CLOSED: Book Lover's Cafe and Used Bookstore

I've been eating here for ten years and the food has always been decently good but nothing to write home about. The menu had not been updated in what seemed like forever. Recently however I ate brunch here that was fantastic. My husband and I split vegan banana crepes that were out of this world and a tofu scramble with seitan bacon. Everything was so good. I really hope they will keep this up.

I have eaten at the cafe for years and while I do enjoy going very much there are a few guidelines to follow that will give you the best experience possible. First of all they are slow so know it ahead of time and go only when you feel like browsing the bookstore for a while. Their salads are excellent so a good choice is always the 3 salad sampler. Also their desserts and scones are very good. I have had mixed results with their hot dishes which seems to be a common experience in this forum. Finally their homemade drinks are always a nice treat. But I would reccomend checking out their menu before you go (linked below)
http://www.menuwall.com/menus/401#1

The staff is very rude.
The non-dairy lasagna is delicious.
Anything hot on the menu is microwaved.
The sesame-ginger dressing is wonderful.
They do not serve vegan cheese.
The white bean soup tasted like rosemary water- not good.
I wonder if the entrees are frozen.
The tempeh is locally made.
The ginger cookies are delectable.
I would go back in a pinch for the nd lasagna plate.

My family and I stopped in here while on a road trip. I had a quiche that was delicious and my daughter had a lentil vegetable soup that she devoured in like five minutes! We are vegan and found out about this place through happy cow and I guess I should have made sure to ask if everything was vegan because my husband ordered the tempeh ruben and it came out with cow cheese on it. It put us in quite a dilemma because do you send it back and have the cows milk wasted in the garbage or do you eat it with reverence to the cows sufferings. My husband ended up eating around the cheese but we left with very heavy hearts after this incident. It is now in the forefront of my mind to triple check if any animals suffered in the preparation of the food we eat even at a restaurant that is otherwise making an effort to be more conscious of the food they prepare. If you do go to this restaurant, and I still recommend it, try the quiche!

I live in Gainesville and I have been eating here occasionally for years. The food is good. I recommend the sun-dried tomato pesto sandwich and the non-dairy lasagna. One drawback is that service is sometimes extremely slow. This is fine if you are book shopping, but very frustrating if you have a to-go order.

I was recently in Gainesville for 11 days, and I had 4 meals here. The food is fantastic. The tofu quiche is to die for. I also had the vegan lasagna (excellent), the tempeh reuben (strange, but tasty), and the Greek special (with amazing vegan potato salad). The desserts are simple, but good. The staff is pretty knowledgeable, and friendly enough. The bookstore itself is great, too, with lots of cheap used books.

I stopped here when passing through and really enjoyed the food. I love that there's a book store attached that you can wonder through. The veggie burger was excellent. It's a bit of a drive to get to from I75, but I thought it was well worth it and made for a really nice break.

Book Lover's is unique in taste, quality, and atmosphere. There's no place like it. I'm supicious of previous posts that have been so down on the staff. They have always been very pleasant to me and others as far as I've witnessed. The cafe manager carefully picks fantastic daily specials and has a culinary nack for soups and ethnic dishes. I've never been let down. BLC embodies the essence of local pride, community involvement, and healthy vegetarian lifestyle committment.

My dad and I eat at Book Lovers regularly. They always have a nice selection of food. I love their soup, and salad selections. I second the above review about the thai peanut noodle salad. The staff can be gruff, but one only has to deal with them for ordering, and the owners of the book store are lovely. I love looking at the books or at the tiny gallery inside while waiting for my food, but usually the wait is quite short. I highly recomend them.

This used to be my favorite restaurant. So much so I ate dinner there Mon-Fri. But I agree with another review that I read that the service is lacking ALOT! However it's only one young lady that's the problem, she is rude and makes me feel uncomfortable and I'm pretty sure that I'm not alone here. Tiana is wonderful and the new girl seems precious, so maybe there is hope. Also they keep running out of food. Bad management too. I'm calling the owners and hopefully these problems will be resolved.