Vegan
American
International
Organic
Juice bar
Beer/Wine
Take-out
Breakfast

Serves contemporary vegetarian cuisine for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Wide range of offerings from fresh squeeze juices and pancakes to sandwiches, salads, main entrees, and cocktails. Breakfast served daily til 2pm. Casual, modern decor. Prices cheap to moderate. REPORTED CLOSED, AUG 2016.


Venue map for Herbivore - Mission District
© OpenStreetMap contributors

55 Reviews

First Review by juliotnunes

Petesternz

Points +1429

Vegan
14 Jul 2010

Solid option

This was my second time to an Herbivore restaurant after a long gap. Now i remember why I haven't been there in awhile! Not that it's a bad option, far from it. The menu gets you going with excitement, as there are tons of choices. And, truth be told, all of them were good, some even very good. But this is not a "five cow" place, which is why I remember not rushing to go back. If you're in the area, it's a very good option, but you need to order carefully. Our meal was mixed: the char-grilled portobello sandwich was lovely, and the seasoned potatoes accompanying were solid. The potato salad was also fresh and well made. But our burrito was not particularly good, though it was huge. It lacked any real flavour, and was very light on the sour cream. The Indonesian salad was also just OK, and the strawberry-rhubarb pie seemed to have had better days.

To reiterate, everything was at least good, but only the sandwich and potato salad were really memorable. Service was erratic, as they seemed to lack enough waitress(es) for the place.

Pros: Huge portions, diverse menu

deannafitzgerald

Points +69

Vegan
05 May 2010

my 2nd favorite restaurant in SF-all vegan!

I love this place. I know some of my SF friends think it's just ok, but I've never been disappointed in anything I've eaten there and the staff has always been friendly. My partner and I enjoy it so much that on our trip this past weekend, we went straight there for breakfast from the airport. I recommend the vegan donuts, the tofu scrambles, the pancakes, the roasted almonds and the lemongrass noodles. I also enjoy the mac and cheese, though it has a strong nutritional yeast flavor that my partner isn't a fan of, especially since we've discovered daiya cheese and can make great mac and cheese at home. The restaurant is cozy, but it's SF after all and I enjoy the fruit and veg photos that decorate the place. This is my "2nd" favorite place only because a new restaurant-Gracias Madre has better atmosphere and a changing menu.

Pros: excellent food, friendly staff, all vegan

sglcklch

Points +2815

Vegan
28 Apr 2010

Wish I had read the last review beforehand!

Had dinner here on the last day of our visit to San Francisco. I ordered the shish kebab with homemade seitan on quinoa. It only got one piece of seitan on each of the two skewers and it was just so-so; the side salad that came with it was good though. My boyfriend did the Indonesian udon noodle. The flavor was too mild, and the "udon" wasn't even udon to begin with, more like linguine. That said, portions were big, so it was rather cheap in that regard.

Pros: cheap

Seitan_Nic

Points +201

Vegan
24 Feb 2010

Good Vegan Cuisine in the Mission

I've eaten at Valencia Herbivore... so many times. I've had great experiences and I've had not so great experiences. They have a high turnover rate, so I'm guessing they don't treat their waitstaff that well. Sometimes the service is GREAT, sometimes TERRIBLE, but most of the time it's so-so.

The food is pretty good. I could rundown everything on the menu, but I'll keep it short.

First my favorites: Breakfast here is really good. I like the savory crepe with basil, the pancakes, the southwestern scram, the breakfast burrito and the TLT.

Lunch is good as well- The soy chicken shwarma is my favorite. They also have a really good veggie burger and the salads are great as well. They make good soups, but I would ask what the soup of the day is because the ones on the menu aren't very good.

For dinner I like the portabella with polenta, the ravioli, the potato soy pie, the moussaka and especially the lentil loaf.

My favorite appetizer is the crispy tacos. The mushrooms are really good as well.

The dishes I would advise avoiding are: the ceviche (a good idea but on bread? blah), the shish kebob, the kung pao, the lemongrass noodles and, well everything else that is Asian inspired. They do not do Asian cuisine very well in my opinion.

Pros: Good menu, lots of choices, Great location

Cons: Service is pretty hit or miss

iwoof4u

Points +75

Vegetarian
26 Jan 2010

Can't wait to try lunch or dinner

As the last stop of our veg'n tour of San Francisco, we had breakfast here before flying home to Seattle. Was delicious. They were out of vegan donuts though! We were looking to compare something to mighty o'.

Will definately be on our list for our next trip for something other than breakfast. The lunch/dinner menus looked awfully tasty!

Pros: inexpensive, great service

TRaeCH

Points +384

Vegetarian
28 Nov 2009

Love it, love it, love it!

I swear, Herbivore, one of their two locations, is my first stop the next time I'm in San Francisco. I have only been once but everything was delicious and trying to pick just one entree to order was excruciatingly difficult. When I focus I can still taste that delicious "green juice" smoothie.

I ordered the potato-soy pie which I haven't seen on other menus before; if I did, I can't imagine it could be anywhere near as I had at Herbivore. My friend has he moussaka which I was able to taste and it was delectable.

Just go to Herbivore, it's fantastic. I'll see you there!

Pros: Incredible menu, Breakfast served also, Location

Cons: Service could have been better

VeganTex

Points +215

Vegan
11 Oct 2009

Herbivore

My most visited SF vegan restaurant! The food is just a little above average, but Herbivore has great variety and fantastic dessert. Same review for the Div location.

Delve

Points +302

Vegan
07 Sep 2009

Used to be a favorite

This restaurant used to be a favorite of mine. Boy are those days looong gone. I remember back in 2005 visiting San Francisco - heading straight over to Herbivore and getting one of the best vegan meals I'd had in a long time. The following year I visited again and found the food had somewhat changed in quality - from the time it took to get the food after ordering (15 minutes on a non-busy day) to the fact that most of the food was warmish and bland. Two more years go by and I visit again just to be served bland "I just learned to cook vegan this week" type of food. I had gnocchi which was so soft and 'fall apartish' with a red water sauce trying to pass for pasta sauce. I for some crazy reason went back again the next day and tried the sweet and sour noodle soup. This dish really confused me. How can you have upwards of 8 items in a soup and yet it still tasted bland and boring?? I've worked in a few restaurants and know when a chef is preparing the food and when a new barely trained line cook is 'making' the food. It just seemed like the people making the food were no more vegan than a cattle rancher. I doubt they even know what vegan is. I am now highly disappointed in this restaurant and doubt I will return. Having said all of that..I will add that their french toast and carrot cake is pretty tasty. That's about it.

Pros: french toast/carrot cake

Cons: bland food, can make better food at home, appears to be non-vegan line cooks

stokedonspokes

Points +81

Vegan
07 Sep 2009

i tried

after living in Brooklyn and having the vegan american style food there i was excited to try Herbivore. Boy was i dissapointed. Assured by others it must have been an "off day" i tried it several more times. Still never that good. The food is WAY overpriced for how much you get and how good it is. Seriously.

Pros: all vegan

Cons: too exspensive, over hyped

schumacher62

Points +418

Vegan
08 Aug 2009

as often as i can

i bring friends here when we come to the city, be they vegan vegetarian or carnivore. everyone only ever loves this place. the food is always exceptional, the service hip cool and timely, and the prices are great for such large portions.
parking can be a major hassle. i have never had to wait more than 5 minutes for a table.
the food is a blend of asian, western and maybe south american, all of it flavorful and all of it well made and perfectly spiced and seasoned.
for a fast, healthy (meat free, not necessarily low oil) meal, there is little reason to go elsewhere in san fran.

Pros: clean, with clean restroom, wide menu selection, seasoned waiters

Cons: parking, wait for a table, sometimes

nitekrawler527

Points +24

Vegan
25 Jul 2009

Best Tofu Scramble

Was here a year and half ago. Service was a little unfriendly (compared to the typical NYC vegan waitstaff), but the food was out of control good. I had a tofu scramble with spinach and tomatoes and fried potatoes, fruit, and toast with tea, and it was all so good and inexpensive. Since then, I have yet to have as good brunch anywhere else, either in SF, europe, or NYC. Though I was only there once, all the food coming out of the kitchen looked fresh and flavorful. The space is airy and pleasant with a large window and walls painted in vibrant colors and the menu is huge. My friend and I lingered. Great brunch spot right on a main drag in the mission. Perfect for a sunny late weekend morning or early afternoon brunch. Definitely one of my favorite SF dining experiences!

Pros: delicious, huge menu , in the Mission

Cons: closes early (by NYC standards), unfriendly owner/manager/waitress?

condekedar

Points +9382

Vegan
16 Jul 2008

Great food, great service

I really liked Herbivore. The service was super-attentive and efficient. The ambience is nice. My "chicken" sandwich was delicious and filling, with unusual flavors of garlic-lemon sauce. I also loved the vegetable-protein taco appetizers. I hadn't had quality vegan Mexican food in a long time, so that was a treat. Finally, they had Maggie Mudd ice cream, which was a great dessert. On a whole, the food and service were great and the prices were reasonable, too.

Pros: Service, Taste, Selection

Cons: Location

Hallie

Points +70

Vegan
06 May 2008

good food; all vegan ( :

I've been here three times, and each time the food was great overall. It was extremely busy at night, and we got seated in the back next to the bathrooms... it's a little more private, but also... next to the bathrooms. The hard tacos were a bit of a let down; I like the ones that I make at home better (the "cheeze" on them was just plain cold tofu... boo). The ravioli in creamy tomato sauce is absolutely delicious. The mac and cheeze didn't taste like I was expecting it to, but it was still really good. The donuts are great. The lasagna was alright, not great, but not bad... a little on the dry side. The bbq soy "chicken" sandwhich is AMAZING! It comes with a salad and potatoes, which are also good. I've gotten it twice, and I'd probably eat it every day if I could. Vegetable sampler was okay/good... one of the sauces was pretty nasty, I don't remember any of us wanting to finish it, but the other two were good. Linguine primevera with creamy tomato was sauce was decent, but not great. The vanilla shake was delicious.

Pros: good food, decent prices, large portions

Cons: lousy set up, too busy at night

atandt

Points +141

Mostly Veg
21 Jan 2008

vegan diner with tex-mex flair

i didn't expect this "chain" to be vegan-- it was a little surprising for a place which felt mainstream to effortlessly put forth cruelty-free meals. came here for both dinner and breakfast, and there always was food left on the plates... in fact, my dining companion was irritated by the size of the portions as there was no way we could possibly eat it all :-) happy to see it was licensed. studenty-feel.

Pros: nice selection, ample servings, fast service

Cons: basic fare

Mimi710

Points +585

Vegan
03 Dec 2007

love it!

Great food and not overpriced. I ate here on my last birthday. They have vegan donuts and soy cream (from Maggie Mudd) among the desert options. Can't wait to eat here again. :)

The Veggie Cook

Points +1201

Vegetarian
07 Nov 2007

Chic Enough for Me

A very contemporary kind of vegetarian restaurant, fitting for the time. Menu is typical American-Internation fusion with scrambles, tofu items, sandwiches, etc... Tasty.

craigmc

Points +32565

Vegan
09 Oct 2007

saturday night

so i guess it's okay to have crap service. it was busy, hey but if you don't like it, eep going this way!!!
i wont list all my issues, but the staff had a face like fizz!!!!!!and i left without eating.

Cons: bad service

Qdebra7

Points +32

Vegan
08 Jul 2007

Great food! worth twice the price!!

Fabulous restaurant where EVERYTHING is vegan! I love the mushroom gravy and mashed potatoes!! The pastas are wonderful too. Even the most basic things are great- don't miss the grilled corn on the cob with lime and chile. There is enough here to order something different every day for a month! Don't miss the desserts either - vegan pies - ice cream - cake - delish!!

Pros: CHEAP!!

Cons: Parking is difficult




This page has been viewed 15683 times.