Alive! San Francisco

[the_lab_rat]

Edit: I wrote to the owner and he replied and explained the situation. Apparently they were having a bad night--short staffed, new waitress, car troubles so the owner couldn't be there himself, etc. He offered to make it up to us and was very nice about it over email. So, I'm not deleting my original review below, but realize it was just an off night for Alive and if you decide to go there you'll probably have a much better experience. :)


It's odd how many times I've been to Cafe Gratitude but never to Alive!. I've had their food at the farmer's market and it was great. It's gotten rave reviews. So tonight, I recommended it to a friend for her birthday dinner, and off we went. Overall, a total disappointment, and I'm feeling very guilty for ruining part of her evening.

First off, the place is tiny. Maybe 5 tables inside. Their website and flyers say nothing about reservations. We got there a little after opening, and it was full. The only space was at a larger table already occupied by 2 people. The waitress asked them if we could sit there too, and they looked at each other very uncomfortably and said "uh, yeah, I guess..." Clearly it was not ok with them, so we felt very bad for disrupting their dinner. We asked about the outdoor seating, which was advertised on the flyer as a "heated patio." The heaters didn't work and there were no lights. We sat out there anyway because it wasn't too cold/dark yet (around 5:45 pm) and well, what choice did we have? I will say that the patio was very cute, lots of plants and a beautiful plum tree.

We ordered tea & coffee, received it 10 minutes later, and didn't see the waitress again for 30 minutes. By the time she came to take our dinner orders, the 3-ounce cups we paid $3 each for were long since empty (no refills or 2nd cups offered.) Then we didn't see the waitress for 40 more minutes. We were about to climb up the tree and start eating the plums.

Dinner arrived. I got the tomato mushroom torte, my friend got the veggie noodles with almond herb sauce. Both looked great and the portions were moderate, though not generous. The problem was, the food was drowning in oil. There must have been literally 1/4 cup of olive oil on my plate. There was some salad garnish around my torte, but beneath it the entire plate was covered in a pool of oil. The torte was actually dissolving into the oil and pieces were floating away across the plate It must've been poured over the food, rather than actually used in the recipe, because the inside of the torte was perfect--no oil, not mushy. But the outside was honestly pretty gross; the oil totally overwhelmed the taste and ruined it. So I ate the inside and scraped off the outside. My friend's plate didn't fare much better. Had I known, I would've asked them to leave it off. I've been to probably 10 different raw restaurants and never have to worry because most raw places don't seem to use it (or such tiny amounts it isn't noticeable.)

I ate half my dinner and asked for the rest to-go. 30 minutes later, the waitress brought back half of my leftover portion to-go. I have no idea what happened to the other part of it, but for $15, I expect to go home with all the food I paid for

We ordered dessert--black forest cake. The waitress disappeared again. My friend got frustrated and canceled her order but told me to still get mine; I asked for mine to go in hopes of getting out of there before dark. It was cold and windy by this point. We were shivering and very uncomfortable and decided to stand in the entryway back into the restaurant (as shelter from the wind) to wait for my cake. At almost 8pm, the waitress came back and seemed annoyed that we were standing there. She gave us the bill and said "well, it might be hard to sign the receipt in the air like that, since you're not sitting down." We left her a big tip anyway, we were too cold to care at that point. On the way out, we noticed 3 of the 5 tables inside had cleared up. Nice of the waitress to mention that to us as she watched us standing up on the chairs trying to get the heat lamps to work earlier And as a final letdown, the cake had what seemed like a walnut-carrot crust, which did NOT go well with the chocolate and cherries. It would be much better with an apple pie type of dessert, or mincemeat or carrot cake. The chocolate-cherry portion of the cake was very good though.

So all in all, not a great experience. I'm actually going to write a letter to the restaurant because there is no reason service should be that poor, especially for a $60 check for 2 people. The food itself was pretty good, though I like Cafe Gratitude and Cafe Soulstice better. I would still consider going back, because I think I could make it a better experience knowing what I know now, but I feel awful that it ruined my friend's birthday evening.

[RawVee]

Labrat,

You're a lot more patient than I am! I would have walked after the first 30 minutes of waiting. There's no excuse for that kind of bad service, especially in light of the fact that the place is so small, so she wasn't weeded.

Oh well. Now you know!

V

[Vegan Princess]

Bummer! I've never seen the place full. I have never been a huge fan of their entrees...I like their desserts. I usually get food to go, but ate there once with a friend...neither of us loved our food that night. I also posted a review once about their lacking portion size and to their credit, the owner contacted me and invited me back to talk about his portion sizes and gave me half off my next meal. I encourage you to write to him...I bet he will respond. I really love their cress sandwich apetizer. I occasionally order their pizzas (not on the menu anymore I think?) or other Italian dishes. But usually I stick to apetizer and dessert b/c of the price.

Cindy

[barose]

Sorry for your horrible experience!

I only went there once, alone on Thursday night (9:00PM) and the place was tiny, but they had one table left for me.

I ordered one of the noodle dishes (Korean I think) and it was not oily and the service was great. I thought the portion was large - I couldnt finish it all.

I wanted to take my DP but now I'm afraid after your experience.

Though the food was good, CG is still waaay better. We don’t mind sitting with other people at CG because of the open atmosphere, community feeling and large tables, but it would seem strange at Alive - I do agree with that.

Thanks for the heads up.

[RawTruth]

Too bad you had such a horrible experience.

I did like several things on the menu ... and found others rather bland. Definitely nothing with oil poured over it, though.

Regardless, if it'd been me, those dishes would have gone right back inside ... in my hands, not relying on the waitress. Leland is very accommodating and professional; I've no doubt that he would have remedied whatever problems there were immediately.

I didn't find the service poor, although a few servers were new and unsure of themselves. I've always sat inside, though, and made sure I got their attention. If I'd been outside and ignored, I'm afraid I'd have made a pest of myself. (Actually, I don't consider being assertive to be being a pest -- I know too many restauranteurs to think that they're not concerned with their customers' happiness. They are -- they just need to know about it).

I bet you, once brought to his attention, Leland will make reparations to you right away.

Isn't Cafe Gratitude just the best!?!?!!! Now, if they'd stop using soy lecithin in their creamy desserts, I'd be totally happy with them.

[the_lab_rat]

I am going to write a letter to Alive! about our experience there. I didn't want to write it last night because I was still kinda angry, and I want the letter to come from a more calm mind :) But thanks for all the info guys, I'll definitely write them now.

Barose: I hope our bad experience doesn't scare you from going there. I think Alive could offer a really great experience, since they're all organic and use food straight from the farmer's market. I really respect that about them. But I think we came when they were having an off night (still no excuse for it though). I'd recommend 1) sitting inside, 2) making reservations if you want to be sure, and 3) asking about the ingredients in what you plan to order.

Isn't Cafe Gratitude just the best!?!?!!! Now, if they'd stop using soy lecithin in their creamy desserts, I'd be totally happy with them.

Seriously?? Arrgh! I had no idea they used soy Guess I should've figured something that tastes sooo good must have something bad in it, lol

[Lhorses]

Sorry, I have not found Gratitude to have better service, larger portion sizes, better food, lower prices, and non-communal seating.

I've gone to Alive! and Cafe Gratitude several times and they are totally different. Alive! is much smaller and generally much less crowded. Therefore, it's been generally faster for me there.

It obvious Alive! was purposely made small to insure quality and comfort. The restaurant and garden could easily have much more tables. I really like the fact that the chef/owner, Leland, is usually at Alive! and their Ferry Building Stand actually making the food.

Alive! focus is more with the food and artistry. Gratitude focus is more with lifestyle and philosophy The two restaurants are totally different and both are great.

Also, I don't quite understand complaining about any raw food restaurant being being full. Do we want them to be empty? Cafe Gratitude is always full and has communal seating. The wait times you mentioned are about the same at Gratitude when it's packed, although I've never had to wait that long at Alive! when I've gone there. The final bill you mentioned is the same or less when I'm at Gratitude.

With the closure or conversion to cooked food of almost all the raw food restaurant besides Cafe Gratitude in the Bay Area, I think we should support all raw restaurants. My experience with Alive! has been fantastic. Why slam this small place publicly with just one experience and tell people to go to the giant?

[RawTruth]

Sorry, I have not found Gratitude to have better service, larger portion sizes, better food, lower prices, and non-communal seating.

. . .

With the closure or conversion to cooked food of almost all the raw food restaurant besides Cafe Gratitude in the Bay Area, I think we should support all raw restaurants. My experience with Alive! has been fantastic. Why slam this small place publicly with just one experience and tell people to go to the giant?

Excellent points, Lhorses.

I think many of us new to raw food (by new, I mean in the last 4-5 years) and living in urban areas take raw restaurants for granted. My long-time-raw friends tell how, until recently, the only way to meet, and eat with, other raw fooders was at potlucks. There were NO restaurants. I do feel that we must do whatever we can to support them all. Personally, I'd rather have a mediocre (or even overpriced) meal in a raw restaurant than end up having no choice other than an unimaginative salad in a cooked food restaurant.

In Southern California, we're lucky to have many raw choices. But, several of them are struggling, and a few have added cooked/baked items. None of them survive on only raw food customers; the majority of their clientele are either semi-raw or people who want organic, whole food meals. I'd hate to think any of them are steered away by any of our reviews.

Good food for thought. Thanks.

[barose]

I dont think Lab Rat's goal was to slam a raw restaurant - she was giving her experience. My experience was not hers as I noted; it seems she went on a bad night. If she had a bad experience, I dont see why she has to hide it, raw or not.

[the_lab_rat]

Also, I don't quite understand complaining about any raw food restaurant being being full. Do we want them to be empty? Cafe Gratitude is always full and has communal seating. The wait times you mentioned are about the same at Gratitude when it's packed, although I've never had to wait that long at Alive! when I've gone there. The final bill you mentioned is the same or less when I'm at Gratitude.

With the closure or conversion to cooked food of almost all the raw food restaurant besides Cafe Gratitude in the Bay Area, I think we should support all raw restaurants. My experience with Alive! has been fantastic. Why slam this small place publicly with just one experience and tell people to go to the giant?

LHorses,

Maybe it would help if you actually read the whole thread. If you had, you'd see no one was slamming Alive. My complaints weren't about the fact that it's tiny or full, the sharing of tables, or the price alone. We didn't want to share a table because the people we would've been sharing it with very obviously did not want company. We were perfectly happy to sit outside--as I said, I thought the patio was very cute--but we were freezing after having to wait over 2 hours, and their heaters didn't work. The price was more than we usually pay, and the waitress 'misplaced' half my leftovers. I explained this in my first post.

Also, I didn't tell anyone to go to "the giant" instead. In fact, I recommended to Barose that she try Alive, and even said I would go back because I thought I'd come on an off night. And like Barose said, these are just MY opinions. I'm glad you've had better experiences at Alive, that's great; my experience wasn't so great, and I should be free to write about that. I fully support raw restaurants; I've lived in areas that didn't even have vegetarian restaurants, which is why I'm even willing to pay that much at a raw place. But supporting raw places shouldn't mean I can only write a review if my experience was wonderful. That isn't "slamming," it's just the honest facts.

Peace,
--the lab rat

[BlueKiss]

Well I have read this entire thread and laughed out loud at Lab Rat eating so many apricots. Sounds yummy and glad you did not turn into one:) Also...are you sure about the non-GMO SL being that bad? I finally learned how to get my desserts to set wth it Does anyone know how to purchase the irish moss? Does it come dried and then you re-soak it? Anyway. I am planning on starting a raw catering co. in the bay area and need my desserts to hold up. I also really wanted to take that chocolate dessert class at CG as well but had to work that day. I will for sure be taking the next one.

[Vegan Princess]

Bluekiss: CG sells the Irish Moss in their refridgerator case. I don't think it's dried. It's seaweed - you need to rinse it really well and then I think as long as you keep it in water in the fridge it should last pretty long.