The Vita Cafe

01/15/08

Awesome gravy.

by ateaveira at Citysearch

Great place for the little ones. Big tables, friendly service, cheap menu. My 10 y/o had the "fish" and chips and she loved the vegan tartar sauce.

• Pros: Vegan food, kid friendly.
• Cons: none for now

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

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

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,

07/27/06

Great Neighborhood cafe

by littlelisa23 at Citysearch

This is a great neighborhood cafe. The food is good, simple and huge portions. The garden patio with the bocce court is one of the best I have found in Portland. My favorite breakfast item is the corn cakes, with organic maple syrup. My friend ordered on of the scrambles with tofu. Plan to wait a bit on the weekends for brunch.

• Pros: good service, huge portions
• Cons: a bit of a wait

06/19/06

Possible double post?

by lilyadilly at Citysearch

OK - here is my scoop -

Tasty & fresh food.

Comfy atmosphere.

Big outdoor area.

Many GOOD vegan options. I'd like them to cut out the burgers - the rest of the stuff is well worth the trip and doesn't freak people out by being veggie even when they are not.

I love the french toast and the desserts. Great teas.

Good and interesting music.

The only thing that I cannot stand about Vita is the one waitress - the one who smiles at me when I come in, but after that acts like she is soooooo very bothered to get me anything. I once asked for catsup after I had placed my original order... I had to get up and get it 15 minutes later. Next time I thought that I'd ask upfront when I placed the order.... still never brought it to me and when I asked for it - she seemed quite peeved to be bothered. She will not check in on you, except to bring food and take the order. And, honestly has gotten my/our orders wrong about half the time.... which I could deal with if she would be fine with fixing it after you tell her nicely. I always tip well in hopes that she will remember and won't be grouchy next time - but it doesn't work. It seems that she is only interested in chatting with other staff and ignoring the customers. I hate to say it, but the fact that it seems like I have gotten her the last 5 times I have been, makes me not want to go again.

Anyway - if you don't mind not getting what you order and having to serve yourself... then that shouldn't stop you from going.

The rest of the staff is amazing... I think this one waitress might just have emotional issues and can't deal sometimes.

• Pros: yum!, many veg*n options, comfy
• Cons: 1 mean server

06/15/06

Getting So Much Better

by rupertsalon at Citysearch

Holy Macaroni! How Vita is changing! First of all, I actually met the new owner who was really approachable and nice and gave me the scoop on the remodeling and what's to come. Secondly, there are more servers, which magically makes them nicer servers. There used to be only two servers for the entire restaurant, and they would run around, bussing, seating, taking orders, bringing out food, cleaning up. We get seated faster, the service is better, the food...well, the food I think of as veg comfort food with greazy diner overtones, so within those parameters, I love it. The gravies, mushroom and almond, are tastier, but the vegan cheese sauce is still kind of bland. They've been running out of certain dishes the past few times I've been there, so try to have a couple in mind when ordering. They've really opened up the side patio, lots more seating, but they need more umbrellas over the tables or a roof. Vita has a kids play area and also will have a bocci court and a liquor license in July. I really appreciate how the new owner is trying to create a comfortable environment with a whole lot less attitude.

• Pros: Breakfast menu available all day (just ask!), kid friendly
• Cons: Loud music, yuppy jerks in restaurant, kinda slow kitchen

06/08/06

new owners - no longer a filthy place to eat

by hihipuffy at Citysearch

OMG- gone are the days of wondering your food was cooked in a creepy environment. the new management really cleaned up the place.

12/13/05

The quality of your service will depend on...

by sbrph at Citysearch

if someone is having a bad day or not. The food is great and amazing! The desserts are the peace bomb. Love everything but the service.

06/15/05

Great food, decent service, weird stuff

by agood476823 at Citysearch

I love the food here. That being said, 4 out of 5 times I have gone, my favorite dish has been unavailable. Apparently, some of these dishes take 2-3 hours to prepare and they don't start making new food until the old stuff is gone. Usually they tell you this when you order, but the last time I went, they took until I'd been waiting for my food for an HOUR before letting me know. Then it only took 5 minutes for my new order of something different. I don't think I'll be going back any more.

• Pros: good food, nice ambience
• Cons: LOUD MUSIC, poor service