Rosi CornwellSo I knew that we were spoilt in Cancun and Tulum with the variety of vegan options, as here it is a very different story. Vegetarian options seem to be available in the places that I will discuss below, however turning these options into Vegan did prove tricky at times. We have also only explored a small part of Nicaragua, so this will either get updated or not depending on if Hollie travels back down (I’m not allowed unless it’s by flight because they didn’t stamp my passport on the way in.. That’s another blog story).
Thankfully we do have the stove so can cook for ourselves when necessary, and thank god for jam sandwiches and oreos. Oh and sweetcorn, which we now realise is about £1.09 for a small tin. That explains where most of our money has gone….
Laguna De Apoyo
Hostel Paradiso
This hostel is simply blissful, and if you are going to stay here it is worth noting that there aren’t any shops nearby, so it’s a good idea to stock up on snacks, and supplies if you want to budget and not pay for lunch and dinner every day (breakfast is included). You may also want to stock up on water, as they charge for refilling water bottles! Or you could use a life straw type bottle.
The breakfast available was a ‘smoothie bowl’ which consisted of fruit (honeydew and watermelon, banana and pineapple), granola, yoghurt and honey. Luckily the yoghurt and honey comes in separate bowls, so I was able to send these back upon arrival so they didn’t get wasted (despite telling them when ordering that they weren’t needed – they did get this by day 3 though!). This breakfast was surprisingly filling, and a volunteer told me there was almond milk, should I have wanted to eat the muesli with milk, and fruit separate – however I just poured the muesli over the fruit, and it was tasty!
This hostel has a large menu, with veggie options, and upon asking I was told that most of the vegetarian meals could be made vegan. This did prove tricky as we had to send the fajita’s back as the salad was covered in a mayonnaise based dressing, and I had to remove some burger sauce, and the gherkin (much to my sadness) from the veggie burger. There was no problem with the Chinese rice and vegetables though. They also have a mozzarella salad that can be ordered with out mozzarella. I got a ‘detox salad’ which was fruit and salad, and was really yummy. The chips were also great, but not as good on busier days. Overall the food was really good quality and maybe if I spoke better Spanish, there wouldn’t have been any confusion!
Granada
After reading an article about vegan options, we spent 15 minutes wondering why we couldn’t get a route on the map to a restaurant that sounded DEVINE with LOADS of options, to find out that it was in Spain…. so ensure to include ‘Nicaragua’ in your searches when in Granada to avoid disappointment…
Tostometro
This place is tucked away beneath the local market. You could miss it if you weren’t looking. It has a very homely feel about it, and a family run vibe. They do a vegan banana burger, which was incredible. It was full of veg, and really felt so healthy. It was filled with yummy garlic avocado sauce – which we got to first taste on carrot appetisers, so we were very glad to get it again in the burger! They also have the most refreshing and delicious Jamaica or ginger tea. There’s also no hidden tax charges either – the burger cost C$200 and the tea C$30.
Restaurante El Garaje
This place is also family run by a husband and wife, who were able to come over and speak English to us when we were struggling to understand the menu choices. There were a few options available, a sandwich with peppers and courgette, Quesadilla’s or a pitta and curry with chic peas and coleslaw (sorry can’t remember the actual name). The meal was very tasty, and washed down with a cranberry drink. The ingredients come from the family farm and the restaurant is very clean, and the kitchen looks as though it could be their home kitchen. The pitta was C$200, and drink C$40 – however the tax is added on at the end, and not shown on the menu price. Our total for food was C$480 and then there was $74 tax added!
Hostal Azul
As well as being a lovely hostel, this place also has vegan option on the day and breakfast menu. We ended up getting the soy mince burrito 3 times (sorry for the pic, I forgot to take it until I had almost finished it) It was so good! The breakfast options are rice, beans and yummy cabbage and oats with cinnamon and banana. They also have falafel, guocomlole and chips on the menu. They also do lovely smoothies too!
Leon
Mcdonalds
Okay so I know there’s always a moral debate about whether or not vegans should eat at McDonald’s. But I’m not here for that today, so don’t judge me. We walked past a McDonald’s in Leon and it had been a good few days since we had eaten some chips… And much to our delight they had potato wedges! So of course we got some, and they were great. Chip advisor rating of 7/10. They were a tad dry, but they had a great seasoning.
