Alive! Vegetarian Cuisine

...including an organic wine and sake list, so ignore the ""Insider Tip"" that no alcohol is served. The food is amazingly tasty, and leave room for dessert. The Black Forest Mousse Cake is unbelievable. I love the celery root salad and the fennel/pomegranite appetizer. And, as far as I have tasted, all the entrees are delicious. Enjoy! Pros: The food! Cons: It can be a bit too quiet in the dining room sometimes.... I hate to yell while eating, but don't like to whisper either. more

I live in the the Marina District and just found this place. The food is wonderful. I really love the desserts. The prices are very reasonable. They are about the same as the other quality restaurants, but the food here is all organic! What I like about it most is the freshness of the food. The food is not overly-spiced or salted. They depend on the foods' natural flavors. I spoke the owner and he says he's also has food booth and the San Francisco Ferry Builidng Farmers' Market on Saturdays, so he gets a lot of his produce directly from local farmers.\r \r The most interesting dishes there are their Asian Noodles. They come with 4 tasty appetitizers. The noodles are not really noodle. They're made from sliced vegetable like zuchinni and carrots.\r \r I also recently attended a raw food class and learned that it's very difficult to make this food and very costly to make. The desserts can be very rich and nut-based, so a normal portion should be small, unless you want to gain weight. The dessert portion is about the normal portion size for a quality and health conscious restaurant, but really a bit large for a real raw food person.\r \r more

Then forget desert. Although it was tasty, it was eight dollars for a SMALL piece of raw pie. And it takes fifteen minutes to get it to you.\r This is a nice place, and once again, the citysearch reviewer must have been in a bad mood when reviewing the interior of this place. It is nice inside, quiet and romantic, plus there is a lovely outside deck with heaters. We will try this place again as the food looked good (we were hanging out waiting for our to go desert order). Friendly but a little slow-- and a little over priced, but will go back as it is one of the few places to get good quality good for you food. more

I found it walking around for a vegetarian restaurant. It's fantastic. The decor is beautiful. They have gorgeous garden. It's the most beautiful garden I've seen in the Marina. The staff is friendly and professional. Every dishes is made with a great detail of attention and beautifully plated. The price is extremely reasonable for all organic dishes. The menu is unusual. They serve tonic soups with Chinese Herbs based on Traditional Chinese Medicine and raw vegetarian dishes. Everything I ordered was delicious. Great place to bring a date! more

Alive is GREAT stuff. Excellent food, pretty, quaint, small setting with a nice garden patio in back. New, organic wines, and new seasonal menus make it even better. The reality of raw foods, for me, is that you get all of the freshest, tastiest ingredients available, and their preparation really sets them apart from cooked foods. Leland, the owner, prepares beautiful dishes, with meticulous, tasty details. The staff is fun and friendly and professional, too! Go get full and feel good (and not bloated!) afterward about eating healthy, raw, organic, vegan, and with minimal packaging going into bringing the food you eat. It's good for you and for the planet! Pros: healthy, cozy, tasty! more

I went to Alive recently, and after not having been there for a year, let me tell you it has changed. They now have an amazing garden oasis in back. The service has totally changed. It used to be a bit chaotic, but now they have a staff of well-trained friendly waiters. Super cozy atmosphere, and it looks like they finally finished the interior. They have a very simple organic/biodynamic wine list, and I was told by the manager that they will be carrying organic sake soon. The manager was really friendly and informative, telling me that they now have catering, host large parties, and will be at the farmer's market on Saturdays. As a vegetarian, I LOVE this place and I absolutely recommend it. The food is stunning, and all the changes really compliment it. FYI...there's a parking garage just across the street between Webster and Fillmore. Pros: quiet/relaxing, delicious, garden seating Cons: parking more

I've been to several of the vegetarian restaurants in the city and I have to say that I like the food here best. The ambiance is more homey than fancy, and the service is quite casual (yet very friendly). However, the food and presentation are very upscale Californian. I think this food would change the mind of anybody who thinks vegan food is bland and boring. I wish the chef would publish a cookbook. Try it! You'll like it! Pros: Great healthy food, Presentation, Friendly service Cons: Small dining room more

I avoid vegans and their strange-tasting substitutes. However, my friends asked me to try this restaurant and I love it!! The warm yam soup = delicious comfort food. The shitake with gojiberries was awesome, scallion pate delicious and light. The desserts were unbelievable -- The raspberry ""cheese""cake and pear tart were both incredible!! The only thing I wouldn't order again is the black sesame milk because the taste was foreign to me but I would order coconut water or almond milk without hesitation. One warning: the naming of dishes is very misleading (noodles are made of zucchini, quiche is not quiche, etc.) so be sure to inquire before you order to make sure you know what you'll be getting. We received our food in a timely manner and the waitress was very friendly and didn't mind explaining the dishes. Pros: delicious, amazing desserts, it's an adventure Cons: tough parking more

I don't usually think the Marina offers a lot of high quality (helathy) veggie food, so this is an amazingly pleasant surprise. All of these reviews sum it up pretty nicely--the food is wonderful and the service all three times I've visited has been superb. Definitely don't think you can get in and out in a rush though, because the pace is leisurely and that's not a bad thing at all. Pros: Fresh Fresh Food, Great Services, Nice Ambience Cons: Lunch A Bit Pricey more

I've been to Alive! a few times now and highly recommend it. It's a restaurant with delicious and well-presented food. It's not a fast food place. Expect the normal wait found in high quality restaurants. Alive's flavors depend more on the freshness and quality of the ingredients. The spices do not overpower the main ingredients. I'm not sure why the City Search Critic said you may need to sit with strangers. Alive! does not have community seating. The majority of the tables seats just two people, like most restaurants. Also, the tables are solid wood and not tiny. They are larger than normal restaurant tables and there is plenty of space between tables. more

I am a real health-food snob. I don't like flavorless, old-school health-food. Alive restaurant has the most DELICIOUS, organic fare in the city. It competes with some of the greats in New York, LA and Bali. The owner really prides himself on QUALITY ingredients and FLAVOR. For those of us who can't eat gluten...it's heaven. NOTHING has gluten in it! Pros: taste, service, desserts! Cons: ambiance more

I originally went to Alive! for the novelty of a raw foods restaurant, but was surprised that the food could actually taste good. Alive! is cozy and friendly, and the owner is happy to explain how he made each of his dishes. Favorites include the delicious yam and seaweed soup and the ""Asian noodles."" But the real winners here are the desserts. The vegan cheescake is better than some traditional cakes. more