South Park · Best Vegan Restaurants in San Diego
Kindred Review
Last updatedRanked #1 of 7 in Best Vegan Restaurants in San Diego
The best vegan cooking in San Diego, inside the most distinctive room in the city.
Score breakdown
- Taste92/100
- Consistency88/100
- Value82/100
- Atmosphere96/100
- Uniqueness94/100
The verdict on Kindred
Ranked #1 of 7 — 90/100 in our Best Vegan Restaurants in San Diego coverage
Kindred was vegan before it was a selling point in San Diego, and the kitchen still cooks with more ambition than any comparable restaurant. The mushroom preparations have real depth, the cocktails are serious, and the gold-and-black room feels like nothing else in the county.
What to order at Kindred
Kindred appears on more than one of our lists, and the pick depends on which one you are reading:
- Mushroom carnitas tacos, whiskey cocktail — from our Best Vegan Restaurants in San Diego coverage
- Vegan bar food and a mezcal drink — from our Best Cocktail Bars in San Diego coverage
Come for a late dinner — the heavy-metal-meets-rococo bar scene is part of the experience.
Is Kindred worth the price?
Kindred sits at $16–26 — the budget band for this category. Nothing else we ranked in this category lands in the same price bracket, so the comparison is against cheaper or pricier alternatives rather than a like-for-like rival.
Kindred FAQ
Is Kindred expensive?
Kindred is priced at $16–26, which puts it in the budget band for this category. There is no other option at the exact same price point on the same list, so treat it as its own bracket.
Is Kindred worth it?
It scores 90/100, 4.4 points above the 85.6 average for its list. That's a solid recommendation within the category.
What should I order at Kindred?
We recommend the Mushroom carnitas tacos, whiskey cocktail.
What else is nearby Kindred?
The Rose Wine Bar (91/100 in our best wine bars in san diego list) and Officine Buona Forchetta (88/100 in our best kid-friendly restaurants in san diego list) are also ranked in the same neighborhood, so it's easy to pair a visit.
Every list Kindred ranks on
Kindred shows up on 2 of our ranked lists, taking the top spot on 1 of them. Places that hold up across more than one category tend to be the safer recommendation when you are booking for a group with different tastes.
What works
- Strong atmosphere — scored 96/100 in our ranking
- Strong uniqueness — scored 94/100 in our ranking
- Strong taste — scored 92/100 in our ranking
- Top-1 finish out of 7 spots we scored in this category
Know before you go
- Come for a late dinner — the heavy-metal-meets-rococo bar scene is part of the experience.
The full review
Kindred was vegan before it was a selling point in San Diego, and the kitchen still cooks with more ambition than any comparable restaurant. The mushroom preparations have real depth, the cocktails are serious, and the gold-and-black room feels like nothing else in the county.
On our weighted scale it earns 90/100 — the top score of all 7 places we evaluated for best vegan restaurants in san diego. We eat at the places we rank, pay full price for what we order, and re-score when a kitchen, chef or menu changes.
What to order at Kindred
Mushroom carnitas tacos, whiskey cocktail
Price: $16–26
How we scored Kindred
Every score on this page comes from the same editorial rubric we apply to the whole category: taste, consistency, value, atmosphere, uniqueness. The criteria are weighted toward what matters most in the category, compared against every other place we ranked in the same list rather than against an abstract ideal. We eat at the places we rank, pay full price for what we order, and re-score when a kitchen, chef or menu changes. Scores are editorial judgments rather than aggregated user ratings.