I wish The Secret Spot was… well… a little more secret.  It’s this tiny cafe in Huntington Beach that is run by a bunch of youngins and some older surfer dude that is very welcoming to the customers.  However, like a lot of the reviews say, it takes awhile to get your food.  When I went, there was a longish line that moved very, very slowly.  I expected it, so no biggie.  I had gone once on a winter’s night and it was A LOT faster.

It was a weekend morning and I wanted something I don’t normally have, so my vegan guy and I decided to go here.  I saw on their board that they now had vegan pancakes, so I knew what I was getting.  It was a good thing, too, because their menu is a little confusing for vegans.  I wish they had a “can be prepared vegan” icon next to those items that are veganize-able.

The story of the Vegan Pancakes goes like this.  They looked good, came with syrup and some vegan butter, so I was excited.  I poured the syrup onto the pancakes and saw that the consistency was not like maple syrup (or even agave nectar) – was it honey?!!  I was worried that I had just ruined my vegan pancakes with a non-vegan product (well, not vegan for me).  I asked and the chef said that the syrup was vegan.  She went to get the container and presented me with a giant bottle of corn syrup- corn syrup?!!  Gross!  Who puts corn syrup on their pancakes?  I don’t, and will certainly not in the future, as well. I mean, the pancakes were decent, but that corn syrup was just not good.  The side of potatoes was not good, either.  It was full of bell peppers (yuck).

Vegan Pancake with Fruit

My vegan guy went with another menu item that we deciphered to be vegan – their Western Garden Nut Wrap.  It’s made with their vegan meat substitute and grilled with organic greens, tomato, avocado and homemade BBQ sauce in a spinach tortilla.  I thought this dish was decent, although I don’t think my vegan guy was too enthusiastic about it.

Western Garden Nut Wrap

And I also saw they had vegan desserts.  I wanted to try their Vegan Hostess cake, but was sorry I did.  This was just a not-very-good tasting chocolate cupcake with a small scribble of vanilla frosting on top.  Hello?!  Hostess is supposed to have that chocolate ganache topping.  Not good, guys, not good.

Hostess Cake

If you want to go to The Secret Spot, I recommend going at an off hour.  You’ll have plenty of questions, and they’ll be able to help you best when there aren’t a lot of customers waiting in line.  Good luck!

3801Warner Ave
Huntington Beach, CA 92649
562-592-4494

Monday: 8 am-9 pm
Saturday: 8 am-9 pm
Sunday:8 am-7 pm