Vegetarian/Vegan Restaurant in San Francisco

[cheftanya]

I recently converted to eating vegetarian and I am looking for a really good vegetarian/vegan restaurant in the city. I was planning to take bart because I will be meeting people in Union Square, but I could drive if the restaurant is located in another area. I'm not interested in eating pressed tofu made to look like chicken or beef. I'd like to find a restaurant that seves local/seasonal vegetables prepared with some creativity with whole grains and not a lot gooey cheese products. Also, since I'm the only vegetarian in the group, a non-vege restaurant would be fine as well, as long as they have a good selection of vegetarian dishes. Price Range $$ or $$$.

[Robert Lauriston]

Millennium and Greens are the two upscale / nicer vegetarian places in SF.

Slanted Door is quite vegetarian-friendly. So is Dosa.

Cha-Ya (vegan Japanese) and Udupi Palace (vegetarian South Indian).

[vulber]

Really? Cha-Ya is vegan, not vegetarian?

[Robert Lauriston]

Definitely. "Vegan Japanese food inspired by Zen cooking."

[pockyjunkie]

vulber, are you confusing it with Chaya (no hyphen) on Embarcadero? That's French/"Asian", not necessarily veg.

I don't see the SF Cha-Ya locations listed on CH yet, but there's one on Valencia and one in the Sunset.

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Chaya Brasserie
132 The Embarcadero, San Francisco, CA 94105

[vulber]

no, i meant cha-ya, i was just confused because they always advertise themselves as vegetarian

[pockyjunkie]

I suppose the answer would be in their dashi (and i'm not a vegan so I admit I've not questioned) - if it's got fish or if it's purely veg based. They do call out a few things as 'vegan' on the menu that would possibly be made with egg or dairy elsewhere (like cake), but many of the items not specifically designated vegan are actually vegan, like their chawan-mushi.

[Robert Lauriston]

If you make a traditional Japanese dish vegetarian, 99% of the time you've made it vegan, since they rarely use dairy products, eggs, or honey.

[ceekskat]

Perbacco. I've had great pastas (gnocchi) as well as meat/fish dishes.

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/640214
http://www.perbaccosf.com/menus/store...

[Robert Lauriston]

Oh yeah, I had lunch at Perbacco with a vegetarian and there were lots of options. Though my favorites there are the salumi and braised meats.

Ironically, given its famous focus on offal, Incanto always has great seasonal vegetable dishes, mostly among the appetizers. There's always at least one vegetarian pasta and one entree, though those can sometimes be disappointing--I presume the kitchen has to make them even if there's nothing in the day's haul that's particularly inspiring.

[rahir]

"I'd like to find a restaurant that seves local/seasonal vegetables prepared with some creativity with whole grains and not a lot gooey cheese products."

For these, I'd pass on Cha-Ya and Udupi. Neither really shows a lot of local/seasonal items. The whole grains part is a little tough to nail down, too (as pasta doesn't really fit the bill). Taking the local/seasonal vegetables into consideration, I recommend Absinthe (Hayes Valley), Millennium, Nopa (Alamo Square/Divis corridor), and/or Firefly (Noe Valley).

I've also recommended Saha (at the edges of the Tenderloin/Nob Hill line) several times on the board; it offers a lot of veggie and vegan dishes in addition to meat options.

[Robert Lauriston]

The menus at Absinthe and Nopa don't seem very vegetarian-friendly to me.

[rahir]

I'm vegetarian (have been for 8 years; no meat, no fish, no meat/fish broth, etc. Also am lactose-intolerant), and never have any problem finding veg options at Absinthe and Nopa.

[Robert Lauriston]

They may be accommodating, but Absinthe's current sample menu has four hot vegetarian dishes: fried chickpeas, french fries, mushroom soup, and mushroom pasta.

http://www.absinthe.com/pdf/menu/dinn...

[rahir]

That soup sounds delicious: CHESTNUT & MUSHROOM SOUP walnut oil, crispy crimini mushrooms, micro celery

As does the poached quince salad: POACHED QUINCE escarole, cinnamon-toast croutons, pear vinaigrette, fresh goat cheese, quince saba

There's also a brussells sprouts dish that I've had there before, minus the bacon vinaigrette.

[vulber]

There's definitely a very limited selection of vegetarian items on the NOPA menu, but the baked goat cheese and vegetable tagine are out of this world and better than most of the meat offerings (which are also stellar)

[rahir]

Adding restaurant links.

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Nopa
560 Divisadero St, San Francisco, CA 94117

Firefly Restaurant
4288 24th St, San Francisco, CA 94114

Absinthe Brasserie & Bar
398 Hayes Street, San Francisco, CA 94102

Saha Arabic Fusion Restaurant
1075 Sutter Street, San Francisco, CA 94109

Millennium Restaurant
580 Geary St., San Francisco, CA 94102

[rebeccajchow]

You might be interested in this brand new restaurant in the MIssion, just a couple of blocks from the 16th St BART station: http://www.gracias-madre.com/web/ They have their own farm where they get most of their produce. I haven't been there.

[susancinsf]

always interested to hear of new Mexican options...but I found the website you linked to be just plain confusing. It states that "Our food is 100% Organic and Vegan" but many of the menu items list "cheese". Sometimes the menu states "cashew cheese" but sometimes not. I am guessing that one can presume that all of the 'cheese' is actually vegan?

I must admit that I remain skeptical about the concept of vegan enchiladas suizas...

[JasmineG]

It is another restaurant by the Cafe Gratitude people, so yes, I think that all of the "cheese" is some sort of nut cheese.

[Robert Lauriston]

Though unlike Cafe Gratitude it's not all raw.

[rahir]

Yep, all of the cheese is nut cheese, not dairy based. GM was closed yesterday, awaiting inspectors. No word on if they are open today.

[chandran]

Have you tried Kuleto's? It looks expensive but its not too bad and they always have great veg options.

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Kuleto's
221 Powell St., San Francisco, CA 94102

[BVegan]

I have tried Loving Hut in San Francisco and it's good. (I like their ocean basket, all veg, thumbs up)
1365 Stockton Street
San Francisco, CA 94133
[phone]
http://lovinghut.us/sanfrancisco/

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Loving Hut
1365 Stockton St, San Francisco, CA

[rahir]

Loving Hut is all veg, but there are a lot of fried mock meat items on the menu.

[bbulkow]

And it should go under chains, since they have 100 locations in 19 countries.

[rworange]

Anyone tried Gracias Madre, the new vegan Mexican restaurant by the Cafe Gratitude people? From what I'm reading there is no Gratitude attitude there and the food may be good, especially those involving butternut squash. While the dishes are ok-ish price wise, it seems the non-alcoholic drinks are something to keep an eye on ... ginger ale $8.

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Gracias Madre
2211 Mission St, San Francisco, CA 94110

[vulber]

Yes, I went there last night. It's delicious food, but like Cafe Gratitude, it leaves me wondering about how it could be even better with dairy products.

Would recommend.

[LAWoman]

Saha is a great choices for veggies and meat eaters.

http://www.sahasf.com/

[omasciarotte]

Agreed. Had dinner yesterday with a vegetarian business associate. The decor and seating were comfortable, the service was professional, and prices were reasonable. My friend ordered the stuffed avocado as an appetizer and said it was the best avocado dish he'd ever had. As an entrée, he had the veg. “bastilla,” which he said was excellent. I ordered the fried okra, which was nicely done and quite yummy, along with the trad. bastilla. Not the best pigeon pie I’ve had but very good. Washed it all down w/their “arabic” spiced tea w/mint…

All in all, competent cooking in a pleasant atmosphere made for a two thumbs up dining experience. BTW, the menu has items marked as vegan, gluten–free or both.

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Saha Arabic Fusion Restaurant
1075 Sutter Street, San Francisco, CA 94109

[vulber]

If you can communicate your wishes to them, Jai Yun has some excellent vegetarian and vegan dishes, but that's a huge if to them.

[poot]

If any vegetarian would like to dine at Jai Yun, I'd be happy to phone for you and communicate your dietary specifics to the staff. Email me at sgilbert524 at yahoo dot com. I had a memorable vegan meal there.

[rahir]

Did you ever try any of the restaurants mentioned in this thread?