Cena Vegan

Foto cortesía de instagram @cenavegan

I’ve been vegetarian for about six years now, and while I love it, every now and then I crave the homemade tacos de barbacoa, asada, and del pastor my grandma would make. And as much as I love tacos de papa, I can only have them so much before I need to try something new.

This intrigued me to try Cena Vegan, a plant based restaurant located in Los Ángeles that offers a wide variety of dishes like tacos de pastor, asada, and even pollo. It’s a vegan twist on these classic recipes. I was most excited to try their Birria tacos. You can order individual tacos, a taco trio, or a four plate set. Because birria and pastor were always my favorite type of tacos before I became vegetarian, I decided to try those first. The tacos del pastor were very well seasoned and flavorful. They had a smoky aftertaste as if it had been slowly roasted over an open flame grill. As for the texture - imitation meat can be very tricky to attempt. Sometimes it can come out way too chewy or too stiff in texture; however, the texture was very similar to what I remember it to be. It’s not too stiff or too chewy and because of that, it allows the flavor profile to really shine through. They even had an option to add a variety of sides and salsas to help decorate your tacos.

After trying the tacos del pastor, it was time to try the birria tacos. These tacos came with the option of adding a side of consume dipping broth as well as a side of spicy birria sauce. They provided a generous amount of lime slices to help coat the tacos. These tacos were by far my personal favorite. The texture of the meat was perfect and the consume tried to bring all the flavors together. The spicy Birria sauce acted as the perfect finishing touch to the meal; however, I do have to warn you, the spicy birria sauce, while delicious, is in fact very spicy! Be sure to try a little out before absolutely lathering it onto your tacos and proceeding to need two cups of water to continue, speaking from experience...

But if tacos isn’t what you’re in the mood for, they also have a few other options that are just as tasty. They have everything ranging from burritos, to nachos, to bowls. All are customizable with the ability to add whatever toppings you want as well as what type of plant based meat you want to top the dish.

It is also worth mentioning that this restaurant is pick- up only with the exception of delivery to nearby locations. The only way to order is online through their website. For find out more information, take a look at their full menu, and to place an order, visit https://cenavegan.square.site