We had a vegan visitor from the East Coast, so while in San Francisco we took her to Greens Restaurant. This is a review of our meal and the restaurant.
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The daughter of a friend, Kate, Joy, and I spent a day in San Francisco. Our intent was to catch the Van Gough Immersion show in the city, but stop at Greens Restaurant first for a leisurely lunch before the show. Kate is a very dedicated vegan, and we wanted to highlight some of the best restaurants in our area, so of course Greens was on the list.
We made reservations, arrived on time, found parking easy, and captured a window seat overlooking the moored boats and San Francisco Bay. The service was great, and everyone was attentive, yet not too hovering. The menu had a healthy number of options that were vegan and gluten-free capable, and all were vegetarian.
Our meal started with the waiter offering “complimentary still water or sparkling water.” We all asked for the still water, and I immediately asked for a pot of Pu’er Maiden’s Ecstasy tea; I was intrigued by its description: bittersweet chocolate, espresso, leather, and turned earth. While Kate kept with the water, Joy asked for a glass of Sauvignon Blanc by Rose & Son.
Greens Restaurant
Greens Restaurant, on San Francisco Bay, started serving in 1979. Their focus was on vegetarian cooking and, from the start, produced distinctive dishes full of flavor, color, and textures that celebrated vegetables and fruit. They featured, and still do, seasonal harvests from local, organic farms and gardens.
The restaurant has a unique beginning, with ties to the San Francisco Zen Center. This is important as students from the Center were allowed to work at the restaurant to extend their Buddhist practices. And as Buddhists, no meat was served at the restaurant. But also they have a history of elevating women as their Master Chefs (1).
Wikipedia writes, Greens has been credited in The New York Times as “the restaurant that brought vegetarian food out from sprout-infested health food stores and established it as a cuisine in America.”
Their menu features all vegetarian dishes, but indicates if those individual dishes are vegan or gluten-free capable.
Kate’s Meal
Kate ordered a small plate of Cornbread that came with a honey-butter, but as she wanted vegan they provided a small dipping bowl of olive oil. By her own words, Kate found the cornbread “delicious, perfectly moist, with a good amount of sweetness.”
But I immediately wondered why they did not have vegan butter, since many of their clientele are vegan. I thought the olive oil was a poor replacement, given the cost of one ~3” x 4” piece of cornbread.
Although we did not ask in the moment, I doubt they have vegan cheese either. I believe if a dish with cheese was converted to vegan they would just remove the cheese. This is also a statement made by several web reviewers on Happy Cow who question the restaurant’s dedication to accommodating vegan requirements. On the flip side, one could argue this is not a vegan restaurant so how far do they need to go to make the accommodations to vegans? My counter argument would be for these prices they should go the extra kilometer.
In keeping with the corn theme, she then had the Sweet Corn Johnny Cake. This was a larger dish with silver-dollar sized corn pancake (sort of) topped with a medley of veggies (see picture and details above). Her comments on the Johnny Cake were “flavorful, colorful, delicious, with a nice corn flavor, and the avocado and tomatoes paired nicely.”
Joy’s Meal
Joy ordered the Baby Lettuce Salad, which was a beautiful large plate of mixed greens, radishes, avocado, snow peas, snap peas, seeds and a buttermilk ranch dressing. (No picture because we started eating before we realized I needed photos.) Joy said that at first she really enjoyed the salad, but as the nuts and seeds disappeared (they were only a topping), and the dressing “watered down” it did not taste as good.
Her salad was followed by the Falafel Platter, that featured three falafels, not sure if they were fried but they were greenish in color and not oily at all. The plate had another salad, a rolled flat bread, avocado, and roasted lemon potatoes. Joy loved the dish.
Only complaint here is the waiter should have indicated that Joy’s order would give her two salads, just to make sure that was wanted. As a result the first salad was not finished and the second salad was not touched. A waste of food that could have been avoided with the waiter providing a bit more information that was not clear on the menu.
Patty’s Meal
I started with Baba Ghanouj which was a plate of Baba Ganoush topped with crumbled feta cheese and chopped cilantro, it also came with sliced, warm pita bread. Unfortunately, I ate this dish before I remembered I needed to take a photo of it. So no picture, but it was very tasty.
The second course was a Chipotle Roasted Corn Pizza. This was a soft corn crust topped with feta cheese, corn, tiny bits of chopped poblano peppers and larger jalapeño slices. The taste of this pizza was absolutely great.
The texture was not that great. About 2” on the perimeter of the pizza was a bit crunchy, but from there to the center it was extremely soft and mushy. I had to flip the tip over, toward the exterior crust in order to lift the slices to my mouth.
Dessert
Joy ordered a cappuccino with dessert and it came hot, well made, and the sugar bowl they provided her included Stevia. This made her very happy as she prefers that sweetener to other chemical packets.
All three of us shared one order of Cardamom Peach Cake that featured the cardamom cake with orange-cardamom frosting, a scoop of peach + saffron sorbet, and a sliced, very fresh and juicy peach. All three of us loved the flavors of the dessert. If we were not all full, we might have asked for a second platter!
All of us were in agreement that the dessert was the best dish of the day.
Last Comment
I have gone to Greens only twice, the first was while on a date with my now spouse, and this month, August 2021. I do not remember the experience from 20 years ago, but this visit is very fresh in my mind.
Our meal cost $150, before tipping. So yes it is expensive, but eating restaurant food these days (pandemic related) is pretty expensive, even when just ordering a burrito for delivery. But with higher costs also comes greater expectations.
When I review food served in a restaurant, there are the external issues related to the restaurant: service, environment, cleanliness of restrooms and kitchens, table ware, clarity of menus, etc. In these areas I think Greens is amazing, it is a very clean and thoughtful, well “put together” place.
But for me, the critical components of a good restaurant are the quality of their food. That means I look at the menu and from that point, until I get up the leave, it is all about the food.
- Do they use quality, in-season, organic ingredients?
- Visually how do the ingredients and the dish look?
- Is there an inviting aroma?
- Is the food well seasoned?
- Does the dish taste good?
- Does main course mesh with the sides?
- Does the dish feel good in my hands?
- Does the food feel good in my mouth?
Remember we eat with our emotions and all of our senses: our eyes, nose, hands, and mouth.
—Patty
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