Julia's Vegetarian Cuisine

Reservations recommended for this place. It's small but very good! We had vegan BBQ pizza, one of their veggie salads, and a vegan brownie. All filling and delicious. A slightly more upscale restaurant with affordable dishes that are still going to leave you full!

We were traveling in the area and thought we'd stop by for a vegan pizza. Well, we had the pizza a roasted veggie pizza and also decided to try the special-a fingerling potato and mushroom mole. And Holy Mole it was fantastic. The mole with its many notes and flavors unfortunately overshadowed the pizza but it more than made up the difference. Wow! Well worth the visit will return when in the area.

This quint, 8 seat restaurant is adorable. The tables are made of solid slab wood and so is the flooring.

The presentation of the food is probably the best I have ever seen. The taste of the food was delicious.

On Wednesday nights, it has live music with a gentleman with his Mandalay. The music made the small restaurant more like an Irish pub and it was way too loud.

One thing is clear, make a reservation. People came in and had to wait 30 minutes for a table.

We stopped there for lunch on our trip to Monterey.
The place is newly renovated and the interior is cozy and welcoming.
Vegan options are not clearly marked but the menu is simple and our server was helpful.
We ordered Julia's pizza the vegan version without cheese, antichoke entrée with vegan aioli and mushroom burger. The antichoke was outstanding, but the rest of the meal could have been better, nothing special. The price is reasonable for the pizza but the burgers were expensive for the quality.
The food was fresh and made on the spot.
I would go back given the limited vegan options in the area, but probably not if this place was in San Francisco where there are more vegan restaurants to choose from.

My partner and I came in on a Friday evening without a reservation and were seated right away. We shared the yellow coconut curry and the tamarind bowls, both with a soup and a simple salad added for another $5 or so. Everything was tasty and came in large portions. We also got a slice of apple spice cake to round out our meal.

I just wish the menu had more variety. It's basically just soups & salads, burgers, rice bowls, and pizza. That could just be me, but I try to avoid ordering salads when dining out, am not a fan of veggie burgers or pizza in general, and find grain bowls a bit tedious. Another pet peeve of mine is poor ventilation. It's probably because of the small, closed dining space, it could've used some fresh air inside.

All that being said, I'd still recommend this place. We enjoyed the food a lot and the value was right.

The entire menu sounded absolutely delicious, it was so hard to choose! I ordered the Roasted Garlic Vegetable Entree to-go. The sautéed greens were absolutely amazing. When I picked it up, I was very pleased with the interior of the restaurant. It was rustic and minimalist. Didn't feel crowded despite its smaller size. I definitely recommend!

I got take our here on a Friday because I wanted delicious food to eat by the fire in my hotel room. I picked it up about 830 pm, it was dead inside (literally no patrons), but warm and cozy. The two people working were really nice. I'm got the mushroom ravioli and it was delicious! Would definitely go back!

Wow, das Essen war super lecker. Wir waren sonntags dort und es gab ein fixes Menü. Die Portionen waren riesig und wir hatten Mühe alles aufzuessen. :) Lecker lecker lecker!

Julia's is an intimate vegetarian restaurant with a wide selection. Vegans will have plentiful choices. The dining room is pleasant, with some rustic tables. There is live music on Thursday nights, which I didn't stay for. I had the dinner deal - an entree (saag - an interesting mixture), soup (red lentil) and house salad. I also had the vegan spice cake. The food was very good, service was fine.

On sundays Julia's offers a fixed menu. We got vegan sushi and it looked and tasted great! Starters and dessert were very good as well. Staff were great as well!

I really enjoyed this restaurant. The place is very small, reservations recommended, but the menu is rather large for such a small place. It is mostly vegan, with only the pizzas having dairy cheese and a couple of items containing dairy by request. The place is not cheap, but reasonable and the food is fresh and largely unprocessed. This is a must visit for this area, given there are so few options, but I would recommend this place even if it were in Chicago, NYC, or San Francisco.

I had a Caesar-inspired salad and roast vegetables with garlic sauce. Both were perfectly prepared and seasoned. The seasoning was a very nice surprise as I am used to many vegetarian restaurants serving rather bland food.

The prices are good, the portions generous and the staff are extremely friendly. What more could one want...
Updated from previous review on Saturday August 22, 2015

Updated from previous review on Saturday August 22, 2015

Fresh ingredients. Incredibly vegan friendly. Artisanal. Cozy. Warm and welcoming staff.

Great service, nice little place for dinning, no rush, great service, and overall: marvelous food. I tried fetuccini and the soup of the day, both wonderful.

The chef is amazing here. He creates so many delicious dishes.

We went on a Sunday for the family style menu. There were many courses including desert and everything was fabulous. There was a lot of food, even the omni----s were satisfied. It's listed as vegetarian but everything was vegan. It's $18 now and we'll worth it. I wish I lived closer.

I neglected to read that they aren't open for lunch & I was leaving the area thus didnt get to eat here, but the owner was there prepping & he was VERY nice & the place was adorable & the menu for the day looked divine, I was so sad to not get to eat there. Next time I am in northern CA I will make a point of having dinner there.

They have a fixed price option where you can get soup/salad/entree/dessert for $22 or $20 if you chose between soup and salad. I ordered the full course last night and was at first underwhelmed by the soup. It was coconut/curry/mango/lentil which sounded great but really didn't have much coconut or curry flavor. Then I smelled something wonderful coming from the kitchen and they brought me out my bread which was in reality a whole pizza without the toppings - 1/2 was whole wheat and the other white - and it was topped in olive oil and garlic which accounted for the great smells!. Salad was nice but then they brought the entree which was a vegan ravioli with lots of fresh veggies and wild mushrooms (morels, etc.) It was delicious and huge. For dessert I chose a ginger/carrot cake covered with cherry soy ice cream, a chocolate sauce and fresh strawberries! Needless to say I left with a fully belly and a smile on my face. Rob, the waiter, was great, very friendly and more than willing to share info about the area.

The place has a simple, attractive ambiance and is in an old strip mall with some other interesting shops and right next to a Trader Joes.

I can definitely see this place being a weekend regular as that's when it's open and if I ate there more than that I'd get too fat!

I have traveled to many countries all over the world. I have been vegetarian for the last 15 years and so we always seek veg restaurants. Julia's IS THE BEST...! GREAT AND AMAZING VEGETARIAN FOOD. GO THERE FOR THE FOOD.... NOT the ambiance or service (which is just okay)

Only open Fri, Sat, Sun

Take locally-grown ingredients and combine them creatively -- it's a formula that delivers outstanding results for Julia's. Although their menu isn't huge, it offers a variety of choices. The night we visited, the options included faux chicken, a coconut rice curry, and cannelloni.

The restaurant has maybe a dozen tables and only one server. If you are in a hurry, it's not a good choice, but the place has got such a warm cozy ambiance that none of us minded the wait.

As others have mentioned, the prices are phenomenal for the area.

Located not far from Asilomar, it's a little off the well-worn Monterey Peninsula path, but if you're traveling to Carmel or the aquarium, probably won't take you more than 10-15 minutes to get to Julia's. It's located at the back of a strip of restaurants, and easy to miss at night, but worth the detour.

I had know this place was around for quite some time but with their limited hours I had just never got around to visiting. 
The food was amazing. I ordered the seitan (made locally by Sweet Earth in Pacific Grove) with a mushroom sauce. The chief who came out to introduce himself mentioned Chantrell mushrooms were also (harvested locally) a part of the dish. My husband had a margherita pizza, which he loved. They also provide bread and house hummus (amazing).  The waiter mentioned vegan apple pie with vegan Ice cream and we couldn't resist.  It was unbelievably good. I would definitely visit again.

We had the Sunday family style dinner last night and were blown away by the price ($15 each)' thebquantity and quality of food and complimentary wine served. The place was full by 6 pm; there is no menu just whatever they are serving. All vegan except if you want cheese optional. Sunday is the only night like this. We had a big salad and garlic flat bread with a tomato salsa topping and heirloom tomatoes (very light dressing with not too much oil); entree of 4 large enchiladas (some soy cheese inside but mostly veggies) atop a yellow rice; fresh fruit and then cherry soy ice cream with more fruit on top. We will definitely return here!

First off, the service was excellent. The best we've had since we've been in Monterey. We accidentally showed up nearly 20 minutes before opening, and we were still seated & immediately served water and wine. We even were served our appetizers early! They didn't have to be so accommodating, we were prepared to have to go wait in the car or walk around until opening time.
Secondly, the food was incredible. An appetizer, salad, entree & dessert, each dish better than the last! All of this, including the wine, for only $12 a person. Most places around here would charge way, way more than that.
I can definitely see this becoming a weekend ritual for us.

My husband (he's omni, I'm veg, leaning toward vegan) and I gave Julia's a try after some vegan friends gave it the thumbs up. Given the lack of veg options in the area, I was very excited to give Julia's a try. The service was fine, though a bit scattered, but I found the food underwhelming. I will say my pizza was something I'd order again... but the rest? Probably not. The salad was wasn't noteworthy, and my husband's potenta dish lacked flavor. A couple of courses each, plus wine, tax and tip had us out the door for around $65. I would normally call that a good deal... except I felt like I could have made all of it at home, and more to our liking. I will give them another shot, because I really want them to make it, and I want to support their mission. Perhaps on one of the family style nights I'll discover a more enjoyable experience.

The food is served family style, only one choice each day. We were served a very nice salad, pita bread with bean dip and a chick pea salad. And the main dish was broccoli, cauliflower, seitan, potato, mushroom, pepper, & onion in an Indian flavored sauce. This was served with a big bowl of grains (a mixture of quinoa and brown and white rice). For dessert we were served chocolate cake. The price for this large meal was only $12.50 per person. The service was excellent. I will definitely go back.

This is a gem of a restaurant. Its decor is folk art, it's atmosphere similar. It has a really 'homey' feel to it. You won't receive a menu! There is essentially one item on the menu, which is marginally modified. For example, when we went there was minestrone soup to which could be added rice for vegans or cheese ravioli for vegetarians. It was served with a focaccia type garlic bread with a red pesto and a beautiful salad. Tea, wine, beer was also on offer. To end was a vegan chocolate cake, but for us the minestrone was so hearty that dessert was an impossibility. The cook and waitress were so friendly, even serving my 5yo plain pasta (he's in that fussy stage - only bland will do). They were so patient with us. It was like being invited to someone's home for dinner. Highly, highly recommended. And the price? $35 for three big meals - incredible!