Cafe Flora

04/12/10

Meat eaters will love it too

by AudreyAudrey , Citysearch Contributor at Citysearch

When I hear people talking about vegetarian restaurants I often hear meat eaters complain that there's nothing for them to eat on the menu and then talk about twigs or rabbit food. Well, as a steak loving, pulled pork eating, fried chicken adoring meat eater here, I want to tell you meat eater that you will NOT be missing out on a thing when you go to Cafe Flora. The food here is hearty and unique. Get the French Dip sandwich, the Oaxaca Tacos or the Portobello Wellington. Whatever you do, don't skip the fried avocado or the yam fries. They also have great cocktails! Go for brunch as everything, and I mean everything on the brunch menu is delicious: French Toast Foster, the Cinnamon Rolls, Spicy Black Eye Pea Fritters and all the scrambles. After your meal, you will be full and never even realized there wasn't bacon on the plate.

• Pros: Unique dishes, vegetarian, vegan, gluten free you name it.

12/05/09

A once great place that has slipped a notch or two

by alakazam at Citysearch

I have been going to Cafe Flora from the very beginning and have always seen it as a "rare treat" - that is until about the last year or two. I can attest to a reviewers comment about the Oaxaca tacos. This is one of their signature entrees along with the Portobello Wellington. With the Oaxaca tacos, instead of serving it with the "pico de gallo", they are now serving it was some cheap tasting salsa. I thought it was really disgusting and really cheapened the dish. My wife routinely gets the Portobello Wellington, and even this signature dish is not as good as it used to be - often doughy and just not good. Same thing with their Hoppin' John Fritters which I often get during their weekend brunch. The collards are not as tasty as they used to be - in fact they are kinda yucky if I have to be honest. Another signature dish gone bad.

Here is my feeling. You don't mess with your signature dishes! They are signature dishes for a reason and people grow to expect them to be a certain way. Very disappointing.

Secondly, the food seems to be worse on the weekends and especially Sunday night. That's when we've had the worst food.

My last complaint is about the noise. They remodeled a couple years ago and removed all of the carpeting in the main room. That means that there is nothing to dampen the sound. During weekend brunch it is extremely noisy - the garden room is quieter so aim for that if you can.

Like so many longterm restaurants that suffer through changes in chefs, cuisine and turnover, I fear that Cafe Flora's best days are behind her.

• Pros: Upscale vegetarian
• Cons: Noisy of weekends, quality inconsistent, expensive

08/07/09

An everyday spot to eat

by relentless7 at Citysearch

I've been to Cafe Flora twice. Once for brunch and once for dinner. Fresh eggs are always great, and the menu inspired me to take home their cook book.

I returned home to SF, and tried out many of their recipes.

Upon returning to Seattle, I decided to order one of their signature dishes. The Oaxaca Tacos. I think I did a better job making them at home. That's a problem.

Still, the food is great. It's not overly rich and tastes very home-made. The dishes are always creative although sometimes strange, but most importantly they try new things and mix a lot of different styles together, which keeps things interesting. The environment and staff are cool, not uptight. It's the type of place I could see myself frequenting quite regularly.

• Pros: cool menu
• Cons: not amazing

08/04/09

Good service makes the food taste better, I swear.

by VeganFiend at Citysearch

Okay yes the yam fries are quite good. I also really liked the vegan version (how hard is that?) of the black bean burger, the bun was nice. Though it is no special feat to make vegan mayonnaise, or buy veganaise, I do appreciate the alternative offerings of the sauces. To be honest, I don't fully go there to pay ten dollars for a mashed bean burger and vegan mayonnaise. I go there because the atmosphere is quite fantastic, there are plants and lots of sunlight, and I leave there feeling better than when I came. Each time I have been, the service was outstanding, friendly, and fairly efficient.

• Pros: Really great atmosphere, good, filling food.
• Cons: Vegetarian/Vegan food should be less money.

07/24/09

Overpriced and over-hyped

by IndianFoodLover75 at Citysearch

Firstly, I've been a vegetarian all my life and I know how good it can taste. After listening to people rave about this place and looking at such high ratings, I took my wife out to this place for her birthday for lunch. The celebrated Yam fries were decent and the fried avocado was so bland. The pizza was at best just acceptable and the noodles were horrible. The server recommended dessert was just a pie crust in strawberry/raspberry jam. I must compliment them on their friendliness and service though - that was top-notch.

We ended up spending $60 on very average food. To set things even I took her to another place in the evening, where the same $60 on dinner gave us amazing food. I feel that this place is over-rated.

• Pros: Vegetarian food, Healthy options. Good service
• Cons: Average food, over priced