Cafe Gratitude

I always loved the Café Gratitude raw food items — and they were notorious for slow service. Quite frankly — this location inside Whole Foods on Bay Place set the bar for slow service at a position that I did not even think was attainable!
Even if not for all the other problems that Café Gratitude was having — I’d be shocked if this location managed to stay in business. It shouldn’t take 35 minutes to get a small milk shake. The employees here were poster children for why one should not smoke pot before going to work in a service-​oriented job.

This was by far the greatest Café Gratitude I ever went to. Simply THE BEST ONE.
I found out about this place in the middle of October through my Vegan friend. After becoming a regular, the manager thought of hiring me… but that was 5 days before they announced the sudden closure.
During the next four months before the close date, I noticed a change in my health as I began to eat here almost everyday. Not to mention the people I saw on a regular were the nicest and comforting of all people, unlike my experience in Berkeley. The manager had to be the best manager I ever knew in customer service in general! His name was Miguel.
The close date was the saddest one to experience. I stayed there as long as I could until I had to leave. (I had school the next morning) I walked away, with 2 gifts. Curtesy of the manager… Watching them pack everything was the hard to watch but walking away knowing it wasn’t going to be there anymore after all the wonderful experience and even life changing ones, was even harder.
I honestly wish they hadn’t removed this Café Gratitude!

Gone, as of ²⁄₂₈.
Glad I made it out here on one of their last days. Grabbed an ‘I am Nourished’ to-​go so we could enjoy it by the lake. Some ppl complain that it’s pricey, but for the quality and quantity, it’s so worth it. Their almond pâté is crazy good. Now I just have to figure out how to make it myself because let’s face it. I’m lazy and I’m not about to drive out to Berkeley for my fix. Thanks for the good eats, Café Gratitude!

Never have I been so disappointed by an eatery’s customer service. I would expect the waitstaff at Denny’s at 4AM to have the apathy that Café Gratitude displayed.
Staff of Café Gratitude working the evening of Feb 23^rd: If your «bar» is still open to serve drinks, then don’t, after 5 minutes of ignoring the customer waiting at the register, greet her with, «Kitchen’s closed.»
It was 9PM, not 9 minutes to 10PM. You guys are clearly open to serve drinks. And the reluctant sighing while making the drink only increased my discomfort, obviously.
I wouldn’t be surprised if it was the staff that is causing your location to close.

the only time where i can stuff my face and not feel so bad afterwards. their desserts are tasty too. also tried their version of a chocolate shake, it tasted like a nutty chocolate drink.
love the quesiton of the day.
just wish this type of food wasn’t so pricey!

I love the convenience of this location, so I can eat first, or get a take-​out… then do some grocery shopping afterward, all in the same place!
The service here has always been good, the boys & girls can tell you what the ingredients to certain things are if you’re not familiar with something, and everything is also made fairly quickly… a lot faster than the one on Shattuck!
Their desserts in the cold case are also AMAZING… I’ve never tried something here that I didn’t love!

I love Café Gratitude’s food. The grateful bowl is delicious and filling and the price is always right since you can pay what you wish.
This location gets 5 stars from me because it is fast and efficient for my Gratitude fix. At the other locations you can wait for half an hour for your food to be prepared. At this location, I have never had to wait more than five minutes for my food to be prepared. The staff here are super chill and a little less peppy then other Gratitude locations.
There’s a nice bar area to eat at with about 10 chairs and a couple tables.
Don’t forget the key lime pie for desert!

I really want to LOVE this place all the way around. I appreciate the positive affirmations, the raw food, the supplemental merchandise: the books, journals, calendars etc…
However, the PRICES make their food in accessible to people of different economic backgrounds. The remedy was the Grateful Bowl– which many of the sales people sale begrudgingly, with an attitude, and often very very slooooooowly.
The customer service is often hit and miss. There are some who are consistently pleasant and aim to give quality customer service. While others will have you wait in line until they’ve completed a personal conversation with a non-​customer before taking your order. This has happened to me and numerous others various times. I could stand in line for ten minutes straight while the people behind the counter talk amongst themselves before acknowledging my presence. It’s like they don’t want business. And if I’m ordering a Grateful Bowl one sales person in particular will be sure to give me a hard time while ordering it and then make me wait abnormally long before receiving it. (Maybe this was his way of discouraging the purchase of a Grateful Bowls).
I understand Café Gratitude is a space for love, healing and transformation but it should not be devoid of professionalism.
I believe if they were more meticulous about who they hired their company would thrive even more. I affirm that they will attract more people who can provide consistent quality customer service and that they in turn will be accepting to hire them.
I truly enjoy their food but the energy their sometimes feels so negative I refuse to put food in my body prepared with bad energy or intent. While some days the energy is good and these are the days I eat there.
Imagine, having to dictate if you’ll eat somewhere based on whose working.
The upside is i have seen many new faces come and a couple of old (not so positive) faces go.
Do try all the desserts, the Tamales, the raw bagel, the raw pizza, and the raw Lasanga (my favorite) — and of course the Grateful Bowl.
And if you go with ZERO expectations of the service you will not be let down.

their smoothies are really good! I love the «I am Grace» (young coconut milk, almond butter, dates, etc) and the «I Am Luscious» (hazelnut milk, cacoa, dates, almond butter) when I want something chocolatey — such a delicious and healthy treat!
i also really like their «I Am Grateful» bowl — their tahini is so good and garlicky!

I liked their cornstarch utensils. So nifty.
I Am Graceful. Italian Pesto Bowl with steamed Quinoa, Basil Pesto, Tomato, Kale, Sprouts and Brazil Nut Parmesan. This was pretty good, seeing as I’ve never had raw vegan food before. I loved the quinoa which I had been hesitant about trying because I hate polenta and it looks pretty similar, small round grains, but it was really yummy. And I loved the kale and with the sauce it was flavored well and nommy.
I Am Complete. Mediterranean plate with Almond Hummus, Olive Tapenade, live Falafels, Cucumber Tzatziki Salad and a live Cracker. This was alright, me and my friend both weren’t fans of the live falafel because it was a bit hard and very nutty/​seedy. Not really my thing. I loved the hummus, tapenade and cucumber salad though. They were pretty bomb.
I Am Renewed. Wheatgrass Shot. Me and my friend had never had a wheatgrass shot before so we decided to give it a try. It was VERY grassy, not grassy in an arugula or kale sort of way though, it’s slightly more buttery/​creamy. I was surprised by the taste but it’s definitely not my thing.
Although, I didn’t 100% enjoy everything I ordered and I’m usually really hard on restaurants where I don’t enjoy everything. But I am a fan of them, especially of the kale and the quinoa I definitely loved and I’m down to try their «I Am Grateful» as well as their «I Am Transparent» (since they didn’t have it when I was there). And their menu sounds so interesting it makes me want to try a lot of stuff!

I am a vegetarian who does experiment with veganism/​raw foods. I’m a rather healthy eater. I’m not someone who downs Mcdonald’s french fries on a daily basis and then suddenly switches their diet…
I had their taco salad. I never ever EVER get sick. I’ve never had a meal that has ever made me feel ill etc. That’s just not me. Leave it to Café Gratitude to give me that sick feeling. I really want to like this place and the people there but, within 10 minutes of eating here I got really sick to my stomach. I actually ended up leaving Whole Foods because I couldn’t stay to finish shopping I was so sick. Wasn’t fun. I know raw foods aren’t cooked so I don’t know if some of the produce was bad or if a component of the meal had been sitting too long…
I may try this place again in the future but, after that experience I’m kind of queasy about it. There are other vegan restaurants in the area that even cost roughly the same and have friendlier service… Most of all… They don’t make me sick to my stomach…
Also, don’t expect fast service and don’t expect the friendliest service here. If you’re with «their» crowd then they may show an interest in what you have to say… Otherwise don’t expect top notch service…
You’d think for THAT much $$$ spent they could atleast bother to ask a good ol’ «how are you today» or something…

I AM GRATEFUL.
I am not the best person to judge this place because I have only had the grateful bowl, but it’s probably one of the best meals if you are on an extreme budget and wanting to eat a healthy meal. The grateful bowl is donation based, so if you have 50 cents, give 50 cents, if you have 7 dollars give 7 dollars. But no matter what you’re willing to give you will get a very tasty meal out of it.

Like a few of the reviewers here, I was really turned off by the question of the day for a long time; I would complain and mope about it to myself. But you know what I realized? You can always say no, you don’t want to hear it, because they ask you and give you the choice. I don’t think there is pressure to say yes — I don’t think they are playing a psychological game where if you say no you are a loser. I mean there are lots of other things that you’d get more flak from saying no to, such as «does this look sexy on me», or «do you care about me?». Plus it’s not like you know these people anyway, so what’s the big deal if you say no?
So back to my review, I’m glad Café Gratitude is around as I haven’t found m (any) organic vegan restaurants in the Oakland area where I live, so I normally come here when I’m too tired or lazy after/​during work to make something at home.
It is a bit more on the pricey side (I admit I would not buy some of the things here because I have many of the ingredients at home that I can make myself); however, with most organic restaurants with carefully prepared food it is well worth it when you consider all the work that goes into creating these foods. I have been to a significant # of raw/​vegan places in the bay area and the pricing is pretty comparable.
Never had problems with the service here from my own experience. The Berkeley Café Gratitude once forgot to put in our order during a busy night but that was once out of I can’t count how many times I’ve been.
Regarding some posts about ‘not feeling well’ after eating here, it might be a couple of things… a) some sauces/​desserts/​dishes are made with a lot of nuts as the base. some people just have a harder time digesting nuts so maybe you are not used to eating them as a large part of the meal or b) you are not chewing thoroughly enough. i’ve felt sick after some meals and know that it was because i inhaled my food; when i chew and eat slowly i never have problems with the food here
Note: There are more cooked food items on the menu now for those who don’t want to just eat raw! Makes the variety a lot better and more accessible if you or someone you know who wants to eat here isn’t sure about a raw meal.

Only 3.5 stars?! Oh dear me. I was just like you: wandering throughout Whole Foods, disappointed with the buffet options, grumbling about the ready-​to-​eat selection, pulling a face at the pizza, and black-​looking the burritos. «This sucks, I don’t want anything,» I told the cheese maker. I scuffed my feet down the aisles, hung my head in defeat and then it hit me. Off in the karmic distance shone the golden wheat aura of good energy and wholesome vibes. Oh my god, look! It’s California personified!
When a swift kick in the butt just wouldn’t cut it, a steaming cup of homemade veggie heavy soup, a plate full of brown rice, black beans, and raw kale, and a cup of fruity and potent homemade kombucha brought be back to, well, earth.
«Would you like me to ask you today’s question?» asked the lady at the register.
Puzzled but amused, I obliged her.
«What could you do without today?»
In my head: WHAT!!! I hate this question! Seriously?! I don’t knooooow.
In reality: «Oooh! Goooooood one…» I squinted my eye and threw a nod in her direction, «veeeery good question… I could do without my car, cell phone and material belongings.»
She liked this answer and I liked her food.

My main beef with this place is the price. It’s $ 9 for a small bottle of almond milk. $ 9 for a milkshake. $ 9 for a slice of raw pie. Expect to spend at least $ 10 on anything at this place.
I first came to Café Gratitude when I was trying raw veganism for a week. I’ve had their milkshakes and a few of their pies. Their milkshakes are DELICIOUS… at least ²⁄₃ times. Every now and them someone doesn’t put in the effort and the milkshake ends up tasting… kind of bland. That’s definitely a dissapointment after realizing you just spent $ 10 on the milkshake. I dunno, $ 10 is alot of money to me.
I’m glad these folks exist, though. And they definitely have some great food. I just wish it weren’t so expensive. I also wish the service wasn’t so slow. Unless you’re buying something pre-​packaged, expect to wait a while.
Although the service is slow, all the servers/​cashiers are hella friendly and interesting.

They receive a star for their friendly cashier, she was a doll.
They also receive a star for their question of the day which prompted a friendly exchange with a total stranger standing next to me. She was a doll, too.
I bought a juice (the kelp blend) and when I saw them pour it from a glass jar instead of freshly squeezing it, they lost 3 stars. Especially after paying $ 9 for it. I added apple juice so they tacked on a 1.00 for to the regular price of $ 8.
Granted it’s been a while since I last ordered a juice in Whole Foods but I remember they made it fresh last time. When the friendly cashier saw the disappointed look on my face, she assured me the «cellular wall remained intact so the juice is as good as freshly made». But, based on what I’ve read about the life of enzymes and the oxidation process, fresh is best regardless of what juicer does the work. And based on how I FEEL, fresh is definitely best.
I won’t be going back.

I was craving really good healthy food, and this definitely was! BUT for beer, two plates, and dessert… it was $ 60 including tip.
Painful!!!
I don’t know why we even tipped a full 20%. The lady that sat us wouldn’t let us sit anywhere else. I mean we’re two small people that had to sit at a tall table with our tiny legs dangling and it was by the restroom. When we asked to move, she said that we couldn’t sit anywhere else, even though the room was half empty and others that came in after us were seated at other tables where we could have been!
I can see how vegan-​raw food can be pricey, since its so specialized and fresh. but why lady did you force us to sit at this uncomfortable table? This would have been a 4+ star review otherwise!
Not Grateful.

I am enlightened, glorious and brighteyed. At least, my breakfast is. My favorite is the «I am brighteyed» porridge on the quick pulse setting. I am returning for that specifically as I am pretty much addicted to apples.
I had the shot of «I am enlightened» and for some reason cannot wipe the smile off my face. This is a relaxing, mobile phone-​free zone within Whole Foods.
Do come to experience raw foods
Do not Unilocal at the counter
Do order at the counter and then take your seat
Do go elsewhere to Unilocal
Do be aware of potential sticker shock

First of all this place is over priced! Food was not tasty! I’m not a raw foodie, but I am veg, so it’s not because of the food culture shock. The portions are so small, and I just had a sick feeling in my stomach when we left. Water bottles are cool with the writing on them, but the service, food, and drink were blah. I must make a comment about the salad I had… It was so «peppery» that my nose started to run. Sucked all around.
Oh, and they ask everyone at the table this question (don’t remember mine) and it is just kind of cheese. :-/

As good as it gets, because it’s inside Whole Foods and you can grab delicious dessert while you shop for groceries. I haven’t had a chance to try the drinks or food, but they do have a refrigerated packaged dessert section next to the register.
— Tiramisu: Nut flour cake soaked in espresso with vanilla «whipped cream» & chocolate frosting. To die for! Tiramisu is usually too bitter and has too much of an alcoholic taste for me, but My, Oh My… THIS one is bomb! Knowing that it is vegan and organic makes it that much better. It seriously doesn’t even taste like tiramisu, but surpasses any that I’ve tasted. *Favorite*
— Key Lime: Creamy avocado-​lime custard topped with coconut meringue
in a pecan-​macadamia date crust. Overly tart. It was alright when compared to typical key lime pies, but this is the best tasting avocado dessert I’ve ever had.
I think I will grab a slice of tiramisu every time I shop here from now on. I can’t help but think of how delicious it is and raw/​vegan too, I want some now! Thank goodness I do not live nearby!