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wish we lived closer

5 Posted on 02 / 27 / 2013

my wife and i live about an hour away from loving cafe, but seeing as we have family in the area, we usually stop in whenever we're in town once or twice a month.

in the year that we've been visiting, we've never had a bad meal. everything is always delicious and made fresh. sometimes it can take a little extra time when they're packed, but i don't mind, and you can enjoy the free wi-fi while you wait. the owner is a sweetheart, and the place is always full of regulars who keep coming back for more good food and friendly conversation. they've recently added more raw options, especially in the dessert area, and everything we've tried has been amazing -- the cheesecakes, the fudge, the pies. and their regular baked goods are always top-notch. the strawberry scones are my favorite. wish they had them every time i went!

contrary to old reviews, they aren't just microwaving pre-made food. i've watched them make my meals fresh.

i'm thrilled that albany finally has a fully-vegan restaurant, and i hope they stick around for a long time.

Pros: great food, super-friendly owner & staff

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Delicious, helpful, will return!

5 Posted on 01 / 02 / 2013

I'm driving cross-country, stopping for vegan food wherever I can find it. We picked Loving Cafe for our Albany stop based on the last review here and it was the absolute highlight of our day and the best food we've had in a long time. I wish I could carry this place off to Boston with me. I'd never have to cook again!

My husband had the delux veggie burger which he devoured and then started in on my Mac & Cheese which was hot and creamy with just the right amount of salt & pepper. Fortunately I foresaw this so I also got the special: Sweet Potato Wrap. This was good too, but the Mac & Cheese was better. We finished our meal off with the Lavender Vanilla Chocolate Chip Cookies--yum!!! Can't believe it was all vegan but it was. An absolute delight. My husband was so happy he asked them if they had a cookbook to sell. Sadly no cookbook yet. Maybe they'll make one and then we can have a teeny bit of Loving Cafe in Boston. Enjoy, Albany! We'll be back on our next cross-country journey!

Pros: delicious, very helpful staff, wide variety

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so much love!

4 Posted on 06 / 25 / 2012

The Loving Cafe was recommended to me last year, but I am often so disappointed with veg/vegan restaurants in the area that I put off trying it. What a mistake! After going for the first time I was back four times in the subsequent 2 weeks. I think that many of the more negative reviews must have been posted when the restaurant was first opening. It may not be your average restaurant, but to me that is a good thing! I don't want average or customary; I want a genuine experience with warm, accommodating hosts that treat me sincerely as a guest rather than just a paying customer. The owner and head chef believes that through loving our bodies and our selves we can become a better, more progressive community. She is creating delicious meals, juices, smoothies, and baked goods at fair prices while supporting a local food economy. The waitstaff was friendly, attentive, and paid attention to the inclinations of myself and my various guests. I have tried (or at least sampled) a dozen menu items now and each one was surprisingly tasty with well thought out and fresh ingredients. After working as a professional (vegan and non-vegan) cook, waitress, and bartender for over ten years, I can appreciate the effort it takes to build a sustainable and palatable menu. Each meal I've had the pleasure of sharing at the Loving Cafe was lovingly prepared, nutritionally fulfilling, and incredibly tasty! I will be going back often and will bring more friends, vegan and non-vegan. It's a great place to introduce non-veg friends to good food because of the wide selection of meat-tasting item menus that are incorporated with fresh vegetables and whole grains.

Don't believe the bad reviews -- come try it for yourself!

Pros: Fresh and local, Good prices, Friendly and warm hosts

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Not The Loving Hut!

2 Posted on 01 / 05 / 2012

Not worth the trip. Very disappointing. Mediocre at best. Spaghetti noodles with Asian dishes? Um, i have never been to a vegan restaurant where my food was prepared in a microwave before, and i never will again. I wish i could say better. Service was nice, but food did not match. I'd rather have poor service, and really good food.

Pros: service
Cons: Location, food, price

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What a disappointment

2 Posted on 12 / 24 / 2011

My boyfriend and I have been to several Loving Hut restaurants on the East Coast and decided to try Loving Cafe because it's near his mother's house. It's a nice-looking place, very casual, and I appreciate that the Supreme Master TV is not playing, but I wasn't happy about the horrific Christmas music radio station that was playing.

The main problem is the food. If you are going to try to win people over with vegan food, it had better be good. It had better be somewhat inspired. It had better be good portions at reasonable prices. I had a BBQ "chicken" dish with rice and got a ladling of morsels of almost flavorless soy "chicken" and a huge amount of brown rice. That's it. My boyfriend's veggie burger and his mom's wrap were decent, but the chips they came with were thrown on as an afterthought.

The problem is everything is microwaved. The young woman who served us was heating up everything in the microwave--our dumpligs, the spring rolls that came with no sauce, my BBQ chicken, and the other food. And it still took a little too long to come out. The only thing a microwave should be used for in a restaurant is maybe heating up a dessert; it should not be used for cooking the food.

If you are nearby, maybe it's worth it on the way to or from home, but it's certainly not worth traveling to.

Pros: cute restaurant
Cons: bland, uninspired food, everything microwaved

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Would love to try it again

4 Posted on 12 / 23 / 2011

My wife and I decided to stop and eat while we were driving through for the holidays. Unfortunately, they were out of several items, so we didn't get to try some of the menu items we most wanted to sample.

I had the philly steak sandwich, which was hot, tasty, and messy. My wife had the BLT veggie burger, which was topped with an unusual, smoky, semi-marbled faux bacon. Both sandwiches came with a small scoop of delicious, slightly fruity slaw.

Their menu includes a number of simple appetizers and sandwiches, as well as a handful of other entrees. The food is prepared with their sparse kitchen equipment, but they manage to do a really amazing job. I'd love to stop by and try them again when they have more items in stock.