Monterrey and veganism? Is it possible to keep a plant-based diet in a city where Carne Asada, a BBQ evening with friends/family, is a regular weekend activity? Being vegan in Monterrey might seem challenging, but it is possible. The city has a surprisingly great offer of vegan restaurants, markets, and products in the supermarkets. If you want to take part in activism, it is a great way to connect with the vegan community of Monterrey. This guide takes you on a mouth-watering tour through Vegan Monterrey, Mexico.
Vegan restaurants in Monterrey
Monterrey has a great offer of vegan restaurants. Some are more expensive than others and most of them offer delicious “unhealthy” dishes, ranging from traditional Mexican meals to Pizza, burgers, or fried whatsoever.
Vegarum
The Mexicans call this kind of restaurant Fondita, which means small restaurant (or tavern/bistro). It is located in the historical center, in Barrio Antiguo. The bistro is a room in a house. Make sure you don’t miss the entrance. The ambiance is rather cold, with not much decoration or coziness. The pizza was very delicious. They also offer pizzaburgers, hamburgers, and falafel hot dog on their menu.
Ixteriolos
At Ixteriolos you can find a huge selection of all different kinds of vegan pizzas. The restaurant is family-owned and over the last few years, they changed their menu slowly to entirely vegan. Also, at this restaurant you shouldn’t miss the entrance, there aren’t many signs around. But once you enter the garden door, you are in an oasis of plants and decorations.
At their terrace, you can enjoy the pizza in the middle of the greens with cats strolling around. Their pizzas do not even taste vegan. If you love pizza, there is no way you can visit Monterrey and miss this place!
Casa Marco
This lovely restaurant and shop are a bit hidden on the streets of San Pedro. A gorgeous garden with many herbs offers a calm atmosphere to enjoy their wraps, granola, chilaquiles, cakes, and desserts. This is one of the few healthy vegan restaurants in Monterrey. It’s an absolutely great place to treat yourself to a vegan bite, away from the city stress.
Vida Atemporal
They have a pig 🐖 😊 no, not on the plate. Bobby belongs to the restaurant and walks around sometimes to greet guests. Two small basic decorated rooms and the courtyard with tables give the place a cozy atmosphere. It can get quite busy here. Vegan Mexican dishes and burgers are served at this vegan restaurant in Monterrey. Make sure to try the boundless with cauliflower. It is super delicious!
Buffet Hare Krishna
Buffet Hare Krishan is a vegan buffet and hostel at Barrio Antiguo in Monterrey. They have an indoor sitting area and a comfortable backyard, just watch out for the mosquitos! At the buffet, you can get a plate with rice, stews, and veggies. The food is delicious, and the portions are a bit small.
Revolución Verde
Revolucion Verde is the place to go in Monterrey if you want vegan Mexican food. The ambiance of the places is great. There are three different places, in the city center, at Tec, and in San Pedro. On their menu you can find beyond burgers, tacos, flautas, gringas, chilaquiles, and boundless, the options are endless. At the restaurant, you can also purchase vegan cheese. I enjoyed the Tacos and the fries with cheese a lot.
Noveno Elefante
Noveno Elefante is a unique place in Monterrey. It is decorated with art pictures, elephants, and bicycles. There is a huge terrace and outside sitting as well as cozy spaces to enjoy a meal inside. On the menu are vegan Mexican dishes and burgers.
Taller Veganico
This restaurant in the streets of San Pedro has a nice ambiance and delicious tacos. The prices are a bit higher here, it’s the neighborhood of San Pedro. On the menu, how could it be different: tacos and burgers. However here you can also find salads and sandwiches. If you go there, make sure you try Taco Costra, it’s so tasty!
Hamabe
In the municipality of Guadalupe, you can find a vegan seafood restaurant. An ideal place to go if you want to explore a different hood of Monterrey. In the comfy garden of the restaurant, you can enjoy vish burgers and tacos. Their eco-conscious concept makes this place special.
Other restaurants are: Govinda Buffet, Trece Lunas, Vegan Inc, Curry Sultan, Beirut Restaurant, Creppvegg, Mei-Wei Vegetarian Vegan, Yolist Xoxo Comida Saludable, El Moncheo, La Garnacha Azul.
I have heard good things from the last one. Good price-value ratio.
Plant-based options at Non-Vegan Restaurants
Sometimes, it is impossible to find a vegan restaurant in our immediate neighborhood. With no stress, it is also possible to order plant-based food in a non-vegan restaurant. Depending on the kitchen. At an Asian restaurant, yes. At Carne Asada or basic food stands, no. If you want tacos, you can ask first. Sometimes restaurants have tacos with potatoes or beans on their menu. Just make sure they aren’t using manteca de cerdo, which is pig fat.
Plant-based street food in Monterrey – Mercado del Chorro
During my four months in Monterrey, I have visited this market around seven times. Yes, I really love it. There you can not only find vegan street food but also zero-waste bathroom products, organic veggies and fruits, clothing, jewelry, and much more.
The most famous street food place is El trompo vegano. Where you can find very affordable and delicious tacos. At Taller Veganico they sell sweet and savory empanadas. In a lot of other places, you can also buy vegan “meat “and cheese, etc.
The market is open every Friday from 4 to 10 pm. It is the most lively around 7-9 pm. There is live music, people dancing, and clowns performing.
Vegan Takeaway options in Monterrey
Many of the vegan restaurants mentioned above also offer takeaway options. However, the following places only do takeaways.
On Bun Plant-Based Burger
A takeaway burger place in San Pedro, with less plastic! I was really positively surprised as they do not use excessive plastic packaging. The On Bun Burger is really good. I didn’t like the Golden Mushroom Burger so much. But the On Bun Burger and fries were delicious. Love their spicy sauces!
Vegan Munch
Another takeaway option for Mexican food, Burgers and Hot Dogs. I did not try it, but it is popular within the vegan community.
Vegan Community and Events in Monterrey
Monterrey has quite a vegan community. They are organizing regular events, at least once a month. The best option to connect with them via Facebook: Anonymous for the Voiceless and Animal Save Monterrey. In addition, there are several Facebook groups for vegan restaurants and events.
Vegan products in Monterrey’s supermarkets
The supermarkets in Monterrey have also some vegan options. Let me start with the supermarkets with a huge selection of products. Naturista in the city center of Monterrey has vegan sausages, sweets, vegan protein powder, chips, and much more including organic products. Mr. Tofu has, as the name says, tofu, agar agar, chocolate, meatless patties (beyond meat), cheese, and various other products.
At HEB you can find vegan concha, that’s a very delicious pastry. HEB seems to have more vegan options than Soriana. You can find tofu at both supermarkets, but it is only silken tofu. As well as cookies, yogurt, milk, cheese, etc… However, I think the sortiment is slightly different to each supermarket. For example, the HEB in San Pedro has different kinds of vegan butter and the HEB in Santa Catarina has vegan chorro and chilorzo. But I could not find the same products at both supermarket. Vegan cheese is really expensive and the one I tried from HEB was not even tasty (I think it was from the brand heartbest).
Before going grocery shopping you can search online at the supermarket’s website about vegan products. Which makes it a lot easier to get an overview of the products or search for a specific item.
Café shops and bakeries
I love small unique café shops and try to avoid going to big chains like Starbucks and co. The majority of Monterrey’s café shops offer vegan milk. Most of the time, it’s almond milk, sometimes soy or coconut.
There are some of my favorites:
Tierra Libre
Tierra Libre is a café in Barrio Antiguo in Monterrey. Here you can enjoy your coffee with a vegan snack. This place is very popular.
Lapofenia
The ideal place to get away and enjoy a café in a great ambiance is in San Pedro. Also, ideal if you are sick of your four walls and need to get some work done.
BreAd Panaderos
For all the Europeans who miss real bread. BreAd is a bakery in San Pedro (there are two stores in San Pedro) Sometimes they have vegan pastries. The prices are a bit higher but worth it.
Pan Gabriel
If you have read my blog post about vegan food in Ciudad de México, you already know about Pan Gabriel. They sell vegan, sugar-free, and gluten-free pastries. For the sweet tooths a must!
I hope this guide gave you valuable insights and hopes that you can be vegan in the Mexican city of Monterrey. Enjoy your meals and let me know in the comments what was your favorite or less favorite.
The author of the blog
Lisi is an adventurous, mostly solo traveler from Austria. She likes to travel slowly, discover underrated countries/regions, and of course, learn about cultures. She has been traveling the world and creating travel content since 2016. With a degree in tourism management and a passion for travel and cultures, she wants to tell stories that inspire her readers and help them travel more consciously.
