• pokez: still the best vegan mexican food ever.

    17
    July 30th, 2011quarrygirlmore restaurants (not LA), san diego

    i’ve said it before, i’ve said it again, i’m saying it now, and i’ll probably say it in the future: pokez in san diego serves up the best vegan mexican food ever.

    chimichanga: a flour tortilla, deep fried and loaded with beans, onions, peppers and tofu. topped with guacamole and salsa. $5.50

    our most recent trip to pokez was about a month ago with kevin from veganbrew, after a night of heavy beer drinking. talk about the perfect hangover food to soak up all the drunk. kevin went with chimichanga, pictured above, which is arguably the best thing on the pokez menu. kevin was visiting all the way from philly and you should have seen this dude’s eyes light up when he bit into this thing. it was magical. my husband went with the burrito, another classic…

    tofu, potato and mushroom burrito with salsa ranchera. $5.25

    and i ordered tom’s deep plate…

    tom's deep plate: beans, rice, guacamole, salsa fresca, tortillas. $5.25

    the portions at pokez are MASSIVE (none of us finished our meal)…and everything was under 6 bucks. if you’re ever in the san diego area, you have to eat at pokez. even if you aren’t in the area…this place is worth the trip! just be sure to specify vegan on everything, so they leave off the sour cream and cheese.

    Pokez Mexican Restaurant
    947 E St
    San Diego, CA 92101
    (619) 702-7160

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17 responses to “pokez: still the best vegan mexican food ever.” RSS icon

  • it is truly one of the best vegan-friendly mexican food places i’ve ever eaten at. we stopped by 3 times during comic con even though it was a mile away.

    also be sure to try the taco salad – it’s huge and full of beans, tofu, and all sorts of good stuff.

  • Melissa Morrison

    I have been going here for 15 years, still the best Mexican food in San Diego!

  • I don’t think I’ve ever finished a meal here, either.

    It’s very deceptive, looking at the cheap prices on the menu, because I’m used to LA prices.

    “Hmm, this is only $5. They must want me to order sides, and assemble a plate piecemeal.” WRONG.

    We consistently stuffed 3 people for $20 total during Comic Con. Take that, Bucca di Beppo, with your line around the block!

  • Agreed! Their food rocks!

    I’m an east-coaster, but on my visit to San Diego in February (http://lavidavegana.blogspot.com/2011/03/vegan-in-san-diego.html), we went there. Twice. And loved it.

  • Well, QG, this may be the first time I have to disagree with you. I was totally down with the dive bar-esque vibe (minus the alcohol) and the laid back/chilled-out style. I am definitely not a snob. And the food was super yummy going down. Unfortunately, I got a severe case of food poisoning from eating here and will never be going back. I know it was from Pokez as it was the only thing ‘different’ I had put in my body that day. I have not been that sick since my dairy-eating days. But 6+ hours of the worst sickness I have encountered = a horrible review from me. I was with a fellow vegan and we were both very clear that we wanted our chimichanga vegan-style. (Luckily she did not get sick). I am sure they must not be too careful about cross-contamination because there was something funky/animal-derived in my food for sure. Naturally I didn’t know I was sick until after leaving. But, if I’m being honest, I also have to say that my friend and I received some of the snarkiest/surliest/rudest service that I have ever received. We are friendly, chatty people and he was not interested in answering any questions without an eye-roll, a sigh and a very irritated sound to his voice.

    Needless to say, I am still on the hunt for the best vegan Mexican food (after Gracias Madre in San Francisco, of course. They are amazing:)

  • If I lived there, I would never have learned to cook vegan. Hmm that would give me more ar time. Can’t move now but I can dream.

  • I was JUST going online to comment that I witnessed firsthand the severe case of food poisoning my friend got there and I see she has already beat me to the punch.

    I echo her sentiments: after seeing how ill she got (our orders were nearly identical, though she got beans and rice), I will never eat there again.

    And yes, while service was lacking, this wouldn’t be a dealbreaker in a normal situation. But after seeing/hearing my friend get sick for hours, that was enough for me.

  • Gauri Radha गौरी राधा

    The pics look appetizing

  • You look appetizing

  • yay! i’m going to san diego in october and bookmarking this!

  • Gauri Radha गौरी राधा

    ^ I’ve never been to Pokez but sorry to hear about the service/food poisoning issues you guys went through.
    Not exactly a similar situation, but the first time I took a non-vegan work colleague to a vegan restaurant in LA, she came down with a bout of food poisoning. [This was over a year ago. I sent an email to QuarryGirl about the incident at the time to let her know what had happened, and it turned out this particular place had been shut down previously for vermin infestation. Gawd :(]
    Anyway, hopefully your friend’s case was an isolated incident and not due to some sort of sanitation issue at this location.

  • Am I the only vegan on the planet that thinks Pokez is no good?

  • I am not going to say that Pokez is no good, but I have to say that for a person who lived in Mexico for 20 years, Pokez is definitely not the best Vegan Mexican food ever. Yes it is good for the price, but just here in San Diego, you can find better food at Ranchos.

    Anyway, if you ever go to Mexico City, you would be amazed how much better the vegan food is over there.

  • Well, there’s something like two whole places where a vegan can eat in downtown San Diego, so freaking out is a bit justified. Vegan Mexican food is hard to find in general, at least in LA.

  • I live in San Diego and I can safely say that Ranchos is crap compared to Pokez. Ranchos is good, but their vegan options rely on fake cheese / Daiya (which I’m not keen on.)

    Pokez is just good food, with nothign fake about it.

  • Pokez is better than Ranchos!

  • Vegan food in Mexico City?? Interesting.


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