If a friend recommends Soquel’s vegetarian restaurant, listen, because it’s “Pretty Good Advice”

Soquel’s newer vegetarian and vegan restaurant, Pretty Good Advice, is a fun dining experience matched with fresh sustainably grown food with a sunny vibe. 

I heard about Pretty Good Advice recently and made a point to meet my friend Tom there for a late lunch on my way home from a bike ride.  It’s located near the entrance to Soquel High School at 3070 Porter Street in Soquel. Open M-F 9 A.M. – 5 P.M. for dine in or takeout. 

Pretty Good Advice opened in 2019 by chef Matt McNamara, who made the move to Soquel from his Michelin-star rated San Francisco restaurant, Sons & Daughters.

McNamara owns an 83-acre ranch in the Santa Cruz mountains where he grows all the food for the restaurant.  The seasons dictate the menu at this restaurant that is 100 percent vegetarian, with plenty of vegan options.

The restaurant takes pride in the heavy farm to table business approach to reduce the impact on the planet.  With every purchase made at the restaurant makes a donation to Ocean Cleanup, (oceancleanup.com) that  supports reduction of the great Pacific garbage patch, as well as new earth-saving ideas and technologies. 

The menu suggests it’s geared mainly for lunch, but the restaurant does serve breakfast, notably the Good Morning ($5), that is made with a crispy potato, fried egg, sweet pepper jam and house made aioli that is dairy free. 

One customer told me he gets it every day.  He said he likes to add extra pepper jam to really spice it up and said, “It’s bomb.” There is a variation on the Good Morning called the Spicy Boy ($6), that is a buck more but they add caramelized onions and jalapenos. Sounds worthy.     

The restaurant is a white stucco Spanish style building with a red Spanish tile roof, there are three tables with bench seats big enough to accommodate separate parties on either side of the tables.  There is also a long table at standing height that is big enough for up to six people.  If the sun is out,  it’s hot with no protection from the cosmic rays. 

I am not a vegan or a vegetarian but I have no objection to trying good healthy food, and that’s exactly what I got.  Their menu has a wide range of options from burgers to salads to sandwiches, as well as a strawberry and coconut yogurt ($6) with yuzu strawberry jam and toasted coconut that I definitely want to try next time. There is nothing on the menu over eight dollars.  

Their burgers are made with Pretty Good Advice’s own patty that was developed over years. It is a combination of quinoa, black beans and its own spicy seasoning. Tom ordered a California burger ($8) that comes with avocado, crispy ranch onions, American, lettuce, pickle and burger sauce. 

Tom said the burger had “excellent” texture and that it was a little sweet but not too sweet, which he attributed to the onions.  He said the texture was hard to distinguish from a beef burger.

Tom did add that he feels like the burger should have come with their fries. They do sell fries ($5) that are gluten free, served with ketchup and a rosemary aioli.  Without the fries Tom was still a little hungry. 

I ordered two dishes because I was hungry from my bike ride and one just didn’t seem like it would be enough. So I ordered the broccoli cashew bisque ($5) which had cashews, mint, cilantro and preserved lemon.  It was sublime.

It was hot out but this dish still worked with a smooth creamy texture that was complemented well with the cashews for good texture. I am not a big fan of mint or cilantro but in this dish they were not overpowering and added that bit of kick to the bisque.

I also ordered a mango cucumber salad ($6) that was beautiful in color made with preserved lime, jicama, mint, avocado and a cilantro vinaigrette. Overall I liked it but it had a little bit of an interesting flavor combo when I first started eating it, leaving my taste buds a bit confused. 

Jicama is a new ingredient for me and the best I can describe it is something like a cross between an apple and a potato. It’s a hint sweet but does not add much flavor, it’s the filler in this salad. The only thing that I could have done without was the avocado. Avocado on a burger or sandwich works great for adding a creamy butter-like quality, but in this salad, it just seemed to add a  mushiness.  

They make their own gluten-free bun that can be substituted on all their burgers and sandwiches for an added charge of $2, which is also for sale by itself. There are decent drink options of iced tea which we each had($4 each), arnold palmer mandarin ($4), fresh squeezed lemonade ($4), a michelada($6), beer($4) and an iced coconut caramel coffee($6). 

For the three food items we ordered plus the two iced teas our bill was $31.66, which was reasonable. I figure that eating lunch out should be in the $15 range, which this restaurant achieved so we were both satisfied. 

I definitely recommend this spot for its nice sunny atmosphere, great food, awesome business approach, and friendly service. It’s a perfect spot to stop after a bike ride because the food is so light you can keep right on rolling along.

Pretty Good Advice is located near the entrance to Soquel High School at 3070 Porter Street in Soquel. Open M-F 9 A.M. – 5 P.M. for dine in or takeout.