This year, I chose Tulum as my birthday destination because, let’s get real, of the photos on instagram! Do it for the gram! I didn’t do any additional research on vegan restaurants before I went because I just assumed if there wasn’t anything vegan I would just eat chips and guac. I mean it’s mexico right? I was surprised to find that Tulum actually has lots of vegan/vegetarian restaurants! And all the restaurants we went to were super accommodating to vegans. AND (what are the odds) we even went to a vegan festival!

The Restaurant at Hotel Mi Amor

Ben surprised me with the most romantic and intimate hotel in Tulum, Mi Amor. We had the most relaxing time lounging on the cabana beds and dipping in our private pool. It was so amazing that I wrote a whole separate blog post about it.

Check it out: A Romantic stay at Mi Amor

Matcha Mama

Everyone who travels to Tulum gets an infamous photo at Matcha Mama next to the surfboard that reads "I love Tulum so matcha". So of course, I had to do the same! (Do it for the gram) Mama Matcha offers a variety of acai bowls, smoothies, and juices. Everything is vegan and fresh.








Bonus Instagram photo: A few feet away from Matcha Mama, you'll find this cute sign "Follow that dream".

La Hoja Verde

We stumbled upon La Hoja Verde during our bicycle ride into the town of Tulum. La Hoja Verde is a vegan/vegetarian restaurant with a large range of menu items, from pizzas to tacos and noodle bowls. We decided to stop and have a smoothie. A couple smoothies later, we decided we had to have the "asada" tacos. The tacos were delicious! I would recommend trying this place out if you’re in Tulum.

El Vegetariano

El Vegetariano is a very small family owned vegan/vegetarian restaurant. The restaurant is located right in the heart of town, a really small hole in the wall, with a homey vibe like you’re in someone’s home. The restaurant has seating in the front and has additional seating in the backyard.




We ordered soups to start, both were very flavorful and delicious. I ordered the "Shamde" which was sauteed mixed vegetables with a side of hummus. I added tofu on mine. Ben ordered enchiladas (minus the cheese). Everything was really fresh. I love supporting family owned restaurants, so I highly recommend checking out El Vegetariano.

Shamde

Enchiladas Verde

Mezzanine

Mezzanine is a Colibri Boutique Hotel, a sister hotel to Mi Amor. The hotel is a five minute walk from Mi Amor. The cuisine at Mezzanine is Thai, after a couple of days of chips and guac, all I wanted was some asian food. They had plenty of vegan items on the menu.






The yellow curry was so GOOD! So good that we came back another night and had the same dinner. We even got the pleasure to meet, Dim Geefay, the Chef consultant, at Mezzanine. She had her own cooking show on thaifoodtonight.com.




Not only was the food delicious at Mezzanine, the restaurant was right on the beach with a beautiful view of the ocean.

NU

We celebrated my birthday dinner at NU. Once again Ben picked the best restaurant with my one of my favorite food of all time, vegan tamales!




NU seating is all outdoor, set right in the middle of the jungle, where the mosquitoes are hungry, and baby kittens were running around but it was so beautiful and felt really special.




The service was exceptional at NU, and very accomodating to vegans. We let our server know we were vegan, and he immediately recommended a few items on the menu, and got us started with their homemade bread.

Tamal Colado Estilo Mixote

Arroz de Verduras al horno de lena

Of course my favorite was the tamale (I ended up eating two). NU even had a vegan dessert option: brownie made with black beans and cocoa paired with sorbet. Everything was delicious, I had such a great experience and the best birthday dinner at NU.

Vegan Brownie with Raspberry Sorbet

Tulum Veg Fest 2018

One morning during breakfast at Mi Amor, the floor manager came by our table to say hello and asked if we were came to Tulum for the Vegan Festival. Ben and I looked at each other and said, "We have to check it out!" How serendipitous that the same weekend we are in Tulum there’s a vegan festival?




The Tulum VegFest was a 3 day event, filled with activities like meditation, yoga, spanish speakers to educate the community and a vegan fashion show. There were vendors and food vendors located in a separate area.






As we walked around looking at all the neat vendors, selling bicycles, clothing, yoga mats, reusable straws and utensils, the owners were so friendly they wanted to talk to us about their product and they were curious where we were from. This happened at almost every vendor, each vendor was proud of their product and what they’ve made.




My favorite vendor, of course, was the empanada man! He was such a friendly guy and was passionate about his food and his sauces. At his booth, he was selling spring rolls, empanadas, and burgers. We had one of everything and they were all so delicious. I just loved that he LOVED what he does and was so passionate about his products.




We also tried jackfruit tamales and jackfruit juice at another booth. If you don’t know about the wonders of jackfruit, this large spikey fruit, when cooked it has a consistency like shredded pork.






I am so happy that I got to experience a Vegan Festival in another country especially Mexico! I’m really proud of the Mexican community, encouraging and educating their community on veganism and sustainability. Tulum VegFest put on a great event and I’m so lucky to have attended and supported the vegan community in Tulum.

Lunch with the Mayan Community

Spending time with the Mayan community was my favorite part of my Tulum trip. I honestly thought nothing was going to top discovering a Vegan Festival in Tulum but boy was I wrong. Simon, the concierge at Hotel Mi Amor, recommended an exclusive private tour of Tulum with Primitive Expeditions, the tour would include checking out the Mayan ruins, swim in a cenote, and have lunch with a small Mayan village. We decided to go for it since we had spent most of our time lounging at the Hotel and we were ready to explore Tulum.




This was such an unforgettable experience! I wrote a whole blog post dedicated to the Mayan experience: The Ultimate Tulum Experience Check it out!