Mesa Verde Vegan Restaurant (in Santa Barbara, CA)

While we were enjoying the beauty of Santa Barbara, California, I was hoping we’d try Mesa Verde, a special vegan restaurant. Mesa Verde served high-end Mediterranean cuisine.

The bonus was that Mesa Verde didn’t have a high-end dress code, which made me extremely happy. We were camping, after all.

Upon arrival, we found Mesa Verde tucked into an unlikely location, between a gas station and a convenience store. However, we’d been told not to let that fool us.

Mesa is a Santa Barbara family neighborhood that looks pretty nice compared to many places in the USA, so we were confident about eating there.

Upon entering, Mesa Verde’s interior and patio felt like we’d been transported into a private tropical nest. I’m guessing it’s happily packed on Santa Barbara’s hottest days.

Greeted by the kindest staff, we adored our server. We bonded over international experiences. We loved hearing about his life and wife.

Over several visits, we tasted as many items on the menu as possible. Plenty of those options were gluten-free. And, additional items could be made gluten-free upon request.

My boyfriend even tried handcrafted breads that were not gluten-free, which came with vegan butter that looked and tasted just like old-fashioned butter. What a treat for him!

Because local health food stores sold mostly wheat and meat in their holiday meals, we also needed a game plan to feed ourselves special lunches over the holidays.

So we went to Mesa Verde for Christmas Eve lunch and New Year’s Eve lunch. We left with takeaway each visit, which fed us our special Christmas Day lunch, and New Year’s Day lunch.

Without Mesa Verde, we would have felt a tad hungrier and lonelier over the holidays, as we had no place to go for family holiday meals and traditions, which makes us feel sad.

So we tried to find gratitude in our present moment, with what we could see before us.

We were also grateful that the meals at Mesa Verde were so hearty and filling, which I think is essential for plant-based vegan food—the ability to fill up that belly.

And I want to share my absolute favorite menu items from Mesa Verde…

  • brussel mushroom tacos (my favorite dish, hands down)

  • green plant bowl (just reading the ingredients makes me salivate)

  • triple belgian potatoes (I love anything similar to “french fries,” which I rarely allow myself ;)

  • pumpkin pecan cheesecake (not too sweet, this was a special holiday treat)

gluten-free veganKristenmesa verde santa barbara, mesa verde restaurant, mesa verde vegan restaurant santa barbara caComment