Leaping Lemur Cafe

I don’t know why food served in this very nice zoo have to be gross. Burger was not fresh, tasted like it was old and/​or microwaved. Garlic fries was soggy. Chinese food was gross. Rice was dry. Seriously needs improvement. Of course, being in the zoo, the prices are higher, so why not serve better food? Seriously.
Bring your own food and have a picnic with your family out in the many beautiful areas outside.

Pros:
* Considering you are trapped in the zoo, I expected ballpark or amusement park prices. Surprisingly, the costs were relatively low.
* They have beer
Cons:
* I asked if the carved turkey sandwich was served dry or did have condiments on it. The reply was, «dry.» When I got the sandwich it had mayonnaise on it. I sent it back. So I opted for a hamburger.
* They offer a Chicken Club sandwich with bacon. However, despite having the bacon available they will not put it onto a hamburger for you.
* The table we sat down at was filthy. I had to go find a damp towel to wipe the table down myself.
The food itself was «meh.» I guess it was what I expected given where I was.

You know, it’s not bad at all for zoo food! Don’t come here expecting organic fare or gluten free options. Yes, we’re in San Francisco, but it’s still a zoo. We ordered chicken tenders, chicken and avocado sandwich and garlic fries extra crispy based off other Unilocal tips. They were all pretty good.
I took some pictures of all three menu stations. The Asian menu looked pretty decent as well. Fountain drinks available, as well as pre stocked fridges with bottled drinks.
All in all, not a bad option for lunch.

I hate leaving negative reviews, but I’ve tried this place so many times and always disappointed that I feel I need to do that as a PSA.
I’ll start with the good, GARLIC FRIES!!! Real garlic and fresh made fries = yum!
Ok, now on to the disappointing… The fam and I have ordered the Asian option several times, which include steamed vegetables, rice, and teriyaki [some sort of protein]. Consistently, the steamed vegetables are soggy or undercooked, the rice has always been dried out (with pebble hard dried pieces), and the teriyaki sauce usually SO salty that my eyeballs rolled backwards.
The reason for such meals? We try to limit the wheat in our lives, which is just tough at this zoo. For such a culinarily advanced city, the food options at this zoo really can use an update. I like the zoo, but the family and I really make sure we either pack a lunch or leave during lunch time these days b/​c the food is SO subpar.

I like how they serve real food here and have options for vegetarians. The kid’s macaroni and cheese is not that awful, much instant Kraft stuff, but homemade fare. I like their chicken and avocado sandwich and garlic fries. The fries are a bit on the greasy side, so I can only eat a few. I wish that there were more fruit and vegetable side options, but I’m just being picky.

Just ok. My pepperoni pizza was mediocre. The prices are definitely unreasonable though. $ 4.00 for a small soda with no refills?! It’s just like going to the movies, I guess. It is convenient however, to have a place to eat inside the zoo.

This is fantastic food for a zoo café! The staff was friendly and kept the line moving. We had sushi/​chicken strips/​pizza and were very satisfied.
Oakland Zoo should definitely take note when it comes to food options and quality.

It seems weird to review a food place inside of a zoo but here goes…
The Leaping Lemur café is an average size cafeteria that does have an acceptable amount of tables, although I would avoid coming here during peak lunch hours. They also have a few tables outside too, but I guess that depends on the weather to see if you would want to sit there or not.
They have separate lines for grille food, pizza, and salads/​noodles. My boyfriend and I opted for their chicken tender basket and cheeseburger. Getting fries with it takes $ 1 extra. After you get your food just head towards an open cashier and pay. DEFINITELY get the souvenir cups if you think you’re going to get thirsty a lot. They have free refills!
The food itself was pretty good. I have to admit, I was worried since it is food inside a zoo, but the garlic fries had a strong garlic flavor to it and their chicken tenders were decent.
Bathrooms are located on the right side of this building! You should be able to see the restroom sign.
Overall… get food here if you’re ever hungry at the zoo! Prices are what they are, but the food is good and edible! It just gets a bit crowded in here because of all the families and their strollers. It was sort of a pain to maneuver through them.

Get the garlic fries! A little pricey but hey! What do you expect, you’re in the zoo. Very clean and neat friendly environment. Not 5 stars because it’s your average zoo/​amusement park restaurant.

Can’t believe the best burger around is not In and Out, not Gott’s, but in the zoo! Soft Brioche, juicy patty, and yummy fries. Chicken strips were done right, crispy but juicy white meat, not your average McDonald’s or Foster Farm frozen nuggets. Yes it is expensive. But compare to the «claim to be» quality offerings outside it’s actually not bad. Nice view too. I am looking forward to another visit to the zoo just so to eat that burger again!

You pay an arm and a leg for a hotdog and chips. Why don’t they make it better? How about some onions or dijon or sauerkraut, yellow peppers in that sad little condiment table?

Only eat here if you are really desperate for food. Everything is overpriced and mediocre tasting, but you are at a zoo so you get what you get. There can be a long line but it moves pretty quickly since most of the food is already prepared, and you just have to walk through cafeteria style. Last time they had a wing station set up outside Leaping Lemur Café, but the wings were just ok– a little too dry and not very flavorful. My friends got the cheeseburger & garlic fries and the hot dog & chips, and both were just so-​so. The garlic fries tasted the best out of everything. It is also super crowded and loud in the café, so it’s not the most comfortable place to eat at. Needless to say, I hope to not have to eat here again.

I wanted to try this place because they had pizza lol, and my boyfriend and I were starving. We had the cheese pizza, a cheese burger with fries and he was craving a side of garlic fries. We did buy one of the two souvenir cups because you get free refills all day. It was a bit of a wast considering we were full off of two refills. But hey, for all you thrifty families out there go for it! There were loads of seating and I can only recall two associates who were so nice and pleasing an working hard, that I did not think to seek their names! One was cleaning our table and the other was this pretty Asian girl working the pizza station. Everyone else was forgettable. They do have loads to chose from if you forgot to pack a lunch, I only had snacks in my purse. And there is the other café place too.

Unfortunately, the food is terrible (although the zoo is great). Clam chowder is unedibly salty, garden burgers soaked in oil. Our son hardly touched the mac’n cheese, which was in one big lump. The bbq on weekends is slightly better, but is extremely disorganized. The bbq is sometimes burnt or raw. Perhaps it could be set up earlier, so that they get the hang of it before the first customers start arriving at 11.30? Just a suggestion.
Bring your own lunch if you would like to avoid being disappointed. There are lots of nice benches at the zoo!
The second star is for the kind service staff inside the restaurant. I knocked over my tray, but was helped straight away. Thank you for being so attentive and nice about it.

Great food :)
Expensive :(
There is plenty of seating, but ever table is a little wobbly. It is always clean and tidy. Long lines move quickly. Employees are friendly and focused. Member discount!!!

I’d say above average for your standard hamburgers, hot dogs, chicken fingers, pizza, etc cooked by a bunch of kids making minimum wage. I expected bland stuff, but everything has generally tasted one step above bland, which is pleasantly surprising for me. The garlic fries are nice.

The food is ok, but what I’m really impressed by is the amount of seating — we came around 1230 on a Saturday and were able to find a table pretty easily, despite the place being swarming with people. Great for taking a break from walking around and seeing all the animals.
We ordered a few things from the grill — hamburger, hot dog, and chicken fingers. The line moves quickly — once you place your order you’ll get your food within a few minutes.

I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of Leaping Lemur Café. My experience with eateries at zoos are museums are that they are AWFUL. Take the restaurant in Academy of Sciences for instance — I don’t think anyone can say that place is good. I came to Leaping Lemur Café with a grumbling tummy and low expectations. I left satisfied.
Ambiance:
This place would most likely be very busy so I can’t guarantee that you can get a table. My family was luckily to snag 2 tables for a party of 8 right when we got in, but we had to rush a bit for it. This place is very cafeteria-​like, with different queues for different sets of food — you have the grill, the deli, etc.
Customer Service:
These people are efficient. When I saw the long queue for the grill, I thought I was in for a massive wait. Surprisingly, it only took a few minutes before I was at the front and only a few more minutes for my food to arrive. I waited only about 2 – 3 minutes for 6 burgers and 4 sets of fries for my family. Damn Leaping Lemur Café, you crazy.
Food:
Not the best, but for a café at a zoo, I’m impressed. I ordered a Cheeseburger with a side of Fries for myself, and I also tried a bit of my cousin’s Sweet Potato Fries. The cheeseburger had a bit too much lettuce LOL. I actually had to rip off huge chunks so it would be aligned with the rest of the burger instead of sticking out. However, it still still alright — the patty was thick and the ingredients tasted quite fresh. I really enjoyed the fries — soft and delicious — both the regular and the sweet potato ones.
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Great job Leaping Lemur Café. You’ve managed to exceed my expectations and be a kickass restaurant in a zoo! It’s not too overpriced either, so guaranteed to be a-​ok.

Yummers! I know the prices are a bit high, but I figure my animal friends need money too. My heart swayed when I spotted the boards for sweet potato fries. Must zombie over to get my tuber fix. I also ordered a Garden Burger. The burger came out with a huge piece of lettuce leaf with fresh cut tomatoes. The faux meat patty was juicy and not dry husks of other gardenburgers I ate before. I thought the buns had more texture but figured it wasn’t white flour made, it’s definitely made from some other grain. Thank goodness the sweet potato fries were very very good. I’m torn now, should I try their garlic fries if their sweet potato fries treated me so fine? So many flavored tubers to try, so little time.
I like that there are different types of cuisine offerings other than the usual slap crap of burgers, fries, and pizza. Definitely a thumbs up for healthy offerings too.

The food quality was pretty good but it’s just. the prices. Bah. I know that the lemur café has a zoo monopoly going on, but 25 bones for a couple of hotdogs and fries? Oye. That being said, the hotdogs and fries were good. :)