Bay Area Vegetarians

Amba, a new vegetarian restaurant featuring Mediterranean fare, is open in Oakland at 6464 Moraga Avenue in Montclair Village.  For more information (hours, website, etc), please visit the Ultimate Guide link below.  Thanks to Amba for letting us know of their new vegetarian eatery.

Ultimate Guide – Amba: read it, rate it, review it

According to the Ultimate Guide, this is Oakland’s 6th vegetarian restaurant, joining the ranks of  Encuentro, Golden Lotus, Pizza Plaza, Souley Vegan, and The Breakroom Cafe.  If you know of other vegetarian and vegan restaurants that should be included in the Guide, please submit the listing for review and inclusion.

Oakland vegetarian restaurant list (6 entries)
East Bay vegetarian restaurant list (25 entries)
San Francisco Bay Area vegan restaurant list (39 entries)

Garden Fresh, a popular vegan Chinese restaurant in Mountain View, will be opening a new location later this year in Palo Alto, conveniently a short walk from the Caltrain station.  For many, Garden Fresh is synonymous with scrummy scallion pancakes.

Thanks to Doug for the heads-up!

Gracias Madre, a vegan restaurant in San Francisco’s Mission district by the creators of Cafe Gratitude, is scheduled to open December 14th.  It will serve organic Mexican cuisine.

Thanks to Dana for the heads-up.

Well, Contra Costa County is about to get its first veg restaurant — and a raw one, at that!  Planet Raw is currently in Santa Monica, started by Juliano, who had “Raw” in San Francisco many years ago.

For this East Bay location, the website says their “opening soon”, in the autumn.   The location is across from Diablo Valley College, and adjacent to the California Health Club.

Thanks to Winnie for the heads-up!

Cha-Ya’s newest restaurant in San Francisco opened its doors last week, at 9th and Irving.  For this all vegan Japanese restaurant, this is it’s 2nd SF restaurant, joining its original Berkeley location and SF Mission district.

Thanks to Winnie for the update of San Francisco’s newest vegan eatery.

Ultimate Guide – Cha-Ya:  read it, rate it, review it

Souley Vegan reopened on Friday, July 24th in its new restaurant location in Oakland’s Jack London Square.  It was previously located on 13th Street in Oakland, closed last fall for remodelling, and never re-opened.  Many in the veg community are happy to see the return of vegan soul food.

Souley Vegan continues to sell its fare at Farmer’s Markets throughout the bay area, including the Lake Merritt Farmer’s Market and the relatively new Farmer’s Market in the Metreon complex in San Francisco.

Thanks to Bob for sharing the official word of their long anticipated opening.

Ultimate Guide: Souley Vegan – read it, rate it, review it

Chick Pea’s: The Falafel Place opened on May 14th in Berkeley. Their specialty is, of course, falafels, and they have a condiment bar with 12 different choices.

Ultimate Guide – Read it, Rate It, Review It: Chick Pea’s

Loving Hut had its grand opening ribbon-cutting ceremony on May 24th for its newest location in San Jose’s Oakridge Mall.  This is Loving Hut’s 4th location in the Bay Area, joining Milpitas, Palo Alto, and San Francisco.

Thanks to Leron for this update.

The owners of New World Vegan in Oakland have opened Symphonie, a new vegan restaurant in Richmond.

Like New World, it features an international menu featuring Thai, Italian,  Indian, Chinese and Brazilian appetizers, soups and entrees. Low fat or oil-free. Lunch specials $8.25 – $9.50 include soup, salad, rice, and your choice of 16 lunch specials.

This is a new restaurant (opened Feb 2009) so always good to call first and confirm hours.

Thanks to Mike for the information!

Symphonie: read it, rate it, review it

News Flash for all Pizza Lovers – a new, all-vegetarian pizzeria (with vegan options) has opened in Mill Valley.

While we don’t know much yet (their website appears to be a work in progress still), we do know we love pizza and all the vegan fixings!

Ultimate Guide:  Tony Tutto Pizza – read it, rate it, review it