Lettus Cafe Organic

They changed the name to Plants or something like that but they are still same thing.
Actually I’m upping the stars because this place is a great alternative for a coffee shop when you bring in laptop. They don’t mind you camping for a while and they have comfortable booth seating, and real food, not just pastries and stuff.
Yup, I like you now.

Lettus is the type of place that will bring people «who never set foot in the Marina» to the Marina for dinner. Sure, there are a few Marina stereotypes manifested at Lettus. Yes, the majority of the patrons are part of the post-​Bar Method /​post Crunch spinning class crowd. The food at Lettus, however, is definitely worth the field trip to the 94 123.
Lettus offers healthy, delicious food in an eco-​sustainable venue. My favorite item on their very lengthy menu is the Make-​Your-​Own Salad option. There are four different kids of lettuce options, a plethora of toppings and some healthy proteins. There are a few «special» toppings such as shrimp, Pt Reyes Blue Cheese, and chicken that involve an additional fee, so be aware of how many of those toppings you add into your salad creation. Otherwise, you might have created a $ 16 small salad! I also love the appetizer Lettuce cups and the soup of the day is always vegan and always good. I have tried some of the daily fish specials and they are always good, but can be around $ 16, which is a fair price for a great fish entrée. The cafeteria style set-​up of Lettus, however, makes me weary of some of their pricier (but tasty) options.
The desserts are always great and they have a 2 for $ 1 cookie special on small cookies, which are always fun to share.
The restaurant was designed to create as small of an environmental footprint as possible. You can read all about the eco friendly floors etc in the bathroom.
Lettus is the perfect «upgrade» from Plutos and definitely worth a trip regardless of where you live in SF.

Anytime someone asks me to join them for a meal in the Marina, I immediately am inclined to choose Lettus.
The fact that everything is organic and local is incredibly appealing, and I truly believe there is something on the menu for all palettes.
I’ve tried everything from the Jasmine Rice bowl with grilled tofu, to the hummus plate. I have many times chosen the make-​your– own Salad with Goat Cheese or Grilled Chicken. However, if I’m really hungry, I’ll go for the Garden Burger, which is very had to finish in one sitting! The portion sizes vary from plentiful to dainty. The freshly made juices are a very nice touch and the plethora of desserts like the Vegan Carrot Cake or XXX Chocolate Cookie, have never let me down!
The ambiance is quiet and laid back and I love the option of both indoor and outdoor seating. The food is quickly brought to you after ordering at the counter. Sometimes if I’m in a hurry, I’ll grab a Kombucha from the drink/​grab-​n-​go cooler, order my food and scoot home. The staff is very Berkeley-​esque, which I love, and reminds me very much of my home town in Boulder!
The only reason I do not give Lettus a full five stars is the price. Because of the nonchalant atmosphere, the price can be a little alarming and close to $ 20/​person for a salad and drink. However, this has to be expected from a place that is all organic and gathers most of their products from local farms.
Last, but not least– always check to see the daily specials written on the chalk board! They’re a really nice option for someone who wants a large and delectable meal.
All in all, if you’ve never been, you’re missing out! Breakfast, lunch and dinner can all be satisfied at this Marina restaurant staple!

My sister raved about this place long before I moved to SF, and now I finally know why.
I’ve had the veggie burger multiples since then. I just don’t understand how they can make it so darn tasty! Yes, it’s expensive at $ 9 each (and that’s the plain veggie burger), but it’s so worth it.
We ran as 12K in October and came here afterward for a great treat. The oatmeal cookie was fabulous as well.
If it weren’t so expensive (minus 1 star), I’d be here all the time.

I really like this place, they have good food and its semi healthy as well. It’s hard to find casual places to eat that are healthy. I haven’t tried the brunch tho it looks really tasty.
I have the soba noodles with chicken and a peanut butter cookie pretty much every time I go. The chicken sandwich is good, there are 2 – the chicken avocado is not that good, I don’t like it bc i’m not into dijon mustard or honey mustard but if you are i’m sure you’ll love it. The other chicken sando is really good too.
But you MUST try their pastries — OMG the peanut butter cookie and the mini apple pie are D-​lish!!!
4 stars bc this place is a little on the pricey side.

I don’t mean to be a complainer. actually maybe I do.
Since I’m vegan, I like to find the little vegan sanctuaries in the city and I had high hopes for Lettus Café. However, I was fairly disappointed. I was charged $ 10 for a «large» make-​your-​own salad that wasn’t quite large at all. It was very noisy and compact and overpriced for the type of establishment that it is.

One of my best friends has a really weird allergy that doesn’t allow her to eat anything with yeast in it, AND she’s mostly vegetarian (she eats fish). We haven’t had dinner together in at least a year, all because she can barely find any places that serve food she can eat. Hello, Lettus Café!
They have a pretty extensive menu with many vegan options as well as chicken and fish options for those craving a little, er, flesh in their diet. I liked the grilled chicken salad from here with a nice spicy soy dressing… they also have some great looking sandwiches and appetizers. My other favorite thing is to do the «make your own salad» option — I swear, if this place was in my neighborhood, I’d be eating a salad every single day for dinner (and the «small» size is really ENORMOUS).
On a sunny day, outside seating is limited, so do what we did and grab your salads to go and walk down to the Marina Green — a little lunchtime bay-​watching on a clear day…

When I walked in with a friend, the place looked nice enough. We ogled the menu, eyeing all the healthful options. There was potential, but I was let down.
Decided to play it safe and went for a sandwich. I figure, you can’t go wrong with tuna salad, right? Hmm, not so much. The sandwich was bland and uninspired; Subway’s has more pop and pizzazz. It comes with a garden salad, ho hum.
The other thing that ruined it for me was the noise level. This pack of hyenas sat next to us, apparently in the middle of a «let’s see who can be the most obnoxious» competition. They all got the Gold, in my opinion. I had to constantly lean forward and ask my friend to repeat herself at least 10 times during dinner. I’m not exaggerating, really!
The people in question must have be students on summer break, because they obviously had NO CLASS. Thank Fat Albert for that one.

When you’re charging $ 6.50 for a smoothie, it better be DAMN GOOD.
Lettus recently changed their smoothie menu, and it has NOT been an improvement. I ordered the Blackberry Cream smoothie today made with blackberries, bananas and yogurt amongst a few other ingredients. It was horrible. There were large, sharp, hard gritty peices of blackberry seeds that are still stuck in my teeth as I type. It had absolutely no yogurt taste– just blackberries and banana. It tasted JUST like a smoothie that I could order for $ 4 over at Jamba Juice. I expect more from an almost $ 7 smoothie, which is why I love their Papaya Enzyme. But oh, wait! They changed the recipe for that smoothie too!
NOT an improvement, Lettus. The new smoothie menu in combination with the extremely high prices is forcing me to bring my rating down to 3 stars. Hey, I know that organic is expensive, but come on. This is ridiculous.

This is a review by a vegetarian
Entertainment with your meal! a diner at another table threw a hissy fit about getting dark meat in some meal that was not supposed to have it. Nothing would satisfy her: not an apology, nor offer to redo the dish, nor refund. (I was tempted to offer her «my own white meat» so she would shut-​up but remembered that we were in the Marina and not the Mission and people get arrested here for talking about sex-​type things without there being diamonds or cocaine involved)
So we had food too.
The 5-​spice tempeh with coconut-​lime sauce was very good. The tempeh had a nice crust but was not dry inside which is a tricky valley to navigate.
One star off for the odd interior space which manages to be modern, glum, and sterile. Also, it’s nearly impossible to get away from the noise of the many blenders making smoothies and the death-​cries of vegetables going into the juicer.

Love, Love, Love this place. Great food, esp. the garden burgers and incredible Vegan cupcakes. You would never know it was Vegan if it didn’t have a «v» next to them. I don’t think you can go wrong here. No matter what I got, salad, grilled cheese, garden burger, cookie or cupecake, it was all incredible.
Hard to find a place like this… definitely recommend for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Excellent fresh smoothies or healthy veggie drinks.

I forgot about this place for a long time. It’s not exactly in my hood and, given the Marina parking situation, a person can’t usually stop off for a quick bite. But I ended up there last Sunday afternoon and the three people I went with, plus myself, each had perfectly delicious and fulfillingly fresh meals.
I had the mango-​avocado-​chicken panini, an acai smoothie, and a salted chocolate caramel ganache (salted caramel seems to be very chic these days, and with good reason…)
I’d go back again in a heartbeat and eat just about anything else on the menu. Everything looked yummy.

If you like people watching Marina folk post yoga, Crunch or a Marina Green run, this is your place (read= sweaty boys and stretch pants clad girls).
If you like healthy-​to-​a-​fault options to choose from in the Marina, this is your place.
If you like spending $ 12 on something simple and healthy, and you wish you weren’t so lazy to make at home (it feels better having it made for you anyway), this is your place.
If you like greasy, meaty, cheesy, carbalicious food that makes you sick to your stomach and makes you want to hurl after stuffing it down, this really isn’t your place.
(My current faves on «healthy night» are the soba noodles, the green curry bowl con pollo, and the napa cabbage salad.)

«Lettus be friends».
New beginning means new regimens. While I am unable to completely give up my gluttonous ways… I am committed to make some minor modifications in my life. One of which is to incorporate healthier eating (not to be confused with dieting) Having Lettus nearby makes these modifications less painful and a little more manageable. They have a menu full of healthy eats from protein packed dishes to raw food. I loved the mango lettuce cups and the Halibut (special of the day) was delicious and filling. While the food isn’t memorable, and the ambiance is very cafeteria like… it is feel good food that doesn’t leave you hungry after you clear your plate.

I am so conflicted about this place.
One the one hand, my food was delicious! I had the chili lime chicken mango avocado panini and I loved every bite. I also had the papaya enzyme smoothie and it was the highlight of my weekend.
On the other hand, the place is in the Marina and seems to attract an incredibly hostile and self-​righteous clientele. I had multiple confrontations here with fellow patrons resulting from seemingly simple interactions such as waiting in the restroom line and navigating the self-​serve water station. The entitlement oozing through some of these people is absolutely unbelievable.
If they opened another location anywhere else in the city, I’m sure I’d return in a hurry. Also, $ 6.50 for a smoothie?

After catching a very stimulating lecture hosted by The Long Now foundation and finishing up several plastic cups of Pellegrino and a handful of pretzels I threw on my second finger, my good friend and I hopped over to Lettus for something healthy (I had been craving a salad) and my good parking karma afforded us a parking spot right on Chestnut on a busy Friday evening in the Marina.
A pleasant layout, with warm wood panels and sleek silver finishes throughout. I actually felt as if I had been taken back to Seattle.
The layout of the counter is simple: cafeteria style. Menu is easy to peruse and encompassed a broad range of fusion from Asian to California cuisine… in all, the dream kitchen, right at our footsteps.
We ordered the following items:
*Two bowls of their Thai Butternut Squash Bisque $ 5.50 EA
*The Mango lettus Cups: a mélange of chicken salad tossed with cashews, cilantro, some Napa cabbage, placed in red leaf lettuce and accompanied with my favorite sweet chili-​tamarind sauce $ 8 for two servings
*Bruschetta: the seasonal item was a mix of Lima beans tossed with fresh garlic and spices, spread over lightly toasted slices of soda bread. This came accompanied with a small green salad. $ 8
Seating is simple, with comfortable bench/​sofa seating along the wall with chairs one could arrange to accommodate larger parties. When the food was brought out, it was done so with a smile.
The bowls of soup were large and came with two slices of their special bread. I could barely finish it. But it was smooth, slightly thick and spicy with the Thai seasoning. We could not pinpoint the exact herb, but it was perfect for the cold evening. I’m currently running on a salt run, so had to dash it once or twice with some seasoning.
The chicken salad lettuce wraps was a huge scoop of mostly grilled chicken and fresh slices of mango that imparted a sweetness to the dish. Dipping the self-​rolled leafs into the sweet tamarind sauce was perfection.
The bruschetta was good, although we could have probably done without it. So large were the portions of food. The beans were soft but not too soft and the garlic very strong. Good thing I love it, however, as it was the perfect combination of slight against the lightly toasted bread.
For dessert, my good friend R purchased a brownie and this was heaven on the tip of my tongue.
«It’s a brownie soufflé!» I exclaimed after taking a bite.
The perfect brownie on the outside: crisp top layer that gave way to a slightly moist inside. But the surprise that lay in wait, was that it became even more dense and moist, to the point where I thought I had just stepped into the realm of the perfect chocolate soufflé.
The two ladies manning the counter were extremely friendly and knew exactly what the menu was comprised of and were quite efficient in directing us to what to order. Add in the perfect ambiance and equal colorful crowd that was there… I’ll be back.

A nice café with food that will make your body smile. I had the chili-​lime chicken with fresh mango and a raspberry-​lime smoothie. Both were delicious, oh how I wish there was a place like this in my neighborhood. Minus one star for the new person working the register, she needs more training before being left to her own devices.

Lettus.
Lettus have meat, shoot. Just kidding. The vegan theme here is actually pretty cool. Everything is green, and the place has a nice Gramercy /​SoHo feel to it. Everything feels really structured, modern, and for some real, very sterile. But that’s kind of how I like my fresh salads. Sterile.
If you walk by you’ll almost miss it, as the storefront is tiny. But it really opens up longwise, once you step in.
I’ve only grabbed take out a few times, but it was good, experimental (to my standards, at least), large, somewhat affordable, and clean. It has that George Jetson feel when you leave.
The vibe is awesome, as it’s always buzzing with people. Great place to hang out when you need that weekly roughage.
I’d definitely check out the menu online prior, just so that you don’t get the mutters and exhales from the regulars.
Update: Sorry, it’s NOT vegan. Napa Cabbage Salad with Tofu is off the chain.

Ahh Lettus Café… the place that means so many different things to so many different people. If you live nearby, like healthy food, and are willing (and can afford) to pay up for only a casual dining experience, then it is fantastic. The salmon with soba noodles are a classic, but the lesser-​known gem is the vegetarian burger (and I never eat vegetarian burgers, although for this one I’d recommend getting the mayo/​aioli/​whatever creamy sauce on the side – but that’s my general recommendation for any creamy sauce). Mango spring rolls are good, fresh squeezed berry blend juice provides a kick, and the best dessert is the berry cheesecake with raspberry sauce (which leaves you feeling less guilty since it’s vegan=no dairy or cheese I think, but you’d never believe it from the great taste!).
The main downside to this place is the service can be spotty especially consider the prices paid, and the crowd/​line on nice weather weekend mornings is a disaster!

Ok, so anyone who reads my reviews knows how all about vegan pancakes I am. So I heard about this place and i was all like zOMG GOTTA TRY.
So I go, and it’s expensive, crowded, the staff is overstressed or something, the portions weren’t big enough, and they didn’t have any margarine.
Yea, they only have butter. How hippie is that? And they got all confused when I asked for some. O RLY? I’m the first person to get the vegan pancakes? And noone else wanted marge on their cow milk pancakes? I just don’t get it. These guys are dead to me.