Description:

A Unique Treat
Known far and wide as an unusual, varied and healthy restaurant, with a contentious history, Dharma’s in Capitola is worth a stop whether you are a vegetarian, vegan, or of the meat persuasion.

Dharma’s opened in 1982 as a fast food vegetarian restaurant serving breakfast, lunch and dinner, seven days a week. The owners named it McDharma’s as the”Mc” was intended to convey the idea of fast service, while “Dharma” means “virtue or right action.” The name McDharma’s came to be associated with “natural, fast food.” When the owners attempted to register McDharma’s as a legal trademark in 1984, they were blocked by McDonald’s. Though it gained worldwide attention, Dharma’s owners eventually settled out of court in with the fast food giant in 1988 agreeing to take the “Mc” out of the restaurant’s name.

Name aside, Dharma’s mission to serve delicious, completely vegetarian, organic food in a comfortable family environment has made it a Santa Cruz mainstay.

If you are vegetarian, vegan, gluten free, or lactose intolerant then you know how difficult it is to find more than one or two options on a restaurant menu that fit your requirements. Dharma’s has a lengthy menu with seasonal specials that are published weekly. The regulars will look for their lunch favorites such as BRAHMA BURGER, which is a grain and protein burger, and TEMPEH REUBEN, a tasty grilled tempeh with Farmhouse Culture organic sauerkraut, onions and melted swiss cheese on rye bread, served with spiced guajilo potatoes.

If you are there at breakfast time try the organic PANCAKES with PURE MAPLE SYRUP, or a BREAKFAST BURRITO filled with beans, scrambled tofu, grilled potatoes, cheese, sour cream, salsa and green onions in a whole wheat tortilla. Then there is dinner!

Each week there is a different special featured on their website. It might be Bo Thai (this week’s special) which includes seasonal organic vegetables and baked tofu sautéed in sweet and spicy peanut sauce, with rice noodles, mung bean sprouts, green onions, peanuts and lime, fine for lunch or dinner.

Sign up for Dharma’s newsletter and you will not only receive online the weekly specials, but you will also get a $5 off coupon to use on your next visit.

Dharma’s is one of those restaurants that you will remember and return to again, and again.