The Breadfruit
Restaurant, Coffee/Tea/Juice
Hours
Profile
$$ - average
Caribbean
Vegan-friendly Jamaican cuisine and Vibe making waves in the heart of central Phoenix
The Breadfruit features Jamaican food that is Vegan-friendly! The owners pride themselves on freshly-made, natural and organic food that isn't deep-fried, microwaved, or canned; just as if you were living the simple life on the island itself!
Vegan entrees are clearly marked and include:
-Pop Cho & Sweet Ginger (bok choy veggie dish with garlic mashed sweet potatoes and sweet plantains)
-Coconut Curried Tofu (with rice and peas, sweet plantains, and coconut steamed veggies)
-The Saturday Evening Soup (seasonal and usually vegan)
*-House Tropical Salad (with a house made orange zest and ginger poppy seed vinaigrette)*dressing contains honey
Most starters and sides are Vegan (spinach pattie has beef stock):
-Plantain Avocado Spring Rolls (with ital coleslaw and mango chutney)
-Oven Roasted Plantains
-Rice and Peas (basmati rice and red kidney beans)
-Roasted Corn on the Cobb (steamed in coconut milk and thyme)
-Coconut Steamed Veggies (cabbage, red and green bell pepper steamed in coconut milk and thyme)
-Ital Coleslaw (tossed in a rice wine vinaigrette)
-Dumpling and Banana (with vegan curry sauce)
-Festivals (sweet cornmeal based baked bread)
And for dessert:
-Ginger Sweet Potato Pudd'n (Jamaican sweet potatoes, ginger, raisins, and nutmeg topped with coconut)
All beverages are Vegan but the Mango Lemonade contains honey.
Located on Pierce St (3 blocks south of Roosevelt) and 1 block east of Central Ave (between 1st and 2nd St), just north of downtown Phoenix.
- (Mostly) Organic
- Live Music
- Outdoor Seating
Added by Steve Carlson on Jul 29 08 (updated Oct 1)
Reviews
I have tried the Breadfruit three times; while I love the ambience and vision of this place, I found each experience very frustrating. Two of the three times that I have gone, they were out of the tofu. I ordered the "veggie pattie", which is actually like a hot pocket filled with veggies and sauce, NOT a veggie burger, which is what is implied (and strangely enough, is served with a bun -- bread overload). While it was tasty, it highlights my main problem with this restaurant -- the food descriptions on the menu are highly inadequate, and the servers (while very nice) do not offer up any useful information before you order. Also, if you're not a big fan of green peppers, BEWARE: they seem to include them in every vegetable side on the menu. If the Breadfruit expands it's menu, and gets better at informing patrons unfamiliar with Jamaican cuisine about the details of their offerings, I'll go back.
We ordered the Spring Rolls, Curried Tofu, Rice and Peas, Corn on the Cob and Coleslaw. The spring rolls were hot, which was a good touch and lightly seared. Inside was an odd combination of plantain and avocado which becomes delicious when paired with the mango chutney but tastes slightly banana-y on its own. We hadn't realized that the spring rolls would come with a small serving of coleslaw, therefore making our order of coleslaw unnecessary and unwanted. The coleslaw was a mix of cabbage and peppers for the most part with a good sprinkling of black pepper and heavy on the vinegar. When the curried tofu came, we saw that rice and peas were included (which wasn't apparent from the menu we had read and again made our side of rice and peas unnecessary). The curried tofu was prepared carrot slices and chunks of something that appeared to be more seitan (in texture and in taste) than tofu. It was lightly spiced and the sauce was gravy-like in texture. Neither my BF or I was crazy about this dish. The last item we tried was the corn on the cob and I was surprised to only get a 1/3 cob of corn.
The atmosphere was pleasant with soothing background music, flickering tealights and people talking quietly over bottles of wine. Our server was friendly although I was irked she hadn't mentioned that 2 of the sides we had ordered came with the appetizer and entree (and it wasn't good enough to want to eat double amounts). I wouldn't go back again, partly because the food was only so-so and because there aren't any other vegan entrees left to try. Nice place for a first date but not for a hungry stomach wanting a full meal.
Excellent food. Fun place. We will definitely be going back.
Good food And Good service
A very welcome addition to Phoenix--and Phoenix is in dire need of Jamaican fare.
Tasty & satifying vegan meal of curried tofu with rice and kidney beans, fabulous appetizer with plantains. Only one selection in each category is vegan so my choices are a no-brainer...just wish more options become available as this place becomes more well known and appreciated.
Good service and very small restaurant (about 6 tables) and clean.
I found “The Breadfruit” very nice indeed. The food is made in a healthful way and tastes great. They said they try to maintain the closeness of food as close to nature as possible - they don’t fry, don’t microwave etc. Their vegetarian/ vegan entrees are not purposely made vegetarian, but are original vegetarian Jamaican dishes. I enjoyed their Pop Cho & Sweet Ginger and their Sweet Potato pie. Tastefully prepared and presented. Great ambience too.