Millennium, San Francisco, USA

A quick google search tells you that Millennium is a vegetarian institution in San Francisco. History seems to tell us that it was the first fine dining vegan restaurant of note in the area. Having read some other reviews on the place, we were eager to try it out for ourselves.

Millennium is on the ground floor of a hotel in downtown SF. Even though we had a booking, we waited for 15 minutes or so in the hotel lobby, which doubles as the entrance to the restaurant. It's cosy and a little dated. The other diners looked equally as intrigued and hungry as us - we were a strange mixed bag huddled in that lobby together! All walks of live come together over good veggie food in Millennium!

Once inside, I got the sense that the restaurant had once been an old Irish pub, or something similar. The big bar in the centre of the room is a feature, and they seem to have attempted to strip some of the pub feel back by draping curtains. It was an odd mix, but somehow just added to my sense of the ad hoc experience.

Our waitress was European, with plaits curled around the back of her head, and had no sense of humour at all. She reprimanded me for not speaking loudly enough when I ordered, but then she seemed to soften up after that. So much for all vegetarians being jolly, life-loving souls. Turns out we take all types!

Due to said waitress I was too scared to take pictures of my food, at risk of enduring another reprimand from this quirky institution that seems to take itself quite seriously, so hence this is a very straight forward post! The food was nice and imaginative, and we left full and satisfied. I can say I've had better, but I've also had worse. Nothing to write too much of a post about...

Being in Millennium, I sensed it was all vegan hype - I know what it's like to have mediocre standards, simply because you want to be encouraging of the movement, but at some point we need to be honest that it's just not that great by broader industry standards. Power to the vegan fine dining establishments, and more of them I say! Perhaps that will make places like Millennium a little more competitive on decor and service, rather than just resting on the niche of being a vegan haunt. It's touted as fine dining, and you're asked to dress nicely, but apart from some nice food it's really not worth the online reputation it enjoys (humble opinion!).

Give it a go if you're vegan, in town, and keen to see for yourself, but there are true fine dining restaurants out there in SF who I found will gladly accommodate you with some notice.

Add: 580 Geary St, San Francisco, CA
PH: 415-345-3900 
Web: http://www.millenniumrestaurant.com/restaurant/index.html 

Townhall, San Francisco, USA

Town Hall is amazing. After some hit-and-miss experiences in SF, Town Hall came through with the goods for an awesome date night with Mr. Lamb.

We had a fantastic experience, from the online booking right through to the time we finished off our night caps and whistled out the door.

Despite having a menu heavily focused on meat, the kitchen seemed more than happy to build 3 vegetarian courses for us (we'd told them we are veggie while booking, which was just the same day, and they didn't batt an eyelid about making up a special request). Looking at the menu, there were quite a few options for starters, so it was just the mains we had to get creative with. We arrived to soup and salad, had a great rice dish, and enjoyed old-fashioned cocktails made with flair all the way through.

I admit, we were pretty limited for main course options, but the great food and buzzy atmosphere made a fantastic evening for us. We didn't get a sense of their creole speciality (evidently their fried chicken is not-to-be-missed for meat eaters!) but knowing creole isn't the most veggie-friendly of cuisines, this was to be expected. Would love to see someone do vegetarian creole come to think of it! The smells and spices make me jealous!

Town Hall has a beautiful interior, with exposed bricks, and feature bar, and warm atmosphere. Tables are fairly close together, and people seem to go here for good cheer and hearty food, so it can get fairly loud - all adding to the vibrant experience. Definitely recommend!

Add: 342 Howard St, San Francisco, CA
PH: (415) 908-3900
Web: http://www.townhallsf.com/

Wayfare Tavern, San Francisco

When we arrived in San Francisco, not-so-fresh off the plane, we arrived at the hotel only to find out our room wasn't ready. We left our bags and decided to go wandering, despite being dressed in day-old clothes and needing to brush our teeth. We walked straight down town into the financial district, and stumbled upon Wayfare Tavern by accident. We were so glad we did.

When we asked the waitress at the door what kind of food they served, she looked confused, and said "American?" like she wasn't sure. . . I let out a little laugh. I wasn't quite sure what American food was, but it looked great and the atmosphere had a healthy, active lunchtime buzz, so we took a seat out the front in the sunshine and prepared ourselves to be pleased.

We weren't looking for much food, so we ordered a salad and a bowl of chips, and two glasses of napa wine. Welcome to San Fansisco! I was suitably getting into the swing of things here.

The salad was a nice cos lettuce and ripe avocado with a light dressing. It was simple and unpretentious. The chips turned out to be poutine, with gravy, curds, and pulled pork. I'm one of those vegetarians who rarely feels the magnetic attraction of meat. People talk about the smell of bacon, and I enjoy the thought, but it doesn't sway me to eat it. I sometimes think about a nice tuna steak or a rotisserie chicken, and then I think again. It doesn't do it for me anymore after all these years, but . . . this pulled pork certainly looked good. I pushed it to the side, and had a private thought about why I was veggie, and then happily went about eating the chips.

Although we'd only had a salad and some chips, we decided to move on to desert. Why not celebrate being in the California sun? So we ordered a peach pie with vanila ice cream, and susequently fell in love with the most wholesome country style pie I have ever met. The chunks of peach were meaty (dare I say it?) and the pastry was chunky and satisfying. Now I know what American food is! Not fast food and sugar, but good, wholesome feasting.

The waitress was attentive and had great suggestions for us. You can tell when someone is really listening to you, and it was an easy experience. Although we sat outside, we could see the interior had a woods and greens and florals style pub atmosphere, with beautiful big windows at the front and an internal staircase. The bathrooms were charming, down in the basemet of this amazing building. It's not a huge place, and when I tried to come back a second time during the week I found it packed to the rims with bankers and headhunters. I didn't get a seat on that occasion so it must be a pretty popular place. I would try again!

Add: 558 Sacramento St, San Francisco
PH: 415 772 9060
Web: http://wayfaretavern.com/

Big Four Restaurant, The Huntington Hotel, San Francisco, USA

We booked our reservation at Big Four on Open Table (I really love that site!) as we were staying just down the road in Nob Hill and had walked past a few times. For our last night in San Fran we thought we'd splash out on a nice dinner. We'd enjoyed the 'American' food so much over the past week, and wanted to go out on a high. All the reviews said Big Four is a San Francisco classic, so I made our booking for 2 veggies, got a nice new dress on, and enjoyed the walk over past the Fairmont and the beautiful cathedral.

Sometimes I think you just 'know' as soon as you get to a new place whether it's going to be good or not. In this case, I had the gut instinct we were in for an average event, based on the dismissive way we were greeted and seated. But remembering how lucky I am to eat in places like this, I decided to have a great night. The heavy woods, leather seats, and dim lighting makes for a old-world feel, and the pictures on every wall remind you of the history of San Francisco. It's a cosy space with many nooks set up for private tables, and the live piano player is a nice touch (that is, until he starts chastizing the waitresses, and you notice how much he's drinking.... Anyway! Back to being grateful!)

We ordered a salad and soup to start, and a pasta and risotto for mains, along with some champagne to celebrate a great, sunny trip to a beautiful new city. We'd walked the hills, sipped the Irish Coffee, drank Napa wines, and listened to the bell of the trams outside our hotel window. We had felt strangely at home in the huge expansive China town, and chatted with people in the post office trying to send baby formula back to Beijing. We'd also found some of the best coffee roasters in the city - I always measure a city by how good the coffee is and San Francisco stacked up with the likes of Blue Bottle and Four Barrel. I could happily live there with the sunshine and the sea mist.

The food arrived - sorry to say the soup might have come from a can, and the salad, while presented in a pretty symetrical pattern, wasn't very tasteful. Well, we moved ahead. My risotto was very nice, with a lemon zest that really stood out. Unfortunatley, the spaghetti was truly bland. It's a shame to say that Big Four is all vegetarian sausage sizzle and no pop.

I don't expect a restaurant to make a special event for us. It's great to see places like Big Four who already have meat free options on the menu as part of their regular offering. It's just a shame to see such lack of imagination and flavour. Why bother?

The wait staff were stiff, and seemed to be full of inside jokes amongst them. There was no genuine warmth or care paid, and the head of the restaurant seemed dismissive and full of self-import. It was truly a strange experience see the management of the floor hit the mark by so far. They seemed so preoccupied with the pomp and importance of their restaurant, that they forgot to look their patrons in the eye to offer any vague expression of warmth or interest.

Oh well, it all goes to show - the packaging isn't everything, although it's very pretty in this case! But if it's what's inside that counts, then Big Four gets my big thumbs down. It feels terrible to write reviews like this, but I guess it balances the rest out - they can't all be good!

Add: 1075 California Street San Francisco, CA 94108. Cross Street: Taylor
PH: (415) 771-114
Web: http://www.big4restaurant.com/