Cafe Gratitude - San Diego

Food and service was outstanding! My husband and I went there for our anniversary we are not vegan but really enjoyed the food!

I love Cafe Gratitude and visit often from Los Angeles to Newport Beach to San Diego.
Lunch or dinner is always amazing and I love the atmosphere! It is a first choice for meeting up with friends or family. I have introduced many people to "a different way of looking at food" while also bringing a new conscious level of appreciation for what we have available from sustainable sources. Thank you Cafe Gratitude for always hitting the target!!!

Ethical, vegan food prepared well and priced reasonably. Healthy and makes you think that you should eat this way every day.

I've been to the Cafe Gratitude when it was in Berkeley....now that was good fresh food. The food in San Diego seemed tired for lack of a better word. The Curried Cauliflower with Aoili dip was good....but our bowls were lacking sparkle and freshness......the Cafe in Beverly Hills is much better. Food seemed more fresh and more alive.

Appreciate the creativity and quality of their plant-based menu, it's really terrific. Inspired my cooking at home as well.

We really enjoyed this restaurant. The food was incredible. I had the pasta and my husband had the burger, which were both great. The guacamole and chips was a good way to start. The chips are made in-house and could have eaten them all night. We shared the mocha cheesecake and have to say, fantastic. I really didn’t want to share. Our waiter Eric O. made our whole evening and experience. He was very helpful with suggestions. Lastly, the “I AM...” concept, brilliant. So much fun. We enjoyed this place so much we went back for breakfast, which was great too.

If you are into plant-based eating, or even if you aren't, you must try Cafe Gratitude. The food is very good, servers are great, good value. We have been there twice already, and hope to go again very soon.

Great restaurant! Food is all plant-based and delicious. There were too many options to choose so I must go back soon. I took my niece who is a vegan. I am not but there was no issue with finding amazing and delicious options.

Excellent food!

We were served the following items from the dinner menu:

I am Grace / Creamy Coconut Smoothie
I am Eclectic / Buffalo Cauliflower
I am Magical / Black Bean Burger
I am Original / SF Mission Burrito
I am Awakening / Key Lime Pie

We shared everything between the two of us.

The first item we tried, the smoothie, was very tasty, with a strong and lovely coconut flavor. The last item we tried, the key lime pie, was delightful, tangy and rich. Avocado has so many dessert uses! The burrito was fine as well, with a naked bunch of greens on the side, the requested salad.

The other two items, tho, left something to be desired. The cauliflower was tasty, but was hardly warm, and was soggy! Imagine a fried or roasted appetizer being soggy!

Finally, the burger. As I ate it last night, it felt crunchy. I didn’t want to look suspicious and begin poking around into it, so I just sort of ground my way through half of it. Later, I asked our server about that crunchy element, and she wasn’t sure. She mentioned it was possible that it got overly charred on the grill. She brought out a detailed itemized list of the burger’s ingredients, but I still wasn’t sure of the source of the crunchiness.

Today I solved the mystery as I took a close-up look at the remaining half burger in the light of day. There were at least two components that accounted for the crunchiness. There were partial grains of rice that either had not been fully cooked or had dried out. The same for pieces of black bean in the burger. Pieces of each of those two ingredients—and maybe others—that had either not been cooked, had been undercooked, or had been cooked and dried out, were the cause of the very unusual crunchy texture. And, I think because of that, there wasn’t much taste to the burger itself, despite other ingredients. Or, maybe I was just distracted.

We’re moving on to other vegan options in San Diego. As for our first visit to Cafe Gratitude San Diego, we were not impressed.

Good healthy food was had by all - the only but is that more care in cleaning the outdoor tables should be had

I came here with my daughter from Waterfront Park after the Bernie Sanders rally. It wasn't quite crowded yet (we'd left shortly before Bernie was finished addressing the crowd), so our table was ready for us (I'd made a reservation). The server gave us a "game" to play, in which we use the phrase "I am..." with whatever description of item we wanted to try. It was a little silly, but that's okay.
My daughter hadn't known it was vegan until after we got our menus and started reading. She was not thrilled. But she went along with it.
When our food came, the portions were generous and perfectly spiced. I had ordered the enchiladas (delicious!) and my daughter ordered a pasta dish, which she reported was very good, as well. My daughter was suitably impressed that vegan food could taste so good, and I was encouraged to prepare meals at home with less animal products in them, though I still have yet to find a suitable substitute for eggs...

They mischarged us and refused to fix it. We ordered off the happy hour menu, specially saying we wanted the happy hour, they charged us full price and said they gave us the full portions so couldn't give us the right price.... They messed up not us. We do not appreciate these sneaky tactics

I’ve eaten here many times. For some reason, they were “off” tonight— food was cold and service was poor.

The hostess was very rude! Which is ironic because the place is called cafe gratitude. The waiter was good. The food was over priced for what they were offering. I did like the atmosphere.

The enchiladas were delicious. The service was great although it took our server too long to take our order

Great food - prices are high and service slow but it was good and fun

Amazing all around experience. Food was amazing, service was fantastic and the setting was peaceful. We will definitely be back when we are in town again.

Great place for a healthy breakfast

great food great concept and service! Cafe Gratitude makes eating vegan/sustainable easy and impressively delicious!

This was our first time to Cafe Gratitude and so happy to have found it. We enjoyed the Brussels sprouts appetizer and the not to be missed Mole Abuelita Enchiladas. Our waiter was attentive, the restaurant is beautiful. But the biggest surprise was the Key Lime Pie made from creamy avocado and lime custard. We talked about it for days. It is our new "date night" place in Little Italy>

We enjoyed every minute of our experience. Our waitress Alicia was the best. Our six year old granddaughter appreciated that your menus are paper vs plastic and good for our environment. Yes, she did share that with Alicia. Your food is good for the environment and our health. Yummy too!!!!

Delicious as always! Just had to have the Cool Mint smoothie!!

Nice ambiance, solid service, excellent lunch with delicious ingredients! Great healthy dining!

On the whole, we enjoyed our dinner very much and would be happy to to try it again.
The only issue to speak of was the service which, while more than friendly enough, was quite lacking when needed.

We came here for a Valentine's date and were able to get a last minute reservation and a beautiful dinner! Delicious healthy food, friendly service, and still peaceful and romantic even on a holiday. I love this place!

I love Cafe Gratitude's healthy menu and the way their menu items are named with such positive affirmations.

I don't live in San Diego but Cafe Gratitude is a must go restaurant whenever I am in town. On this occasion we took 4 friends to brunch there. The food options are creative and interesting. The food itself is delicious. Everyone was delighted with their meal. The service was great, despite it being really busy. The atmosphere is light and airy. I recommend it highly!

Amazing food, very cool atmosphere, awesome service.

An amazing dining experience. All of the food is delicious and the staff are amazing.

I love Cafe Gratitude ❤️ The menu has such a variety of choices it’s hard to choose what to order sometimes, but luckily I am never disappointed on flavor or taste! The staff is kind, helpful, and provides exceptional and efficient service. Cafe Gratitude is always on the list when visitors are in town. Vegan or not, this is a must go to place for a unique dining experience that leaves you feeling not only full, but full of gratitude for the abundance we have in our own lives. Thank you Cafe Gratitude!

I’m never disappointed when I eat here and, since I don’t live in California, I eat here every time I’m in town. The food is delicious. The service is always excellent. And the ambiance is fun.

Overall it was lovely. The service was fantastic and food very tasty.

Food was delicious, but I am glad we were able to take advantage of the restaurant week special. Otherwise, prices would have been a bit high for the portions offered.

THIS RESTAURANT HAS A ‘B’ RATING!
MY RECOMMENDATION IS THAT THEY IMPROVE THEIR SCORE, FOR EVERYONES SAFETY! I JUST READ WHY THEY GOT THIS RATING DIRECTLY FROM OUR COUNTY’S HEALTH DEPARTMENT ONLINE...THE IRONY! EWWWW 🤮

The vegan fare at this restaurant is SO good. The layout of the restaurant is a modern diner! Would highly recommend this place for a date night and even to check out alone for healthy dining options. The pulled mushroom sammy did NOT disappoint!

Took advantage of Restaurant Week to enjoy a 2 course lunch at this Little Italy restaurant. Being a vegetarian for over 40 years I was really looking forward to this Vegan spot and it was well worth it! We started with the brussel sprouts and buffalo cauliflower. Both were good with a nice char on the sprouts and just a hint of heat in the cauliflower. For our mains we chose Devoted, an Indonesian grain bowl and Committed, a pulled mushroom sandwich. The grain bowl's peanut sauce added to the flavors of the vegetables it contained and as it was swathed along the side of the bowl you could add as little or as much as you wanted. The pulled mushroom sandwich was delicious as well. Well worth a second visit. There was a small issue with the bill regarding restaurant week pricing but our waitress Kayla readily resolved it with the manager.

The food was very good and the service was impeccable. The I my disappointment was that we had a reservation but got seated at a four top table right by the door — would have thought we could have had a more intimate seating option.

Love this place. Food is fantastic

My wife and I are vegan and lacto-vegetarian, respectively, and we love the food at Cafe Gratitude. The food and ambience for foodie-vegetarians is fantastic, and we would love to frequent this restaurant more often, but it's quite a drive from our North San Diego County residence. If you are fortunate to live downtown or near downtown, do not hesitate to take advantage of this wonderful restuarant! We highly recommend it even for those who are not wholly vegetarian.