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Greens Restaurant 
 based on 17 member reviews
Fort Mason Center, Building A, San Francisco California
94123
415-771-6222
Type: Ovo, Lacto, Gourmet, American, Banquet, Wheel Chair Access
Info: Vegetarian dining in San Francisco with a view. The windows on the side frame a sweeping view of the Bay, Marina, Golden Gate Bridge, and the Marin Headlands. Thirty-foot ceiling, contemporary paintings, and redwood sculptures decorate the interior. Food is mostly ovo-lacto vegetarian with limited vegan (some dishes can be made vegan upon request). Also Greens-To-Go take away counter. Open daily - see web for hours. Accepts credit cards. Price: Moderate.
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| "Would not return."
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My Rating |
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 13 |
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Posted on: Tuesday, January 26, 2010 |
Review: Here is the letter I wrote to Greens following my experience there... no response so I am posting it here:
We flew down from Seattle for 2 days for a very special vegan/vegetarian tour of San Francisco – We had all the restaurants picked-out and were so excited to be able to take the time off and experience some of San Francisco's finest dining.
Unfortunately, our experience at Greens left quite a bit to be desired. Our server did not seem particularly knowledgeable about the menu, and had to examine our menus to *attempt* to inform us as to which items were vegan or could be made vegan. He also seemed confused about gluten-free vs. vegan, telling us that the hoisin sauce was not vegan, then returning to say that it was vegan, just not gluten-free.
His descriptions of how another dish, the Sampler could be made vegan by leaving off the cheese left-us feeling like part of the meal would be taken-away, rather than how it could be enhanced in any way.
We did end-up ordering the spring roll starter – which was delicious, and my entrée was the Red Curry and his was the sampler. The Red Curry was inconsistently cooked, with some of the vegetables raw, and others fully-cooked. The Thai Cabbage Slaw was a very unsuccessful marriage to the curry. The Sampler was only mediocre, and certainly felt incomplete made vegan.
Unfortunately, the worst part of the meal was the service. The Server did not check-on us once during our meal, though he made numerous trips to the neighboring tables. Once we were finished eating, we kept waiting for him to come-by and offer-us dessert. I had to flag-down a neighboring waitress to ask her to request our server to come-by. He did not. Of course by this time, dessert was sounding less appetizing. I then flagged the other waitress again to ask her to please deliver our check which was passed-on to our server. Once he delivered our check, he never came-by to pick-up the credit card to allow us to pay. We sat patiently for quite a while, until I finally had to ask the hostess if she could run our credit card. She was very apologetic, and told us that she wished that we had had a better dining experience.
We had been looking forward to eating at Greens for a long time! The night before, we had eaten at Millennium where we had one of the best and most delicious dining experiences ever, and expected more of the same.
Pros: * *
Cons: Rude * Staff not knowledgable of vegan items * overpriced |
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| "Disappointing"
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My Rating |
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15 |
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Posted on: Saturday, January 16, 2010 |
Review: My mom had been hearing about this place for several years, so during her trip up to the city this weekend we planned our day around having lunch there. The hosts were very nice and seated us within 5 minutes, but once seated we waited at least 10 minutes for anyone to acknowledge us. We had to ask our server twice for sugar packets (for our tea) and bread, then he came over to tell us that the pizza we ordered would take over 30 minutes and our next choice would take over 20. Finally settled on soup which also took forever. Overall, the food was very mediocre and the service sub-par for such an expensive menu. You're better off going to Millenium if you want to spend a lot of money on fancy vegetarian food. Also, this seemed to be a vegetarian restaurant geared towards the omnivore crowd -- no veggie proteins besides black beans and one dish with tofu, nothing creative or that I hadn't seen before. I was hoping our experience might have been a fluke, but after looking at the reviews on here it seems poor service has been a constant issue. Nice view, but not worth the money...there are too many good vegetarian places in SF to come back here.
Pros: nice view * cool decor *
Cons: too expensive * poor service * |
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| "Certainly Worth Trying"
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My Rating |
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19 |
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Posted on: Wednesday, November 18, 2009 |
Review: A friend and I checked out Greens while spending a few days in San Francisco. Yeah, it was somewhat difficult to locate and yes it is a touch pricey. I would say that you get what you pay for. The views are lovely, it is tastefully and respectfully upscale, the staff is helpful and friendly while a great deal of attention is put into design, decor and presentation. For me, the nicest and most unexpected touch was, having ordered tea, being brought a stunning cast iron teapot with a small chinese-style tea cup; really, everything was first class.
Menus are changed daily to reflect seasonal/fresh/in-stock ingredients which i really respected. The food was delicious and healthy - a portabello burger for my friend and wonderfully cooked kebabs for me (tofu, eggplant and I wish I could remember the rest...).
I'm not exactly sure that I will return to Greens the next time I'm in San Francisco... unless I have a date - no offense to my male friend. The way I see it, I experienced Greens, enjoyed it very much, and can leave it at that. If it grabs your interest, do check it out.
By the way, while it is hard to find, the area around it is a great place to get lost. In the Fort Mason complex there is a huge green space (vis-a-vis Greens it's just up some steep steps) and from there there is a public garden that is something that I will absolutely go back and visit.
Pros: Tea in a cast iron pot! * Day-by-day menus * location/views
Cons: Prices are a touch steep * * |
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| "A real treat!"
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My Rating |
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 1 |
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Posted on: Friday, October 23, 2009 |
Review: Firstly, I agree with some parts of all of the reviews here - it wasn't easy to find, it is a littly pricey and the staff could have appeared to be aloof - if one hadn't have taken the time to chat to them.
However; upon chatting to the waitress she was very pleasant, laughed at our humour and graciously took our picture. We were joking with her about my partner's quest to sit in a seat that Morrissey has graced, and the waitress even took the time to ask her colleague if he had eaten there! (Sadly not!)
We felt that the bill/check was worth the view, the food and the decor combined, but we do tend to shell out a little more when on holiday.
The food and wine were delicious, and we found the surroundings to be very intimate. Yes, there was a group next to us talking and having a good time, as were we, but it was all very low-key with low lighting and very atmospheric.
All in all we felt that our experience there was well worth the search! They even recommended this website to us!
Pros: Mood-enhancing decor * THAT VIEW! * The food
Cons: Initial navigation * * |
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| "Greens"
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My Rating |
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29 |
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Posted on: Saturday, October 10, 2009 |
Review: If you're visiting the city and want a great view of the GG bridge, along with a fancy veg*n meal, this is your place. Otherwise, I found the food just okay.
Pros: * *
Cons: * * |
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| "Wonderful Food"
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My Rating |
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 7 |
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Posted on: Friday, April 24, 2009 |
Review: I went to Greens while visiting SF. I loved it. Although not all items were vegan the ones I had no problems finding something to eat. I ordered the Grilled Brochettes (vegan). It was wonderful and one of my favorite meals that I had while in the area. The waiter was very helpful it letting me know what was vegan or could be made vegan. My husband who is not veg enjoyed his meal as well.
Pros: excellent food * helpful staff * beautiful view
Cons: wished dinner hrs were earlier * * |
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| "great views..and food"
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My Rating |
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67 |
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Posted on: Tuesday, April 07, 2009 |
Review: i had takeaway lunch, then booked a table.
there are stunning views, and the food is good. the service was very good, and our waiter was on top form. we had a shared starter, and as we waited for our main we wee given a couple of menu samplers which was a nice touch. both our mains were good, and although pricey i had a good experience. the one way greens couls improve is by stop trying to imitate food from other countries, the food was good and seemed healthy, but as soon as you try a dish based on a recipe from another country it fails. this is quite to end veggie, it should focus on a californian menu and leave indian and chinese dishes to those who do it best. overall i had a good time, and would recommend greens if your in town.
Pros: good food * good service * good views
Cons: price * * |
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| "I wish it was better"
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My Rating |
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7 |
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Posted on: Saturday, March 14, 2009 |
Review: For all the hype, the food at this place isn't all that great. There are very few vegan options and the it is pretty run of the mill vegetarian fare. I wouldn't recommend it, and since San Francisco has so many wonderful places to eat I'd say you're better off looking for something a little more interesting and vegan friendly.
One last thing: the menu isn't very inventive. I know it is one of the pioneers of the vegetarian restaurant world, but I think some updating of their menu might help. For the prices you're paying you ought to be getting something more than average.
Pros: * *
Cons: * * |
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| "good muffin, rude service"
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My Rating |
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57 |
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Posted on: Thursday, October 16, 2008 |
Review: I was wandering around the Marina when I realized I was near this restaurant. So I went to check it out. It was between meal times when I went so they were only doing to go orders. Their to-go menu is full of sandwhiches but they told the people in line in front of me that they didn't have any more sandwhiches... what!? I wasn't looking for a sandwhich because I wasn't that hungry, but still - I found that to be weird. It was somewhere between 2 and 3 pm. I got a yummy vegan muffin and a tea from this place which I enjoyed outside, but the staff there was just kind of rude. On the plus side the muffin was unlike anything I've ever had before. The vegan options on the menu seemed very limited. I would go again in SF if brought along with friends who liked it, but probably wouldn't make the trip out there by myself. Oh yea, it's next to the SFMOMA, so look at some art when you are done.
Pros: muffin unlike any other muffin I've had * *
Cons: rude staff * ran out menu items? * |
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| "Not recommended"
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My Rating |
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5 |
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Posted on: Wednesday, May 28, 2008 |
Review: My wife and I have been to many vegetarian restaurants, but our visit to The Greens for brunch on a recent Sunday left us quite underwhelmed. It's definitely not one of the better places we've been -- it's several steps below our favorite, the Moosewood Restaurant in Ithaca, NY.
The prices are fairly steep considering that the food isn't of gourmet quality and the portions are fairly small. And it was FAR from being an intimate dining experience -- for most of our meal we could hardly hear each other because it was so noisy (we were in the smaller dining room).
So, while the location is great, our advice would be to dine elsewhere.
Pros: Nice marina view * Nice location *
Cons: NOISY * Overpriced * Mediocre food |
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| "wonderful romantic dinner"
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My Rating |
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2 |
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Posted on: Wednesday, May 21, 2008 |
Review: Perfect atmosphere. We arrived just prior to the sunsetting behind the golden gate bridge. The menu is new every evening depending on what was available at the market and the taste of the food reflex this. it is a little on the pricey side but well worth every penny.
Pros: atmosphere/view * fresh food * friendly service
Cons: too full for dessert * * |
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| "one of my faves"
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My Rating |
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29 |
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Posted on: Monday, March 03, 2008 |
Review: I love this place for the very nice beautiful atmosphere. It's right on the water and it's a great place to go for a fancier meal out. Every time I've been there for dinner it has been extremely busy all the way through closing, so they should probably be open later then they are. Nice decor, great menu. Helpful wait staff.
Pros: view * menu *
Cons: wait * hours * |
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| "requires tactical planning to visit"
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My Rating |
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17 |
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Posted on: Sunday, January 20, 2008 |
Review: my LP guidebook praised this one to the skies. however, i found it hard to locate despite my maps, as it is housed in some barracks-looking building down by the marina (not close to the wharf). i also missed the dining room seating hours for lunch, and had to order quick black bean chili from the takeway bar, so i missed out on an experience i was looking forward to. hopefully you can, with careful planning, manage to get into the dining room & have a chance to experience the view of the water.
Pros: well-recommended * *
Cons: esoteric location * weird biz hours * open-concept |
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• A great invention they have in California to avoid mistakes such as yours are these things called "telephones". Instead of slamming a restaurant for its location or hours, why not take the initiative and call for hours and directions? Seems more reasonable and rational. It may prevent you from making the same mistake constantly throughout your life. You're sure to find places that are closed between lunch and dinner; it isn't uncommon at all.. response by kindlizard
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| "skip it if you're vegan... well unless you're near"
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My Rating |
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334 |
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Posted on: Wednesday, December 05, 2007 |
Review: Not many vegan options, but the waiter was vegan friendly and checked on everything for us. I was expecting a lot more. Its a nice place to find a vegan option, but not a destination.
Pros: views * *
Cons: little vegan food * * |
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| "High end dining"
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My Rating |
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7 |
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Posted on: Thursday, November 01, 2007 |
Review: A high end, high priced experience with a great view and great service. Romantic. The menu was exceedingly interesting and entertaining. Go for it.
Pros: * *
Cons: * * |
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| "little vegan options, and cheese is non organic"
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My Rating |
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4 |
GUEST |
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Posted on: Monday, October 22, 2007 |
Review: This place gets many of its veggies from Green Gulch Zen center, and it has a buddhist influence. That said, I was a little disappointed with the experience there.
Good tasting food, but portions tend to be small given their price.
Very few choices for vegans. Why?
And the cheese is not all organic. The waitress told us they're trying to get it local, but can I accept usual dairy cow cruelty just because it's local? Greens attitude in this respect is quite sad from the perspective of compassion with fellow animals. The place uses organic veggies, so the lack of care about the origin of animal products seems contradictory.
Pros: * *
Cons: * * |
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| "Greens gave me the blues"
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My Rating |
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21 |
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Posted on: Wednesday, October 17, 2007 |
Review: I admit it. I'm a MASSIVE geek. I worked out I'd eaten at 99 veggie/vegan restaurants so I thought I'd go somewhere a bit special for the 100th.... and felt a little let down.
There's not much choice for vegans here - and they couldn't provide us with any vegan wine or beer. The food is pretty good but it's too expensive. The best thing is the view of the bay - but I could see that from outside for free.
Pros: upmarket nosh * great view *
Cons: not much for vegans * pricey * |
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| "Snobs?"
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My Rating |
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4 |
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Posted on: Tuesday, February 20, 2007 |
Review: A couple of friends and I arrived just before brunch (10:30) on a recent Sunday. After he was looked over head to toe, my friend was told the wait was an hour and a half. I called from outside to verify, and I was told the wait was 20 minutes. I then walked inside to put my name in, and the host told me the wait was 2 hours. Seating was visibly available, so I'm not sure what the problem was. It seemed as if we were being snubbed.
Pros: None * *
Cons: Bad hosts * * |
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