SAN FRANCISCO VEGAN FOOD
Visiting San Francisco is always a huge shift for me. I don’t visit very often, but every time I do, the first thing I notice is all the beautiful greenery. The sight of lush green trees and huge bodies of water will never get old, but an abundance of foliage and water isn’t the only thing San Francisco has to offer. There was also a good selection of restaurants that we were very excited to try.
For each restaurant, we’ll describe the items we ordered along with a numerical rating. 1 being a horrendous fail, and 5 being well worth the trip and we recommend seconds.
RATING SYSTEM:
1 – don’t even bother wasting your money ; 5 – creme de la creme
- April
- 1 point for taste
- 1 point for texture
- .5 points for appearance
- Total: 2.5 points
- Johnny
- 1 point for taste
- 1 point for texture
- .5 points for appearance
- Total: 2.5 points
= Total: 5 points
Here are some of the delicious finds we tried on our trip:
NICK’S KITCHEN:
HALF of the menu was unavailable due to the prep guy being sick. Our waiter told us it had been a rough couple of days for them because they had run out of so many dishes that potential customers were leaving. Luckily for us, most of the items we wanted to try were still available. We ordered the “crab” cakes and the “chicken” bbq skewers for appetizers. For our entrees, I was planning on ordering the Tapasilog, but they had run out of that. I opted for the Tocilog instead. Johnny ordered the Lechon Kawali, and the sizzling sisig which our waiter suggested he needed to try. Johnny’s sister ordered the Chick’n Katsu.
CRAB CAKES
They were made from artichokes, breaded in panko, and served with a dill-tartar sauce. Johnny and I thought these are the closest we’ve ever came to a crab cake as far as their flavor. When you bite into it, the texture was even flaky like genuine crab meat. I thought the sauce was also pretty tasty and paired well with it, but Johnny found the dill in the tartar sauce to be too prominent. The only other critique we had with it was that the texture of the filling was a tad bit too mushy. Overall, we rate it a 4 out of 5.
We never received the “chicken” bbq skewers because they apparently ran out and told us later when we received the bill.
TOCILOG
‘Silog’ refers to a traditional Filipino breakfast where a protein source is served with a fried egg and garlic fried rice. I chose the protein tocino, which the non vegan version is typically made from pork. It’s marinated in a sweet, citrus-like red sauce, then charred. This was my favorite item from the entire dinner. Everything on the plate was delicious. The sweet and citrus notes were all present along with a little smokey char that subtly added balance to the tocino. The garlic fried rice was made just like I remember from my childhood when my grandma would make it. It was savory and loaded with garlic flavor. The fried egg was probably the best part. Johnny and I could not believe how closely it mimicked a fried egg. The egg white portion had tasted just like an actual fried egg and even got the texture down with the crispy edges. It was perfectly done. The yolk part had the texture down as well, but for the taste, Johnny and I both felt it did not have that sulfur-y egg flavor. We gave this dish a 5 out of 5.
LECHON KAWALI
This item was Johnny’s favorite item and he was very excited to try this. Having eaten vegan for so long, it was one of those trust issue moments. You know, when you try something really delicious, it sometimes takes you back and has you wondering if what you really ate just now was actually meat lol. They had the textures and flavor down. We were both really surprised with the chewiness from the “belly fat” layer. The menu does not say what was used to create it so that’s something you’ll have to look into if you’re concerned about that. It was served with the infamous “liver sauce” and an herb vinegar. The liver sauce had the same sweet flavor with a pungent note to it. We added soy sauce to the vinegar and felt it paired better with the lechon kawali. We rated this a 5 out of 5 because it was just done so well.
CHICK’N KATSU
The chick’n katsu was pretty good. It tasted like the breaded chicken we’re accustomed to when we used to eat at a Hawaiian restaurant like Aloha Kitchen. This dish was made up of a panko breaded chick’n fillet, drizzled with Japanese worcestershire sauce, and served with the house salad and a side of white rice. Our only critique was that the breading was a bit on the heavier side, and since it was deep fried, it was a bit too crunchy and difficult to eat. The salad dressing was thousand island, which Johnny’s sister really liked and said we would not have been able to tell if it was vegan otherwise. We found the worcestershire sauce to be a bit too tangy. We rated this dish a 4 out of 5.
Our waiter made it a point for us to know that the sisig was a popular item and must try on their menu. It wasn’t a bad dish per se, but it was the most underwhelming of the options we tried. This dish was described to be made up of tofu and shiitake mushroom. It just tasted like a tofu bell pepper stir fry. The mushroom added some texture to the dish, but I couldn’t taste it. I don’t feel like this dish was anything special. Johnny said he liked the flavor but said it also needed to be paired with rice because it was too salty alone. He also found it to be a tad bit too oily. We gave this a 3.5 out of 5.
The one item I was most excited about was the leche flan. When the waiter took our order, I had asked about the leche flan and I was told they ran out. As we were finishing up our dinner, I heard another girl come in and place an order to go. The same waiter repeated it saying “…. and one leche flan to go.” I immediately asked again if there was actually any leche flan left and they told me they just sold their last one. That was pretty disappointing.
Overall, come here hungry. It’s very traditional Filipino food and you will get food coma because it’s so heavy, but you’ll also leave with a happy full stomach. The food was pretty good, but make sure they have what you want before you go.
VEGAN PICNIC:
This vegan spot is always one we make time to visit when we’re in town. It had been a couple years since we last visited, so there were quite a few items added to the menu. The one I was most excited to try was the ham and cheese croissant. Sadly, they were all sold out. They were having the same situation as Nick’s Kitchen where customers would come in, and if they found out the item they wanted was unavailable, they would just leave. The croissants they use were bought from another shop and apparently were being delivered in inconsistent batches. It was becoming such a problem that the owner decided that when able to, they were going to just make the croissants in house. We were recommended to try the breakfast burrito and the chicken and waffle sandwich instead.
CHICK’N & WAFFLES
Sandwich wasn’t bad! Johnny found the menu description to be a little confusing because it sounds like your typical plated chick’n and waffles dish when it’s actually a sandwich. It’s described as a chick’n patty, waffles, and a savory maple sauce. I recommend eating it fast so you can still get a crunch out of the chicken and the waffle, unless of course you’re not a stickler for soggy textures. The savory maple sauce is rich which makes the sandwich get soggy fast. The sauce was a little reminiscent of a honey walnut and prawns sauce. Mine got a little too soggy once I was half way through which kind of ruined it. I give this sandwich a 3.5 out of 5.
Johnny got the VP breakfast burrito and said it was pretty good. It’s also available gluten free. The menu description is a warm tortilla, scrambled eggs, chorizo, melted cheese, hash browns, and pico de gallo. He really liked that they use the Just Egg and thought it paired well with the cheese and potatoes. He would have just switched the soyrizo to vegan sausage instead because he thought it didn’t pair as well with the other ingredients. Johnny gave this a 3.5 out of 5.
DONUTS
They will usually have donuts as well, which we have tried a couple times. The cashier told us these donuts were also not made in house and purchased elsewhere. I really like their sugar donut, it’s a bit more bread-y and not as light as a standard yeast donut. I got this one while Johnny got the chocolate stuffed donut. We asked if it was filled and the cashier said yes, with chocolate cream. When Johnny tried it, the filling was actually a jam filling. We gave the sugar donut a 4 out of 5, and the chocolate donut a 3.5 out of 5. He felt that the chocolate had a prominent bitter taste it.
MACARONI SALAD
Last but not least, my favorite item from Vegan Picnic. I love their macaroni salad with the “bacon bits.” It has that smoky salty flavor that pairs so well with the macaroni salad and makes the entire side dish. We rated this a 4.5 out of 5.
GOLDEN ERA:
Delicious!!! Johnny and I were still a little full from breakfast so we were not that hungry when we arrived. We decided to just share an appetizer, entree, and dessert together. We ordered the fried wontons, lemongrass chicken, and the caramel flan. I highly highly recommend this place! Just make sure you going during the day time and use an Uber to get here and one when you leave. It’s located in the Tenderloin, which is not the safest area to be roaming around.
FRIED WONTON
These were delicious. The menu descriptions lists it as a fried wonton stuffed with tofu, soy protein, and jicama. It’s served with sweet and sour sauce which was very light and didn’t compromise the flavor of the wonton. We we wish the dumpling had more filling. The wonton ratio was too much wonton wrapper and not enough filling. The texture of the filling was also a bit on the mushier side which made this a 4 out of 5 for us.
LEMONGRASS DELUXE
On the menu, this is claimed to be their most popular dish. After one bite, I can definitely see why that is! It’s described on the menu as a spicy gourmet lemongrass “soy” chick’n and is served with steamed broccoli. The steamed broccoli gave a nice balance to this otherwise heavy dish. We rated this a 5 out of 5. No complaints or critiques whatsoever.
CARAMEL FLAN
I was very excited to try this and it did not disappoint. My mom makes the best flan so my standards are set very high. Although it was light, the caramel flavor was present which I was very happy about. The texture was soft as flan should be. It was reminiscent of a soft egg pudding jelly more so than melt in your mouth flan. We gave this a 4.5 out of 5.
CAFE HANA:
This was one of the spots I wanted to try the mochi at. It’s located in the mall and easily spotted from the entrance. I ordered the sanshoku dango, fruit dango, and mitarashi dango.
SANSHOKU DANGO
This is the three color rice cake filled with sweet red bean paste and placed on a skewer. It was pretty good. The mochi was nice and chewy and had a good amount of the sweet red bean paste. We gave this a 3 out of 5. It used as different type of skewer that didn’t hold the rice cakes well. They were tearing a bit faster because they were on the heavier side which made it a little difficult to eat.
FRUIT DANGO
These were similar to the sanshoku dango where they were three colored rice cakes, but these were filled with an assortment of fruit flavored bean paste. The flavors came in two different varieties: a peach, mango, and pineapple combination and a melon, mango, berry combination. We were given the second one. I thought the mango rice cake the best one while Johnny didn’t seem to like any of them. They weren’t all that great and we felt they had an overly processed syrup taste to them, especially the melon one. It tasted like we were eating a bubblicious gum flavored mochi! We gave these a 1.5 out of 5.
MITARASHI DANGO
Last but not least, we had the mitarashi dango.This was made up of 4 rice cakes glazed with a sweet soy sauce and served on a skewer. I’ll admit, this is more of an acquired taste and it wasn’t my favorite when I had my first one. They grew on me over time and now I really love eating them. These were perfectly chewy and I liked how their glaze was made but I could have done with even less. I would scrape most of it off because it was a bit generous. We gave these a 3.5 out of 5. Johnny like the chewiness of the rice cake but did not like the sauce at all haha.
I regret not getting the homemade mochi squares. They caught my eye a little too late and we had already paid for our order by then. Next time I will have to get them!
DRAGON PAPA DESSERT:
This shop was located in a small nook on Grant Ave. There was already a line when we arrived so we were happy to have been able to order what we wanted. Upon arrival, they go into detail with how their products are made, the ingredients used, as well as a little history lesson as to why they’re so popular. The process in making them is so labor intensive that it makes you appreciate them a little more and it justifies why each box is priced the way it is. It was a very interesting spot!
DRAGON BEARD CANDY
We just ordered one box of the dragon beard candy, which was half of the traditional flavor, and half green tea flavored. They’re priced at $11 a box and come with 8 pieces. The original and mango dragon beard candy flavors are claimed to be their most popular items. Johnny and I like the traditional flavor the best. It wasn’t overly sweet and was a bit reminiscent of a cotton candy texture when eaten. It does fall apart easily so be careful. The peanut and sesame flavors really come through so if that’s what you’re into, definitely try it out. We felt like the green tea had a strange bitter after taste to it. We give the original flavor a 4.5 out of 5 and the green tea flavor 3 out of 5.
ENJOY VEGETARIAN:
Another San Francisco staple we like to visit when we’re in town. This place has delicious and flavorful vegan Chinese food which has us always coming back. During this visit, we ordered the fragrant crispy chicken, veggie shark’s fin soup, and the house special fried rice.
VEGGIE SHARK’S FIN SOUP
It was nice to have after walking around San Francisco all day in the chilly weather. The weather was around the low 60’s, which Johnny and I are not used to at all haha. The best way I could describe the flavor is if you ordered hot and sour soup, but minus the vinegar. The flavor was rich with a hint of spice. Our only critique was that it could have added more textures like tofu or another type of mushroom. It was predominantly enoki mushrooms, bamboo shoots, and clear noodles. We gave this a 3.5 out of 5
FRAGRANT CRISPY CHICK’N
This was our favorite out of the three. The serving size was generous for an appetizer. Johnny and I both thought it tasted a bit like fried chicken. The texture was nice and crunchy, and when you bit into it, it had a great chewy texture that would shred as well. It was served with a sweet and sour sauce, but we didn’t really feel like it added anything to the appetizer. If it was served with a better sauce (maybe like a spicy garlic sauce?), it would have been better. This was a 4.5 out of 5 for us.
HOUSE SPECIAL FRIED RICE WITH BBQ PORK AND VEGGIE HAM
We really liked this dish as well, but it wasn’t anything that stuck out. It’s your standard fried rice recipe with green peas and carrots for the vegetables, and then included two different kinds of vegetable proteins which were BBQ pork and veggie ham. Johnny felt like the proteins had a slight aftertaste, but I didn’t seem to notice it. We gave this a 4 out of 5. With the new Just Egg product now available, hopefully someday they’ll incorporate it into this dish. We think it’d definitely add to the flavor profile.
This trip was a little disappointing because there was a recurring theme of “we sold out of that” or “we don’t have the ingredients for this.” It was a huge let down because it seemed like it was almost EVERY place we went to. There were several restaurants that we ended up walking out of because of this issue. I definitely recommend calling ahead of time so you don’t make the trip there only to get your hopes up.
We hope this little guide helps you guys venture out and try some of the delicious vegan eats that San Francisco has to offer! Have you tried any of these spots? Let us know in the comments on what you guys thought!
Stay sweet,
– April