Cafe Gratitude
(415) 824-4652
2400 Harrison St
San Francisco,
CA
94110
37.7588
-122.4126
Neighborhoods: Mission, Central East
What People Are Saying About Cafe Gratitude
The Editor
Contributor
Citysearch
The Scene
Hidden on an out-of-the-way Mission corner, the look is standard upscale coffee shop, with wood floors, pillowed bench seating, and bare painted walls. The only eyebrow-raiser is the café's own board game, Abundant River, colorfully splayed on every table. Clientele proudly sport chin stubble and a clean, but rumpled vegan chic.
The Food
Rising above the challenge of vegan cooking and blending an almost-all raw menu, the food is a bargain, beautifully prepared, and satisfying enough to turn any carnivore herbivore for an evening. Highlights include a garlicky buckwheat-crusted nut cheese pizza, and flavor-packed pates like teriyaki carrot-almond, walnut-sunflower seed, and the "mock tuna" almond, celery, sea vegetable, and lemon. Chocolate pudding is robust and dense, and the hand-cranked frozen nut creams were fun to churn, but tasted thin, icy, and bitter. Servers are attentive but scattered, and the everything-from-scratch menu means the kitchen can sometimes undersupply.
User Reviews
LTRANE
August 28, 2008
Here's another review about the horrible service. I didn't get to try the food because I walked out. I came on a moderately busy Sunday afternoon...There were a good number of tables open. I said hello to the hostess and sat down at the bar. I waited for a very long time for someone to acknowledge me and give me a menu.. The "bartender" was 4 feet away. After a long wait, I got a menu and reviewed it. I sat for a long time for someone to take my order, but that never happened. They then, started blasting music, which could be heard half way down the sidewalk celebrating someone's birthday... I took that as an opportunity to leave. There are alot of outstanding resturants in SF, so don't waste your time going there. With all the bad reviews about the service, you would think the owners would clean house and get the picture.
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hthayer
August 24, 2008
Let?s talk about service. I arrived right at noon and the place was already pretty full. There were only two open tables, and eventually a young man indicated I should take one of the two remaining tables. I sat down and waited. And waited. After about ten minutes, the man who had seated me and two other servers came over, not to wait on me, but to sit at the table next to me at the height of the lunch hour. The original guy (who turned out to be the manager), looked over and saw me and it was clear that he?d forgotten to tell anyone I was there. He found a server, who came with water and a menu and assured me that she would be right back. During my twenty-five minute wait for her to come back to take my order I was able to observe the meeting occurring at the table next to me. The manager and two employees came out, sat down and had a kumbaya love session. The manager spent time singling out each employee ? ?You bring me energy because of your smiles and your great hats.? Meeting ended with the manager placing his hands on each employees? shoulders, looking them in the eye, then giving them a hug and the exhortation, ?let?s take care of some customers!? During this entire time, I had been sitting there about two feet away, clearly waiting for someone to take my order. During this entire time (absolute height of lunch hour), potential customers came in, saw all of the tables full and no one to wait on them and left. And the most astounding thing ? having just spent nearly half an hour taking the time of three employees and an entire table in a tiny restaurant during lunch hour ? about five minutes later the manager came over with two different employees and did the whole thing again. The bill was over $35 for not a huge amount of food, one person, no alcohol, which was ridiculous although the food was good. But mostly these folks need to spend less time being selfish and more time being selfless.
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greennanny
January 20, 2008
I recently met some friends here for lunch. My boyfriend and I are both lifelong vegetarians and have our fair share of bad vegetarian food. Cafe Gratitude takes the prize. The customer service was horrible. I am a former server myself so I understand how mistakes can be made but this was unacceptable. I ordered a salad and was told ten minutes after placing my order that the kitchen was "out of salad". Another ten minutes passed before my server returned to take a replacement order. Meanwhile, my friends all received their food and I was left waiting. Random servers continued to ask me if I needed to place an order and one even returned to tell me they could make my salad without the pears (after I had placed my second order). Why wouldn't they have just told me they were out of pears? Why tell me they were "out of salad" and make me order something else? When my enchiladas finally arrived, somewhere a Mexican was shedding a tear. It was as if they just dumped cayenne pepper on them to make up for the bland ingredients. I love spice, but this was horrible. Everyone at my table agreed. The only good part of this restaurant was the ginger-ale. Outrageously priced at $15 for two glasses "I am effervescent" quickly became "I am poor". Avoid this place! Support a veggie chef and business that has evolved past the brown, crunchy earth patties that give health food a bad name.
read full reviewThe Details on Cafe Gratitude
What to Drink:
Beverages include an impressive selection of organic beer and wine, cold-pressed coffee and world teas, and abundant juices and smoothies.
The Extras:
They offer cooking classes once a month, and stock a mini-store of candles, books, dishes, and gifts.
What to Drink:
Beverages include an impressive selection of organic beer and wine, cold-pressed coffee and world teas, and abundant juices and smoothies.
The Extras:
They offer cooking classes once a month, and stock a mini-store of candles, books, dishes, and gifts.
