Cafe del Soul — Restaurant in New Smyrna Beach

My family and I have been enduring the toxic GMO-laden meat-heavy pedestrian wasteland that is the New Smyrna/Daytona Beach culinary landscape for 21 years, and FINALLY we have a mostly vegetarian/vegan ORGANIC restaurant here in town, which happens to have delicious food! Yea!

When I first heard about the café, I didn't get my hopes up because I have been disappointed so many times in the past with new organic restaurants here that offered bland, unimaginative food, and not surprisingly, they quickly closed. So my expectations were low when I first ate there, and boy was I pleasantly surprised! While on the surface the menu looks like it could be bland, it is not! And when you leave you don't feel tired or bloated as with the toxic fare from other restaurants around.

We have eaten the Nachos De Maria, quesadillas, soups, wraps, salads and rice dishes and all were surprisingly delicious and flavorful, with lots of fresh raw ingredients as well. I have brought meat eaters and vegans there and all were pleased. The café offers chicken as an additive to many of the dishes, but it's obvious this is primarily a health-aware veg friendly place.

The servings are generous and prices are fair for prepared organic food in a setting like this. At this time they offer hard kombuchas (with alcohol) that are delicious and very fresh. I don't eat dessert right after a meal, so I'm not concerned about that, but for those who do, there isn't really a dessert menu, but they do have some tasty sweet macaroons and maple flavored walnuts. I suspect the owner is aware of food combining concepts.

You order at the bar/register, seat yourself, and the food is brought to you. When I first visited, I wasn't sure if we sat and ordered at the table, and there was no signage directing newcomers to the register, so I will recommend that they put a sign at the entrance. The staff are friendly and attentive.

The café is clean and newly renovated, and you can see into the kitchen where your food is prepared. Rest rooms are also clean. There is plenty of parking on the street and behind the café.

I love this place and I am going to do everything I can to spread the word so Café Del Soul succeeds. This area is a tough market for organic food or any kind, let alone veg friendly because there is plenty of poverty consciousness and little awareness here of...

10/10 atmosphere.10/10 coffee. Definitely check it out for the vibes, decor and cool cats working the counter.

Sadly, almost everything they make has dairy and the upcharge for plant-based versions is extreme. $3 to make something vegan PLUS $2 extra to add tofu... So a wrap of 10 dollars is 50% extra ($15) if you want it plant-based with tofu. And to make most bowls vegan with protein would be $18+ (yikes), plus $7 for a latte with oatmilk. Too high for an order-at-the-counter wraps/bowl spot, in my opinion... You can get a meal at a sit-down restaurant for that (I paid $25 for vegan pasta and wine at The Garlic...!)

We asked about options that already had tofu and there weren't any, so looks like the tofu scramble isn't available anymore (although, we didn't see this on their site until after we left so we didn't ask about it specifically, so maybe the barista forgot to mention it). Maybe they can bring it back?

If they could lower the cost for vegan options or provide even one base vegan option with a protein (not just rice...), I'd give it 5 stars. Until then, it's a great coffee place (... And I'll be back to...

This location has had quite a few restaurants in the last few years, but this is, hands down, the best food that has ever been served. I was blown away but the amount of flavor in each dish, yet everything is healthy and organic!! I had the Nachos De Maria. It was a plate of nachos, topped with cheese and salad that had already been tossed with the dressing, so every single bite was perfection! My husband had the Curry Soul Good, which was savory and equally as good as the salad! We shared a Carribean Love smoothie, a combo of Mango, Pineapple, Passion fruit, banana, coconut milk & dates. It was the perfect treat to finish off the meal! You can have things plant based, vegan, vegetarian, or add in some protein, so it's very versatile and I LOVED how environmentally friendly the whole process it (real plates/cups and compostable to go containers). I honestly can't wait for them to open back up on Monday so I can try more menu items! Thank you Cafe del Sol for bringing something so delicious to our little...