Green Sage Cafe Downtown — Restaurant in Asheville

This was the most disappointing sandwich I've gotten from a local, non-chain, cafe. I was visiting Asheville from out of state and I'd been looking forward to trying out one of the Green Sage locations based on the positive reviews and upon reading that they had gluten free options.

Me and my friend were picking up a to-go order along the way to the airport hoping for sandwiches with ample protein, much like the pictures I'd seen, with substance whilst fresh. Our sandwiches took a bit longer to arrive, despite the lobby being empty short of a small group of people that were already eating, so when we received our order we had to leave immediately for the airport and couldn't check our order, so later when I opened my box and saw my food, see the attached photo, I was disappointed, to say the least, as it was hardly anything at all and had fallen apart.

I'd been tossing between ordering a half or whole sandwich, I wasn't sure if the gluten free ciabatta would be large enough to split in half, but the staff member assured me it was fine so I went with that, but my suspicions proved to be correct because half of a roll could barely hold anything. The sandwich contained a thin slice of deli turkey meat that you'd get prepackaged at the grocery store, cheese, overcooked bacon, a single strip of lettuce and tomato, and the mayo that I'd asked to be left off. The cheese and bacon were overly salty, the turkey was bland, and the bread was hard to chew. The sweet potato fries were decent enough, but they probably would've been better fresh. Needless to say, my order was not worth the nearly $11.00 price tag, and most of it was thrown away.

I didn't get a picture of my friend's wrap, but it was hardly a wrap at all. She was looking to get a lettuce wrap, but was assured that their gluten-free tortilla would suffice. What she received was a layered mess between two, hard triangle-cut pieces of a brown rice tortilla that I recognized as the "Food For Life" brand that I've gotten from the store which are hard to eat unless they're heated up. The fillings were much the same as mine, sparse, but it contained more turkey meat, and the thing itself couldn't be picked up as a whole, rather it could only be picked at. Her slaw was a little runny, but decent.

Perhaps if our orders hadn't been gluten free they would've been presented better, certainly tastier, which is a shame. In regards to gluten free options, I feel that Green Sage would be better off sticking to salads, soups, and smoothies instead of pathetically trying to accommodate to gluten free patrons looking for a sandwich. Either that or stating which brand of gluten free breads they use or only allowing a full sandwich to be ordered.

Aside from that, the staff was kind enough and the cafe itself had a nice aesthetic, was clean and well put together. I wouldn't eat there again myself, but perhaps others might have better luck if they're not...

The food was good but my experience was not. I was coming to Asheville to visit my friend. I was displaced by hurricane Irma and had a child and small Pomeranian with me. I had first gone to their other location, which has lots of outside seating (b/c of the dog)but as I pulled up they had to close due to maintenance issues. So we were told about the one uptown. Most places were very accommodating for hurricane evacuees who had no choice but to have their animal with them. My dog is very small and never left my arms. They let me order holding him, but then made me wait outside, even though we were out of the way, and only waiting till they brought our food to go. I had told them I was splitting the meal with the child and would need extra silverware. I also ordered an extra side. They brought the food outside to me, but I had no way to open and check it b/c I'm holding a dog and a child and there's only 2 tables out there, both are taken. So we go back to the car across the street in the parking garage to find no side and no extra fork. I called letting them know, and they couldn't even refund the amount for the missing side without me coming back in. So now b/c you made a mistake I should have to pack up the dog and child and get back over there, and now it's ok to bring the dog in to do that, but I couldn't wait a minute to get my food with him and make sure we have everything? My biggest frustration was that when I paid I had to choose one of the offered tip amounts on the screen. The point of tipping is b/c a service is offered. If they don't take the time to check the order properly, and then expect you to do double work, that...

I found this spot while traveling. I have food allergies, and they came up as an option, so I was hopeful.

I immediately informed the staff member taking our order that I had significant food sensitivities and needed to avoid gluten and dairy. He said that I was in the right place. He took our order, and we waited.it was clear they were closing within the hour as sidework was being completed. We ordered everything to go, 1 to be considerate of the time and 2 so we could get on the road.

I ordered a burger and fries to eat right away and a falafel wrap with Asian slaw for later. We asked him to have it wrapped so it would last the ride in the cooler.

I opened the burger in the truck as we drove away to find super hot limp soggy greasy fries. The burger was good. The gluten free bun was good. The fries had clearly been sitting, and seemed microwaved. I don't know if they HAVE a microwave, and I HOPE thats not what they dis. But they were SO hot and so limp. Gross, really.

Then when I finally opened my wrap, after being on the road all afternoon, I found it sitting in a pool of coleslaw dressing, and the wrap was loaded with feta....the dairy Im allergic to. The feta I took a big bite of before I realized what was on it. Because, remember, I carefully ordered.

So, I was super disappointed, to say the least. I have been in food service long enough to know mistakes happen, but I can't help but feel this was all because people didn't care enough because their shift was ending soon, furthering the disappointment given all of their signage at the restaurant touting their care for the whole experience at their...