La Semilla

Long gone are the days of stereotypical images of vegans as granola-loving bohemians living off the grid. We’ve gotta give props to the Slutty Vegan empire who might’ve had a little something to do with giving ATL herbivores badass status. And now we have La Semilla, a vibey plant-based restaurant with an exciting Latin menu that has thoroughly spiced up the city's vegan scene. And it’s an ideal spot to bring that friend who’s skeptical about skipping out on meat.

photo credit: Cameren Rogers

After blossoming into a full brick-and-mortar, La Semilla expanded the menu with excellent plant-based takes on Latin standards like chochoyotes in a coconut-corn broth, esquites with a kick, and tasty cubanos. Plus, we’re still trying to figure out how the hell the queso (which we normally skip at vegan spots because it never tastes right) is so full of cheesy goodness. 

The most fun dish here (hailing from their days as a pop-up) is the Crunchwrap. It's a vegan take on a certain fast food chain’s popular menu item, giving diners a solid sans meat option.

But the food isn’t the only reason we love this charming, foliage-heavy oasis. Weekly events keep things lively too. Tuesdays calls for sweet $10 daiquiris and fun bar snacks. But we’re partial to Wednesdays’ Vino Vinyl with wine specials and a DJ bumping Latin, funk, and R&B tunes. It’s turned into a trendy spot to chill and enjoy food that, for better or worse, doesn’t taste like it’s vegan. Even meat-eaters will want to add this spot into their regular dinner rotation.

Food Rundown

photo credit: Mhandy Gerard

The Crunchwrap

We waited in a long-ass drive-thru for “the other” Crunchwrap, taken a bite, and had to double check that there was actually something inside. That time of our lives is now over thanks to this insanely good vegan Crunchwrap, a hexagonal-shaped, grilled tortilla wrap that’s stuffed to the brim with seitan beef, lettuce, tomato, plant-based sour cream, and cheese.

photo credit: Mhandy Gerard

Chochoyotes

Some might call this dish heavy but the adjective we’d use is heavenly. Fried masa balls sit in a creamy coconut-corn broth. The corn and poblano sofrito on top gives the dish a nice fresh burst of flavor and the roasted pumpkin seeds sprinkled throughout the dish add a fun crunch.

Queso Blanco

After a dip into the creamy, peppery queso with thick housemade tortilla chips, you’ll catch yourself repeating, “I can’t believe it’s not cheese,” over and over again until you start to sound like an EDM track.

photo credit: Cameren Rogers

Carne Asada Tacos

Blue corn tortillas hold seitan beef drenched in spicy chimichurri and topped with guacamole. It only comes with two tacos, but we’d easily scarf down four. 

photo credit: Cameren Rogers

Esquite 

Grilled corn with a spicy morita crema gives this mexican street corn dish a nice kick. And a layer of almond cotija on top gives it a crunch for some contrasting textures.