The Vita Cafe

12/20/07

Best Vegan Lasagna

by sallyh03 at Citysearch

I'll be the first to admit that some of the Vita Cafe dishes can miss the mark, but the one dish that has been consistently great for me is the Vegan Lasagna. Get it with Pesto Sauce and you'll be in heaven! It is pretty much the only dish I order there anymore, unless I eat lighter and go for a salad. The lasagna serving size is large and filling, so bring your appetite!

• Pros: vegan lasagna, vegan desserts

11/18/07

Good food, bad service.

by rrrocket at Citysearch

The food here is decent, but the service is downright terrible. The servers act like they hate you! What gives? I've been here plently, and I'll go back for the food, but the owner needs to send all of these hipster kids to charm school.

• Pros: decent and sometimes great food
• Cons: horrible rude and slow servers

07/13/07

Great vegan food

by hulahulagirl at Citysearch

Oh man I ordered the biscuits and gravy (as a vegan I don't get a chance to have that in restaurants often) and I was NOT disappointed. Delicious brown gravy over handmade crusty-but-soft biscuits. Delicous! (The other people in my group had good dishes as well, but I don't remember what they were.) Also, the dessert (mint chocolate multi-layer cake) was outstanding and a huge portion. It was a little slow on service, but I would definitely go back again for another try.

• Pros: great selection of vegetarian/vegan dishes and desserts
• Cons: service tends to be slow, but friendly

07/01/07

Humdrum food

by sugarxbooger at Citysearch

This restaurant draws a decent vegan following, and as a vegan, I'd like it if I were deprived of delicious, vegan food. I give a big thumbs up to the nachos, but I'd rather head over to Paradox to give them my nacho business. The fish and chips are sad - battered triangles of tofu, and mediocre fries - and should be named as such, without any pretense. I hear the mac & cheese is variable - and in our case, it was clearly an off night. Even the "country comfort" - a promising mix of biscuits, gravy, potatoes and vegetables - had good promise, but failed. The potatoes had been sitting around, the gravy is bland, and even though amazing fresh vegetables are available in June, the veggies were steamed cabbage?! Again - go if you can't cook for yourself, and don't know what you're missing.

• Pros: nachos, veggie-friendly, fun outdoor area
• Cons: the food

05/16/07

OPEN AGAIN !! Come visit the outdoor patio!!

by vitacafe at Citysearch

We are re-opening Friday May 19th. Thank you to all of our customers, venders, staff memebers and the construction crews who worked so hard to get us re-opened after the fire.

Please come and check out the garden patio, bocce court, kids area and newly updated inside. We serve primarily vegan and vegetarian food, using local and organic products as much as possible. Our specialty cocktail list includes a house made wasabi spiced bloody Mary.

Kids eat for a buck everyday from 5 to 7 pm. Check out the Weds night eat and drink specials.

We are open breakfast, lunch and dinner every day. Looking forward to seeing everyone again.

Best, The Vita Cafe

• Pros: great food, good people,

04/16/07

decent

by noelman at Citysearch

I like the Vita Cafe. The review that says to order something you won't make at home is right on. I go to this place if I'm craving some sort of vegetarian junk food- Reuben or mashers and gravy. Service has always been average, but not outstanding or bad.

• Pros: relatively cheap, good veg and vegan food

03/03/07

Love it, Love it, Love it

by momofthree456 at Citysearch

We love the Vita. It's a great place for a family, very mellow, unpretentious, and we always get good service. I love the sippy cups for my kiddos, and the seasonal and low cost menu.

• Pros: good for kids, happy staff, great menu
• Cons: can be busy

03/03/07

Great... until you are seated

by portlandmama at Citysearch

We have been here twice and have been disappointed each time. The menu looks great and the atmosphere is inviting, until you try to get service. The first time, over a year ago, the service was aloof; they are just too cool for school. The second time, we tried to give them another chance. We brought our two wiggly kids and they have toys and crayons - great! But 10 minutes after we were seated we realized we were deserted. A table of 12 came in and they got all their waters and our waitress even started taking their orders before we... well, we were not acknowledged after that because we up and left. If you have kids and want family friendly and prompt service, go to the Tin Shed instead; we're sure glad we did.

• Pros: eclectic menu
• Cons: not friendly. at all.

02/13/07

Great time, atmostphere, and food

by sillysue23 at Citysearch

We had a fantastic dinner here. I loved the lemon thyme risotto fritters and the spicy tempeh sticks. My friend tried the quinoa salad with ginger carrot dressing and I had the sietan cheese steak. We also tried the sundried tomatoe polenta with roasted vegetables. I was impressed by the amount of organic ingredients on the menu and the affordability. We also enjoyed a few cocktails and dessert- the cheese cake was to die for. I found the service helpful, simple and friendly. We had a great evening and plan to come back over and over again.

• Pros: Big menu, lots of vegan choices

01/28/07

Great taste, too poor of service

by wonderwindy77 at Citysearch

I had eaten here once before, alone, and had a fairly nice experience. This time I took my three year old and my dad and had an unfortunately poor experience and don't think I will risk going back again. When we arrived it was fairly busy and it wasn't the table we were waiting for it was any sign from anyone to acknowledge our existence. Once seated we were attended to promptly and the kid's order I put in early came rather quickly which was great however they brought me a scramble and I had ordered the special with tempeh(which I had asked our waitress if the special was good upon ordering)so then they bring me the special but with tofu. By now I had waited too long and was too hungry to have them change it yet again, however I did mention the mistake to our server and she just said "oh, yeah" and walked off. Now I am a server myself and perhaps my expectation are high. I want to be served as I serve and I feel this experience lacked greatly. We probably won't be going here again and my search continues for the perfect place with great food, atmosphere, and superb service.

• Pros: great taste
• Cons: service lacked greatly