Cafe Sunflower

Consistently the best veg head restaurant in Atlanta for years. Wonderful options from starters to desserts. I love everything!

I tried the spicy pad Thai and thought it lacked flavor. Also had the coconut cake and feel that $8 is very expensive for a slice of cake.

Cafe Sunflower is really delicious, but it is pricey and definitely not casual dining. What I like best is that most items on the menu are vegan, the waitstaff are knowledgeable about different diets, and that the food itself is tasty. I feel like there aren't a lot of tables inside for the amount of time it takes for them to prep plates, etc, so you could be waiting for a while.

My sister in law is visiting Atlanta and I had the opportunity to choose a dinner spot for the two of us. Though she was a little skeptical and not 100% sure what vegan meant (no fish either?)...she enjoyed her meal and said she'd go again tonight if her conference weren't hosting a dinner for the attendees.

The staff was really friendly. The food was delicious. I had a salad with nut cheese and asparagus it was soo good. I got the raspberry chocolate moose cake to go and it was very good. I really enjoyed my experience over all and would recommend it.

Cafe Sunflower Sandy Springs has been a go to restaurant for years for Vegans. Most of the dishes were Vegan with a couple of exceptions for dishes with Egg or Cheese. I had dinner there recently and was pleasantly surprised to find out they are totally Vegan now just like their sister restaurant in Buckhead. The menu has some new and updated items which was much needed. The dishes with Vegan Cheese were terrific. Everybody had a wonderful meal and many of us had lunch for the next day as well. They deserve Five Cows!

We visited for the first time this weekend and had an excellent meal, and the service was great as well. The mushroom scallops are amazing!

this restaurant has been a go-to for many vegans and vegetarians as well as meat eaters for decades. IT is fabulous. When I transitioned from vegetarian to vegan I was thrilled with the choices it still offered.
I am thrilled to try their new vegan items, they are beautifully presented and the staff is super friendly.

I had the spicy pad Thai and it was amazing! It wasn't the most authentic pad Thai, but it was really tasty. Coconut milk, bell peppers, mushrooms, tofu, kale, yum! Vegan and gluten free! Every entree comes with a salad. Still kind of expensive at 17 dollars though. Good for special occasions!

Great food and service. Everyone left full. Reasonable pricing. All our meals were $17 each, with leftovers! Great desserts. We will go back again!

We went to the Sunflower Cafe while visiting Atlanta and was really looking forward to it. We were a little disappointed when we left. It does have vegan choices but they were all cooked except the salad which was good, but again very small and not filling. They had to take off the cheese which left us with a slice of tomato and cucumber and then lettuce, which wasn't the dark greens I expected. The meal was long in coming and when it got here had lots of sauces and gravies on it that were salty. I got meatloaf (vegan) with mashed potatoes and broccoli. The meatloaf was not to my liking and the veggies were overcooked and did I say salty? but I was able to eat them. My husband had a burrito that he really liked. They brought rolls with vegan butter that was also very good. The atmosphere was nice, dark and quiet, the service was slow, but our waiter kept coming by giving us progress reports on the food preparation. He was friendly and took time at our table, however we were the only ones there at that time. We felt like it was overpriced, my veggie meatloaf was $17 and I left most of it there. The burrito was $15 since they charge extra for vegan cheese.
Updated from previous review on Friday February 01, 2013

This restaurant is known as a vegetarian restaurant, but "vegetarian" does not necessarily mean healthy. The salads do not all come with dark leafy greens. The basic house salad has cheese, there are no raw dishes, there are no vegetable dishes that are just lightly steamed, and there is salt in the dishes. I ordered what the waiter recommend which was the healthiest menu choice--quinoa with cooked veggies on top.

I get the art. dip app for me and a friend. I seriously was a small spoonful of dip! I could have ate it in one bite! It was pretty good though. The food was good but expensive. I left hungry. Too pricy of a place just trying to be hip.

The food is pretty good for at least $25 per person, and that is a meal without alcohol. The portion sizes are small.

I travel quite a bit with work and LOVE the resource of Happy Cow.net. I enjoyed a great meal tonight at the Sunflower Cafe... if you mapquest them they are a little difficult to find - you might want to call ahead - they gave GREAT directions when I called them. I had the mushroom appetizer - which was VERY good. Four stuff mushrooms in a gravy like sauce - very savory. I enjoyed the sweet and sour "chicken" - soy chicken with water chestnuts, bell peppers, pinapples, brocolli over brown rice. It was perfect. I had enough for left overs for lunch tomorrow and I also got two vegan chocolate desserts to take to work tomorrow to share with coworkers - to prove you CAN have yummy vegan desserts! I have a fridge in my hotel room and will take my lunch and the desserts in tomorrow! Cafe Sunflower is very vegan friendly and have all items marked so you can tell what has dairy - most items do not. They do have soy cheese available you can sub on some items. This will be my new favorite place when travelling to Marietta!!!

I was in Atlanta for just 2 days last week and my friends took me to Cafe Sunflower. I travel a lot, both within the US and abroad and I have been a vegetarian for over 25 years so I have been to MANY veg restaurants everywhere I've been over the years. That "walnut tofu cutlet" was out of this world!!! And my friends who also travel a lot nationally and internationally also mentioned that this was one of the best foods they've had even thought the decor of the place is very low key and unassuming.

Some of the menu items are a little ordinary (soy burger, stir fry, etc.), but the stuffed acorn squash is one of the most unique and tastiest foods I have ever had. The prices are a little high, especially for a "cafe", but they do have a menu on-line, so you shouldn't be too surprised when you get to the actual restaurant.

My family and I go the the Sandy Springs location every weekend. The food is always great, the service is wonderful and there is plenty of parking available. Although the prices are at a premium, it is money well spent and the portions are very generous. The only cons are the small non-refillable soft drinks and being closed on Sundays.

Their "Stuffed Acorn Squash" is my FAVE and is amazingly unique & delicious & filling (2 meals for me); the kale/veggie side that is served with it is done to perfection. The stir fry is also very tasty and the great combination of vegetables are cooked to perfection. The Veggie Loaf & Mashed Taters IS very filling & tasty, also, with that good ol' home cooking style. My hubby loved the Wild Mushroom Fettuccine. We were disappointed with "The World's Best Burger" this past 2007 - several years ago I remembered it being a lot thicker & juicier - maybe we got it with grilled portabello - would be the way to eat this one! In my opinion, the Jamaican Black Bean Cakes are very so-so, wouldn't re-order. The small salad that comes with the meal is basic, but very tasty and the navy beans go well on it - I loved the Soy Sesame dressing! The Basil Rolls with the Sweet & Spicy Ginger Sauce are delicious.
NEXT TIME, I will try the Spicy Pad Thai Noodle dish - that is praised! We don't live near enough to Atlanta to get there as often as we used to when we were in Augusta, TN. It is a shame that a city the size of Atlanta does not have more wonderful vegetarian & EVEN VEGAN restaurants! We once had a wonderful vegan (all vege) sandwich somewhere, but I have no clue where now! If anyone has any idea, please respond to this! But, living near Knoxville, TN (and everywhere else we have lived) - it would be wonderful to have any vegetarian/vegan restaurants available. Generally, when animal flesh/fluid serving restaurants try to serve vegetarian options, they have to load 'em up with animal fluids and just don't take the effort to find great recipes for vegan soups, salads, entrees, and YES - DESSERTS!


Next time, I will try the Spicy Pad Thai Noodles!

Very nice food and atmosphere. This Vege Café has great food and enough room to seat big parties. The 5 of us tried the following dishes:

We shared the Sunflower box - an assortment of starters. With five of us - we really could have used one more starter. Next time! The dishes were really tasty.

For entrees we went our separate ways:

I got the Jamaican Black Bean cakes (basically because we agreed that everyone gets something different, and I ended up with these). They weren't that amazing to me. Kind of just felt like bean patties with some sauces. Not completely satisfying.

Other dishes on the table were:

Sweet and Sour Soy Chicken - REALLY good.
World's Best veggie Burger - REALLY good.
Spicy Pad Thai noodles - REALLY good.
Garden Lasagna - Pretty good.

We ended the meal with carrot and chocolate cake. We all left full and happy. Oh - and we had this lime drink that was also refreshing and new!

I would have taken more cake home for the road. Excellent cakes that were moist, stayed together and good sized portions.

Fora review of Cafe Sunflower, along with photos of the
food and restaurant, visit: www.leolucaescobar.com/thesweets.

I've visited both locations of Cafe Sunflower many times, and they have always delivered when it comes to service and great tasting food. We usually order the Sunflower Box as an appetizer, and everything in it is great, especially the Spaghetti Squash Cakes. I have ordered many different vegan dishes, and they have all been very, very tasty. My favorite, though, is the Spicy Pad Thai. It is the best Pad Thai EVER, and I order it every time I visit.

I know that people have complained about the price, but you really get a lot for your money, both in serving size and taste. For example, the Pad Thai (16 dollars) is a huge serving (you can eat your fill and still have leftovers for the next day), and it also comes with a salad and dinner roll. (The ginger dressing is amazing.)

You can't mention Cafe Sunflower without raving about their delectable desserts. If you are making a trip to the restaurant, you just cannot leave without trying their vegan desserts. Also, the service has always been terrific. I just wish they served alcohol at the Sandy Springs location!