Natural Cafe — Restaurant in Goleta

Negative review. My favorite salad came from this restaurant, until I found a living frog in my meal. I am not joking about this. After I filmed the incident, I safely gathered the frog and took it down to the Natural Cafe location in the Camino Real Shopping Center. I wanted to help protect the business so I spoke to the manager on duty outside so the patrons would not overhear and get grossed out. I was given the contact information for the higher ups so I could notify and send them the video of the frog coming out of the salad. They held zero accountability and did not believe that it could have came from their kitchen. They even went in depth with the multi-step process they take when putting a salad together. They offered no free meal or any compensation other than refunding the order for that meal. I asked to have the owner email me which he never did. I even requested to have an in person talk with him with witnesses so a resolution could be figured out. This never happened either. After they ended up ghosting me I contacted the BBB (Better Business Bureau) and reported them. The Natural Cafe also provided fictitious statements to the Better Business Bureau when they lied saying that they had offered me a new complimentary entrée. This establishment holds no accountability for their behavior in addressing a matter which is rather a serious health concern. The frog was in the salad for well over an hour before I even opened the salad box since it was a take-home order. I had already taken several bites of the salad before discovering the frog, and when I did, I already had a mouth full of food that I quickly spit out into the kitchen sink. There was a witness in the house as well who saw the frog once I brought it too their attention. This has never happened before where I was so disgusted that I had to spit out my food. Please do yourself a favor and keep this in mind when thinking about wanting to give business to this place when they have shown and proven that they do not take an important matter like this seriously. It's one thing finding a bug in your food, but when you find a living, breathing frog in your salad that had been in there for over an hour, you start to wonder what kind of secretions, urine, fecal matter, and bacteria that may have been present with the frog being there in the...

When you enter, there are menus posted on the left and right. You can look at them before you walk up to the counter to place your order. They do have some healthy bottle drinks, but you can opt for free water. The ice is in the well next to the water jug. They also have lemons. They have some jugs with tea if you pay up front. In the drink section is also where you can get condiments and silverware. They give you a number, and you find an open table and sit there. A Staff member will bring you food. I like this place because they make an effort to make everything healthy and fresh. The portions are large so everyone had some left over afterwards so we...

A great little spot with healthy vegan/vegetarian options for all! Indoor and outdoor seating, with a great ambience for lunch or casual dinner. Definitely worth trying if you’re in the area.

Specifically, I as all around impressed by the flavor of the tempeh burger (pictured) that I had. Great flavor and the chips are tasty. My significant other, however, ordered the tofu stir fry and it was not great. Not enough flavor in the tofu. Some might say “well, it IS tofu”, but we know it’s possible as we make various tofu dishes at least once a week. Still, the rest of our party (5 others) enjoyed their meals, so I’d say 6/7 are great odds you’ll find...