All the Way Live Cafe - Germantown — Restaurant in Philadelphia

I've waited until I've been here a few times to see if my experienced was consistent before I left a review. The food and vibe of the restaurant are the positives The attitude of the owner is a strong negative.

Environment The ambience is very nice, like a casual Caribbean restaurant. Don't get me wrong - I'm not saying the place is super fancy, with brightly colored paint and elegant place settings - in fact, it's the opposite. The place is subtly Afrocentric, with tasteful artwork on the walls. The furniture is simple and very unassuming. On the hottest days, the restaurant is cool and peaceful. There's usually good music playing softly in the background, and there's just a very soulful, peaceful vibe. When I walk in, I feel like I've stepped into a casual neighborhood restaurant in the Bahamas. If you are open to this type of atmosphere, you will enjoy the ambience.

Staff The owner of the restaurant is very energetic but not necessarily friendly. If you are part of her in-crowd, she will warmly greet you. If you are new to the restaurant or not part of the clique, she barely gives you the time of day unless you speak to her first.

There is a young man who works there-I think his name is Teagan. He is very friendly and is a a kind soul. He is the go-to person and usually can be found taking orders, accepting payment, waiting tables, and fulfilling orders.

Service S-L-O-W. Good food takes time. That's a benefit of coming to this place, rather than going to some fast food joint or corner store that will crank out garbage in 5 minutes or less. However, if you are in a hurry, reconsider coming to All the Way Live. If you called ahead and placed an order, set aside at least an hour before the order is ready. This may not happen all the time, but this has been my experience for the last few times I've been here. If you have waited for at least a half an hour for your meal and would like to know the status, ask Teagan. The owner does not seem to welcome any inquiries and acts as though she's insulted when you inquire about the status of your order. Luckily, the ambiance and vibe (see #1) of the place sort of compensate for sitting there waiting...and waiting...and waiting...for your food.

Food The food is delicious and beautifully prepared. The chef is an artisan you can tell they take pride in what they do. If you are not used to raw or vegan food, then keep in mind it's not going to taste "just like" chicken, beef, etc. It holds its own. But don't be afraid to try the items on the menu because they are worth the wait. The chickpea burger is absolutely delicious. The apple cake took me by surprise because contrary to my own advice, I expected it to taste just like something I was used to. It did not. However, I'm really glad that I tried it and I will try it again. Our taste buds have gotten used to animal products and processed sugar in our food, and the dessert here takes us back to the natural elements. So the experience is different but still beautiful.

Price The food is pricey and don't hesitate to double-check your bill. However, I usually feel like I've gotten my money's worth. The portions are delicious and the food is consistently beautifully prepared.

Overall I will keep going back here, because it's local, convenient, and the food is beautifully prepared and very tasty. The attitude of the owner, while bothersome, is not enough to totally deter me from the restaurant. However, her attitude does make me want to explore other raw and vegan places in the area. If I find one with friendlier management, I will take my business there. Until then, I'll continue to pop into All...

I had a TERRIBLE experience here. So I was visiting PA and found this restaurant which was listed as one of the only alkaline restaurants in Philly. When I got there, I was asking the waiter questions about the ingredients in the food as I’m allergic to almost all acidic foods. He was very polite and tried getting answers me. I guess I may have asked too many questions because a woman (older woman with a head wrap) came out to “deal” with me. Her entire demeanor was abrasive, defensive and just flat out rude. I explained to her that I have allergies and was just curious as to what “secret herbs” they used for the spaghetti pasta (because I noticed that everything on the menu wasn’t alkaline although they said that everything but the treats and lasagna wasn’t. There’s more that’s not alkaline btw). She basically told me that she’s not telling me if I can’t tell her what I’m allergic to. I tried explaining my allergy condition again but she was just soooo rude! Not understanding nor did she try to work with me. I got so upset at how she handled the situation that I closed the menu, told her that her customer service skills sucked and walked out. There’s a lot more nitty gritty that I’m leaving out that’ll give a better picture of the entire situation but I’m going to spare the restaurant. She needs to be fired. If she’s the owner, she needs never to show up to the restaurant again and let it run on its own. It’ll be much better without her. Besides, the woman didn’t really know what was really...

I unfortunately had a less than great experience here. The food was conceptually creative, but me and my two friends found that the execution of the dishes were lacking. The mushroom cheesesteak was really not much of a cheesesteak at all, more of a wrap and there wasn't much "cheese" to speak of. The lasagna did not remind us much of lasagna. I understand that the food is vegan, but I feel as though the names set expectations that did not accurately describe the food. I personally got the three dish platter with soup. At first, the dishes were really good, but at the bottom of the bowl was super wet with the vinaigrette and it ended up soaking everything. It ended up tasting very homogenous and overly sour. The final nail in the coffin was the price and service. We came in at 2:40p on a saturday and didn't get our food until around 3:20p, despite an empty dining room. Our server was very nice but unfortunately she was the only one and it was understandably hard to take care of all tables once it started getting busy. For the three of us it cost us 80$ and we left hungry. I have had plenty of great vegan dishes from places in the past, do consider some of the other...