PlanTita's Kitchen — Restaurant in Long Beach

Wow. Just WOW. I don't have any other words to describe not only the perfectionism, care, and love that's applied to every single dish Aileen and team, which is almost exclusively her family, serves her customers and neighbors (you'll be best friends by the time you leave too, trust me). Start w the chips and guac and you will INSTANTLY become a regular. Yes I'm serious, they are an amazing way to ease your way into the incredible and unique food experience your about to have.

My son is Vegan, so we're always on the lookout for new vegan spots to try. Almost all are pretty good, some are actually good-good, and a few are even Really Good. But the good here at Plantitas is legit NEXT LEVEL. For Real.

Case in Hand: My CEO was a total skeptic and was NOT a fan of vegan food AT ALL. After trying the mushroom tacos he now goes in twice once or twice a week usually twice, usually twice or sometimes more for the last five weeks straight... No Lie. They' are THAT GOOD. *Mushroom Al Ajillio tacos! They're for sure Fire FIRE! 🔥

Abd Now to Wrap Up This Super Long Review... Here's my reco for the perfect meal:

Beverage:

If you're a beer drinker, try one of the LOCAL Vegan Beers! (Better yet, try them all as long as you're not driving! 😁) if not... Get the Homemade Horchata! Sweet, light, smooth and refreshing! Or even better, get the Horchata Latte w Some GO Juice! 😂

Starter(s):

If you want a simple dish that has been maticuloisly made to absolute perfection for what it is, go with the Chips and Guac (I always get salsa too also because it's excellent too.) and/or You can go with Queso Loaded Nachos (or the Loaded Fries, which iare equally as Bomb 💣. You literally can't go wrong here).

Entrees:

Mushroom Al Ajillio (I recommend it in tacos... Really fantastic. I'm fact, I just smashed on a leftover half warm one from yesterday and it still hit lol

X the Carne Asada Burritos are legit, really tasty and really good portion size for guys like me that can eat

Al Pastor in ANY form. The texture, flavor, looks and smells all put most real Pastor spots on notice. Straight UP.

Another true story that just happened... Took my Supervisor here yesterday and he really told Chef that her Vegan Al Pastor at Plantitas put ALL other Al Pastor on notice because it was actually better than the 'Real' thing!

Dessert:

Get the Dang Churro! The only time I remembered to order it and wanted dessert, they were sold out. So the Kikos Churro is my Eleanor lol. (10 +'s if you get the joke)

The Decor, Vibe, and Levels of Service are definitely fine dinning, but with like a cozy, comfortable, friendlier , and warmer vibe. It is almost overwhelming if you come when your busy bc the chef literally knows and comes out to talk to (or tells through the big open kitchen window. Aileen has something truly special here with Plantitas...

It's not just the AMAZING and DELISH really unique and unmistakably Chef Aileen's take on things. Which has proved to be better in just about every case for me so far. It's EVERYTHING. It's all just right, and everything just works and blends perfectly, each detail/chair/picture/spice/pairing etc EVERY single one, they complement one another.

Literally, I would give 10 Stars if I could. I cannot recommend any place more than Plantitas. (Yes, you should immediately get up and Go Now !)

Seriously, go ASAP. You will not regret I, you...

I don’t usually write reviews, but this place was so unbelievably bad it feels like a public service announcement to warn people.

We ordered sit-down, and right away it was a disaster. The rice wasn’t just lukewarm - it was ice cold, straight from the fridge. For $22, I expected a decent amount of food. Instead, I got three tiny flautas filled with nothing but bland mashed potatoes and the smallest pinch of jackfruit. Totally flavorless.

Even worse, we noticed from Yelp photos that there are supposed to be two distinct sauces served with these dishes. Both of our orders arrived with only one. When we asked about it, they sent one tiny cup of some sad, mayo-based excuse for mole. And when we asked why they didn’t send two (since both orders were missing it), we were told: “We didn’t want to wash another ramekin.” Yes, you read that right- they were literally too lazy to wash a small dish, so they just shorted us. Who does that in food service?

And that “mole”? Absolutely disgusting. It tasted like vegan mayo gone wrong, toothpaste mixed with nothing. Completely inedible.

When we politely raised our concerns with the waitress, she looked terrified and insisted we talk to the owner. We asked why, and she froze like she didn’t even want to say more. Enter the boss: a rude, arrogant woman who came over immediately hostile, snapping, “So what’s the problem?” Instead of listening, she denied everything, claimed the rice couldn’t possibly be cold, accused me of being “picky,” and tried to gaslight me. Her exact words were: “Well, I wouldn’t walk into your work and tell you what you’re doing sucks.” Excuse me? I never said anything like that. I gave honest feedback that her own staff insisted I give. I didn’t even want to speak to her.

Then came the excuses. She bragged about their supposed “five stars on Yelp” (false), claimed Long Beach is “known for vegan food” (also false), and insisted that because they’re so highly rated, there’s “no way” they could ever deserve negative feedback. Ridiculous logic. At that point, not knowing how to respond to this aggressively triggered woman, I asked (genuinely) if she could recommend another vegan spot in Long Beach. She smirked and said: “Oh no, I’m not going to do that because you don’t deserve to know.” Unbelievable. This woman was literally trying to start a fight with us. For what? I just wanted a refund on my terrible flautas and to leave.

So, to recap:

Ice cold rice.

Microscopic, flavorless flautas.

Missing sauces.

Lazy excuse of not washing a ramekin.

Disgusting mayo-based “mole.”

Hostile, gaslighting owner with zero professionalism.

There’s no way this place has a 4.7 rating unless they’re buying reviews. This was hands down the worst vegan or Mexican food I’ve ever had anywhere. Overpriced, underwhelming, and run by someone who clearly doesn’t care...

TLDR: WOW, this restaurant is bursting with flavor! The cream on the asada burrito took it to another level! If you're skeptical, you'll be pleasantly surprised.

Started off with the nachos with drunken beans. The chips have that nice crunch you want, they aren't thin, which then get soggy. The cheese sauce was so creamy, you don't have to be vegan to appreciate the cheesiness. The spicy seasoning on the chips a great added touch.

I ordered the asada burrito and my partner had the taco plate (mushroom and baja shrimp). The burrito is SOOO FLAVORFUL. It's so loaded!. The cream that is added on top is star of the show for me. It all comes together so well. My partner loved her tacos, especially the mushroom, but after biting my burrito she said "🧿👄🧿 WOW that is SOOO GOOD!!"

Alejandra, our waitress, told us about the freshly made tamales for the holidays, so we just had to get one. Definitely more vegetable forward, since it had rajas but it was still delicious. I loved the pickled onion on top. I would eat a dozen of those on Christmas.

My partner and I drove an hour down from Hollywood to go to the Long Beach Christmas Boat parade, but after eating here we both agreed that even if that turned out to be a bust, the evening was made thanks to this dinner.

I'm definitely making the drive back down here to eat at this amazing restaurant. As Alejandra said, vegans travel for...