Welcome to a coastal California gem that’s making waves as a thriving plant-based journey vacation spot. Oceanside, as soon as thought-about merely a cease en path to San Diego, has blossomed right into a bona fide hotspot for aware vacationers searching for extra than simply pristine seashores. With an explosion of hip espresso retailers, a vibrant arts and tradition scene, and a burgeoning vegan eating scene that has SoCal locals buzzing, Oceanside is a paradise for plant-based adventurers.
The highest locations for plant-based finds in Oceanside, CA
Israel Palacio
1Oceanside’s crown jewel
The Plot has shortly change into probably the most adored vegan eating places in California. In case you’re fixing for brunch, the Sausage & Biscuits is a scrumptious shock with its large slab of succulent breakfast sausage atop a tacky nation gravy-slathered biscuit—particularly when paired with a hen nugget-topped Bloody Mary. For dinner, don’t miss the tempura-fried Continual sushi roll made with lion’s mane crab and spicy tuna … and luxuriate in it exterior! Outside eating is plentiful with tables set round vegetable beds.
Leo CabalLeo Cabal
2Elevated vegan Japanese
The vegan tasting menu at fine-dining Japanese restaurant Matsu is not like something you’ve ever skilled. Esteemed Chef William Eick transforms seemingly easy greens into plant-based masterpieces in Matsu’s omakase (roughly translating to “I depart it as much as you”) type of eating. The ten-course meal of chef-selected bites—which may vary from tempura carrot with Dynamite sauce to the signature charred cabbage-skin dumpling full of cabbage pulp in a cabbage dashi—is a dedication, but it surely’s price each chew for these with an appreciation for the artwork of eating.
Eris Vegan Meals Co.
3
Good smoothies, good espresso, higher bites
For a no-frills, informal vegan eatery with top-notch native kombucha on faucet, pop into Eris Vegan Meals Co. In case you can’t select between lighter fare or a extra indulgent dish, attempt the Triple Taco Combo, that includes adobada seitan, candy potato-pepper jack, and coconut fish tacos. After you nosh, take the brief stroll west to walk alongside the oceanfront boardwalk. Or hit up the sunshine and brilliant Communal Espresso for an iced blueberry-Earl Gray oat milk latte earlier than you head to the seaside.
The Privateer Coal Hearth Pizza
4
Not simply vegan pizza
For a hyper-local and energetic environment, The Privateer Coal Hearth Pizza ought to high your eating checklist with its massive menu chock-full of vegan choices (the OKC Pie with inexperienced romesco sauce, cashew mozzarella, sunflower sausage, roasted shallot French dressing, and Brazil nut parmesan is a winner). In case you occur to be in Oceanside on Tuesday, try the free comedy night time which has a rotating roster of comics doing brief units within the night. Go early to get a seat, order a few vegan potato tacos and a drink, and put together to be entertained.
Dija Mara
5
A Balinese culinary expertise
For Balinese-inspired fare, Dija Mara will spin your style buds right into a tizzy. Don’t let its laid-back vibe and industrial setting idiot you—the quite a few vegan choices and drinks are first-rate and filled with taste. The Charred Eggplant is well veganized and accompanied by a smoked tomato sambal and fried shallots, whereas the tofu-and-tempeh rendang served with pickles, peanut sauce, and aromatic coconut rice completely balances savory, tangy, candy, and salty flavors. And don’t neglect to ask for the proper pairing with a range from the pure wine checklist.
Valle
6Michelin-starred Mexican
The beachfront Mission Pacific Lodge has a number of engaging choices to your itinerary. Your first cease must be The Rooftop Bar, boasting one of many metropolis’s greatest ocean views. By sundown, it evolves into a horny and complex lounge replete with dwell DJs, cocktails, and poolside lounging. Subsequent, head to your particular vegan reservation at Michelin guide-honored, fine-dining sizzling spot Valle, which transforms its customary Baja California-inspired meals right into a next-level plant-based night time of consuming that’s utterly well worth the splurge for an important day.
Rafikiz Foodz
7Farmers’ market must-tries
Don your strolling footwear, as a result of downtown’s Thursday night time, year-round meals and music road honest, Mainstreet Oceanside Sundown Market, sprawls alongside a number of fun-filled blocks. Cease by vegan-friendly Rafikiz Foodz for healthful, flavorful Kenyan dishes, like black-eyed peas, coconut rice, and collard greens with a home made kachumbari sauce. Or attempt Pacific Island fare performed vegan-style from Teif’s Pacific Island Grill. Artisanal items and crafts distributors will fulfill your procuring repair whereas a dwell band gives the soundtrack to your good night time out.
Alternative Superfood Bar & Juicery
8Rejuvenating juice
Trek down Coast Freeway from Oceanside into the neighboring metropolis of Carlsbad to go to one of many area’s hottest wholesome joints, all-vegan Alternative Superfood Bar & Juicery. The contemporary juices and smoothies are ample (and assorted, starting from an ultra-green spinach-broccoli-ginger juice to a PB&J smoothie with raspberry-chia jam), however that’s solely the start—the entire grab-and-go salads, artisanal toasts, and superfood banana bread muffins are delectable. Hunker down within the kid- and dog-friendly courtyard with a coconut bacon cobb salad to gas a day of boutique exploration in close by Carlsbad Village.
Bliss Tea & Treats
9Fancy tea service goes vegan
Again in Oceanside, it’s possible you’ll not anticipate finding a high-tea parlor on this laid-back seaside city, however Bliss Tea & Treats is a welcome shock with its brilliant and joyful teatime expertise. On the primary downtown stretch of Mission Avenue, this Black-owned tea parlor has a vegan tasting that pairs tea with goodies like cream cheese-and-cucumber sandwiches on housemade focaccia, together with a severely pleasant apple and cookie butter finger sandwich.
California Surf Museum
10Don’t neglect the tradition
As certainly one of California’s 14 designated Cultural Districts, Oceanside’s burgeoning arts and tradition scene deserves as a lot shine as its delicacies. For museum hoppers, the California Surf Museum presents a deep dive into SoCal surf tradition, whereas the Oceanside Museum of Artwork hosts worldwide displays and occasional and dialog occasions with native artists. Wind down by catching a neighborhood manufacturing at Star Theatre or Sunshine Brooks Theater—or each, they’re solely a block aside.
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Anna Keeve is a Southern California-based freelance author on a mission to maintain folks’s veg-friendly dwelling knowledgeable and impressed.
