Vegan by El Zamorano - Costa Mesa

I have tried an abundance of vegan food over the years and this place is at the top of my list.  A lot of vegan food tries too hard to mimic traditional meat dishes by using overprocessed methods as their “meat”.  Vegan by Zamorano was a refreshing change, utilizing vegetables instead of chemicals for their vegan “meat”.  It’s challenging to find vegan Mexican cuisine, so that made this place all that more special. 

According to their website, they “...started as a pop-up restaurant in 2018 with one goal in mind: Providing authentic vegan Mexican food at an affordable cost to the Orange County area.”  Apparently they are Orange County's first and only vegan taqueria.

Everything was fresh and delicious, from the salsa and chips, to the housemade vegan nacho cheese, housemade cashew crema and everything in between.  

I chose three items on my first visit: The Asada Nachos (chips, housemade vegan nacho cheese, refried pinto beans, vegan asada, pico de gallo, guacamole, red salsa, and housemade cashew crema), Hardshell Potato Taco (topped with cabbage, pico de gallo, red salsa, and cashew crema) and the Fish Taco (made with battered portobello mushroom topped with cabbage, pico de gallo, red salsa & chipotle crema).

The prices were very reasonable as well.  The only downside is if you want to dine-in, they only have a small-ish outdoor space that is located on a very busy street and the music playing was too loud (to drown out the street noise I presume).  However, I will definitely be back!