Organic Soul Live

Very delicious, very soulful. In a word: Yummilicious!

I just went to 1000 Broadway. The lady behind the counter told me, «That restaurant is no longer here. There was some fraud involved.»
If you have a groupon, I suggest getting a refund.

Organic Soul Live put out a groupon with the wrong address on it and THEN the guy who ran it quit so by the time all the grouponers figure out the REAL address of the place it isn’t there anymore. What an asshole.

I can’t actually review the food at this place because I would have had to have been able to find the place if it even exists. All I know is their listed number goes to some dude’s cell phone who doesn’t even mention the establishment on the phone which is super unprofessional and straight up annoying. Like other Unilocalers who’ve reviewed, there’s no trace of this spot. It’d be one thing if they just closed their doors, but they sold 600+ Groupons (which are still valid) and vanished. I went to their «website» link from the Groupon site and it was an FB page where they literally had posts from THEMSELVES commenting «I LOVE THIS PLACE!» Wow. This was just too weird. As if this wasn’t an annoying enough of an experience, I get a call back from the guy hours later while I’m at work. AAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!! There was no option for 0 stars so I’m going with 1. If you find yourself wandering along Broadway looking for this place, at least you can get your Vegan Soul fix at Souley Vegan.

Organic Soul Live sold over 600 Groupons then disappeared. This restaurant is nowhere to be found. Thank goodness Groupon gives refunds for missing vendors.

Lame. I bought the groupon and went to the location listed and yes, it WAS in the Mexican restaurant. I asked the very nice staff behind the counter and they said organic soul live was no longer there.
So where are they?
I want my parking and my groupon reimbursed.

After purchasing some coupons from Groupon, we spent an hour eagerly searching for this fabled location, to no avail. Eventually we wondered if this was some sort of joke we weren’t in on…
Turns out that this place is currently located inside another restaurant called La Calle. (See that huge empty building on 1000 Broadway? Keep walking down until you find it.) It so happened that La Calle was closed at the time of our finding it (I guess they’re not open on Saturday afternoons?) Which meant we weren’t able to use our coupons… oh well.
3 stars for now until I’m able to try this place (the owner of Organic Soul Live doesn’t seem to pick up the phone either).
UPDATE: It’s not located in La Calle anymore. Dunno where it went.

I heard of them from groupon. They’re currently at 1000 Broadway in the Mexican restaurant. Everything is organic and vegan and delicious. I went with my husband and we had the full plate special and a mango lassi. The full plate included everything from the menu: collard greens, mac and cheese (my favorite), shitake bacon, rice, and bbq chicken (my husband’s favorite). The mac and cheese was very creamy and cheesy, the tofu was hearty like meat, and the shitake bacon was crispy and flavorful. Definitely recommended.

I found them! They were hiding in a Mexican restaurant off 1000 Broadway called La Calle (Organic Soul is a pop-​up so there name or signs are not on the restaurant building).
Very welcoming waiters and the head chief (Elijah Joy) was super charming!
Food: large portions, very hearty with a unique and tasty spices. We both ordered the everything platter for $ 15, also the lime-​ade which was surprisingly pretty tasty and refreshing.
Beware that they are cash only and there will be no sign out front.
Go and enjoye!

Was so excited to try out this place that my partner and I bought 2 of the Groupon’s — EACH! Last night, we went out for our first taste of Organic Soul Live, and in spite of reading the previous reviews that mentioned the recent move and the former location, we COULD NOT FIND the shop. We also tried calling many times and didn’t get an answer or a voicemail.
I’m giving this 3 stars because it’s really an «I don’t know.» Haven’t tried the food yet (can’t wait) but couldn’t find the place!
It would be great if someone would post the accurate current location and how to find it (the presumably-​new address on Groupon of 1000 Broadway is a large office building with no related storefront).
Thank you! Look forward to trying the food.

Apparently «the chef is not here anymore.» that’s what I was told on the phone by a woman who answered when I called Tutti Frutti, the froyo spot in which this place used to be housed. Hm.
I guess it’s closed? Bummer. Never got to try it out.

Organic Soul Live was inside the tutti frutt froyo shop on webster st. Now they are at La Callle (mexican) on broadway. .moved in july.
menu looks constant: vegan mac & cheese, go go green, protein of the day, shitake bacon upgrade (2.75) seating is 4 in a corner
eats: vegan mac & cheese (4.5)
–read a partial description of parmesan cheese, mozarrella… what showed up was a brownish tub of macaroni +. first tastes was hotness, chili oil.
–nice texture, cheese presence felt under the oil but not tasted.
–mac tasted fresh, tummy liked it.
–3.5 stars
foodnotes:
-$ 11 full plate special has everything. bring a friend to finish.
–service may be slow. seems only one person is on premise. cook not in the house.
food precooked?

I went to Organic Soul Live after calling ahead to make sure they were open and Elijah was super friendly on the phone and in person. My gf and I ordered the $ 11 full plate special which came with mac n’ cheese, greens, and the protein of the day. It was a fairly large box of food and enough for 2 people or a very very hungry person. The shitake bacon upgrade for $ 2.75 was totally worth it and we enjoyed the smoky crispy morsels over everything. He needs to trademark that shit because it was good!
The mac n’cheese is better than Souley Vegan’s which has too much of a nutritional yeasty taste for me. Organic Soul Live uses Daiya cheese in a probably more traditional roux based sauce. I think it could have used more spice but it was still very tasty. The protein of the day was a gluten based vegetarian chicken with barbeque sauce over mixed brown rice. The rice was cooked nicely and had a nutty taste and the bbq sauce was slightly sweet and pared well with the salty protein. The chicken tasted like processed veg chicken which I kind of like but my gf wasn’t that into it. She thought it needed more sauce but I thought it was just fine. The Go Go greens are uncooked julienne kale massaged in a mango citrus sauce. I probably wouldn’t have been happy paying $ 6.75 for the Go Go Greens on their own (comes in a ½ pint container) but with the combo plate you get a few scoops of it. I found it a little too sweet and I thought the kale needed more massaging. The greens came directly out of the fridge so I think they’d be much better warmed up. It’s a little jarring to eat hot mac n’cheese then have to switch to cold greens. The greens did provide a nice refreshing balance to the richness of the other foods.
This place is a nice neighborhood surprise. Don’t expect the food here to be traditional soul food like Souley Vegan. Do get the shitake bacon.

ADDRESS CLARIFICATION: This place is **on the west side of Webster, between 9^th & 10^th**. I know listings, menus, business cards, etc. say «388 9^th St». That address is the entire complex which houses this and many other shops. However, Suite 101 (this restaurant and its containing froyo shop) is **on Webster, two doors up from 9^th**.
One name is on my mind, and it isn’t chef Elijah Joy. It’s Luke Tsai, the guy who did the East Bay Express write-​up on this food (
). I need to have a series of chats with him over grub at his favorite Southern restaurants, my treat. No joke. Mister Tsai, please get with me via whatever electronic media and I’ll introduce you to Southerners and you can tell them & me about Southern food. I simply want to get your point of view, sir.
But about the honorable Elijah Joy… I called the froyo shop to check that it was open. Minutes later, I got a call from Elijah describing the foods available that afternoon and asking a rough ETA to gauge what he could freshly prepare before I showed up. Amazing customer care. His parents have roots in Charleston and Sumter, South Carolina. I picture his energy and demeanor as being the «soul» in «Organic Soul Live». He’s a good person and probably a great GBF. Attention, ladies.

Vegans, rejoice!
The gods of all things animal-​free have reached down and blessed Oakland with another destination eatery. And I mean it. Organic Soul Live is just three blocks from the 11^th St exit of the 12^th St BART station, so you have no excuse not to make the trip.
I’ll tell you where it is, so you don’t have to guess at it like I did — at first I thought it was in the tucked-​away plaze behind the NW corner of 9^th and Webster, but I was wrong. It’s actually on the west side of Webster, north of 9^th, inside the frozen yogurt shop Tutti Frutti, which closes at 6 while Organic Soul Live is open from noon till 9.
Anyway. You’ve made it to this little pop-​up eatery. The owner-​operator –a charming gentleman, new to the area– asks «What would you like?» And… What do you order?
From experience, I can tell you *anything*. I got the combination plate and it rocked my world. Curried tofu over rice, raw greens, and mac ‘n’ cheez, garnished with mushroom bacon.
Two words: Fucking delicious.
The to-​go container was piled high. I expected leftovers for breakfast, but once I started eating I couldn’t stop. To call this vegan soul food is to miss the point. This is food cooked by someone who I’m guessing grew up eating soul food but has since developed a personal technique that shines. This is internationally-​inspired down-​home cooking. This is something you’ve probably never had before. Not like this.
As soon as I was done wolfing down my dinner I began planning my next trip. I’m not kidding. It’s that good.
You DESERVE to eat here. You DESERVE it. Do it. Now. For yourself. For your children. For your children’s children.