The Spooky Vegan: Restaurant Review: Real Food Daily - Santa .

Restaurant Review: Real Food Daily - Santa Monica, CA

Real Food Daily in Santa Monica

Mister Spooky surprised me this gorgeous weekend by taking me on a sun-and-fun-filled day to the Santa Monica Pier. We strolled the beach, rode the rides at Pacific Park, played some arcade games and, since we were so near to the Promenade, had lunch at Real Food Daily!

Yes, my boyfriend is the BEST!

I have been lacking to try Real Food Daily ever since I first heard about it (it's a SoCal vegan institution and has been round since 1993!), but I'm not actually in Santa Monica all that often (um, like practically never.I'd never yet been to the SM Pier before!). I was soooo very mad to try the famed organic and vegan restaurant! From the pier we walked a few blocks up to Santa Monica Blvd. and 5th, where RFD is located (they take another position in WeHo, BTW). It was a Saturday around lunchtime, so it was a bit crowded, but we were yet seated right away by the friendly wait-staff. The dining room is really clear and has a clean, airy feel, despite how packed it was. Our host was adorably perky and got us our drinks right away. The Mister had the Eel River Brewing Company IPA and I had a deliciously frothy strawberry "milk" (made with hemp milk) shake! Yummers!

The card was fairly extensive, and since their portions are so huge (and we didn't necessarily need to lug around leftovers in the hot sun after lunch) we decided to tell a few appetizers. We started with their Sea Cake, made with butternut squash, yam and sea vegetable croquette, pesto and sweet chili aioli. Oh my yum! This was resonant of a crab cake (which I loved in my pre-vegan days) and I absolutely loved the pesto and sweet chili aioli sauce the coat was robed in.

Real Food Daily's Sea Cake

Next were the Not-chos (haha, get it? Nachos, Not-chos?), made with tortilla chips topped high with melted cashew cheese, black beans, pico de gallo, guacamole, tofu sour cream with an add-on of taco mix. For an app, this was a really great fortune and definitely satisfied both the Mister and me. We absolutely devoured these! The chips were dense and crisp and the melted cashew cheese gave it a delightfully unique bite! I loooved these and could not stop eating them still when I was stuffed!

Real Food Daily's Not-chos

We only HAD to try a dessert from RFD's bakery (they receive their own vegan pastry chef.huzzah! and with so many tempting creations (German Coffee Cake, Banana Crunch Caramel Cake, cupcakes, cookies and so much more! we ultimately decided on the Coconut Cream Tart. This light, luscious dessert melted in my talk and by the end I was scratching the shell trying to pick up the final pieces of toasted coconut and chocolate sauce.

Real Food Daily's Coconut Cream Tart

Everything lived up to my expectations at Real Food Daily (and even exceeded them!). I loved the unique creations, the extensive menu choices, the friendly service and above all, the amazing dishes. I cannot look to go backward and try an actual entree next time.I only like they would give up a location closer to me in Orange County!

Check out my review on YELP!