Vegan-friendly
Lacto
Ovo
American
Beer/Wine
Delivery
Take-out
Mexican

Casual restaurant with an extensive menu, generous meal portions. Nearly all vegan, only a couple dishes are vegetarian. Mexican plates, salads, veggie burgers, fresh juices, vegan desserts, and more. Back porch seating available. Street parking. Open for take-out and delivery during Mar/Apr 2020 - order via GrubHub or DoorDash. Reported closed February 2023 due to a big financial loss during COVID.


32 Reviews

First Review by rcyoder

mnygren

Points +47

Vegan
03 Dec 2022

Homestyle.

This spot opened a year before I was born in 1980 and it was an early birthday present. What a relief to know that people were thinking about health concous foods before I was born and became a vegan in 1996. This place really hit the spot. I have been living in the South Bay since 2019. I only recently visited (two times) and it is my favorite. The food is great, the portions are huge, the employees are friendly and the price is right. What more can you ask for. I recomend you start out with an appitizer. I was most surpised with the Vegan cheese. It tasted like the real thing. Mind you, I have not tried real cheese in over two decade. The food has a homemade quality. It is like the food came straight from your grandmothers kitchen. The place has a great view, being close to the beach. The place does not except credit cards, so me mindful of this. I could see myself eating here everyday if I had the opportunity.

Vegan_WNBFpro

Points +233

Vegan
20 Nov 2022

Love the Vegan 🌱 options (some organic 🙌)!

Great table service! Yummy food!

Pros: Lots of vegan food, Variety , Comfort food

MichLuVeg

Points +32

Vegan
30 Sep 2022

My favorite vegan Spot

Lots of options- the dessert menu is the best

Updated from previous review on 2022-09-30

GailG

Points +28

Vegan
02 Sep 2022

Favorite Local Vegetarian Restaurant

I’ve been eating at The Spot for years and am never disappointed. It’s one of my favorite local restaurants. Lately I’ve been calling in an order and picking it up on the way home. Most of the time, one order is two meals for me.

Pros: Lots of options, Great for take out or eat in

AmandaSakiye

Points +2738

Vegan
23 Aug 2022

Oldest veggie restaurant in the South Bay

Menu describes what is gluten free. Savory sauce is similar to the tofu sauce at green temple.

karensp

Points +199

Vegan
28 Jul 2022

Check out The Spot!!

I’ve been here twice and love it! Super nice staff and yummy food! I had the Blue Plate Special (my fav)and blueberry cobbler w/ice cream:)…so good! This time i had the tamale, etc plate! Huge portion…shareable. The lentil soup w/homemade bread was DELISH! Like seriously, the bread was amazing!

Pros: Great location by the beach, Affordable , Large portions

gutoi

Points +341

Vegetarian
18 Jul 2022

One of the mothers of vegetarianism in southern Cali.

Driving by I again found it, not too close for me in Hermosa Beach area. Enjoying it again for my third time, first i believe was 1986...

Updated from previous review on 2021-11-09

Pros: Simplicity at its core, Lots of options, a quick luxo, They fed also Paul and Linda McCarthy!

Cons: None

KarinaLynch

Points +412

Vegan
15 Jul 2022

Delicious homemade food!

Delicious food and a great atmosphere!

veganvick

Points +228

Vegan
24 Dec 2021

Savory Sauce

The spot is a classic and I would eat here every day if I could. Their savory sauce, herb vinaigrette, and bread are the best. They even offer a cookbook.

Updated from previous review on 2019-10-05

sagarak

Points +488

Vegan
19 Sep 2021

Great selection but lacking flavor

I believe menu says all can be made vegan, some options have real cheese. Love the range of choices, we decided to try the chili and cornbread. Cornbread was a little dry and chili was lacking depth of flavor but I would come back to try another dish! Minimal outside seating too. Also, waitstaff had to “chase us down” after we paid via Venmo (we waited after paying and nobody came back out for a while so we left) to confirm the purchase which was kind of uncomfortable.

Pros: Lots of options, Good portion size for price

Cons: Lacking flavor

JakeDavies

Points +892

Vegan
02 Jan 2020

Home Style cooking with good options but needs improving...

We have eaten here a few times but revisited recently.
This restaurant has been around since the 1980s so must be doing something right but I agree with some of the other reviewers. Sometimes the food can seem tasteless and I think in general it’s quite heavy. Everybody is laid back and the service/ambiance are adequate but not outstanding. It’s not fully vegan and they do serve dairy cheese and eggs in some dishes. I hate that they use plastic straws. It’s definitely worth a try and they do have vegan desserts.

jasondanielboxer

Points +54

Vegan
08 Sep 2019

Favorite restaurant in the South Bay

The Spot rocks! I’m a big fan of the breakfasts and desserts, but it’s all great. I like to sit outside.

Pros: Lots of options, Family atmosphere, Old school Hermosa feel

BellaBell

Points +27

Vegan
22 Mar 2018

Cute place and atmosphere but food is flavorless

Really cute restaurant. I had high expectations for the food but was disappointed. The apple cider is good.

HJS

Points +97

Vegan
24 Oct 2017

Tasty chilli burger. Healthy grub!

A nice place for lunch. We had the chilli burger which was very tasty. Nice that it comes with steamed veggies instead of chips as we really fancied something healthy. Nice friendly waiting staff. Near hermosa beach so a nice location to wander over if having a beach day.

koda668

Points +20

Vegan
19 Jul 2017

wonderful food!

Quaint little place oozing with charm! Very friendly staff. I had the Savory Vegetable Burrito and it was delicious! Will visit every time I am in the area!

ChloeGross

Points +112

Vegan
19 Jun 2017

okay

The food is so so bland. Even the Mexican dishes taste like watery nothing. I've been here many times as a child because we had a vegan in the family. I though vegan veggie food was bad. After I became vegan and tried different places I realized it wasn't vegan food, it was just this restaurant.

TheMakeupGladiator

Points +31

Vegan
02 Feb 2017

Vegan Options Available!

This is my taco Tuesday joint. Everything is healthy and home style cooked here. A South Bay staple for sure. I've been coming here since I was very young.

It's a bit easy to overlook being that it's a kind of homely hole-in-the-wall. Totally worth it though.

Pros: amount of food, vegan options, tasty

serenacarey

Points +290

Vegan
23 Mar 2016

Great little find by the beach

We decided to go to the Spot after looking for a restaurant by the beach. The portions were so big, two or three people could split one meal. The super burrito was as big as my arm! I got the tamale plate which cam with a tamale, a soft taco, and enchilada, along with a HUGE portion of rice and beans. The tala me and soft taco were good, the enchilada, not so much. Way too spicy and just didn't taste good. The waitress suggested I get the vegan gf burger as the protein inside of the taco. She said it was the best she ever had. I do not agree...it was tasteless and I regret not having tofu instead. Overall, everyone enjoyed their meal.

Pros: Huge portions, Lots of vegan and gluten-free options, Delicious tamale and guacamole

Cons: The veggie burger patty - it was not good at all, Service was mediocre

Veggie Army

Points +107

Vegetarian
19 May 2015

Rude staff and so so food

Groupon is for Dine In Only... ouch...even if you drove an hour an a half to get to them and are late to your next appearance. We had to come back at 9:30 to have dinner. Although our server and support staff was cool, friendly, and attentive, the front desk staff was cold and had defensive body language, but suspiciously nice to other customers and even had two seemingly regular customers come in and talk at length about the weather, health, and yoga positions which they semi demonstrated to each other.

Veg out,

Veggie Army

m.rose

Points +108

Vegan
02 Oct 2014

the spot

a little dark when you first walk in, best place to sit is definitely the back patio. staff is friendly and they were great about tailoring my meal. salads and dressings are yummy and i love that they sell gt's kombucha! My daughter loves the veggie burger!
Updated from previous review on Wednesday August 21, 2013

brandalock

Points +173

Vegan
08 Jul 2014

Amazing Sauce

Went here for the first time this past weekend after a day at the beach.

It is a good casual hippy beach food kind of place. No air conditioning, small bathrooms, and metered street parking (it's impossible to park anywhere at Hermosa Beach though).

The food was good, simple, but good. The service was friendly and informative about the menu and the history of the restaurant (which was founded in 1977 and boast the tile of "The Oldest Vegetarian Restaurant in LA".

The best thing by far though was their special sauce. They brought it out in a bowl of it's own with our food and told us they serve it with everything and that we can dip or pour it over anything we wanted if we so desired. Once I tried it, I put it on EVERYTHING it was so good! Simple, but perfectly proportioned.

If you want to brave the parking in Hermosa Beach for a casual hippy lunch I would say it may just be worth it for that sauce alone.
Updated from previous review on Tuesday July 08, 2014

Updated from previous review on Tuesday July 08, 2014

Updated from previous review on Tuesday July 08, 2014

Pros: The Sauce, Friendly helpful staff/service

Cons: Parking, Air Conditioning

Ryan MTB

Points +477

Vegan
28 Jun 2013

So - So food

I was really disappointed with the food here after reading the great reviews. I ordered the tamale/taco/enchilada combo plate- it was nothing special, really lacking in flavor. The tamale appeared to be a store-bought frozen variety, full of frozen peas and carrots- lame! The cook looked like he really didn't care- about his sloppy appearance or the food. I'm not eager to come back. The server was very friendly though.

Pros: Friendly service

Cons: Flavor-less food, Cook's attitude, Poor quality (frozen) food

CalebWalker

Points +28

Vegan
19 Sep 2012

excellent food

Very tasty enchiladas and I had the tacos earlier today. Excellent!

Chia

Points +3635

Vegetarian
09 Sep 2012

Simple Food

I had read about this place on happycow, and here's my The Spot Natural Foods review.

The atmosphere was pleasant, each table draped with a colorful cloth. Friendly waitress.

The food was simple and healthy. From the many options of the menu, my friends and I got the savory garden burrito, the tamales/taco/enchiladas combo plate, the Spot veggie burger, and a plate of rice/tofu/beans, a cookie, and a blueberry cobbler. The portions were generous, and the taste was simple and mildly flavored... pretty basic.

It's located just 1 block from the beach.

Pros: large menu, healthy food

Cons: cash only, street parking

Janelle

Points +81

Vegan
19 Jan 2012

Awesome!

I LOVE The Spot! I've been eating here for years so I thought I would write a review. Ate there today actually! My favorite dish is the Dear George on rice which is steamed veggies and tofu smothered in Savory Sauce. OMG! The Savory Sauce is sooo good! You can buy a container of it there and at the local Whole Foods too. The Spot Salad is awesome too. The portions are seriously generous and the menu is quite extensive.

I love going to a place where they know my name and make me feel so welcome. The location is beautiful, and right after dinner you can go take a walk along the strand to see the sunset.

I'll echo an earlier poster and remind you to take lots of quarters for the meter. Don't forget! Hermosa is notorious for tickets!

If you're in LA for a visit, or a local, go to The Spot! You'll be happy you did! :)

Pros: So Yummy!, Great value!, Nice location

Cons: Feed the meter!

gr8vegan

Points +2359

Vegan
21 Jan 2010

Can't believe I didn't know about this place!

I actually ended up here by mistake forgetting the name of the Veg restaurant I was going to nearby and navigating to the Spot. When I realized the scene didn't look familiar I quickly hopped on their website and noticed the magic words "Fat Free and Dairy Free available" Being a die hard McDougaller I was ECSTATIC to see the options on the menu. We tried the Burrito and Spud. I can't tell you how nice it is to get a Spud (with Mushroom Gravy instead of the special sauce) covered in wonderful veggies. Pure heaven! I left fully satisfied and plotting my next visit!

Pros: Fat Free items, Spud, Burrito

christopher byron

Points +106

Vegan
13 Nov 2009

The best veg restaurant.

I've toured a lot and have been to many vegetarian restaurants throughout the US and The Spot is by far the best place I've ever been to. Located about a block from the ocean, the spot delivers home-cooked style american dishes, like faux meat loaf. If you go you must try to tahini or special sauce. I think i like the spot because all their food tastes so great and it feels like something that mom would make. I would definitely recommend going to the spot if you live in the los angeles area.

Pros: excellent food, homestyle cooking, price




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