Los Angeles Vegetarian Restaurant - Press Reviews

Go Mexican at Cinnamon Vegetarian

Next time you are looking for a big hearty Mexican meal that’s not laced with lard and filled with chicken stock, look no further than Highland Park. Head over to cinnamon vegetarian, a completely meat-free Mexican restaurant where nearly everything on the menu can be made vegan.

We hadn’t been to cinnamon in nearly a year, but when we hit up the modest eatery over the weekend, we were blown away by how good everything was — I don’t know why it took me so long to go back! We started with the mushroom cocktail (pictured above), which was a glass filled with a thick tomato-y liquid, spices and chopped vegetables. Everything was fresh, chunky, and all around delicious. I would recommend this as an appetizer if you are looking for something light. Alternatively, if you wanna go all out, they also have a selection of vegan empanadas and flautas.

"Everything we ordered at cinnamon was top notch and very tasty. i give this place an A+"

Vegetarian Mexican food may sound like a laughable feat, but the Cano family at Cinnamon Vegetarian Restaurant creates hearty, meat-free dishes. The jumping shrimp cocktail is a mandatory start to any Cinnamon meal. A goblet filled with a mixture of gazpacho and cocktail sauce topped with chopped cucumber and cilantro. The soy shrimp are a clone of regular shrimp in their look, taste and texture. Chicken mole also resembles the real thing and is extremely tender and moist with a cinnamon-accented sauce, while the Guatemalan tamales are savory, soft and presented beautifully on a large green leaf. Cinnamon's chorizo is juicy but not greasy and is delicious on sopes - two soft, fried, corn-based pastries topped with refried beans, guacamole, and lettuce. Even a local who frequents authentic taco trucks was impressed. "This area is mostly Mexican and it is possible to get the same food but more healthy," says Columbian co-owner Esperanza Cano.

Los Angeles Guerilla Peace Poet Kenny Rose Butts honors Cinnamon with a poem ...

Cinnamon

Hmmmm
surreal you feel your first clue
is a sign of our time
on a beautiful street
you unexpectedly read no meat
“Cinnamon” hmmmmm Mexican restaurant
euphemism for American food south of U.S.
comes here in Highland Park…you park

Vegan-friendly Mexican food in Highland Park

I had been hearing about the great vegetarian Mexican food being served at Cinnamon in Highland Park for a while now, so I figured it was high time to gather up some of my home girls and go check it out for ourselves. I’d read some mixed reviews and none of us had been there before, so we really didn’t know what to expect. I’m so glad we took this adventure upon ourselves because the food was fantastic.

For starters I had the “Jumping Shrimp Cocktail”, the shrimp of course was made of soy. Loved it. I’ve got a thing for the texture that this type of firm and chewy soy shrimp has, and there were both whole pieces and smaller chunks mixed in with the yummy cocktail sauce. It doesn’t taste fishy, or even really much like shrimp, but that’s probably a good thing. The sauce was both sweet & spicy, accented with lime & cilantro. You could tell it had just been made fresh.