Moncai Vegan

This is my all-​time FAVORITE place to get pastries. Everything is delicious, fresh, and beautiful too! I take vegans and non vegans here and everyone loves it! My favorite thing to get is the donut ice cream sandwich… Pick out your fav donut and they’ll put a huge slab of ice cream in the middle for a freakin scrumptious dessert.
And bonus, the staff is really sweet! They’re all very helpful, and it’s clear that they actually care about serving people something they’ll enjoy.

You walk in and you feel welcomed simply by the set up. The homey vibe is warming, including the delicious cinnamon rolls that I could not resist. I love the simple menu, simple happy hour, and simple people. It is delicious to vegan and non vegan people as well. Hope you have a awesome experience …

This is some of the best vegan food I’ve ever had. You can tell the chefs make everything from scratch so don’t be bitchy about wait times. I saw them make my pancakes from scratch and I find that awesome. The chef even brought out a free dessert he was working on and asked for our feedback. It’s great when a restaurant actually had fun with vegan cooking instead of sticking to the same ol’ menu. Also, best biscuits and gravy I’ve ever had. Oh! And the décor is great. It’s cozy, not all hipster, not all loud. Just a really chill environment.

what a little gem in Normal Heights, such excellent service and wonderful food.
They are no longer cash only!
Try their delicious vegan cinnammon rolls, their home made ice tea is to die for and location couldnt be more perfect.
So happy to have them in our hood.

Came here for Galentine’s Day brunch with my bestie, and it was amazing!
Four course meal with a wine/​champagne pairing for each course (or bottomless mimosas if you’re not a wine person).
First course was a glazed crème brûlée style grapefruit with cucumber ice things. We didn’t know how to eat it so I just dumped the ice stuff on top of the glazed sugar and it was bomb! So refreshing. It was paired with a bubbly.
Second course was my favorite! I think it was called petite biscuits with gravy and an onion ring. Omg it was very rich and tasty and the gravy was to die for— it was so hard to believe that it was vegan!!! Compliments to the chef– this was by far my favorite course of the whole meal. Paired with wine.
Third course was «steak and eggs» aka a huge grilled portobello mushroom and a tasty tofu scramble with veggies and crispy Brekkie potatoes. Wow I wished I had a second stomach to really enjoy this dish! It was super tasty but by the time I was halfway done with it, I was super full! The wine helped me scarfed it down though.
And the last course was a super tasty dessert with some kind of pudding, chocolate, and donut ice cream concoction? I suddenly had room in my stomach to finish it and it honestly reminded me of my past vegetarian life style — the dairy like consistency was amazing! Paired with a sweet dessert port wine (I think).
There was also live music and parking was not a problem at all! The bathroom is super clean and the customer service is on point!

This place rocks. I still think about the Sunday brunch and it’s been months. Their caramel apple french toast was amazing too, and don’t get me started on their donuts and pastries. Gotta go, drooling all over my keyboard.

I totally waited in line for three hours to get some delicious vegan food but I was actually in line at the barber shop. It was really confusing because the dudes in line were all rail thin and talking about Killer Tofu so I just figured this was the place.
Now that I know the address, I’ll be back!

My favorite vegan restaurant ever. The food is seriously so amazing and don’t skip dessert. Everything they have is so good, never disappointed!

Awesome place to eat! The cinnamon rolls and donuts are really good. We had the pancake brunch with fruit and potatoes yummy! The service is great! They also had on Sunday a really nice lady playing an accordion and singing. Really nice!

Went for lunch today and can honestly say I found some of the best food on Adams Avenue!!! What a delightful, cozy & charming place ~ The service is fantastic and the food is clean, high vibration & absolutely delicious ~ Can’t wait to go back and so glad to know that we as a neighborhood have a local establishment like this to provide our community with conscious as well as tasty eats ;) Cheers!

Best restaurant in the vegetarian category of restaurants! except they’re vegan and they still make better food then restaurants that use butter, eggs, cheese etc etc.
Props to Don and Priscilla epic vegan chefs! Please dont stop what you’re doing, The world needs you more then it knows.

I’ve been a fan of theirs since their original location, and was surprised to discover they moved here when looking for Sunday brunch. Dropped by here around 12ish (brunch ends at 2pm) and got promptly seated. Same friendly staff as before, and it’s nice to see them in a larger space. Ended up ordering the brunch special which featured scrambled eggs, sausage or bacon (still not quite a complete fan of tempeh bacon), biscuits and gravy, fruit, and pancakes. Plus a free drink (got the passion hibiscus tea). Food didn’t take long to arrive and it was so fresh (and hot) that I couldn’t wait to dig in. It ended up being really tasty and delicious and it was nice to have a place with a vegan brunch. Once again, such a great time with good food and excellent service. $ 15ish for that much food was well worth it.

I really used to love this place. I’m not sure if they changed chefs or recipes when they moved to the newer location, but the last two times I’ve eaten here, the food did not taste as fresh or flavorful. I used to dream of their pancakes, and now I would say I would only head there for the pancakes if the vegan eatery world was what it was 10 years ago — sparse. Sorry Moncai, there are too many other vegan options out there that are more delicious and in spaces with better ambience.

Wow, their nachos made the little mexican girl inside me jump for joy! I haven’t had such a savory deliciously crunchy and flavorful pile of nachos in a loooooong time. They had a house made sour cream and guacamole that had lime and cilantro inside! So yummy and this was just our appetizer! Since their more on the comfort food side of vegan, I stuck to a single pancake and my partner had their biscuits and gravy. I have to say my favorite was my hearty thick and super moist pancake. It didn’t need any butter or syrup, I only added it for nostalgia. It’s not often I find really good vegan breakfast foods. Too bad I’m visiting from LA, else I would be here once a week because did I mention their phenomenal cinnamon rolls? Please come by and try this place, it’ll make you a believer for sure. Vegan or not :)

The Good:
Service, food, music, lighting.
Promotes vegan message.
Fresh baked goods.
Specials, all-​day breakfast options
The Bad:
Careful, can be oily.
The Ugly:
Nothing. Thumbs up.

Yaaaaaas. Vegan brunch with all of my expectations exceeded. I stumbled upon this place while searching for vegan optioned restaurants during my San Diego stay. I can comfortably say that this place is the best vegan restaurant I have ever patroned.
The pancakes were fluffy and moist with a wonderfully sticky maple syrup and vegan butter. Biscuits and dat mushroom gravy; savory and delicious! The sort of gravy that will convert even the fundamentalist meat eaters into grazers. The vegan scramble was edible, but I have yet to find an exceptional one. But a splash of srriracha fixes all things.
The only detractor from this wonderful morning meal was the maple-​smoked tempeh. It is the one and the same store bought Tofurkey brand smoky maple bacon. Small pointer, it is otherwise quite excellent as a vegan BLTA, but not on its own. Opt for the housemade sausage instead.
On our way out, we picked out a couple cinnamon buns. Even though they were sitting in our rental car all day, the buns were tasty as cold, sticky messes.
I am astonished that this restaurant does vegan comfort food so well. Most vegan substitutes are weird looking, feeling and tasting, but I commend the people behind this place. I only wish they were open all days of the week. I wanted to return on our last day in San Diego to try the chick’n and dumplings, but alas my luck isn’t as keen as my voracious appetite.

Today was my first visit to Moncai. I loved this quaint little gem! There are so many desserts to choose from baked fresh daily as well as a full food menu! The staff was friendly and personable, and the prices are fair for vegan treats! I’ll be back for their savory treats.

Moncai vegan impressed me as vegan food never had before. I am a lover of meat, and meat was not missed at this dinner.
To start off, the restaurant is cute, with vintage tables and chairs to sit at. They have breakfast items all day, and also serve brunch on Sunday. Have to come back for that sometime.
They served us a free maple nut donut when we arrived. It blew my mind! Can’t believe it was vegan! Just the right amount of sweet and all the fluffiness you expect from a donut. It was great!
We ordered the avocado bruschetta as an appetizer. WOW! I couldn’t believe how crispy delicious the bread was, even wit. No butter. the veggies were fresh and plated beautifully. A must order!
I got the BLTA as an entrée. The Tempe bacon was smokey and delicious. All the freshness brought it together. Bacon+avocado is the best combo, even for vegans!
They also serve beer and wine if you are looking for a dinner place before a night out.
Don’t miss this place whether you’re vegan or not. But remember they are CASH ONLY ! There’s an. ATM next door of you forget.

Awesome… Experience… The ambiance was really relaxing with cool music playing, inviting chairs, clean, nice décor, great service…
And food… was absolutely delicious! the strawberry shake was so good… We were sad when we finished it. :P
And for the dinner finale… :) We had dessert.
Definitely I wil recommend it!

I love vegan food and this is one of the best joints. Most vegan places serve Asian inspired dishes but it’s nice to see that moncai has their western dishes. I had their brunch menu where they were first located in north park. I was hooked and had to come back to their new location.
I had the veggie spaghetti which was presented nicely. The sauce was delicious and it came with 3 massive slices of garlic bread. my weakness. My boyfriend got the soup dumplings, that too was also killer. We demolished our dishes leaving nothing on the plate lol we’re be back next time for sure.

Moncai is one of the most unassumingly genius restaurants I have been to in a long while. A modest if not shabby looking establishment, this plant based eatery dishes out delicious and often healthy interpretations of classic comfort food.
I went hog wild and ordered the Nachos and the chefs specialty, Chik’n and Dumplings. The nachos were big enough for three, and were stacked with chik’n, vegan refried beans, fresh guacamole, and cashew sour cream. The chicken and dumplings were creamy and rich, and are as satisfying as any poultry based version I’ve tasted. Honest!
Side Note — The daily made vegan donuts are the best I have had, over Donut Panic, Nomad, Donut Bar etc. Give them a try.

DELICIOUSNESS OVERLOAD! i Have always been impressed by this place ever since the farmers market and north park days, but wow, this new location has finally given the chefs the room they deserve to craft CULINARY MASTERPIECES that happen to be vegan.
While the menu may seem limited at first glance, they always have an excellent selection of weekly specials that everyone will be stoked on!
Thank you!

My favorite vegan restaurant in San Diego. I used to go to the other smaller location but this is my first visit since they moved. Our server was lovely, very helpful and patient. The food was to die for. Honestly hands down the best vegan restaurant food I’ve had in a very long time. We had the specials: sausage and cabbage dumplings, polenta cakes with rice and beans, biscuits and gravy, a cinnamon roll and a marshmallow yeast donut. If you ever get a chance to try the sausage dumplings, do it!!! We loved it. Such a unique flavor and we could see the chef preparing them fresh. The price is very good for the quality of food, we both got a full meal, dessert, and a side for under $ 48. I’m very happy with our experience, will be back many many times!

Went here for Sunday Breakfast, Tried the big platter that came with everything Pancakes, Biscuits and gravy, scramble, potatoes, and «sausage».
The biscuits could have been fluffier ‚
But it was amazing regardless.
I took a donut to go.

They really put love into the food. The owners are passionate and are very open about what they put in the food.
They can really convert a meat eater if the person is open minded.
Five stars

Wow — we have been SO lucky finding these AWESOME vegan restaurants around southern (and northern) California!
Went to the Adams Street Fair in San Diego last weekend, rode our bikes around and had planned to eat at Jyoti-​Bihanga when we spotted the big vegan sign in front of Moncai — we always like to at least check things out, and it looked nice so we tried it — FANTASTIC vegan food served beautifully, in a hip relaxed environment — every dish we tried was awesome — and huge — the BLT YUM! the panko zuchinni, the roasted brussel sprouts — and we all (especially our 11y/​o) loved the corndog
we all also loved the cheesecake (light and creamy) and we took some donuts to go (they were good, but only 3 star vs the amazing 5 star vegan donuts at Bliss Café in san luis obispo)
and even though they try to get as much organic as possible, they would get a solid 5 star rating from me («as good as it gets!») if they were 100% organic
but absolutely CHECK THEM OUT!

New location!
One of my favorite vegan brunch places and has a liquor license, so mimosas are a go!
Huge brunch special, cheery waitstaff and also live musical accompaniment.
Great coffee. Reminds me so much of the little vegan places up in Portland.
Limited outdoor dining spots, I did love the outdoor tables at the old location.
Street parking. Cash only. ATM in the nearby Dollar store, in case you forget.

This place only takes cash and doesn’t say so on their website.
So I showed up without any cash and was turned away. Make sure you have something in your wallet before you come here.