Report Abuse

Worth a second visit...?

3 Posted on 03 / 02 / 2013

My husband had the burger and I had the falafel. His was very good! Mine was okay. I really wanted to love Source, but found my experience uneventful. The food was good in a reliable sort of way. The restaurant lacked warmth and was a bit cold and hard feeling on the inside. The staff however, were very friendly and helpful. I think I will need to go back to form a firmer impression of this place. I left with mixed feelings.

Pros: Friendly, helpful staff, good food, interesting options
Cons: Atmosphere lacked warmth

Report Abuse

good food.

4 Posted on 01 / 19 / 2013

+ great variety of dishes
+ good food
- place is not very cozy

Report Abuse

Source

4 Posted on 01 / 10 / 2013

I think I ordered the wrong entree, the truffle mac 'n' cheese - it was too rich and the flavoring was off. I couldn't really taste the truffle either, and the dish tasted like a strange chemical that I cannot put my finger on.

However, Source redeemed themselves with dessert. The chocolate covered twinkies (they called them something else) were out of this world. I was hoping to make it back to pick up more, but I did not make it...darn! I assure you that I'll be heading back here for more twinkies during my next visit, because they're that great. You should try them too!

Report Abuse

desserts!

4 Posted on 01 / 02 / 2013

the desserts are beyond description. must have! honestly, they sounded exciting from when Source first opened but at the beginning were very disappointing--dry and flavorless. At some point they must have changed recipes or hired a new baker because suddenly they are moist, creamy and delicious. I was really afraid to even try them again after the first time but thought well its been some time, maybe something has changed. So glad I did. GO THERE NOW.

Also creamy fondue appetizer is super delicious as well.

Pros: dessert, extensive menu, good apps
Cons: some dishes bland

Report Abuse

Health + food for people ignorant of both

2 Posted on 12 / 29 / 2012

We're high raw vegetarians and unfortunately this place missed the mark by a long way.

The ambience feels like a slightly dilapidated and faintly grotty American diner (well it did to us but we're not American so the locals may not agree), staffed by heavily tatooed hispanic immigrants who are cold, unfriendly and largely disinterested. Certainly not the upbeat, energized and enlightened vibe you should get from the kind of place they are trying to be.

The menu is an eclectic mix of various international cuisines, but they fail to pull of any of them. We had a vegetable fondue for appetisers which was oily, heavy and pretty tasteless. For entrees we had a Source Salad which was heavy, way over flavoured and smelt like someone's armpits (too much cumin), together with a noodle dish called dan dan which was totally inedible - the sparsely portioned noodles were dreadfully overcooked, as were the colourless veges on top.. and this is not to mention the flavouring, which was the worst we've encountered in a restaurant in a long time - a very far cry from the Asian tan tan noodles we assume they were trying to be. One mouthful was the most either of us could manage.

The best thing we had was the 8 vege juice but that was nothing to write home about either really. The elixir drink called esctasy made us both feel sick and even now I feel nauseous and have a massive headache - this is more than 6 hrs later.

Glad to see their vege fare is appealing to a wide audience - in that way I guess they have a place in this world, but it's certainly not a health minded foodie's cup of tea. And if you're a tourist (which we are), it's totally out of the way from anywhere you want to be as well, so definitely not worth the effort.

Report Abuse

This is a fantastic restaurant!

5 Posted on 11 / 28 / 2012

My husband and I have been to Source many times now. We love the food! It is innovative and delicious. You can get anything vegan! We have brought friends and family members, and the meat eaters love it too! I would highly recommend this restaurant.

Pros: Excellent Food, Innovative, Reasonably priced
Cons: No alcohol served

Report Abuse

Great for those with allergies

4 Posted on 11 / 24 / 2012

Great veggo find for those with food sensitivities/allergies. While the atmosphere is that of a standard restaurant (read: casual), the quality of food easily rivals (and beats) Green's in Fort Mason. The dishes are seasoned perfectly (minus Indian selections, specifically the dosa) and portions, perfect. First time diners should definitely try the veggie burger and mushroom risotto.
This is the perfect workday lunch establishment for anyone who cares to eat food which is both delicious and nutritious.

Pros: Homestyle cooking, Price, Veggie burger
Cons: Indian dishes

Report Abuse

Worst veg meal I've had in SF

2 Posted on 08 / 28 / 2012

This is the first negative review I've done on Happy Cow, and I wouldn't, except that we not only had a bad meal, but a very bad experience. And I'm surprised by how all the reviews here are 5-star, whereas on Yelp there are some reviews that more closely match our experience. The food was greasy and underseasoned. Our burger was bland, the Moo skewer plate tasting almost entirely of salt. The service was what made it all most unpleasant. The girl who took our order insisted we order her suggestions (we could have said no, but, really, not without actual rudeness), and the owner was almost frighteningly overbearing. He was everywhere in the dining room, sitting with customers or returning repeatedly. With us, he hovered around our table; he asked sharp questions until we said we didn't love the meal. He tasted it, told us it was perfect, and gave us a lecture. I worry that this food and experience could turn off omni friends you bring. I'd give Source one star if Happy Cow allowed lower than two for a veg place.
Updated from previous review on Tuesday August 28, 2012

Pros: parking
Cons: invasive service, bad food, unpleasant experience

Report Abuse

True Flavor

5 Posted on 05 / 07 / 2012

With so many vegetarian restaurants in San Francisco that seem to forget the vegetarian and vegan doesn't mean "I hate flavor" Source is rocking the boat with amazing food.

Fantastic pizzas, flavorful sauces, and to die for vegan and raw desserts. I've taken vegan, veg, and meat eating friends here and no one has had anything but rave reviews for it.

Report Abuse

DELICIOUS!~!~!

5 Posted on 04 / 06 / 2012

While visiting my aunt in the bay area I looked up reviews on happy cow about Source and I have to say I was not disappointed. The food was spectacular! The service great as well, I asked all the waiters their favorite dish and ordered one of each...it had been a long 2 week family holiday and I NEEDED my veg fix. The atmosphere was amazing, cool trippy lights, weird waterfalls, very mellow. It was the perfect meal, and the vegan artichoke dip was NOM! Highly recommend the pumpkin cheesecake but that might of just been a Christmas time flavor. It was a little expensive but its San Fran I am not surprised.

Pros: GREAT FOOD, EVEN BETTER SERVICE, ATMOSPHERE
Cons: pricey :(

Report Abuse

Yes, yes, yes!

5 Posted on 03 / 15 / 2012

This was one of my favorite places I went to while I was in town; we actually ate here twice. Most things can be made vegan. I highly recommend the vegan ceasar salad, and really, everything we ate here was excellent. Definitely give this place a try!

Pros: great variety, great food, vegan desserts

Report Abuse

Vegans and Non Vegans will LLOOVVEE The Source!

5 Posted on 02 / 03 / 2012

I just had a FABULOUS dinner at The Source: easy parking, great food, excellent service. I was with a carnivore and a fellow vegan and we all left knowing we will come back. The chef is amazing; the menu describes what might lead you to think you will get veg comfort food (burgers, fries, smoothies, etc.) but the food is absolutely gourmet. Check out this place -- you won't be disappointed.

Report Abuse

Yummy Mac n Cheese

5 Posted on 12 / 23 / 2011

I had read about this place on happycow and decided to eat here on my December 2011 San Francisco trip. Here's my Source review.

The very interesting thing about Source is that its menu is crazily diverse, drawing food inspirations from many different countries. There's the American food (fries, burgers, pizza...), then there's Indian dosas, Thai green curry, Chinese stir frys, Italian pasta, and others. Just below their name signage reads, "a multi dimensional experience" (or something like that), and I get it.

My husband and I shared the vegan mac n cheese, and it was super delicious, like a gourmet mac n cheese! I especially liked that it was made with a in-house-made cashew cheese. So yummy. We also shared the awesome burger, served in a thick and soft pita bread. The patty was a in-house-made patty, slightly charred all around but soft and yummy on the inside. While tasty, the burger was dry. It lacked a sauce, or some pickles, or some more tomatoes... something to give it more juice and take away the overall dryness.

The menu features so many different dishes to try, and I can't wait to return to SF again and try another item (like a pizza or a dosa or a raw salad).

Report Abuse

A great combination of price, food and energy!

5 Posted on 12 / 18 / 2011

My lady friend and I recently took a trip to San Francisco for Thanksgiving weekend, and were on the hunt for a vegan place to eat; this was recommended to us by Yelp!, and as it seemed close to where we were in the city at the time, we decided to give it a try. We were pleasantly surprised, as all of the dishes that we had were both tasty and filling. She had the vegan moussaka and I had the shepherd's pie. Both were delicious, multi-valent in their flavorings and textures. Dessert was even better as we took the vegan twinkie and a cup of the living cheesecake to go. Fantastic all around, and incredibly well-priced for organic food. I would go back in a heartbeat!

Pros: Taste, Ingredients, Price

Report Abuse

YAY!

5 Posted on 11 / 30 / 2011

Between four of us we were wowed by a dosa, burger and two different pizzas. then we plowed through some intense sweetness with the twinkie, the cheesecake (more of a mousse, really) and something else crazy sweet. While some dishes are unnecessarily greasy (dosa), the flavors are sensational and overall The Source is a wonderful place. Definitely worth the trip from Oakland. The owners are the head chef and his brother who wanders around the room and makes friends. The women who took orders were sharp, fun and very nice. Can't wait to get back and check out more of the diverse and extensive menu.

Pros: superb tastes, good value, friendly staff
Cons: some dishes too greasy

Report Abuse

Source San Fran

5 Posted on 11 / 02 / 2011

Before you tell me all the things you will miss if you become Vegan, you need to go to Source in San Francisco. My favorite things, Pizza (Yep got tons of choices), Wings (Yep), Mac and Cheese? (Best youve ever had) Short of Filet Mignon, you wont leave missing a thing. I travel the entire country and there is no place like this that I have been too. The stuff they are doing is radical. Vegan cheese like you've never seen. Go here now. Youll thank me later.

Pros: options, service, atmosphere
Cons: not more locations close to me

Report Abuse

Vegan Spinach Dip FTW

5 Posted on 09 / 13 / 2011

I came here in a hurry for lunch and got Vegan Spinach Dip and a hummus variety platter. My carnivore fiance loved both things... however I was unreasonably overprotective of the Spinach Dip, probably because it was the greatest vegan (non dessert) thing I've ever eaten. It is even better than the non-vegan version, the kind I used to die for at TGIFriday's.
In fact, when we ran out of things to dip in it, (I live across the country, so I didn't care who judged me) I was eating it like it was a thick soup or something, just to make sure I got my money's worth - it was that heavenly.

the menu is great, it ranges from healthy to something to satisfy an intense craving,

Even though it isn't 100% vegan, I'm giving it 5 stars because the cashier told me everything can be made vegan when i was having trouble deciding what to order. With versatility like that, that's 5 stars in my book.

Pros: fast service, everything has a vegan version, VEGAN SPINACH DIP

Report Abuse

Source of my happiness!

4 Posted on 09 / 10 / 2011

I just ate at Source for the first time, it was so amazing! The staff was friendly and very helpful with recommendations. The food was excellent and the menu can be entirely made vegan. I recommend the Baked Vegan Spinach Artichoke and the Philly Cheese Moo!

Pros: Gluten-Free Items, Friendly Staff, Delicious Vegan Food

Report Abuse

Excellent Vegan Food

5 Posted on 08 / 07 / 2011

I really enjoyed my trip to Source while I was in SF. The atmosphere is casual, but nice, the menu is creative, and the food is tasty.
As an appetizer, my husband and I tried the buffalo "cluck" which were super tasty. I had the special brick oven pizza of the day, which was delicious. It had roasted potatoes, spinach, and onion, with garlic sauce, with their cashew based cheeses. I loved it and would definitely be trying more of their pizzas if I lived in the area.
My husband got the philly cheese steak, which he thought was good, but nothing spectacular.He did get the gilroy dipping sauce for his fries which was delicious.
All of their desserts are vegan, and I do not suggest visiting Source without trying one. We got a vegan moon pie and a peanut butter cookie topped with jelly frosting to go, and they were both so good.
I definitely want to go back to Source the next time I'm in SF to try out more menu items.

Pros: Creative menu, Tasty food, Awesome desserts

Report Abuse

Great all around spot

5 Posted on 08 / 04 / 2011

Awesome appetizers, entrees, desserts and drinks.

I believe 80% of the menu is Vegan-friendly, and 100% is Lacto Vegan. No eggs, gelatin, rennet, meat, fish, alcohol in the whole restaurant.

Great quality ingredients, and everything i tasted was yummy (the burger, the mac & cheese, soup, whoopie pie for dessert).

Pros: Huge menu, Fresh ingredients, Service

Report Abuse

Delicious!

5 Posted on 07 / 19 / 2011

If you loved those marshmellow Sno Balls or Twinkies, you will LOVE Source's vegan versions. Seriously wicked! They taste so much like the real thing that it's sinful. We tried an appetizer and an entree and both were delicious. We were disappointed that we weren't more hungry because the pizza looked awesome. We will definitely go back to enjoy more.

Pros: Good service, Friendly staff, Great parking

Report Abuse

Cool place, big portions, excelent service!

3 Posted on 07 / 16 / 2011

We had dinner at Source last night. No alcohol, but they have "Elixirs", which taste like distilled flowers- interesting experience. My husband had a delicious orange-vanilla smoothie. Yummy!
We shared the vegan spinach artichoke foundue and were not impressed. It look beautiful, but it was pretty bland. A little salt and more nutritional yeast would have gone a long way.

I had the dosa special stuffed with kale, pumpkin and basmati rice. It wasn't your traditional tubular, crunchy dosa. It was a big crepe stuffed with Indian flavors with a little shredded coconut stuff on top and a green chutney on the side. I reheated the leftovers of my humongous dish this morning and it was still delicious.

My husband's burger was pretty good too.

We shared two super-sugary desserts that tasted like Hostess baked goods. Suggestion to owner: Add a more natural dessert to the menu. Perhaps something fruity? A mousse?

Service was great. The food was at our table very quickly and the manager came by a few times to ask if we needed anything.

The place was funky and comfortable. We stayed for more than 2 hours and nobody cared.

Prices were very reasonable too.

All in all good experience, BUT it's a shame this place serves animal secretions in the food...

Pros: Variety, Ambiance, Service
Cons: Animal secretions, Bland fondue, No alcohol

Report Abuse

Great service

4 Posted on 07 / 13 / 2011

My boyfriend had the vegetarian lasagne which he said was very good with lots of gooey mozzarella and flavourful tomato sauce. He said it would be potentially good vegan style as well. All this from a meat-eater! We had the vegan artichoke spinach fondue with pita bread for an appetizer, which had good flavour and texture. My boyfriend said it reminded him of a quiche a little bit. We both really liked it. I stupidly ordered the truffled vegan mac and cheese, knowing full well that I don't like truffle flavour. I couldn't eat it, and went to order something else. The staff was super nice and insisted on giving me my money back even though it was my fault for ordering something I didn't like. I had ginger noodles with tofu instead which was good. They were also nice about giving us directions back to our hotel. Although I would not recommend walking back to the downtown hotel area from here if you are visiting as it is a really sketchy neighborhood in between.

Report Abuse

delicious food, amazing service

5 Posted on 06 / 17 / 2011

I can personally vouch for the yumminess of the tofu pizza, their vegan fondue, shepherd's pie, the bread pudding, and the "avocado oink burger." I can't wait to go back and eat my way through the menu.

The restaurant seems to be in between a "fast casual" and a casual sit-down categories.The ordering process (you order, then pay, then sit down and your food is brought to you) confused my in laws. It's not that hard once you get the hang of it.

The staff is awesome. I'd like to give a huge thank you to management for hiring people who actually enjoy customer service. Their playfulness and dedication really adds to the atmosphere and makes it a joy to eat here.

Source is a fairly new restaurant, and not all that busy...yet. I am sure this place will eventually be "discovered" by the San Francisco masses. Do yourself a favor and check it out now, before you have to wait an hour for a table.

Pros: excellent food, awesome staff, diverse menu
Cons: a little inaccessible via public transit, hippy decor : p, ordering process a little different

Report Abuse

Great food, atmosphere

5 Posted on 05 / 04 / 2011

This place bills itself as being ultra-local with a full immersion of smells, sight, sound, etc. Not sure if I buy all that, but the food was delicious and it does smell amazing inside! Mostly vegan, we had shepherd's pie and this amazing cripsy rice dessert with some type of vegan marshmallow mixture. Not too pricey and with a focus on local and organic, Source is pretty neat. Check it out if you're in the area.

Pros: mostly vegan, local , organic