One thing I love about London is how vegan friendly the city is. This type of inclusivity traverses the entirety of Europe – with a plethora of diverse vegan restaurants and alternatives. Having options allows vegans, and non-vegans alike, to try plant-based foods without compromising on taste.
Living in a vegan-friendly city / country provides with me with variety, which means an easier time being vegan. However, as much as I’m grateful for living here, I also understand that this isn’t the norm everywhere. Growing up in Jordan, I’m aware that veganism is an obsolete concept for many people. Although you might find a restaurant or two and some alternatives, the bottomline is that it’s not a vegan friendly country. This might make one’s vegan experience more challenging to some extent, but it really shouldn’t.
Before my trip to the Dominican Republic (DR), I had a conflicting feeling of what I might find. My instincts were telling me that I’m going to be out of luck, and for the most part that’s true. However, a big part of veganism is being resourceful and creative. Not everywhere that you go will be a haven for vegans, so it’s good to have an open mind. In this article, I’ll share with you my vegan experience in the DR, and fill you in on some tips as well.
Tip 1:
Before traveling anywhere, I make a quick Google search of vegan restaurants or places to eat in the area that I’m staying in. You can find these places through Maps, which gives you an idea of what’s out there. However, this doesn’t always show vegan-only places. To do this, I would suggest checking out restaurants / cafés on HappyCow. I love HappyCow because it’s a hub for vegans to review their dining experiences. There’s a rating system, a comment section and also an identifier if the place is vegan, vegetarian or has veg-options. The only caveat with HappyCow is that you won’t necessarily find all the available options in a given area. So use it as a supplement to your Google search.
Suspenseful Expectations
A big part of my life is food, and I openly admit to being gluttonous at times. Now I have to preface that I am health conscious, and this involves my food consumption. As mentioned in other blogs, I prepare and portion my meals accordingly throughout the week. Although this benefits my fitness goals, it also keeps me on track with my overall health.
With that in mind, when I travel, I like to have the option to enjoy what’s out there (in moderation). So, the prospect of staying in the DR for 2 weeks enticed me. I like Caribbean food, and I was keen to sample the local dishes of the country. However, I also understood that these options might not be as accessible. I had a feeling that the DR might not be a Caribbean vegan hub. Suffice to say, my intuition was correct – for the most part.
Just because a city / country isn’t vegan-friendly, that doesn’t mean that you have to miss out on great food. We randomly stumble upon “accidentally” tasty vegan foods all the times. Falafel and hummus are one of the most popular Middle Eastern dishes in the world that are 100% vegan. The simplicity, and tastefulness of these foods makes them so appealing. When I’m in a place that’s not vegan-friendly, I try to bear this in mind. I always ask myself : “what is accidentally vegan that I can try here?”
¿Tienes comida vegana?
During our first week in the DR, we stayed in a little resort town called Bayahibe that’s 40 minutes away from Punta Cana. Although one might miss Bayahibe when planning their DR trip, I have to say that it’s worth it. For starters, it’s not as busy as Punta Cana, and has a pristine local element to it. You will inevitably find tourists all around but it is noticeably Dominican. Additionally, it’s quite safe and has a lot to offer – from sandy beaches and resorts, to nice diving sites. However there is one problem : it’s not vegan friendly.
Nevertheless, this shouldn’t ruin your trip, since we did eat at five places with vegan options. I’ll be honest and say that some of these places were alright – nothing special really. Others however, I enjoyed quite a lot. For instance, although not a Dominican dish, the arepas at Arepa Bar were super delicious. The arepas were generously filled (compared to other places…), and had a balanced flavour profile. Each arepa was 450 Dominican Pesos (~£6.42), which is reasonable. However, this isn’t sustainable for a whole week.
Luckily for us though, we had a kitchen in our Airbnb, which is a real game changer.
Tip 2:
If you have access to a cooking station, then use it! The food that we cooked was basic – pasta, legumes, and some vegetables. Realistically, it’s not the same as being at home, but who cares, you’re on vacation. Having something affordable, nutritious and quick to eat whilst on holiday, is better than not having anything at all!
We luckily had a mini-market nearby that made the above possible. Traveling on a budget means making the most out of your money. We could have stayed at a resort, but if their food offering was poor (and most were), then we would have lost out. So, research the area that you’re staying in to give you an idea of what’s out there. Ultimately, the goal is to enjoy the holiday. If this means using your accommodation’s kitchen and cheffing it out, by all means go for it!
Tip 3:
Another tip that I want to mention is that word of mouth takes you a long way. Being on holiday means that you’ll explore new things. This also includes meeting new people who might know something you don’t. Whilst at the diving centre in Bayahibe (shout out to Coral Point), I noticed two instructors having a lunch break. Curious by what they were having, I asked them where they got their food from. Even though the food was non-vegan, I thought that maybe the place might have vegan options.
Surprisingly, the place was next to the centre, tucked in a corner. Comedor Yudy (I had to Google the name), has outdoor seating only. It’s quite rudimentary to say the least, but they didn’t disappoint with their vegan options. We managed to try three things – marking my first Dominican culinary experience. We had stewed eggplant (Dominican berenjena guisada), rice and pigeon peas (arroz con gandules) and a bean stew (habichuelas guisadas). I enjoyed the food quite a lot, and found it to be very filling.
I will come back to this tip later in the blog, as word of mouth travels far.
Traveling Around
Something that made sense to us early on in our trip is to move around in the country. Living over 7,000 Km away from the DR meant that we had to make the most of it. As such, we decided to travel to Santo Domingo, as well as to Las Terrenas. We took the guagua from Bayahibe to La Romana, a city that’s half an hour away. En route, I befriended a Syrian man who has lived in the country for 11 years. He helped us navigate to Santo Domingo and gave us some very helpful advice as well.
To me, this was a genuinely wonderful moment because I never expected to speak Arabic, let alone meet another Arab in the DR. We met up again a few days later for dinner, and he cooked us Mujadara. A lentil and rice dish, Mujadara is one of my favourite “accidentally vegan” dishes. It’s super simple to cook and if cooked properly, will delight your tastebuds.
Santo Domingo
We stayed in Zona Colonial for a day and a half before making our way to Las Terrenas. Fun fact, there you can find the first cathedral in the New World – The Cathedral of Santa María la Menor. I do have to say that Santo Domingo is an interesting city. There is a lot going on and it’s quite crowded in some areas. The city greets you with different looks depending on the block you’re in. Zona Colonial resembles a coastal European city. It comes with chic restaurants and cafés that definitely charge more than local prices. We tried 2 cafés in Zona Colonial – Alterno Café and Casa Barista & Co.
Casa Barista is known for its speciality coffee and “healthy” food menu. They also have generous vegan options. We didn’t try the food here, only the desserts. I tried the hot chocolate, which was tasty. We also tried the chocolate mousse, the brownie, and the banana bread. Honestly, I can only say that I expected somethings tastier, but alas. Additionally, the price at Casa was comparable to London, which definitely surprised me. As for Alterno, we tried a dessert item, which I have forgotten about but I can promise tasted delicious.
A lot of Goodness
Regarding food, we were blessed with 3 options that I thought were super delicious.
Firstly, we tried Restaurante Vegetariano Raíces, which is heavily recommended on Google / HappyCow. The restaurant (really a canteen) is part of a church, and serves vegetarian food with tons of available vegan options. The cuisine is locally inspired, which gave us a further taste of the DR. As you can see from the picture, I went all out. I had the stewed eggplant, the rice and pigeon peas and the bean stew. Additionally, I tried the pasteles (a bean / adobo stuffing encased in green plantain masa and wrapped in banana leaves), and I think a vegan take (soy curls) on carne de res guisada (stewed beef).
Whilst there, we struck a conversation with a man who directed us to another vegan restaurant. This is the power of word of mouth. The second restaurant that we tried was Chef Orlando Restaurant. Customers can expect a new menu everyday, with vibrant and flavourful dishes. I spoke to the owners and they were super friendly and accommodating. Funnily, they were expecting me to come because word spreads quickly in the DR. I highly recommend this place to everyone that wants to eat fresh, healthy, and organic dishes. I actually don’t remember what I had on the day, but I can definitely say I enjoyed every bite.
Lastly, we ordered takeaway from Lolafood because we were tired and not in the mood to go out. A vegetarian takeaway, Lolafood has an amazing selection of different comfort foods. We loved the Club House Vegano, which was super filling and tasty. Also the empanaditas went down very well. A good selling point regarding Lolafood is that it’s open till the early hours, and is super affordable. Overall, definitely recommend.
Final Few Days
Las Terrenas
Looking back, I wish I stayed longer in Las Terrenas. Las Terrenas is a resort town that’s larger than Bayahibe, and has a lot more to offer in general. I found it super clean and safe, and the beaches are stunning – truly the selling point. In terms of food, we wanted to eat breakfast at Sol & Fresh, which we couldn’t find for the life of us. So, we opted instead to try Tropik Bowl for both breakfast and lunch. We had açai bowls and pancakes for breakfast that were super filling and delicious. Come lunch time, I had the passionfruit smoothie and the Green go! sandwich. The sandwich was tasty albeit a bit basic, the smoothie however, a 10/10.
Punta Cana
Being our final destination in the country, we left the best for last – joking. Punta Cana is vastly different from what we’ve seen in the DR. Truly a resort city, with hotels everywhere you go and dozens of international (American) fast food joints and casinos. I’m glad that we saw other parts of the DR before Punta Cana, because you get a true sense of what the country is like.
In terms of food, we ate breakfast at JOY Nutritional, and honestly it wasn’t worth it. The food was mediocre with small portion sizes, and not to mention it was quite pricey. I personally left the place disappointed. We ordered pancakes and granola. Maybe their brunch / lunch options are better, who knows? In short, if you’re vegan in the Corales area of Punta Cana, I’d steer away.
For lunch and dinner, we ate at Riviera Express Vegan & Healthy Choice. Definitely a mouthful, but the food was quite good. We tried almost all the vegan options on the menu, which is separate to the actual menu. The cuisine isn’t really specific, so you can expect lentil burgers, bean burritos and a side of pierogies (the owner’s wife is Polish). I liked the food a lot, and I enjoyed my experience eating there as well. I recommend this place for sure if you’re in the area.
Tip 4:
“If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” is something that I live by. Same goes for veganism. If you’re a vegan and low on options, make the most out of what you have, even if it’s just one.
Conclusion
I know that this isn’t something typical that I post, but there is a theme in this article, which is resourcefulness. Being vegan means that you have to always ask and check whether something is vegan or cruelty free. Even in the UK, where veganism is widely known, I sometimes have to make sure.
Traveling to a different country that isn’t as vegan friendly as yours might pose some challenges. However, the real challenge is overcoming the mental barrier that something is hard. Having no vegan options available ruins the fun, and who wants to be in a bad mood. But, being resourceful and utilising what’s in your disposal to make do, is what makes this worth it. Asking a pizzeria to remove the cheese from a veggie pizza, or a restaurant if their pesto sauce is vegan, are all forms of staying true to the cause. From afar it might seem restrictive, but from within this is the bare minimum.
I’m grateful that I can travel to amazing places with rich cultures and beautiful nature. I’m also grateful for having access to food that is tasty and healthy, which satiates and powers me. Ultimately, this article aims to offer guidance for those who might not know how to deal with being vegan abroad, or simply for those who want recommendations in the DR.
In the end, veganism is a life-long journey that takes on many forms. What’s beautiful about this journey is that we’re constantly learning new things, and finding new ways to make life as vegans that much better.
Anis