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Spread 
 based on 11 member reviews
2879 University Ave, San Diego California
92104
619-543-0406
Type: Lacto, Organic, Wine, Catering
Info: Motto is "nouveau comfort food." Specializes in nut spreads. Small creative menu. Open Tue-Sat dinner 6-11pm, Sun brunch 11am-2pm. Price: Expensive.
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| "Don't waste your time (and money)!"
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My Rating |
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1 |
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Posted on: Wednesday, September 16, 2009 |
Review: I don't think I have seen such small portions served in any restaurant ever! While the food was OK (not great), the miniscule amount of food they served us was almost laughable, except for the fact that it was VERY expensive. What the owners are thinking is hard to fathom. We will not be returning.
Pros: friendly * *
Cons: tiny, tiny portions * uncomfortable seating * food just so-so |
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| "best fresh vegetarian food in San Diego!"
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My Rating |
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5 |
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Posted on: Tuesday, August 04, 2009 |
Review: I've been to Spread 3 times, and each time it's an amazing experience. The food is delicious, the staff is friendly, and even though I've only been there 3 times, on the 3rd time, one of the owners (? I think he's an owner) recognized me and my bf, and couldn't believe it had been 9 months since we had been there. I only have 2 complaints- it's too far from my house (about a 30- 40 minute drive), and it's too expensive to eat at every weekend! But I definitely recommend Spread (take your non-veg friends, too!)
Pros: excellent food! * healthy * good portion sizes
Cons: * * |
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| "Very disappointed."
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My Rating |
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1 |
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Posted on: Sunday, June 28, 2009 |
Review: My partner and I went to Spread for the first time yesterday and were so excited to try a new vegetarian restaurant. Being vegan in San Diego is a challenge because there are not a lot of good vegetarian/vegan restaurants and we were hoping for the best. Sorry to say, it was so disappointing. The first thing that caught our attention was how uncomfortable the chairs were. They were almost like lawn chairs or something and it was a challenge trying to find a comfortable sitting position. "Oh, well", we thought, "no problem", and we looked forward to our meal. But, it only went downhill from there. The server was friendly and explained each dish on a very limited portable blackboard menu. We were told that we should order 2=3 entrees. We were a little put off when we were told that they only serve one dish at a time because they encourage sharing. We wondered (privately) why we couldn't share more than one dish at a time? The price ranged from $15-$17 per entree which seemed high, so we ordered 2 dishes,but we still were excited about our upcoming meal. I ordered a lemonade ($4), and my partner ordered a mojito ($8). The drinks came out with a few pieces of bread and some olive oil with flowers in it. The drinks were tiny and overly sweet and the bread was dry. Our first dish arrived (bruschetta and garlic) and it was tasty, but tiny, and it used the same small dry bread. The next dish was gumbo and it was good, but extremely tiny (about the size of a small cup of soup, and it cost $17!!). Strangely enough, it also came with the dry bread. At this point we began to realize that we were not going to leave this restaurant feeling full unless we spent major $$$, so we decided to cut our losses and prepared to ask for the check. That's when the owner came by and began to push his "killer" dessert of home-made chocolate nut butter pretzel. We said OK. Bad decision. It was-surprise-that same tiny bread with the smallest shmear of peanut butter on it! We couldn't eat more than one bite each because it was so dry. Oh, and the price-$11!! A PB &J at home would have been a thousand times better. Total bill, including tip was $80 ! We left the place sort of shell-shocked. We were served the equivalent of maybe a small appetizer at most restaurants and two poor drinks and we were charged $80? I wish we had better things to say, as the server and owner were both friendly and the service was fast, but that is impossible.
Pros: friendly * fast service *
Cons: super expensive * miniscule portions * one dish at a time theme |
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| "great food, fun atmosphere"
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My Rating |
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1 |
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Posted on: Sunday, May 03, 2009 |
Review: had a great experience at Spread. the food was fresh, beautiful, and yummy. Almost all the options were vegan. all were organic and local. they used lots of edible flowers. my husband who is not veg loved it also
Pros: excellent food * friendly staff * beautiful presentation
Cons: * * |
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| "cool place"
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My Rating |
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28 |
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Posted on: Thursday, March 19, 2009 |
Review: Very trendy upscale place. a little expensive, but the food is good. Very limited menu, because they use very fresh ingredients. Seating is uncomfortable. Staff/management was helpful with info and vegan requests.
Pros: fresh food * healthy *
Cons: crowded seating * prices * |
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| "Definitely a 5, but some may not like"
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My Rating |
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304 |
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Posted on: Sunday, September 21, 2008 |
Review: Spread is like a Tapas style veggie place, except each tapa is $16. The dishes are so amazingly flavorful. Its like alchemy with flower infusions. Even the water is flavored. Don't miss out on their cocktails either. The negative is that its not your typical large vegan overload food for the $. Also, they use a lot of oil. Next time we're going to try to request oil free, but we didn't want to insult the chef. Its a really great, inventive place and if you're really into experiencing new things / flavors its for you. If you want a burrito the size of a football, then no.
Pros: inventive * flavorful * drinks
Cons: small portion * too much oil * uses toxic cleaning products |
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| "VERY GOOD FOOD"
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My Rating |
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3 |
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Posted on: Tuesday, June 17, 2008 |
Review: The food at Spread is very good. I am not sure where some of the poor reviews are coming from - but the owner is clearly passionate about offering only fresh organic gourmet food. The price is a little higher than most places - but by no means more than a good regular restaurant. I think some of the people here equate vegan to cafes and health food stores. The portion sizes were fine - we shared a salad and 2 entrees for 2 people - plenty of food. The desert was simple - fruit and one of the spreads as a dip - great.
They were very serious about explaining the menu to you - we felt like we were back in school - but we will for sure go back.
Pros: Food * Staff * changing menu
Cons: decor * * |
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| "Spread the bad news"
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My Rating |
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6 |
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Posted on: Friday, March 07, 2008 |
Review: The restaurant is more about selling an experience by setting a chic and hip atmosphere. It is not a place to enjoy a plate of deliciously prepared vegetables. It's too much about being cool than being comfortable enough to enjoy your food. Although the food was "prepared" creatively, the amount was just ridiculously small. I like the idea of using fresh and local supplies; however that was the only thing I like about Spread. If you want to waste your time and money, this is the perfect place for you.
Pros: vegan * local foods *
Cons: small portion * costly * |
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| "Creative but salty"
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My Rating |
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4 |
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Posted on: Saturday, February 09, 2008 |
Review: A stark, hard surfaced interior made the LOUD music all that much too loud. The menu is definitely creative with fresh fine quallity food. However, I like food with some salt, not salt with some food. A lighter touch w/the salt would make the fine quality ingredients and creative gourmet food a good dining experience.
Pros: Healthy cusine * friendly staff * nice space
Cons: loud music * very salty * |
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| "THE BEST VEGETARIAN RESTAURANT EVER!!!"
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My Rating |
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3 |
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Posted on: Tuesday, October 09, 2007 |
Review: I've traveled all over the country, and this is by far the best vegetarian restaurant in the US! The creative, all organic, incredibly original menu here is always top-notch. As for the pricing, this quality of food in any other city would be twice the price, at least. Every day they're open, the owners go to farms & markets & only use produce picked THAT DAY, and it's all local & organic. Can you imagine the amount of work they put in? I'm so disappointed in the veg community in SD for some of these reviews. Then again, it's those same people who sit around eating fake meat & fake cheese all day. This place is the real deal, people. You don't know what you're missing. These guys cater for celebs in LA all the time, and i hope we don't lose them because of a bunch of small minded cheap vegetarians in SD.
Pros: originality * delicious * gorgeous & healthy
Cons: wish they were open more! * * |
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• This review is SO obviously written by either the owner of the restaurant or an agent of the owner. For good or bad, an honest review helps the customer make an informed choice and to have a "plant" like this review does a disservice to all potential customers. The vegetarian/vegan community in San Diego is in need of some good restaurants, but unfortunately, Spread is not one of them. The owner and servers are friendly and nice, but the food is way overpriced and the portions are tiny. That's the truth.. response by cleveland
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| "Spread"
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My Rating |
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17 |
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Posted on: Friday, April 06, 2007 |
Review: i agree with some other reviewers - this place is not worth the price. the food is tasty, fresh and creative, but is very limited, very expensive, and the ambiance leaves much to be desired. for the price, i expect upscale decor and a complete menu. i think the edible flowers are actually a nice touch.
Pros: creativity * *
Cons: price * * |
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