Your Guide To Tasty Vegan Comida In Mérida, Mexico
If you’re a vegan traveling through Mérida, it is safe to say that you’ll have some memorable, fresh, and awakening experiences at the local restaurants. Although we only stayed in the city for a few days, we decided to schedule our days around plant-based grub. With a little bit of online research we were directed to the most noteworthy places by fellow traveling vegans.
Three Different Vegan Food Spots
We got to try out three different vegan spots, each unique and impressive in their own way. I am by no means claiming that the three we went to were the best in the city, but we will remember our meals at Monique’s and Salsipuedes forever. Below I will list other highly recommended spots by other vegans. Please keep in mind that many of the restaurants are only open certain hours of the day and all have different schedules. Be sure to check out the hours before making the trek for delicious plant food!
1. Monique’s Bakery Y Cafe de Alta Nutrición
Monique’s Bakery and Cafe was our favorite place, followed closely by Salsipuedesmid, which we will touch on next. Monique’s is off of a side street close to the La Gran Plaza mall. It is also close to the Gran Mueseo del Mundo Maya de Mérida, aka the Grand Museum of the Mayan World. The restaurants was about 5 miles from our hostel, which amounted to about a cab ride costing about 100 pesos ($5 USD), but was so worth it. We decided to feed two birds with one scone and explore the museum as well as they were only about a mile apart.
A Full & Exciting Menu
After a full morning of getting lost in Mayan history, we had built up quite an appetite and were ready to eat. Monique’s did not disappoint to say the least. The menu is expansive; they boast lists of unique hand-made breads, cultivated with their own special recipes that utilize local and organic ingredients, home-made kombucha, healthful drinks, gluten-free baked goods, and more. My partner and I are 100% vegan and ended up opting for a fresh sourdough loaf with the house pesto, an incredible arugula and mushroom pizza, a liter of mango kombucha, and a brownie and pumpkin dessert for the road. I have to note that the mango kombuca tastes like sunshine in a jar.
How Much We Spent
The whole meal cost us around $25 USD. It was a great price considering that the atmosphere was soothing, most things were made in-house, were organic and locally sourced, and we were able to take home the 2 desserts and half of our bread loaf (yes, we devoured the other half there!).
Make A Day Out Of It
I highly recommend hitting the museum in the morning and then walking over to Monique’s. It has a lovely outdoor patio that is filled with plants, brightly-colored walls, and is filled with music that makes you feel as though you were at a calm beach somewhere. It’s also one of the only restaurants we found to be open for most of the day, as others close mid-day or don’t open until later. All of the vegan options are clearly marked on the menu.
More information & menu: https://www.facebook.com/moniquebakery
Address: Calle 79 #191A X Calle 36 y Calle 38, Montes de Amé, 97115 Mérida, Yuc
2. Salsipuedesmid
I’ve never said that something is “a vibe”, but I will state that Salsipuedesmid is a vibe. It was hard to decide if we liked Salsipuedesmid or Monique’s better, but they both blew our tastebud’s minds. Salsipuedesmid is a bar/restaurant that opens most days around 4 PM and closes around 2 AM. We got there early enough that it was pretty empty, but late enough to see the whole place lit up at night. The restaurant is located on an under-lit road, and we were a bit confused as to where the entrance was at first. When we finally stepped inside it felt as if we had stepped into a new world of music, color, and flavor explosions.
A Little Bit About The Menu
About half of the menu there is vegan/vegetarian friendly and composed of tapas. The “veg” menu is clearly marked, but you’ll have to a little bit of investigating to find out which dishes are 100% free of animal flesh, breast milk, and secretions. It seems as though they have music there nightly and various forms of entertainment. Our server seemed to take much delight in seeing how enthusiastic we were about our food.
I still couldn’t tell you exactly what this dish above was composed of, but it was hands-down the best salsa that I’ve ever experienced. The plant flavors were so alive, clear, and satisfying. We ended up ordering four different tapas, a beer, and a non-alcoholic mango drink. I was so impressed with the prices there! We spent around $15 USD (including a tip) for four different tapas, a beer, and fresh juice.
More information: https://www.facebook.com/salsipuedesmerida
Address: C. 60, Zona Paseo Montejo, Centro, 97000 Mérida, Yuc.
3. Crush Restaurante Mid
Crush Resturante is a 100% plant-based fast food place. The “fast food” tasted healthier and lighter than much of the the plant-based food we have in the USA. I got the non-buffalo wrap with papas and really enjoyed the non-buffalo meat. There was a breakfast and lunch/dinner menu, and the breakfast menu was full of cheap but healthy fruit and juice packed smoothies and juices. It is a convenient spot for a late lunch and is open from 2 PM to 10 PM.
It Has A Low-Waste Shop As A Neighbor
The cool thing about Crush is that there is a low-waste shop attached that is full of hand-made natural body products, candles, clothes, snacks, and more. If you need to fill up on your shampoo, soap, and conditioner bars, or toothpaste tablets, this is your spot. We ended up buying a cork wallet that was hand-made by the owner and a jar of sugar-free (but delicious) cinnamon almond butter that was made locally. It was hard not to drop a ton of cash in the store!
More information: https://www.facebook.com/CrushRestauranteMid/?ref=page_internal
Address: C. 60 456, Parque Santa Lucia, Centro, 97000 Mérida, Yuc.
4. Other Options
Lo Que Hay Café – We wanted to make it to this cafe because the menu was calling to us, but unfortunately didn’t because it is temporarily shut down as of 2022 due to the pandemic.
Rincón Vegana (Riot Food) – We love the messaging of “Riot Food”. Learn what folks had to say about the food here and visit their Facebook page here.
Manik Bal – This small resturant looks like it provides fresh and lovingly-made food. Learn more here.
Where To Stay In Merida (Budget-Friendly)
Have you tried other delicious vegan options in Mérida? Let us know by leaving a comment below! If you’re looking for budget-friendly accommodations in the city, check out Hostel World. I always use this resource and stayed in Hostel La Ermita while in the city. It was the cheapest hostel I could find (for $7 USD per night per person!) and really enjoyed my stay. The pool was small but refreshing, the breakfast simple but good, and the location and other guests were fabulous.
Vegan Travel
Take a look at some of the articles I’ve written for other media outlets about veganism and animal farming. I’ve also published a budget, queer, and vegan-friendly travel guide for the USA!
