Gnome Cafe

We were passing through town and really glad we stopped here. Food is delicious (seitan sandwich, grit bowl, biscuits, onion rings, fries). Ambiance is modern chic. There's a bunch of seating but it was busy. Thankfully you place your order at the counter and by the time our food was ready, there were open chairs. If you're into great vegan comfort food, don't miss this place.

This place is a bustling cafe with so many options. Breakfast is served all day. They have coffee and pastries too. All are of course vegan! They are usually open for only breakfast and lunch so you should come early. I came here on vacation and didn't know the regular hours. Be prepared to pay about $12 for a salad and $10 for a burger.

What an excellent little cafe! We shared one breakfast (cinnamon pancakes) and one lunch (veggie burger) and a few extras thrown in and every single bite was delicious. We'll be regulars from now on.

Super friendly southern charm and vegan too! can't miss combo. Must try the grits of you aren't a native, excellent. Buffalo fried seitan sandwich was fantastic. Good coffee and bagels.

seriously, this place is phenomenal! my boyfriend and i were visiting charleston for a wedding and we ate here every morning. everything we tried was incredible. cinnamon pancakes with bacon was my personal favorite (it's also gluten free!). we also had the veggie burger (we added bacon) and fried seitan sandwich, all were super delicious. oatmeal cookie shake was sooo good and also, they carry hemp milk which is a major plus :) even brought our non-vegan friends here and they loved it too. only downside was that they were closed on sundays

Delicious Southern Vegan Food. We had the Southern Vegan Grits, the Vegan Sausage and Biscuit, Vegan Mac and Cheese and the Vegan Rubén. They were all unreal! But the winner was the Vegan Rubén Sandwich. Sooooooo good. I want to go back now. And good coffee too. :-D

Gnome Cafe in downtown Charleston is an all vegan establishment where breakfast is served all day! I ordered the Southern Grits bowl and it was awesome. This huge portion of grits came topped with sauteed kale, tofu scramble, marinated portobello "bacon" and plenty of nutritional yeast. Also, there's a water station for you to fill up on H2O (I noticed it only after I was done eating!).

This place was seriously a god send after eating multiple restaurants with my family that had ZERO vegan options (dead serious, even the potatoes and wraps at one restaurant weren't vegan).
Anyway, a super food restaurant that places importance on sustainability. I've had several dishes there and loved them all!

During my stay in South Carolina I prepared for my visit to Charleston and immediately wrote down The Gnome as a breakfast stop. The staff is very friendly, the cashier even asked to take a picture of me with my camera, which was very sweet. Thank you!! :)
I wanted to order something with fruit but then decided for the bagel sandwich, which was a bit too oily for me, but that's my taste. The flavor was awesome and it was my first 'real american breakfast'. I tried the cream cheese bagel as well, which was ordered by a friend and it tasted sooo much like real cream cheese that I wrote an email to the staff to re-assure that the cream cheese really was vegan ;). But no worries, the cafe is all vegan!
Great cafe, thank you! I am proudly using the Gnome-bag.

Updated from previous review on 2016-07-25

How lovely is it when you can find a totally VEGAN restaurant with delicious AND healthy food, a very nice staff, and a sunny and clean atmosphere??? It is SOOO lovely! Find this place and enjoy yourself! Loved it.

This place is amazing! The food is top notch; staff is friendly and helpful, ambience is refreshing and clean. We had the portobello BLT and fried seitan (buffalo style). Everything was beyond delicious. The portions are huge! Baked goods are a special treat, too! Thank you for existing, Gnome! Charleston needs more like you!

This is an amazing addition to the Charleston vegan food community. It is a wonderful venue, laden in light and smiles. The food is superb. I have already been there 6-7 times and will be there many more times. Thank the Universe for Gnome. That veggie burger tho!

Yay for Charleston and YAY for the owners and employees at Gnome!! This is a phenomenal restaurant for any city & definitely a superb addition to vegan options in Charleston. I went vegan almost 6 years ago & have been waiting patiently for a restaurant like Gnome. Thank you thank you thank you!! Everything on the menu is delicious. My favorite is the taco salad - you can choose romaine or kale - spiced lentils, corn, guacamole, cilantro, onions, tomatoes, I'm sure I forgot something, all topped with a perfectly spiced sauce - pure yumminess. Breakfast is a wonderful experience as well (and is served all day) - breakfast burrito!! Cinnamon gluten-free pancakes with portobello bacon!! Southern grits bowl!! And the hemp milk latte!! Four non-dairy milks to choose from for regular coffee (soy, coconut, almond, hemp!! My only minor complaint is that Gnome closes at 3:30PM. BUT it opens at 6:30AM. I can't say enough about this restaurant - there are not enough positive adjectives in the English language. Definitely my new go-to place!!

We rode our bikes to the cafe and then died of happiness. I ordered the breakfast burrito (delicious!) and my boyfriend ordered the hemp "sausage" biscuit (it was tasty) as well as the cinnamon roll. Everything was delicious and I loved the vibe of the little cafe. Definitely recommend it to anyone passing through. Also, my boyfriend said that using the bathroom made him feel like he was in the jungle... almost went full Tarzan mode.

Scrumptious food and exceptional service!! Loved the mellow, friendly atmosphere--especially the satsuma tree and various plants. The non-dairy Mac & cheese was the best I've ever had!! The hemp "sausage" biscuit with pepper jelly was amaze balls and the cinnamon roll is a must have. I will definitely be going back here. I highly recommend everyone to go and try this amazing food and see how easy and flavorful it can be to eat a plant based diet.

We stopped here twice during our trip to florida. Absolutely delicious and the atmosphere was super welcoming and chill. They were playing Ram Das on our last visit. We so loved our breakfast burrito, southern grit bowl and cinnamon roll we ordered it again on our way back to brooklyn from Florida.

Gnome is super cute and cozy. It was quite busy when we went, but definitely worth it. We got the bulgogi tofu bowl (tasty, but I would have liked more seasoning on the veggies) and the mushroom blt (omni approved). I would definitely go back here again and try something new. Everything on the menu and in the dessert area looks delicious

I was born and raised in Charleston and went vegan after going off to college - I was always a bit disappointed coming back to limited options, but not anymore! I think I've heard one bad thing about one item on the menu, everything else I've heard is fantastic! Personally I had the korean bowl and my friend had the grits, home fries and toast and liked all of it. Really vibrant atmosphere, I just enjoyed being there 5/5 would recommend to anyone looking to try something new
Updated from previous review on Sunday January 10, 2016

As a charlestonian vegan, I find that we've been kind of lacking in vegan restaurants, but now we have gnome cafe! I got a vegan blt and Mac & cheese and they were both very delicious. My mom and sister got things that were equally amazing and the food was overall outstanding! The only con was the limited seating, but the staff made sure we had a seat at the "bar" so we could eat. I love all the different options from burgers to "chicken" sandwiches, to classic Reubens! Definitely go if you're ever in the area, you won't regret it.

It's insane that in a city claiming culinary kudos there is only one vegan restaurant. But at least there's one, and thank goodness it's The Gnome Café. The place has only been open less than two months, but it certainly doesn't show; it's a well managed, effortlessly slick, yet friendly and relaxed environment, staffed by well informed, enthusiastic and welcoming personnel. The decor is clean, minimal and yet enhanced by some lovely horticultural touches. All of the above is reflected in the food; conscientious, considered and well put together. I enjoyed the pancake breakfast, as well as the Tempeh Rueben and the Veggie Burger. This is an impressive, professional establishment that already feels like a Charleston institution. Go now, so in years to come, you can say you were there at the start!

We were passing through on our way south, by boat, and I had to try this place. We even stayed an extra day because they weren't open on Sunday. No regrets!! We ordered the Tempeh Reuben, baked mac n cheese, onion rings, Brussels sprouts slaw. All excellent! We got them to go and the ordering system is so easy!! The restaurant was modern and clean...wish we had the time to eat in too. I also got cinnamon rolls. They threw in a muffin for free because I wanted cake and cupcakes and they were out. How sweet!! AND delicious! I highly recommend!!