Monterey is so lucky to have this lil gem. Where else would I have delicious plant based flan? I tried pretty much everything because I would come here everyday on vacation. Just order anything- it'll be good af. read more

Delighted to find a vegan and plant/based Mexican restaurant in Monterey. I enjoyed a "chick'n" burrito and Erin had a "steak" torts. High quality. Yum. read more

The Pozole was amazing! Vegan Pozole I didn't have to make?! The horchata was delicious, not too sweet. My Husband liked the Mole. We also tried their mango desert cup with chili, so good. Can't wait to go back! read more

El Cantaro - Pozole Soup - Mexican Near Me - Monterey, California

El Cantaro is a restaurant I've been visiting regularly for a couple years because the food is amazing, & the customer service has always been great. If you're a vegan who wants to impress your non-vegan friends this is the spot to come. All of my skeptical non-vegan friends loved this place and have returned on their own or with other friends who also loved it. My favorite things to get are the steak torta, crispy steak tacos, crispy potato tacos, pozole, the Chile Relleno plate, regular steak tacos, & the steak nachos. *the nachos are shareable* Tonight I got the combo #3 because I wanted to try the chicken taquito which was good. I plan on trying more things on the menu besides sticking to my favorites & I'm sure I won't be disappointed. I'm still not the biggest fan of their enchiladas but I've met others who love them so maybe they aren't for me. I also got the agua de sandia which is my favorite to get when they have it because it reminds me of my grandma. I love this restaurant & I'm thankful for all the yummy vegan food they make! read more

El Cantaro - Combo #3 Crispy potato taco, chicken taquito, rice, pinto beans, & enchilada - Mexican Near Me - Monterey, California

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Hoooolyyy crap they got vegan mexican food right! Such good taste, smell, presentation, I'm blown away!! I would love to see reusable utensils, plates and glasses to align the business with vegan values! read more

Great vegan mex restaurant. Very tasty and delicious. Never heard of vegan mex but I had to try. Hope it keeps popping up everywhere. read more

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Holy crap. This is delicious. I'm not a vegan, but a few of my family members are and I'm always up for trying new things. I honestly would choose the Steak El Cantaro burrito over an actual steak burrito. Highly, highly recommend. Also, the potato taco will change your life. read more

They have great selections of Vegan Mexican food. I had the Potato Taco, and the Nopal taco. Both were very delicious!

So good! The only negative thing my husband and I agree on is the lack of "depth" like some items are missing a little something. The flavor is still very good. The "steak" has a great texture and flavor. I should've tried the chickin! We bought quite a lot to try out as vegan restaurants are hard to find in our area. We ordered on their website for pickup; steak torta, steak quesadilla, the popular veggie burrito wet style with red sauce, and the crispy potato tacos. We also tried the pozole and added a side of beans and rice for our toddler. The portions are huge! The prices are crazy good compared to the areas options. Pozole is good, just needs a deeper flavor. The potato tacos seemed like they were popular as well, I wasn't particularly a fan of the potato. It's a mash but quite wet and had a flavor in it that I can't put my finger on. Husband seemed to like it though and even said it's well seasoned. My personal favorite was the torta! Could use some extra heat, would suggest adding some extra jalapeno on the side. The quesadilla was also very good and quite large. I think the flour tortillas are handmade here? They aren't like any store bought tortilla I've tried. They're almost corn like and on the thick side, not in a bad way! Would highly suggest ordering a salsa or hot sauce with this! Our top favorite was the burrito. It's flipping HUGE, stuffed full of a bunch of veggies, fantastic flavor, just needed some more spicy heat. Husband and I love spicy foods especially when it comes to Mexican food. If you don't like spicy, everything is delicious as is! Feels great supporting a small family business! Will come back to try some more items next time we visit! I apologise, I forgot to take pictures before we dug in. We were starving and everything looked and smelled heavenly. Even if you aren't vegan or vegetarian, this is a delicious option even for omnivores. read more

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The Best!! I really don't care what you order you honestly cant go wrong. Their tacos are amazing. The chile rellenos are absolutely delicious. Even if you're not vegan they will transform you. Honestly if I could cook like this I would go vegan 24/7. Even the horchatas are super yum!! Sadly for us (my girlfriend and I) get way too full we never eat dessert there. But always order the plantains to go. After a 1:30 hour drive home it's still delicious. We can only image eating it there. Plus that vanilla ice cream that turns into soup on the way home is soo delicious. I highly recommend eating vegan if the food is this tasty. El Cántaro will always be my go to spot for delicious food. vegan or not. read more

Huge menu selection and all vegan! Sort of like a little better than taco stand quality but for the price and being vegan it's well worth it. Chili rellano, burrito, potato tacos... Great choices! read more

So much flavor, we couldn't believe it was vegan. So good. Highly recommend to anyone in the area.

SO GOOD! So many favorites on the menu, but my ultimate fav are the crispy potato tacos! read more

El Cantaro - Crispy Potato Taco - Mexican Near Me - Monterey, California

I've been meaning to leave a review for this place for a while. I usually review a place strongly emphasizing the most pertinent factor related to the business... in the case of a restaurant I usually factor the food in first, and then other aspects. El Cantaro rates very well in quality and that is the main reason I come here. The food here is always flavorful, consistent, and fresh. Unfortunately, just like other reviews have mentioned, the prices here are way out of whack. If the prices here were justifiable I would be here a few times a week. That being said I went again tonight and saw that the prices actually went UP! No other changes occcured, just higher prices. I am sad to say that this will be my last time eating here as a result. Cheers. read more

This is by far my favorite restaurant in town. Where else can you get authentic Mexican food that is organic, non-GMO, gluten free, and it is ALL VEGAN!? What!!!!??? When I have gone there in the past I have literally heard people ask if it was really vegan because it tastes soooo good, sour cream, cheese, meat...everyone is always blown away. For real. Everything is made to order and fresh. Everything. And it is a lot of food! I think if I had to move away, not having this restaurant would be one of my biggest heartbreaks. Such amazing food...I just don't know how else to tell you to get your butt there right now and try to prove me wrong! Support this amazing local restaurant!!!! Yummy, Yummy, Yummy! read more

Delicious vegetarian Mexican food! Came here with a group of mixed vegetarians and meat eaters and everyone enjoyed their food. The potato tacos and the fake carne asada tacos were a hit, as well as the fresh horchata. There's also a little bit of outdoor seating, which is nice in these COVID times. read more

Please fix the menu on Yelp so I can order my beloved Pozole!!! Other than that technical hiccup, 5 stars baby!

All the *positive* things about the food is true. My burrito was HUGE and delicious. Ordered takeout, it was ready when I got there, no wait, no line. But I'm really here to brag about their napkins?!?! Yup, their napkins are high quality; soft and durable! Nothing worse than eating a burrito that's a bit messy with a scratchy, crumbly, limp napkin. I knew the food was going to be delicious but the experience was tied together nicely with a pleasant disposable kerchief. read more

Food is excellent. Staff are always friendly & nice. Most people would have no idea it's vegan. read more

Amazing! I would drive three hours to Monterey just for these tacos. The tortillas are homemade. The soft corn tortillas are good enough to make you weep and the first bite of the crunchy taco will be a happy memory for years to come!! read more

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We got the chile relleños y como #3 w horchata. We are vegan but have never had Mexican this authentic with such a broad menu! read more

El Cantaro - Chile relleños y combo #3 - Mexican Near Me - Monterey, California

Ordered the small tortilla soup so I could take a moment to look at the menu. I loved the fresh avocado and crispy tortilla strips in this spicy, creamy broth. The menu is pretty extensive so after narrowing my choice down to two, finally I got a recommendation for the mole negro, which did not disappoint but ask for sour cream because it does not come with the meal. My only complaint: prices are too high for paper plates and plasticware and counter service. You can charge this much for this food but need to respect your work enough to put on a plate and serve with silverware. Oh, and get your beer/wine license = easy money. read more

El Cantaro - Mole negro - Mexican Near Me - Monterey, California

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Best vegan Mexican place in Monterey. If you are trying to eat healthier and crave Mexican come here you will not be disappointed. I like how their menu is huge and they work so hard with a small staff! I love the tamales especially the mole ones. And the burritos and nachos. I do like some items over others and wouldn't recommend everything. read more

I had high hopes for this place, given the reviews. But... what a disappointment. I've had good vegan food. This place does not fall into that category. Also, I ordered a rice & beans side, and there was a ROCK in the rice. I fully could have cracked a tooth on it. Thankfully, it grazed the side of my canine tooth instead. Factoring the rock into my review, I would give this place only 1 star actually (for safety reasons). But I realize this could have been an unlucky encounter, so I'm leaving it at 2 stars. read more

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Long lines, small kitchen. Ran by seventh day adventists. Came during the pandemic (obvs) so waiting outside was a bummer. Not enough seating for how popular they were. The food however was so yummy. We got over $100 worth of stuff for our family and we enjoyed everything. I personally loved my torta and my lady loved her molé. If we are ever back in town, we are waiting in that long line, waiting about another hour for food, and supporting this local vegan restaurant doing a great job in their community. read more

Always great food! Food is always fresh and made while you wait. And the wait is very much worth it. The veggie burrito, steak burrito, and the enchiladas with green sauce are our favorites. read more

Ordered the 1. Chile relleno : so flavorful, spicy, and delicious with the homemade corn tortillas. With black beans/rice/salad on plate 2. Potato taco: soo good, crispy 3. Kipes were delicious appetizers , our non vegan friend was surprised how good they were . 4. Plantain with ice cream: definitely recommend this for dessert read more

This is a pretty good place if you like watching television while you eat; I think the food is good but far too plentiful & it's not possible to order smaller amounts, so I felt kind of gross after eating here & that's sad considering an obvious reason many people go vegetarian or vegan is to get that 'lighter' feeling that comes from not eating meat -- but not here! If you're working hard physically or are working out or just have a big body, then great! You won't suffer any ill consequences from the overly-large portions. If you want a smaller meal, then basically that is too bad for you! I guess I expected when I came here that it would be more, well, restaurant-like .... If you're used to the one-way streets of the area (or of some other area, perhaps), then you also might not be put off by the difficulty in accessing it that I had -- it and its small parking lot, that is, where yes people do actually wait in the morning for it to open. Why is that? Maybe it's because the food is so good (I am not saying that is my opinion -- please don't take my 'maybe' in that way, thank you!), maybe it's because it's so unique, or maybe it's because they open so late ... & they have a 'captive audience' of people who want this kind of thing, so they can basically do what they want & not do what they don't want -- if you want an entirely vegan Mexican place, where else are you going to go? You're stuck! This is it, so good luck! I'm not saying the food is bad by any means, just ... there was so much else wrong with the place, in my opinion -- & of course I've hesitated to write this review for many reasons .... I do want to be able to go back! I just want to feel good afterwards and since I was travelling (& would be again, were I to return), it's not as if I could take my leftovers home but truthfully, I should not even have to state such a thing -- ever. This place just basically fits in with the whole overeating ethos from which America suffers, so to me it really lessens the importance of the quality or taste of the food or how friendly the service was because if I feel yucky and ech afterwards, then who cares? What does any of that end up mattering? I went here a few times, by the way, so this review is based on more than just one random type of visit .... It was rather a lot of work to get there & it was overall disappointing given the amount of effort put in by me. Also, I like a real restaurant with sit-down service ... & tables that get cleaned regularly, too. Like so many restaurants, this one should also come with a health warning! I'm not saying it's overall unclean; I am saying that the food is too much, too large a portion, the soups aren't ready early enough in the day so not everything is even always available and there is no indication of this before stepping up to the counter and waiting, etc. It's disappointing to get up there having stood in line for some time only to find out I cannot order what I had planned and hoped to .... I guess it's the kind of place you need to get to know the workings of & that can take a while so it's much better for regulars and people for whom it's convenient such as those who live in the area, I suppose ... well, I would guess! I would at least hope! I would hope, though, more so that ... one day it would -- I mean that next time it will -- be better for me, too! Oh, in case this is important, a couple of things: I ate t/here in March ([20]'19), and I have studied Spanish in Mexico & that did involve living or at least staying there for a few weeks, so that means I have some familiarity with Mexican food not from or in U.S.A. and that did include me going to Oaxaca, so I was most super-especially-disappointed that the mole dish in particular was so enormous! I also lived in New Mexico for a few years. I also travel 'a lot' (I mean it's all relative, so what is a lot?), & am comparing this to/ contrasting this against Mexican restaurants all over the U.S. including New Mexico plus Mexico itself, as well. I also kinda lived on/ near the edge/ border of The Mission in Yerba Buena (the older & better name for the currently unconstitutionally-named main city of & by the more northerly Californian bay!). I'm not saying any of this matters, but just in case anyone thinks it does -- it's not like I've never eaten at any other Mexican restaurant & oh yes, perhaps it's important to mention that I thought that basically, it was actually surprisingly much easier to get vegan food at a lot of regular old Mexican restaurants nowadays .... I mean it used to be more difficult but there are lots more places offering vegan beans now, so one of the main benefits to me of this particular place is that they don't have all that melted cheese that a lot of places (grossly!) put on -- but that doesn't mean that this plays stays away from that tradition! Nope! Here, you can just get vegan cheese! I don't want that! On the other hand, writing all this I'm getting hungry to go back! :-) read more

Delicious! Loved the food and the Christian music playing in the restaurant. Great service.

Hands down best vegan Mexican food I've ever had. Portland OR native visiting Monterey. Highly recommend!

Good food if your vegan. If you're used to eating meat you probably won't like it. Food was very fresh.

I need one of these restaurant in LA! This rating is only based on food since I ordered take-out. I got the chile relleno for me and the veggie burger for my son. We both loved our food. They were sooo good! Especially the veggie burger(yeah, I may have taken a few bites from my son's burger lol). When you first look at the burger, it doesn't look appetizing. When you taste it though, you will be shocked at how much flavor it has. If I come here again, I will definitely order me one along with another plate of chile relleno. To be honest, it wasn't exactly like a traditional chile relleno, but you know what? Most veganized items aren't, but it comes close and that's okay. As long as no real eggs are involved, I'm happy with it. Too bad this place is so far, I'd probably come by all the time. Wait, on second thought maybe it is a good thing this place is far from me. lol Defeinitely recommend this place, but don't come here expecting the food to taste or have the same texture as non-vegan food. It will only disappoint you. Come here open minded and know that it is vegan food and no animal was harmed for your food. read more

By far the best Mexican food I've ever had. I've lived in San Diego & the Inland empire so I've definitely had my share of Mexican food over the years. The stake nachos are to die for!!!! The pozole is possibly even as good or better then my grandmas (shhh don't tell her). While visiting I stopped to eat here 2x for lunch then again for dinner in the same day...because it was that good!!! Highly recommend the steak nachos (can definitely feed at least 2 ppl) pozole, potato tacos, chili quiles & tortilla soup! 100% will be back next time I visit town. The watermelon Agua Fresca was sooooooooo good so make sure you get one. The #3 combo is one of the most popular items they have so I'll definitely try that next time. read more

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It would be nice if they could label what items are gluten free more clearly on their menu but otherwise the food is great. They said that I can eat anything on the menu other than the chickin' or "fish", or anything fired or with a flour tortilla. I got Enmoladas with the steak and it was really good and I didn't have a bad reaction from cross contact with gluten. read more

The food here is amazing!! My husband and I took a short vacation to Monterey and found this gem. We liked it so much we went back a second time during our trip and would have gone back again if we had stayed longer. My husband and I are vegetarians, but are up for a good vegan meal whenever possible. This food made our jaws drop and left us drooling for more. The portion sizes were also big! We left stuffed. I will say, the food does take long BUT it's made to order and fresh so I was in no way upset or complaining about it. A lot of people were very impatient as the line was also long, but again if the food is good the line should be long and if it's actually fresh and made to order it should take long. We will most definitely be going back! read more

My coworker and I called to order via door dash. They didn't have the kind of chicken my coworker wanted, so we called to see if we could change the order. They told her no and told her to call doordash. So I decided to call them and ask if we could just change the type of meat, not the whole order, and the response from the girl working there was "didn't you just call here?" Before I even had a chance to say anything about the order. Yeah this place needs to work on their customer service. Won't be bothering with them in the future or recommending them to anyone else read more

Best Mexican restaurant in Monterey county. Hands down. Those steak quesadillas are amazing! Horchatas great too! Have rarely had any bad meal here. Been going for 10+ years! read more

Very wide range of Mexican favorites, vegan style. Could use more flavor and spice but the textures are spot on. Very friendly.

So good! I was very impressed that somewhere with such large menu had so much consistently good food. I've been to a lot of average all vegan restaurants but this place is an exception. They really know what they're doing and I'll definitely be back when I'm in town. Also the staff was friendly and helpful and fast. read more

I am not a vegan whatsoever but I come mainly for the potato tacos.... they're soooooo yummy! My boyfriend orders the same plate also & is never disappointed. Their salsa is fire too!!! We always ask for extra and it has a good spicy kick. The parking is very limited (about 6 spots) but overall there's street parking too. Only thing that sucks since it is small in there & they cook right in the front, you end up smelling like you left your grandmas house whose been cooking all day lol. read more

El Cantaro - My fav! Potato tacos. - Mexican Near Me - Monterey, California