Travel with a dietary restriction can be hard, but luckily in Mexico, many places are coming around to the idea that not everyone eats meat, animal products, or gluten. In more cosmopolitan areas, such as Cholula, la zona rosa ‘the pink zone’ and La Condensa of Mexico City, and touristy areas like Isla Holbox just a stone’s throw from Cancun, you can often find restaurants specifically dedicated to the alternative-eaters among us – or at least recognition on the menu. In fact, there was an amazing vegetarian taqueria on my street in Cholula, meaning I was actually able to try soya-based alternatives for the classic dishes I’d been dying to try- like tacos al pastor and tacos árabes.
Nevertheless, vegetarianism and veganism seem to be fairly new concepts in Mexico, and are often quite alien to locals outside of big cities or tourist areas. It’s often a case of adapting a menu, or accepting (as a veggie), that when going to the taqueria, it’s going to be a quesadilla or a quesadilla – which was never an issue for me. As a vegan your choices could be further limited to just a plate of guac in some places, but that’s usually in the more niche destinations.
To sum up, vegetarianism Mexico is totally doable, it just takes a little bit more research sometimes, or accepting limited choices, but I never had to pack food on a trip as I knew I would always find something. A lot of street food was open to me, such as elotes and esquites (corn on the cob or in a cup: with cheese, lime, and mayonnaise), champurrado (mexican hot chocolate with corn), and homemade ice cream in massive flask style containers. If you’re vegan or gluten free however, you will often struggle to find a complete meal unless you are in a dedicated restaurant. The best eating experiences for you would be in fairly touristy and gentrified areas, however don’t let that discourage you from seeing the amazing pueblitos (small towns) and countryside spectacles – just bear in mind that here you will probably only find taquerias, almost exclusively serving meat, cheese and bread.
