Foundation

An amazing place for a healthy alternative.
Got the peanut burger, which was delicious. Unfortunately they don’t start serving their dinner menu until 4:30 — so I missed out on a lot of options.
Food was fast and received friendly service, which I always enjoy.
Be sure to layer up when you go here. (At least in the winter) The door doesn’t close properly or something and it was quite chilly while eating. They have heaters going too — maybe it just hadn’t entirely warmed up yet.
Washrooms were a little questionable. Didn’t feel entirely clean.
Will definitely be going back to check out the rest of their menu though. I have heard nothing but great things. Especially about the nachos.

They only get 2 stars because of the nachos. Yes they are great, but so not worth the experience. The customer service is the absolute worst. I’ve been multiple times in hopes of some improvement but is seems to get worse? The last time I went, the server seemed just downright mad at us and refused to say more than 2 words anytime we asked a question. We fully intended on having food and multiple drinks but left after the first because of this. I just don’t understand people who praise this place. It’s a sh*thole and the management needs to have higher standards for their employees or hire people who would enjoy working in a hip restaurant rather than hating every minute of it.

For not being a vegetarian, this place was very good. They have very good nachos. Aside from the good food, their service is sub-​par a bit on the slower end.
The restaurant is neat with a diner-​like feel to it.

I used to be a fan of this place. I used to LOVE their borcolli and tofu and peanut butter dish. But dear God, their rudeness is BEYOND the level of your average ironic-​hipster-​rudeness. The staff just outright does not care about you at ALL. I had had some rude service there, but kept going back, brushing it off and laughing it off, but this time, it just wasn’t funny.
First, we waited at the door, with a few waiters looking at us from time to time, but no one greeted us, until finally this disinterested and grumpy girl said: «where do you wanna sit?», and on our way to our table, she completely kicked another customer and almost fell off their chair, and nope, didn’t even look back to apologize or acknowledge his presence.
Then we get our menus, and my boyfriend’s menu had a squashed old bean stuck to it. He looked at it, and instead of getting an apology, the waitress was like: «yeah, you could go like this» and took the menu, flicked the bean off, and gave him back the menu and walked away… What in the actual hell!!!
So, our bad. We still decided to stay. For the food, of corse. But dear god, this time, it was so over-​salted, and soggy, and gross. We had to finally hunt someone down to pay for this non-​sense, and I left, never ever wanting to return. I gave you too many chances, and your staff is outright ruining your once-​amazing business.
Also, what is up with the volume of the speakers? I didn’t realize I was eating my dinner at the local Celebrities joint.

Great tasting food! Everything I’ve tried has been delicious and served in big portions. Best nachos in the city and a large can feed four people easily. Sometimes the food and service can take a while, but it’s all worth it in the end.

I’ll give them 3.5 stars because of their nachos. A great place for nachos after a night of drinking (or during a night of drinking). The service here is pretty hit or miss depending, but I always come back for nachos.

One word… NACHOS! Soooooo good! Honestly the best I’ve ever had! Cool restaurant on main with good food. Great place to go with a small group and eat more food then you are comfortably able to.

Foundation is one of my favorite cultural joints for food in town. They always have delicious foods with great proportions that make you feel healthy, not like a Burger and fries does.
The place is almost always jammed with trendy folks having a good time, listening to almost obnoxiously loud old school rap. The good days are when they have some Tribe Called Quest or Notorious banging.
I love the mason jar cups, the mismatched chairs and tables, and the low light easy atmosphere.
My only complaint is that Foundation is a casual atmosphere, and sometimes when the croud is blowing the doors off, the waiters can take a while to come by, but that just makes for a bit more chatty time.
Oh, and that they have the worst art on the wall right now.
I’ve been going for years, and I’ll continue to come back.
My fave dish is the OPPP.

Been coming to Foundation for many years, but this is my first review. Usually we end up here while on our way home from an evening in kits because it’s relatively cheap and the food is always good.
Favourite dishes by far: the katered affair, molten tofu (which is part of the katered affair) and the nachos. During tonight’s visit the nacho special was «spinach, feta and roasted garlic». OMG it was scrumptious!
Service usually isn’t bad. Just avoid the washrooms if you can — they’re very dungeon-​esque and could really use a complete overhaul.

I’ve wanted to visit The Foundation for awhile now but, in all honesty, was a little deterred by reading the negative reviews commenting on the poor service. However, I finally got around to going today with my husband for lunch and had a wonderful experience. We were greeted and seated quickly, served promptly, checked on regularly and everyone there was really nice.
The food was fantastic. My husband ordered the «nooch wich» sandwich and I got the «P-​Nut» tofu scramble, which was absolutely delicious. The portions were large and the value was incredible — our bill came to less that $ 17.50 for the both of us!
The décor is nothing super fancy to look at, although if you’re of the right age or have an appreciation for vintage furniture you’ll definitely find it to have a lot of character and charm. ;)
If you’re looking for delicious food in a super casual setting with great bang for your buck, this is the place. We will definitely be back!

I really try to love this place. The one thing I will say is that the hummus and chilli are the bomb diggity. BUT, my god guys, this does not make up for the fact that the staff have shitty attitude and they refuse to have the 90s-​ATL-​DMX-​esque rap turned down. Like buddy, maybe not have a table RIGHT beside the speakers, maybe? Reading the reviews on this joint tells me I’m not the only one that feels this way. Someone who works there needs to seriously take this into account.
Overall, maybe less of a shitty hipster vibe, less volume on the speakers and you’ll get my full vote. Just sayin’.

Giving an overall two-​star rating because I don’t enjoy much about the dine-​in experience at Foundation (e.g. noisy, crowded, broken washroom, seemingly unwashed cutlery…). The two things I like about Foundation are the very good customer service and the quality of food (albeit pricey for some items).
Yes, okay, the nachos are good, we get it… but that’s not all there is at Foundation. There are quite a few other food options that are flavourful, well presented, and pretty generous with portions. If you come for shared nachos and happen to order some other food, you may be pleasantly surprised :)
Anyways, not sure if they do take-​out orders, but that’s what I’m doing from now on.

It sounds like service has shit the bed in the past year. I went here with a friend specifically for their nachos. We didn’t have to wait too long to be seated and we were given menus and water right away.
Along with the nachos we ordered a pitcher of sangria. I also ordered their hummus and pita bread. Our food arrived pretty quickly and the nachos were definitely some of the best I’ve ever had. Service was okay. Ran by your typical pretentious hipster folk.
Despite our food coming quickly they took forever to follow up on how we were doing and to get our bill to pay. I’ve considered going back but seeing current reviews about subpar service, now I’m not so sure.

Ok I get it, the nachos are delish but I prefer my meals without a side of sh! tty customer service and ghetto vibes.
We arrived on a Monday night with 6 people, fully expecting to wait because the size of our party. One of my friends has been here a few times and has raged about the service but I have never been and wanted to prove him wrong. When I put our name down not only did the girl look like she hated life but she also made us feel like we were a HUGE inconvenience. They were short staff so I gave her the benefit of the doubt.
After a short wait (shorter than I thought actually) we were ushered to two tables in the back. There was no light, the candles weren’t lit (not that we needed romance) and a huge speaker from the 90’s was blasting the worst hip hop I have ever heard. Imagine a crappy speaker playing streamed music at a low quality but so loud it is distorting. For a restaurant full of white hipsters (I fall into that category too) I have never heard the N word so many times. I counted 25 in one song. We were going to turn it into a drinking game but after bringing our drinks our server disappeared for 20 minutes! I know this for certain as my friend timed it (he can be a jerk sometimes).
After screaming across the table from each other I asked if we could have the music turned down or be moved. Our server told me something but I literally couldn’t hear a word she said, so she looked at me like I was a complete idiot. Finally she shouted «no. This is a loud restaurant and if I turn it down someone will just turn it back up.» I also asked if we could be moved away from the speaker and she said no. She even came back and turned up the music three times when the songs were quieter. Nice touch.
The nachos were good and I had the peanut and yam soup which was also delish but I can find great food all over Main Street. I will never be back and I wanted to love it and prove my friend wrong.
If you do venture to this spot here are some tips:
1. Ask for a seat in the front away from the speaker. It is worth the wait.
2. If you are in a rush go someplace else.
3. Try not to use the washroom (ick).
4. Order the nachos
5. lower your expectations.

I have attempted to eat here 3 times. I was told the Nacho’s were amazing so why not.
First time I came here, I was told they weren’t serving Nacho’s for another half hour. I didn’t mind waiting but the host told me to come back another time and walked away. My friend and I were so discouraged with the hosts cold reply that we decided to eat at The Wallflower instead.
Other two times I came in, they were serving Nachos. However, it wasn’t until 15 minutes after we were sat down that a server approached our table with water and then walked away without asking us questions. We waited 15 minutes and she never came back. I left a dollar for the water.
Final attempt, we were sat down and nobody helped us for 20 minutes. There weren’t even menu’s on the table. I waved down a passing server to ask for water, he gave me a «sure» and never came back.
Good food isn’t worth it for the complete lack of service.
It wasn’t busy at all when I went, there weren’t line ups, Plenty of empty tables…
Did I coincidentally catch you guys on a bad day all 3 times? But 3 times is enough discouragement for me.
I’ll stick to the Score for my nacho’s then.

I have debated with myself about whether I should review places which have already been reviewed to death by my fellow Unilocalers. The verdict is out: Reviewing might still be worth doing in case I have something new to add.
So, here goes my two pence on Foundation: I think the nachos here are pretty good, but over hyped (best nachos evaarrr? Nyaah.). IMHO «good nachos» simply means copious amounts of melted cheese and some good salsa, and I think this «secret recipe» is used with equally yummilicious effects in other places too. (Coppertank Grill anyone?)
For me, what stood out at Foundation was their chocolate fondue. Dipping all those fruits in molten chocolate before devouring them, it was epic! Order some nachos and Sangria on the side, and we can get this party started. :)

Came here with three other friend’s Saturday night. Have not been here in years. Ordered the large nachos with guac because it seems like everyone raves about. My friend said the water tasted like chlorine but we didn’t think so. She just has strange taste buds. We also ordered a pitcher of white sangria. The nachos WAS impressive. It was a mound of nacho chips covered with melted cheese, black beans and corn. The white sangria was also very refreshing. I think we each got at least a couple of small mason jars worth of it.
The vibe here is definitely hipster. Very dimly lit with retro R&B/rap blasting in the background. I would recommend coming here for some late night vegetarian food and drinks

Over the years I have come here many times. Groups, dates, family dinners. I have to say that a lot spinach goes through this place. As a Vegetarian I can definitely say this place continues to be a treat. YES— the music is loud, the servers are almost ironically unpleasant, and sometimes they are too busy to be fast. You know what? The food is ALWAYS yummy! That’s the reason why they continue to be popular.
BTW are the nachos really that infamous?

The first time I went to Foundation I recall saying «If I could make food like this, I’d eat way less meat». I’m not sure I feel that way now, but if I were vegetarian, I could see myself here more.
From what I can tell, the quality has slipped a bit to the level of the much criticized bad service. That being said,. on my last visit, I had no complaints about the service. This place no longer holds as much of a unique role in Vancouver’s array of veggie options but it was sort of an early adopter, slightly pre-​hipster but clearly is an anchor location of the rebirth of this area (and has sort of an interesting location with almost a view you might say).
They are known for their nachos, which I agree are good, and they have some interesting burgers and rice bowls. Nothing blows me away but all is decent. I will say this,. as a lunch spot I would love to have this place near my work,. sometimes you just don’t want to eat meat and have something a bit lighter like a veggie burger or soup but not pay over $ 10 — they squeak in under that wire (but barely).

You know a place is totally hipster where the people standing in line to get in have growler backpacks and are smoking a joint right outside!
A friend recommended this place as one of the best vegetarian joints in town so being a food lover I had to see for myself what the fuss was all about.
First of all, the name restaurant shouldn’t be used to describe this place. It’s a diner with some interesting framed drawings, some drawn by kids aged 5 or younger. The bathroom wall is full of graffiti, resembling a dive bar in the mid-​west.
There’s not much of a décor or ambiance as 90’s rap songs are being blasted which makes having a conversation hard… so be prepared to lose your voice after having eaten here.
Our server was friendly and took our drink order right away… however it took at least half an hour for our food to arrive; even though it was all uncooked.
I shared the Kafkir platter which consisted of Hummus, spinach salad, cooked grains, mango paste, tofu with spinach and some tortilla chips. The Humus was store-​bought as I recognized the taste, the spinach salad was so bland… the version I make at home is much tastier and has a lot more ingredients. This salad was comprised of some spinach leaves, sunflower seeds and mayo like dressing, nothing special. The fried tofu and spinach was ok but again not memorable. The mango paste was so sweet that I couldn’t finish it even though I have a big sweet tooth!
Overall, save your money and venture out to the 10 other amazing restaurants in this area, where food is delicious and offered in a place with good ambience!!!