French Meadow Bakery and Cafe
Restaurant, Grocery/Bakery/Deli
$$$ - expensive
American, French, Deli
Hearty and rustic by day, nouveau by night
Famous for their sourdough breads. Multiple vegan options for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Counter service in the day, table service and a pricier, nouveau dinner menu at night. Wide selection of wheat-free baked goods, as well as some vegan ones.
- Brunch
- Outdoor Seating
Added by Matt Mackall on Feb 28 03 (updated Feb 23)
Reviews
I love this place. The decor and atmosphere are sophisticated and European in feel. The service is super-friendly and attentive and knowledgeable. The food is spectacular for the most part, but take a pass on their attempts at Asian-style dishes. Their vegan stromboli was succulent, subtle and filling. Their vegan turtle cake was the best cake I've ever had, vegan or otherwise. It was moist, not overly sweet, and well balanced with cake, sugar, caramel and nuts. The prices of the food are extremely low given the high class atmosphere and the high quality of the food. The vegan dishes max out at $12 and most are closer to $9; their desserts are $3.95, though in other places, they'd be twice that price, with half the taste. Highly recommended.
Pros: Quality * Prices * Service
I've been here a couple of times over the last few years, and my food experiences have been fine. I do complement them on having a selection of vegan items. It's a popular place so it can get crowded during the typical breakfast/brunch hours.
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I visited again in Jul 07, and was definitely happier with the vegan selections they had for breakfast. I love the vegan sausage and blueberry corn cakes. Delicious! They have a number of vegan pastries, which are hit/miss. Some are really delicious, and others are terribly dry (I don't care for the cupcakes, but the carrot cake is delicious). I was also happy to find them at the MSP airport as well.
I love French Meadow's soups. I don't know what it is, but they are always awesome. Entrees have been consistently good as well. I especially like the tempeh creations! (On a side note, I'm surprised that more places don't use tempeh for vegetarian and vegan dishes.)
Atmosphere is pleasant, and the service, good and friendly. Prices are in line with the quality of the food.
Someone recently told me that their carrot cake is outstanding and was shocked that I hadn't tried it ("That's the reason why I go there!" she said). A bold claim. I'll revise this review when I try it.
Update: The sweet corn aeropas (or whatever they are) are excellent. Again, a little pricey, but the dish really was superb.
I went here with some friends for dinner once and didn't have money, so the waiter brought out an "extra large" sample of soup. The sample was so big I couldn't eat it all. Very sweet of him. The wait staff all seem to be aspiring actors, so they're a little flamboyant. It is a nice place to go to sip on a lemonade and talk for an hour while sitting outside. The best thing they have are the vegan chocolate cupcakes. They are excellent! get a cup of tea if you're eating them there, because the frosting sticks to your teeth and the tea helps. Yum. But if you go in when they're closing down, they won't even sell you a cup cake. I guess actors can be moody.
Great Atmosphere and food, fancy with good vegan options and desserts. There is a new vegan special every day. The tempeh cutlet dinner is fantastic, highly recommended.
For the desserts I would recommend something other than the chocolate raspberry bars, which are pretty tasteless. The dessert selections vary and usually include vegan cake.
Update: The vegan turtle cake is my favorite dessert, also a great deal at $4 for a large slice.
The staff was really nice. I liked the atmosphere. They have a lot of vegan & vegetarian options. I would recommend this place, if you don't mind paying a lot.
This place is amazing. The nightly vegan entrees are awesome, and the menu items are great as well. This place has a wonderful atmosphere, and outside seating is available in the summer. Very romantic.
While it isn't the luxury of all-vegan Millenium in San Fran, this place is definately vegan friendly and a great place for a fancy gourmet dinner.Last time I went, I had tempeh cutlets, vegan mashed potatoes, greens covered with a mango gravy - in a fancy presentation. They have 1/2 price bottles of wine during the week, including organic bottles. And have nummy vegan baked goods and desserts.
Brunch is ok for vegans - they have a respectable vegan reuben and two tofu sandwiches. I am not sure about breakfast goods beyond bakery items.
This is my favorite restaurant in the world. It's a bit expensive, so I probably wouldn't go here for just a sandwich, but their dinners are worth every penny. I once had a pierogie dish here that was far and away the best thing I have ever eaten in my life. To be perfectly honest, some of their vegan desserts aren't the best--they're good, but not quite on the same level as the vegan dinner entrees. The ambience is completely perfect, as well. One thing to watch out for: they only serve dinner for a short period during the evening, and the time they stop seating is earlier than the closing time listed on the door.
I've only been here about 3 times, and only for breakfast and dinner, so my review may not be all that reliable. They have very few vegan items for breakfast unless you want to eat bread. Dinner is definitely overpriced, but salads were tasty. Last time we went the bread was stale, which I thought was really strange for a place that calls itself a "bakery."
The first time I dined here was about 2 years ago after my trip to Paris. I was still a meat-eater then, and the foods reminded me so much of France. I guess it's a good thing since the place is called French Meadow.
I came back twice within the last 2 weeks with different friends and rediscovered this place. Sesame salad was just delicious; the sesame noodles salad as well. Tempeh was great, as well as the soup I had. Over all, my revisit was pleasant though the "french" elements in all of them were just not there! Is any of the French a vegetarian or vegan? So what's distictive about this place that they charge you a bit too high? Perhaps the location and the sidewalk seating area.
The sesame salad was amazing. I thought it was brought straight out of the garden. My friend and I were saying ' Yum' thoughout the meal savoring every bite. Even when the meal was finished I was feeling the fresh salad greens lingering through out my mouth. Wow! I will be back there next week with more friends who are coming from out of town.
Then, the lo carb breads are exquisite. I was so pleased with my dinner experience and the waiter was attentive and fun. I am making this my number one spot to go out to eat.
This was my third stop in 10 days.
Thank you so much! So much quality for such a good price!
I have only had the desserts here but they are delicious! I love their chocolate vegan cake the most, and my only complaint is that their items can be pretty pricey.
Great place for breakfast (and popular too, they'll be a wait to get a seat most of the time on weekends if you don't get there early). Good bakery items, with vegan selections too.
Dinner is usually pretty good. They've got a few vegan items, and some that can easily be made into vegan dishes. The vegetarian black bean chili is good, the tempeh is always a treat. Appetizers can get a little pricey for their size.
I just wish they'd branch out thier vegan deserts- they're usually chocolate. Their non-vegan deserts look so good it makes me jealous!
Yum yum French Meadow. You can get a big bowl of soup with bread for $6. What a deal. They have the vegan black bean chili every day, and have another vegan soup daily.
The dinner entrees are pretty pricey (around $18) but it really is great food. It looks all fancy-schmancy, too.
For anyone interested-- bottles of wine are half price on Saturdays.
i made my first visit to french meadow for dinner tonight and it was the best vegan meal i've ever had. their bread is what stands out and not to be missed. while i went with my non-vegetarian father, he ordered the rachel and devoured his meal stating it was the best rachel he has ever eaten. while i ordered the grilled tempeh rueben and was in pure bliss! the tempeh was cooked to perfection so i was delighted because tempeh is so rarely used in restaraunts. we were hoping for desert (vegan turtle cake and carrot cake for my father) but unfourtuantely we didnt leave enough room. though we did pick up a couple loaves of bread and muffins. next time we will be back for desert and espresso!
as a side note, plan on getting a decent table before 6pm on a weekend because it will defintely start to fill up quick. also the decor is clean, earthy, and has an upscale french cafe theme; quite lovely and cozy. lastly, not only is it an enjoyable place to spend a cold winter evening with delicous and healthful food, the wait staff could not be any more friendly! they were so accomidating and helpful. truely a wonderful vegan experience.