reasonably priced and surprisingly delicious vegan Mexican food. We got the "chicken" and "steak" burritos that lasted us for two meals each because they were huge. The ingredients were fresh and the tortilla selection was varied. I also enjoyed the Oaxacan decor. This place is conveniently located just a few blocks walking distance from the aquarium and is a good spot to fuel up for the hours you will spend staring at jellyfish. read more

Sorry guys, the service was awful and ruined any ounce of decent food. Just frowny, unhappy, slow, grumpy people who seemed they hated working there and couldn't wait for the customers to stop coming in the door so they could go home. No greetings, no goodbyes, no thank yous', nada! Food was just OKAY. My husband described his experience as "just frightening." It was just so SLOOOOOW and a really bad atmosphere. (No music, strangely quiet, no smiling people, customers asking when the food would be ready, etc.) We finally got our beverages at the END of the meal. Although, the beverage (a hibiscus punch) was delicious, best part. All three of us ordered different items and none of us really liked anything. We felt each dish tasted over cooked, over salted, funky textures on the fake meat, nothing was very good :(. Finally, we took our dessert to go anxious to get out of there. They should have told us when we requested it to go that it contained HOT sweet potatoes, dairy free ice cream, and about 3 cups of a runny flan like maple syrup type liquid? Why on earth would they put that in your standard clam shell style to go box? It melted into a soup. A big runny, sloppy mess in our car, thank goodness it didn't leak everywhere until we could pull over and throw it in the trash. At least if someone wants that "to go" after it is explained to the customer, pack it up separately (sauce in one container, hot sweet potatoes in another and ice cream in a to go cup?) Look, to be fair my husband is not a regular vegan nor vegetarian eater. Yet, I was vegetarian for many years, vegan for a year or so, and I am a person who LOVES vegan food and I am gluten free, dairy free... I wanted to love this place! But sadly it was a HUGE disappointment and I would not go back. Also, there are not too many GF choices or noticeable options. Finally, the hours they keep don't make since in the restaurant world? Closing early on a Friday and closed all day on Saturdays? My suggestion for anyone wanting to go here is order well in advance of your hungry tummy and take it all to go (but not the sweet potato dessert). read more

We were in Monterey for 4 nights and ate here all 4 nights. The pozole and handmade tortillas were amazing! The enchiladas and taquitos were also very yummy. It was great to be able to find a vegan restaurant which such good food. It's also good to know that their veggie meats are non-GMO. Looking forward to the next time we're in Monterey so we can come back here to eat. read more

Not sure where to start. The building looks pretty, but inside the place was hot and uncomfortable. The service definitely needs work as the cashier was rude. We were hoping that the food was going to be better than the service or the hot place. We had a party of 5 people and when the food came, the server gave us only 2 paper plates. The food looked plain and we all figured it would taste better than it looked. We had the huaraches, memelitas, chile en ahogada, and Tlayudas. 3 of the items had no flavor at all and they tasted exactly the same...flavorless piece of wet cardboard (memelitas, huaraches). The huaraches were raw in the middle and we didn't finish them. The only decent things was the chile en ahogada almond sauce and the salsa from the chips. We had vegan Mexican food before and this place definitely need to work on their flavors. We will not be returning to this place and we would not recommend this place. Please spend your money somewhere else where the service, and the food would be much better. read more

Came upon this place yesterday going to Monterey for a couple hours. Was happy to find an all vegan Mexican restaurant! We went about 20 min after opening so we were one of the first customers. Didn't have to wait too long, and the employees were friendly enough. I got the chickin and mushroom torta, my boyfriend got the el cantaro burrito. Very satisfying. Clean place, good food. Would visit again. read more

I came here within the past month and it was delicious. I'm from Ventura county and thus don't get to come here too often, so we bought so many entrees and tamales. Everything was good and the black bean tamales are amazing I'll have to visit again soon. read more

I don't know what to say that the other reviewers haven't already said. The menu is 100% vegan. There is no need for concern or question with anything on the menu. The food is fantastic, the prices are even better. Try the tacos, try the tlayuda, try the mole, try everything. This is the best place on the peninsula for vegans. read more

Cute little place just up the street from cannery row. The food came out fast and was very tasty.

Holy Vegan Beans! Talk about great Vegan grub!! The "chicken" was incredible. If you are Gluten-Free/and or Vegan this place is a must visit. Hell, if you think Vegans / Gluten-free/ Vegetarian people are crazy for coming here for Mexican food....I'm confident you will love this place to. Staff is super friendly, place is casual, close to the beach, prices are great....I totally dig this place. If it were in San Diego, I would be a regular. read more

diamond in the rough for sure. 100% vegan. organic, fresh, and no MSG. had the tortilla soup and it had a very nice spicy kick to it

Vegan Mexican food ?! Who heard of that? It was delicious. Food was served hot. Very tasty and Filling. You'll forget that you're having vegan food. Service was great as well. Next time we come to Monterey. We'll definitely be eating there again. read more

Everything is vegan, and good! The tacos and moles were amazing. The potato taco has a crunchy shell and vegan sour cream. The ranchero taco is soft shell with vegan beef. The strawberry smoothly was good too, with soy milk. I will be coming here again. read more

Wow, the pozole is authentic and it taste like the real thing. Veganlicious and healthy. Food is amazing. All of it. The only thing is that the background music may be Latino but damn it's religious. Might as well feed me and hand me a bible read more