Sayulita is an easy town for vegetarians and a workable one for vegans. Mexican food is built on corn, beans, chiles, squash and cheese, a lot of the cafés were opened by people who eat plants, and almost every taquería has something without meat.
The catch is the small print: beans cooked with lard, broths made from chicken, fish sauce in a curry. This guide starts with how to ask, then the places that do it well, from all-vegan cafés to a mushroom taco off the al pastor trompo.
How to order
Say what you don't eat rather than what you are. 'Soy vegetariano' (or vegetariana) is understood, but 'sin carne, sin pollo, sin pescado' is clearer, because to some cooks vegetarian still allows a little chicken. Ask about the broth in soups and rice, '¿el caldo es de pollo?', and about the beans, '¿los frijoles llevan manteca?', since refried beans are often cooked in lard.
For vegan, add 'sin queso, sin crema, sin huevo, sin mantequilla'. Cheese and cream go on almost everything by default, from chilaquiles to tostadas, so say it when you order rather than sending a plate back.
Say what you don't eat, not what you are: sin carne, sin pollo, sin pescado.
Plant-based cafés
A few places in town are built around plants. Cafetería Northswell, upstairs on Revolución, does a full plant-based menu: crêpes, bowls, tostadas, soy-chorizo burritos and gluten-free sweets, from 6am. Organi-K, under a palapa just over the bridge, is mostly raw and vegetarian or vegan, plastic-free, with açaí and poke-style bowls.
For something sweet, ChiChilí on José Mariscal makes vegan ice cream and paletas. Hours at the smaller places shift, so the block below shows which of them are open right now.
Cafetería Northswell Sabor Natural
Plant-based café upstairs on Revolución: crêpes, bowls, tostadas and gluten-free desserts, Monday to Saturday from 6am.
ORGANI-K Sayulita
Mostly raw and plant-based bowls, toasts and juices under a palapa by the bridge; no single-use plastic.
Orangy Smoothies
Juice bar for smoothies, açaí bowls, chia pudding and wellness shots.
ChiChilí Helado Vegano
All-vegan ice cream and fruit paletas; hours can be irregular.
Dulce Abejita Healing House
Healing house on Revolución with a vegan and gluten-free brunch café, Monday to Saturday.
Mexican food without the meat
The best vegetarian food in town is often just Mexican food. At Naty's on Calle Marlín, the guisado counter always has meat-free pots: nopales, potato, mushroom, beans with cheese. El Itacate makes a hibiscus-flower taco, a garlic mushroom taco and a chile relleno taco, and Tal Ivan's al pastor stand by the plaza does mushroom and cheese tacos for the late crowd.
On the north side, Chamán's candlelit garden has hibiscus tacos and a portobello burger, and El Jakal does jackfruit cooked in mole. Mary's makes a cazuelita of vegetables, and La Fogonera's food truck has hibiscus and zucchini fillings for its burgers and quesadillas.
Naty’s Cocina
Guisados on corn tortillas with several meat-free pots every day: nopales, potato, mushroom, beans.
El Itacate
Hibiscus, garlic-mushroom and chile relleno tacos among the meat; the cheese-wrapped itacate comes vegetarian too.
Tacos Al Pastor Tal Ivan
The al pastor stand by the plaza also does mushroom and cheese tacos, late into the night.
Chaman Mexican Creative Kitchen
Garden restaurant on the north side with hibiscus tacos and a portobello burger.
El Jakal
Local seafood spot that also serves jackfruit in mole. Cash only.
La Fogonera
Food truck with hibiscus and zucchini fillings beside the burgers and tacos.
Breakfast and bowls
Breakfast is the easiest meal. Yah-Yah on Niños Héroes has a Vegan Love wrap and a veggie bagel at 130 pesos each and a bitter-chocolate toast at 80, among a long vegetarian list. Buenas Olas on Revolución marks its Vegan Brekky (135 pesos) and avocado toast (100).
Atico on José Mariscal, a café by day and a music bar by night, does jackfruit dishes and bowls, and El Original by the bridge has blue-corn tacos and quesadillas with plenty of vegetarian choices. For a vegetarian Mexican breakfast, ask for chilaquiles sencillos with beans instead of chicken, and check the beans.
YAH-YAH Sayulita Café
Vegan wrap, veggie bagel and vegetarian waffles and toasts; closed Tuesdays.
Buenas Olas Café
Short breakfast menu with its vegan dishes marked, and good pour-over coffee.
Atico Hookah Bar
Daytime café on José Mariscal with jackfruit plates, bowls and vegan options.
El Original Cafe Sayulita
Blue-corn tacos and quesadillas, burritos and many vegetarian choices, from 7am.
Anchor Cafe
Smoothie bowls, avocado toast and veggie bagels on Marlín.
Dinner beyond tacos
Papá Omar on José Mariscal is a Lebanese street-food spot that grew out of a hummus stall at the Friday market; the falafel wrap is vegan, and there's hummus and tabbouleh, served until late. Alto Alto, a rooftop on Revolución, has a vegetarian-friendly Mediterranean list: spanakopita (160 pesos), a Mediterranean bowl with quinoa and hummus (190), roasted cauliflower (190) and a grilled vegetable plate (150). Most carry cheese, so ask which can be made vegan.
Thai food needs a question. At Tai38 on Revolución the vegetable curry is 190 pesos, but its pad thai is made with egg and a tamarind-fish sauce, and the restaurant itself says its kitchen isn't vegan. Pizza Venezia does a vegetarian pizza with gluten-free options and lets you bring your own drinks, and Sayulita Public House has a Beyond burger.
Papá Omar
Vegan falafel wrap, hummus and tabbouleh from a Lebanese kitchen, open late most nights.
Alto Alto Rooftop Restaurant
Rooftop Mediterranean with several vegetarian plates; ask which can be made vegan.
Tai38
Vegetable curry and fresh rolls; the pad thai has egg and fish sauce, and the kitchen isn't vegan.
Pizza Venezia
Vegetarian pizza with as many toppings as you like, gluten-free options and BYO drinks.
Sayulita Public House
Plaza pub with a Beyond burger and tempura cauliflower.
Cooking for yourself
If you're renting a kitchen, shop like a local. Fruit and vegetable shops line Revolución, the tortillerías sell fresh corn tortillas and masa by weight, and in season the Friday Mercado del Pueblo has organic produce, breads and prepared food from local growers.
For tofu, plant milks and speciality foods, Terrenal on the Punta de Mita road is an organic grocery that also sells tortillas and masa, and Mercado Ollin carries organic and diet-specific foods with delivery.
Mercado del Pueblo
Friday farmers' market, 10am to 2pm in the winter season, with organic produce and prepared food.
Terrenal Organic Food Store
Organic grocery on the Punta de Mita road with tortillas, masa, kombucha and pantry staples.
Mercado Ollin Sayulita
Family-run specialty grocery for organic and diet-specific foods, with delivery.
Frutería Carolina
Fruit and vegetable shop on Revolución.
Tortillería El Ranchero
Fresh corn tortillas and masa by weight.
Questions people ask
Is Sayulita good for vegetarians?
Yes. Most taquerías have meat-free fillings, several cafés are largely plant-based, and markets and fruit shops make self-catering easy.
Is there vegan food in Sayulita?
Yes. Cafetería Northswell is plant-based, Organi-K is mostly raw and vegan, Papá Omar has a vegan falafel wrap and ChiChilí makes vegan ice cream. Elsewhere, ask for dishes without cheese, cream and egg.
How do I say I'm vegetarian in Spanish?
'Soy vegetariano' or 'vegetariana' works, but 'sin carne, sin pollo, sin pescado' is clearer. Ask whether the beans have manteca (lard) and whether the broth is chicken.
Are refried beans vegetarian in Mexico?
Not always: they are often cooked with lard. Ask '¿los frijoles llevan manteca?' before you order.
Where can I buy tofu and plant milk in Sayulita?
Try Terrenal, the organic grocery on the Punta de Mita road, or Mercado Ollin, which stocks organic and diet-specific foods.
Written by sayulita.co from our own research, checked against 15 sources. Nothing here is paid for. Photos: Julio César Cabrera Nava (CC BY-SA 4.0); ; . See something out of date? Tell us.
