Greenhouse Canteen + Bar — Restaurant in Columbus

I had really, really high expectations for this place, and that may have affected my overall experience somewhat. Seeing the incredible menu that they put out on their website, I expected Greenhouse to compete with Comune and Service Bar in terms of innovative and masterful vegan cuisine. I also hesitate to rate vegan restaurants as less than stellar because, well, I want to see more of them! But I don't want to give them a free pass just because of what they are.

I went in person with a friend, the only restaurant I have done so for the entire pandemic, because their website says they are only seating two guests at a time right now. (I may have misinterpreted this, because there were two other guests there when we arrived, but I didn't want to make a big deal of it.) The interior is minimalist and clean. I figured a restaurant with a dress code would have a more upscale atmosphere, but it's more casual and trendy.

For starters, I got a cocktail. Sweet and spicy, one of my favorite flavor combinations! It was an attractive and colorful drink. Not very boozy but very delicious, and a great palate cleanser for my meal. I loved it.

Next up we shared two small plates, which came out prompt and warm. The arancini balls were wonderfully savory with a nice crisp exterior. The Korean rice cakes were sweet and spicy, and I don't know if the lettuce was a garnish or part of the dish (lol), but I used it as wraps and it provided a good texture contrast. I found myself wanting for a little more salt in the dishes, maybe a little more sauce or squeeze of lemon for the arancini balls.... But overall I really enjoyed both dishes and they got me even more excited for the big plates.

The big plates were BIG! Wow, I was not expecting such a huge portion of food. I had one giant cannelloni, vegan cheese wrapped in a chickpea crepe, plated with tomato sauce, a small salad, and a single piece of crispy kale. As soon as it arrived, I knew something was off, but it took me a minute to figure out what. And as I took my first bite, I realized it was cold. I was too embarrassed to ask, "is this dish supposed to be cold?" because surely a place this fancy wouldn't serve a cold dish on accident. But because it was cold, I couldn't smell it, the way you would immediately smell a delicious hot dish that was placed in front of you. And not only was it cold, it was bland. It was very underseasoned, and tasted like it hadn't been made with any salt at all. The texture was all creamy and spongey and didn't have that al dente "bite" that pasta cannelloni would have had. I really admire the clever idea to make it gluten free by using a chickpea crepe, but I don't think they executed it well. My main thought when I'm eating a meal in a place like this shouldn't be, "I could make this better."

I only had a bite of my friend's plate, but their sentiments echoed mine. A lentil burger with a tempura mushroom bun sounds brilliant in concept, but it was bland. Where's the salt?

We got hot chocolate and chocolate mousse to go. Both were a underwhelming. The mousse was creamy and tasty, but it still doesn't compete with the desserts put out other by other high-end vegan-friendly places in town.

I am sure that running a restaurant during a pandemic is challenging, opening a new one even moreso, and I will definitely eat here again, because I want to give them a fair chance. I love their concepts and I hope that they will continue to improve on their food. They have set a high bar for themselves and I want to see...

My wife had a serious allergic reaction at this restaurant. I’m writing this review in the hopes that it catches management’s attention so they might address the underlying risk factors that led to this situation. With that in mind, I will keep emotion out of this review and stick to the facts.

Risk factor 1: Menus did not communicate any allergen warnings. This is especially risky with vegan food where allergens such as cashews or pea protein are incorporated as dairy substitutes.

When my wife and I ordered, we decided in front of our server that we would be splitting two items between the two of us. Benefit of the doubt, the server may not have been paying attention when this was said in front of him, but if there was a miscommunication, it was a moot point given the next risk factor: the server misremembered the allergies communicated

Risk factor 2: The server did not correctly remember or document the allergy constraints. I informed the server of the two allergy constraints my wife had: she is allergic to peas and nuts. I made sure I was clear that it was both peas and nuts, not just “peanuts” but peas AND nuts given pea protein is often used in vegan food and she is allergic to all nuts. The server clearly repeated back peas AND nuts to me. They later remembered this as only “peanuts”

When my wife had an anaphylactic reaction, she tried taking an oral allergy medication. Meanwhile, I went back and asked one of the chefs if there were any nuts in the Hollandaise sauce she had just eaten. The chef confirmed that there were, which appeared to be a surprise to our server who was within earshot as he spread his arms at the chef as if to say “what the heck?” Given the increasing intensity of my wife’s reaction (throat swelling, nausea, etc) I rushed her to the closest urgent care where she was given steroid injections to reduce throat swelling and had her vitals monitored for the next hour and a half while she threw up.

Once we were gone, the server told our remaining party that I had told him only of a peanut allergy and charged them full-price ($75) for our half-eaten meals and drinks.

I want to make it very clear that I would never have told our server that the allergy was for peanuts only, and that the server repeated back exactly what was told to him. “Peas AND nuts” I left no room for a misunderstanding regarding the allergy and we were on the same page up to that point. Even if the server had not missed that we were splitting our two entrees, this misunderstanding would have led to an allergic reaction.

My recommendation for the future: Label allergens on the menu, write down the allergies communicated to you, and make it clear what plates at the table contain the communicated allergens. When diners are forced to go to the ER to treat an allergic reaction from the food, do not charge them for their food. Express concern, get contact information, and follow up instead of going on the defensive.

Just as a final note: This is not a preamble to a lawsuit, I don’t want money, I don’t want anyone fired. I just want the restaurant to reexamine their policies/procedures and keep their guests safe. The costs of reprinting menus with allergy warnings, for instance, is negligible compared to the...

I ate a delicious meal yesterday [9-6-2022] at Greenhouse Canteen [at 1011 W. Fifth Ave. in the "Fifth by Northwest" neighborhood of Columbus].

The Columbus Vegan Meetup group [of which I am a member even though I am not a vegan] had eaten there during December 2021. I had not been able to eat with the Columbus Vegan Meetup group at that time so I had placed Greenhouse Canteen on my extremely long list of restaurants at which to eat at some point in the future.

My main challenge, when starting to make my plans to eat at Greenhouse Canteen, had been that their website does not clearly disclose their hours. Google Maps does list their hours; however, since I am a "Google Maps Local Guide" and I sometimes notice errors in the information that has been posted to Google Maps, I had felt it essential that I learn that information directly from their website rather than from what I would consider to be a secondary source.

I eventually figured out that I would be able to confirm the open hours at Greenhouse Canteen by making the pretense that I wanted to RSVP a table and finding out which hours would work for a potential reservation but not actually making a reservation. I believe that Greenhouse Canteen works with OpenTable for those who want to RSVP a table.

I had studied the Greenhouse Canteen menu several times -- on-line -- in advance of my visit -- and had made the following food choice before my arrival yesterday: Mushroom Cheeseburger [tempura mushroom bun, lentil and tofu pattie, pickled onion, brie cheese, seeded mustard, salad, crispy kale, and shoestring fries].

My Mushroom Cheeseburger had been the tallest cheeseburger that I have ever seen; it had been perhaps four inches in diameter and five inches tall. I had to use a serrated knife [that some would call a "steak knife"] and a fork to eat my Mushroom Cheeseburger because it had been so tall. The shoestring fries had been absolutely delicious and quite plentiful.

Yesterday's meal at Greenhouse Canteen had been one of the very few meals when I could potentially have requested a box to take home my uneaten food; however, I had actually been able to eat my entire meal.

I would have preferred cold water in my drinking glass [rather than lukewarm water] but did not ask my server for cold water.

If you are in the "Fifth by Northwest" neighborhood of Columbus and are looking for a delicious vegetarian meal [please be aware that their daytime hours are currently limited to one day each week], I strongly recommend...