The Plant-Based Santa Barbara Scene
With my grandparents living in Santa Barbara, it has become a second home to me. My family visits at a minimum twice a year and we always have a blast. This past year was my first time being vegan in Santa Barbara. I have been twice so far, so I have a much better grasp on my options.
I did some research beforehand to prep and it definitely was not easy to find restaurants with a lot of good vegan options. We were to be staying in a hotel room with just a mini fridge, so I needed to find places to eat for all meals. I had the most challenge with breakfast: most places I could find only had acai bowls or avocado toast. It seems to be an egg heavy scene.
There are a lot of good lunch and dinner options, and I knew that most places I could presumably customize to fit my preferences. One note: make sure to check with the restaurants to see if some seeming vegan/vegetarian ingredients are actually plant-based. I recently discover that the typically Mexican food restaurant we order from cooks their rice in chicken broth :(
Here is the list of my top food places from favorite to least fav: Fala Bar, Oliver’s, Rascal’s Pop Up, Backyard Bowls, Pickles and Swiss, Rori’s, Crushcakes & Cafe, Blue Owl, Bettina, Juice Ranch, Mesa Burger
Fala Bar
This is my all time favorite of the places on my SB list. It is fully vegan and fits perfectly to my taste combination preferences!
The menu features simple dishes such as the Falafel Plate, but there are also so many other fun options like the Fala Me To Brussels or Kale Burger. There are five different falafel choices: original, sweet potato, kale, spicy, and crunchy.
Both times I have gone I have ordered the Falafel Plate and it hasn’t failed to be both delicious and incredibly filling. The first time around I got the original and sweet potato falafels while the second time I got the kale falafels. You really can not go wrong with any of their choices.
The plate is packed with super creamy tahini and hummus, Israeli salad, quinoa tabouli, white and purple cabbage, and pita bread. It was a phenomenal meal and I would highly suggest grabbing some food from here!
Oliver’s
in Montecito
This all vegan restaurant has quite the fun and fancy vibe! We picked the perfect night for outdoor dining on their beautiful patio; it was warm with a gorgeous sunset.
The staff was super friendly (and might I add good looking!). They had the best suggestions and recommendations. Our server convinced us to order two desserts even when we were all so stuffed. He did his job quite well!
Oliver’s is the perfect spot to dress up and go out for a nice dinner with the special people in your life. It is more pricey but you 100% pay for the quality of food!
To start we ordered the Kung Pao Cauliflower and Brussels Sporuts. The cauliflower came recommended by our server and I am so glad we ordered because it is a must. At first we joked about drinking the sauce, but by the end we were all seriously considering going at it! The candied pecans on the brussels were such a great flavor addition to the dish.
My dad ordered the Pad Thai. I had a bite and it was super good. Probably would not be my choice, but he was in heaven. It was packed with the veg and super filling!
My mom, sister, and I shared three dishes: the Summer Squash Flatbread (seasonal), Oliver’s Apple Salad, and Artichoke “Crab Cakes.”
My favorite between the three was the flatbread hands down. They were each so different, but I couldn’t have been more satisfied! The dish presentations were phenomenal as well.
Last but surely not least was dessert. We got the Chocolate Cake and Key Lime Pie. Despite seeming like a small portion, the cake was super rich and dense. The pie had such a delicious oat crust and the flavor was perfect: not too strong or too bland.
This was a 10/10 eating experience! A must for vegans and non-vegans alike in my book.
Rascal’s
I seriously can not stop thinking about this super fun and 100% vegan pop-up! It was located in Bibi Ji on State St. and serving on Tuesday’s and Wednesday’s.
I found out about Rascal’s after reading about Chef Dalan Moreno in an article by Santa Barbara Independent. Here is a link to the article: https://www.independent.com/2020/12/17/rascals-pop-up-energizes-the-santa-barbara-vegan-scene/
It is all run through their instagram page (@rascals_sb) with a new menu every week.
The week I was in SB they were cooking up Birria Tacos, Pambazo Tortas, Chicharron Chile Verde Burritos, Red Pozole, Elote, and Pinguino. We ordered the Chicharron Chile Verde Burritos, Pambazo Tortas, and Birria Tacos (from most favorite to least). It was seriously immaculate; I am at a loss for words!
My favorite was hands down the burrito. The cripsy “pork” was something else!
Every week I see the menu post on their instagram and I wish that I was still in SB. They also sometimes serve vegan egg mcmuffins on Saturdays at Low Pigeon.
Backyard Bowls
I think we got breakfast from Backyard Bowls four days in a row. They have so many different options that you will never be bored. A couple of the days we grabbed to-go and walked to the beach to eat for the perfect start to our day!
The Spartan Museli was my first and my favorite (quite the great first impression)! It is filled with a delicious combination of oats, almonds, flax seed, goji berry, cinnomon, and coconut flaked all soaked in cashew milk and topped with banana, strawberries, bluberries, and more hemp seeds. It really hit the spot. I loved it so much that I got it again the next day!
Next was the Power Bowl: a base of acai, peanut butter, banana, blueberry, pea protein and hemp milk topped with granola, banana, blueberry, and hemp seeds. This was perfect on such a sunny summer morning!
Lastly I got the Ancient Grains Quinoa Breakfast Bowl: quinoa, cinnamon, and goji berry in cashew milk topped with almonds, strawberry, blueberry, and chia seeds. This was my least favorite as it just wasn’t as flavorful as the other bowls I got.
Most of their options do contain honey, so I just asked for none to make it vegan.
They also have smoothies, toast, oatmeal bowls, and a yogurt bowl. Backyard Bowls has other locations in LA as well.
Pickles and Swiss
This is my favorite sandwich spot (there are plenty of deli-like places in SB but nothing compares to Pickles and Swiss). They are super vegan, vegetarian, and gluten-free friendly. My suggestion is to make a build-your-own sandwich or wrap as it gives you a lot more control.
This time around I created my own sandwich of avocado, mixed greens, pepperoncinis, cucumber, tomato, bell pepper, and dijon mustard on ciabatta bread.
It was so filling and the employees were so understanding about all my ingredient questions!
Located on the inside street of the mall off State Street, they have perfect outdoor seating to fit the deli vibe!
Rori’s
Rori’s has been my family’s go-to ice cream spot in SB for years! We usually try to get ice cream every day that we are in town because we love it that much.
Sadly they are pretty limited with vegan options (two to be exact), but they are still super good choices!
There is the tropical wild berry and the passion fruit. My favorite is the wild berry by far! The cones are not vegan, but they do have a made to order vegan ice cream sandwich with the wild berry ice cream.
Crushcakes & Cafe
Craving a salad, sandwich, panini, pancakes, tacos, or burrito? Then Crushcakes & Cafe is the perfect breakfast and lunch spot to fill your hankerings!
Their lunch menu is a lot more vegan friendly and they have a specific vegan menu on their website. So far I have tried the Can’t Commit (1/2 sandwich and 1/2 salad) with the Vegan Sandwich and Animal Lover Salad, and the Vegan Taco Plate.
The sandwich and salad was a great pairing and super delicious. But the tacos seriously outshined it! The tacos were filled with soyrizo, black beans, roasted peppers, onions, and avocado. It was so scrumptious that I would get again anytime!
They also have lots of cupcakes for dessert and some vegan flavors!
The Blue Owl
A great lunch spot to satisfy all in my family from my picky brother, to my dad who eats all and everything, to plant-based me.
Their menu clearly indicates what is vegan and the online ordering has a specific section for the vegan dishes.
The Miso Kale Salad is by far my favorite and adding tofu is a must! It is packed with such yummy veggies and the dressing is heavenly. It was perfect to grab to-go to sit and eat at the park with my sister.
I have also tried the Vegan Tofu Bahn-Mi. It is a classic and also really good choice. Their vegan menu also features vegan fried rice and a fried rice salad which I am very curious to try.
Bettina
This up-beat pizza spot is a great addition to the Montecito Country Mart. It features a smaller menu already, so the vegan options are few.
Their one vegan pizza is the Rosso with crushed tomato, garlic, olive oil, basil, black pepper, and Ligurian oregano. While it is great on its own, I prefer to add additional toppings (it can add up money wise so just be aware). I have tried it with maitake mushrooms which was perfect!
I had the pizza for lunch next day as well, and I honestly thought the leftovers might have been better.
I also had the leafy greens salad which was very simple and great to top on my pizza.
A more expensive spot, but totally worth the hype! They have some nice picnic tables outside the restaurant for the perfect seating experience. Rori’s is also next door for the perfect post-pizza dessert ;)
Juice Ranch
My biggest take away from eating at Juice Ranch was that they have the cutest packaging and art. Go check out their website for the most charming cut out people!
This is more a health food type of spot, and their food options were definitely delicious. I probably will not get food from here again as it is more expensive and I was not in love.
My sister got the avocado toast with almond cilantro pesto. I had a bite and it was super good! My mom and I shared the bird seed bowl (a chia pudding with probiotics and fresh berries) and sourdough bagel sandwich with cashew cream cheese, cucumber, tomato, red onion, capers, and sprouts. I was not a fan of the bowl, but I though the bagel sandwich was great!
Mesa Burger
This was my meat-loving little brother’s favorite food from the trip. Are we surprised? No.
I ordered the Mesa Burger sub vegan patty, vegan bun, and red pepper hummus. I also got normal fries and waffle sweet potato fries for the whole fam.
They have a vegan specific option on their menu called the Shoreline Veggie Burger, but I wanted the more classic burger toppings.
While the vegan burger and fries were good, I did not have the best experience with ordering. It was very confusing what was and wan’t vegan, and the server was confused as well. It seems the normal bun is not vegan, but they nicely sub in the vegan wheat bun for no extra charge. I was just paranoid the whole dinner because I was worried about whether I had received a fully vegan meal or not. I guess sometimes you just got to be flexible!
All in all, I am excited to have found the perfect Santa Barbara vegan spots for me, and I can’t wait to keep exploring to find more options!
