Vegan-friendly
Lacto
Ovo
American
Fast food
Juice bar
Take-out
Honey
Natural food restaurant offering vegetarian Mediterranean menu. Offers vegan burgers, falafel, and lemonade (check for honey). Casual set-up, originally est. 1978. Open Tue 10:30am-4:00pm, Wed-Sat 10:30am-8:00pm, Sun 11:00am-4:00pm.
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10344 Fair Oaks Blvd, Fair Oaks, California, USA, 95628
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- Outdoor seating
- Accepts credit cards
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Last update on 22 Aug 2025 by Forman
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46 Reviews
First Review by Vegan Mom
Nicknselena
Points +338
Well worth a visit - Edit
Have been here a couple times on my way through town. The nut burgers are delicious and many of the other dishes are very tasty. It is very much a burger joint, so I wouldn't exactly call it a healthy option, but if you're in the mood for some fries, a burger, and a vegan shake, definitely check this place out.
Read morePros: Lots of vegan options, Reasonable prices (to fit the food-truck feel), Tasty and satisfying comfort food
Cons: Not all vegan (they serve animal secretions), Not particularly healthy food overall
Guest
waneja
Points +17
Consistently good - Edit
Been coming here for 6 years. Great whether you’re vegan, veg, or not! Milkshakes are so good, nut burger, chili (winter), cornbread, etc. It only takes a little longer because the place is small and the few workers run themselves ragged to make your food quickly. Try it!
Read morePros: Lots of vegan & veg choices, Nice size meals, Funky setting :)
Cons: Don’t go if you’re in a mad rush
Guest
Hazelcubed
Points +430
Hearty but bland - Edit
This place is an institution. If I’m feeling nostalgic I stop here. My favorite is the Patty Melt.
Read moreGuest
hypnosis19
Points +96
Great food if you're willing to wait - Edit
I love this place, there's something for everyone here. The wait is always long but it's worth it! I recommend the vegan potato salad and the nut burger.
Read morePros: tons of delicious vegan options, vegan options are clearly marked
Cons: no indoor seating
Guest
meadowsweet
Points +81
Best nut burgers ever! - Edit
I was introduced to this place in 2012 by my Californian friend and have been back every time I have visited California since. The nutburgers can be made vegan and they are so good! They also have nice juices/smoothies. It’s also a nice place to hang out with chickens roaming around and some benches. Only downside is it is so popular it can be really busy and take a long time to be served and for food to arrive.
Read morePros: Best nut burgers
Cons: Always busy, can take a long time to get food
Guest
lauren0493
Points +57
Amazing menu - Edit
Foods can be ordered vegan or non-vegan. The choices are vast and I've never had something I didn't love there! The atmosphere is great, with outdoor and indoor seating. Love the free roaming chickens too!
Read morePros: lots of vegan options
Cons: long-ish wait times
Guest
MarissaFrazier
Points +22
super nuttburgers are life. - Edit
Very cute quiet little area nice seating outside... Plenty of chickens that are friendly wandering around outside.
Read morePros: vegan options. good variety for kids too!!! frien
Guest
carina
Points +16
My absolute favorite!! - Edit
I love this place with all my heart!! they will make any dish vegan upon request. I have eaten here a dozen times and have not ever eaten something that tastes short of amazing, and i've eaten something different every time. Amazing variety, nice staff, chill atmosphere, and good food, what's not to love?
Read morePros: everything
Cons: it's hard to get a seat
Guest
gmr24
Points +75
Great place - Edit
The food here was really great and most items can be made vegan upon request. The staff were friendly. The only downside is it is quite busy. I'd definitely come here again!
Read morePros: Good food, Friendly service
Cons: Busy
Guest
Emjay
Points +18
mmmm, millet.... - Edit
Everything here is exceptional, they care about the food choices and requests of the customer. I have eaten the nutty burger on several occasions, typically when I am ravenous from riding my bike on the American River Trail, which is just downhill from the cafe. Today I had the mushroom millet burger in sourdough and a side of chips and salsa. Delicious, as always!!
Read morePros: delicious , careful food prep
Guest
Chiz
Points +89
The Best Burgers - Edit
No one needs animal meat to enjoy a good burger. All you need is some creativity and love! This place uses quality ingredients and creates the tastiest burger I ever had. I highly recommend that you and your friends come here and try their Nut Burgers. Your mind and taste buds will be blown~
Read moreThey also sell many SunFlour Baking cookies!
P.S. The local Chickens would also love your lettuce.
Pros: Excellent Food, Nice Location, Animal Friends
Cons: Always Busy, Long Wait
Guest
mrgagreer
Points +20
Nut-burgers to fight a Squirrel for - Edit
sense finding this place we have not found a better place for a nut burger. We try to get there every chance we get.
Read morePros: excellent food
Cons: Need more seating, no other
Guest
AlanC
Points +81
Do Not Miss This Place on Your Trip to Sacramento - Edit
Some places are just restaurants and some become your beloved cafeteria, an extension of your kitchen. Sunflower has been around for 35 years and the love and creativity is fresh every day. We ate 12 meals there during our 2 week stay. The Super Nutburger and Nutburger need to be sleuthed out by VegTimes Magazine. We need the recipe. The millet mushroom burger is also excellent. So, that's just the food. When you are waiting for your food, you meet interesting people. Sunflower is a happening. Thank you Becky Cliff! You have brought truly great things to Sacramento. We were unsuccessful in getting her to start a Sunflower in Maryland. Oh well. Just another excuse to go out west.
Read morePros: Food is delicious and fresh every day!!!, Great prices!, Atmosphere--a happening place
Cons: You will wait for you food but worth it., No Sunflower in other 49 states.
Guest
ashwinn
Points +802
oldie but goodie. - Edit
I've been coming here since I was kid. After hundreds of veg burgers around the world, sunflower ranks in the top 3. It's legit goodness!
Read morePros: nut burger, nutty taco, super nachos
Cons: service can be spacey
Guest
PAL
Points +71
Lifesaving discovery! - Edit
I've only had the opportunity to eat here once - while in the area in September 2012 for Pagan Pride Weekend. It seems I am in the minority as a vegan Pagan - and being stuck at my author table all day Saturday, with no decent food options available on-site, made the long, hot day even longer. So when I was at last able to escape and make my way to Sunflower, which I only knew about from Happy Cow, I was starving and desperate! I can't even remember everything I ordered, but besides getting some dinner, I got enough items for breakfast and lunch the following day, and it all tasted fantastically delicious, and felt like it saved my life. I know I loved the vegan potato salad; being able to get a vegan toasted cheese sandwich was fantastic, and there was a basic beans & rice item which was tasty & generous enough that it lasted me 2 meals. It was fairly late when I got there, and the place was busy, but although I was hungry and exhausted, the food seemed to come reasonably fast. The person taking my order was very friendly. It also seemed reasonably priced - but then, I live in the S.F. Bay Area, where even vegan food is usually overpriced.
Read morePros: An oasis in a desert of chain eateries, Good basic veg food
Cons: I don't live in the area, menu was a little hard to decipher
Guest
gavn8r
Points +54
A Locals Oasis - Edit
I've been vegan for only a short time. But my wife has been vegetarian since she was a teenager. So I've been going with her to Sunflower frequently for about 15 years. The food is fabulous and fresh. Even meat-eaters like it as it's a change of pace from all of the fast food restaurants that are all over the place in the same general area. I highly recommend any one of their nut burgers. They're like taking a bite out of heaven.
Read morePros: Fresh ingredients, Friendly people, Same location FOREVER
Cons: Chickens walking around all over, Lots of flies outdoors
Guest
norcal girl
Points +32
nut burger finatic! - Edit
I've been going here for years, small little unique drive up type of place, with some outside seating, love the chickens all over the place, and love pretty much everything ive had there, especially the nut burger, the patty melt, the nutty tacos etc!! very vegan friendly! only complaint is most of the staff, over the years always seems to be unfriendly and sometimes even rude. other than that, its a great place!
Read moreGuest
ericgoldman
Points +132
Funky and a Little Dated - Edit
This is a funky place. Old Town Fair Oaks is a ramshackle business district with undomesticated chickens wandering around. Then, this restaurant seeks to be the cost-effective vegetarian fast food mecca that we as vegetarians dream about. Most seating is outdoors, amidst the chickens, with unappetizing views of the parking lot baking in the hot Central Valley sun.
Read moreSunflower Drive-in a holdover from the 1970s, and the menu mostly reflects a conception of vegetarianism from 4 decades ago. Their flagship item is a 1970s-style nutburger. Nutburgers have become trendy again, but their recipe is anything but trendy. The nutburger was the best thing we ordered, but it hardly compares with the veggie burgers at Mineral or Source or even Smart Alec's.
Other items were hit-and-miss. The falafel--which some people raved about at Yelp--was only vaguely reminiscent of a "real" falafel. I thought it was bland and uninspired. The kids' menu items were about what you'd expect--the burrito was lots of bean and cheese but not much else; the quesadilla was cheese and not much else. Chips and salsa were run-of-the-mill. The vegan potato salad was pretty good. Vegan cupcakes were as dry as you would expect. The root beer float was a rare overpriced item: $4 buys a paper cup, a dollop of ice cream and a can of off-the-shelf root beer.
As many other reviewers have noted, for a restaurant called a "drive-in" and hawking pseudo-fast food, they process orders at a maddeningly glacial speed. I don't know exactly why things take so long for what should be a well-oiled machine after decades of practice. We placed our order at 11:35 am and the bulk of the order took about 20 minutes on an ordinary workday. With properly calibrated expectations, this wait isn't insufferable; but compared to a place like Smart Alec's in Berkeley or Oreans in Pasadena where fantastic vegetarian food comes speedily, it's nevertheless baffling. I guess their method of operation works for them, but I imagine they could boost profits and throughput if they upgraded their operations.
Although I can't say the food rocked my world, we'll revisit Sunflower Drive-in when we go to visit my stepfather (now living in an assisted living facility just a couple miles away). It's cheap, filling and tasty enough to justify the small detour.
Guest
Vegan Mom
Points +88
Very Tasty! - Edit
After reading the reviews, my family and I decided to try this place out for ourselves. All five of us were VERY glad we did! We all had the highly-recommended vegan Nut Burger with chips and salsa. It was very tasty! We enjoyed sitting outside at one of the picnic tables. The place constantly had people coming up and ordering (you order at a window outside). They weren't the speediest, but it wasn't a terribly long wait. We were, however, disappointed that we didn't see the chickens and roosters that others have mentioned. We did walk over to the park right next door and saw a whole bunch of roosters there. Next time, we plan to take the food to-go and eat at the park. We very highly recommend this place, and we are all eager to go back very soon.
Read morePros: vegan options, friendly staff, very cute and casual
Cons: not 100% vegan
Guest
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