Good Intentions — Restaurant in Saint Petersburg

Just went to good intentions last night for maybe my 10th time but also my LAST time! So the food here is great! Thats why ive been so many times so theres that! Now i wanna talk about the service! Ive traveled the united states eating the best vegan food everywhere! And this place has the worst service i ever had. I usually dont wven take time to write reviews but im hoping maybe this will help them learn to do better or something!? So literally everytime ive gone im there for hours because how long everything takes. We will walk in the door and say to ourselves, dam i hope they have good service today! Then never do…each time im bringing visitors from out of town there too, to like show off this place and theyll even be saying, where is our food?! Where is the waitress even!?

One time we sat there for literally 20 actual minutes before anyone even came over to offer us water! Finally the girl does and we ask to put in apps and she says, hold on! Ill be right back and leaves for 10 mins! Thats insane to me…she was lollygaging around talking to people the whole time and when we asked for our check she brought it and never came back…we go up to the front to pay and she comes over, we had an industry discount cause someone we had worked in the food industry and this girl says, this is the total after the discount please tip me on the whole amount! I actually laughed cause she wanted to be tippes for doing nothing…and! Keep in mind there was maybe 5 other tables there and another watress working so not even busy… This has happened so many times and we keep giving chances cause i want them to do good! But lastnight sealed the deal when again we sat…15-20mins before even getting water! They are out of like 6 meals on the menu which also happens often..the food takes forever to come! Im talking 45 mins, then another 20 for meals, another 20 for dessert and in between the server isnt really doing anything and had maybe 2-3 other tables…last night there were people getting mad and walking out even! So we said ya were not coming here anymore…sadly The servers there just arent good and dont know how to connect and talk with people, they shoukd get people who work hard and know how to keep up with people, theres never a, hey you guys good? Need anything? Sorry for the wait be right over!…nothing u just sit there…and our water will be out…

Its always been the same few girls on the floor that do a poor job, last night found out one was actually a manager!? Which was wild to me because she lacked such basic skills of even talking to people..multiple they have said, oh we are all out of this or that, or sorry we are understaffed tonight! And all just seems like excuses to me… I see it like this, if your always understaffed or running out of stuff, figure it out!! Do better! Or close for the day, or just dont have a business if your not gunna put in the proper work..i did get one kid there as my server once and he killed it! Everything was great! And! He was busier than the normal girls there! Thats not coincidence…or if you sit at the bar my dude over there crushes it and you get your food fast and hes great with communicating! Crazy they put the worst people as the main servers.. If your going to do a job, do it right! Or dont do it at all..

We ended up emailing this place with a well worded message about our poor experiencces to just let them know! Plus we didnt want to leave a bad review..instead never heard back, was ignored and still recieved bad service! So thats when i was like ok maybe leave a bad review so they can do better!? Place has so much potential and im very passionate about vegan food!

Last thing i wanna say is when i go out to eat, i order alot of food, i go in and i pay serious money! Along with that i love spoiling people and i tip heavy! So when this staff is doing such a poor job im just thinking your a fool to not take care of me..because all i want is normal good service! And my tips can sometimes be up to 100% or more, but im open and honest and pay you...

From poor reception to bad food and belligerent server, Good Intentions disappoints in many ways -- leaving aside the prices, which are for good food, good service and good reception.

We walk in to a fairly large dining area with many empty tables. The hostess offers us a small table next to a column where one of us would be staring at a corner all the time, or another table right near the entrance where we would be staring at her butt. We ask if we could sit somewhere else, and she repeats, saying “these are your choices.” That should have been our cue to leave, but we wanted to give the place a try so we picked the one by the front door. The crab cakes ($15) starter was just passable but we anticipated the gnocchi in a cashew cream would make up for it ($23 with two pieces of tofu, $29). They were super salty and gummy.

The server came over to ask how is everything, and so we told him. He offered to check with the cooking staff if they could make the dish with less salt. We expected him to come back with an answer and if the salt could not be removed (because it was in the sauce), we could then determine if to get something else or pass.

However, in a short few minutes he comes back with a bowl, sets it down on the table, and takes off walking. He didn't explain how the salt got removed from the sauce, he didn’t wait for us to taste it. The dish was still very heavy with salt. In the meantime, another staff brought us a second side of potato salad; we had ordered one, not two ($8, not great either).

Hating to waste food, we decided to take the salty mix to our place, where we would add a bunch of veggies and dilute the salt taste.

At check out the bill contained a surcharge labeled "kitchen appreciation fee." We didn't say anything but underlined that charge, gave the server our credit card and were willing to let it go.

However, the server came charging, pointing to the small print on a corner of the menu where it says this fee would be applied. I can understand an optional tip for the kitchen, but mandatory when the food was subpar? that is adding salt to the wound (pun intended). The server seemed agitated at us not "appreciating" the kitchen, when the way to redress would have been to say "I am sorry," period.

It seems that the owners do not want to pay fair wages, or hire inexperience and untrained staff, while they rake in the dough for badly prepared dishes, and thus come up with this additional fee. The whole place seems driven more by some nickel and dime business model than by the food -- not a good recipe for success.

We are vegetarian and vegan, we know what good vegan food taste like. If you are not vegan but want to give it a try, please do not get discouraged by the experience at places like Good Intentions. Vegan food can be delicious!

For us, this evening, Good Intentions turned into bad results...

Hilariously Holy Experience at Good Intentions – Where Tofu Meets the Divine

Let me just say, I walked into Good Intentions thinking I was about to have a light vegan dinner, and instead, I got spiritually awakened by a tahini caesar and an espresso martini that could raise the dead.

This place is like a wellness retreat that also serves cocktails with names like Frankie Goes to Dollywood (which, by the way, tastes like Dolly herself kissed my taste buds with a piña colada). And the Seasonal Slushie? Somewhere between frozen heaven and a buzz that whispers, “you deserve this.”

Now let’s talk food. I had the Kimchi Fried Rice—it came out looking like it had just won “Top Dish at Burning Man,” and tasted like if a fermentation wizard decided to bless your palate with umami enlightenment. The JustEgg scrambled on top was a delicious lie I chose to believe. Also, whoever invented the Kewpie aioli drizzle deserves a Nobel Peace Prize for creamy diplomacy.

My friend got the Cowboy Steak, and we still don’t know what sorcery they used to make lion’s mane mushrooms taste like tender, flame-kissed filet. Somewhere out there, an actual cow is high-fiving a mushroom.

The Skyway Melt deserves a moment of silence. This beyond burger + kimchi + caramelized onion combo had me moaning in public. Yes, there were stares. No, I’m not sorry. If flavor had a personality, this sandwich would be dating your mom.

The cocktails? Masterpieces. I had the Negroni Paradiso and suddenly had the urge to write poetry and invest in crystals. The Goodies Gibson? It made me rethink my entire relationship with vodka and pickled things.

And shout out to the menu’s fine print explaining that there's a kitchen appreciation fee to pay staff a livable wage. What kind of ethically sound utopia have I stumbled into?? I was halfway through my Nashville Hot Tofu when I realized I wasn’t just eating—I was participating in economic justice.

Also: amazing service, candles everywhere, moody lighting, and enough vibey energy to power a Pinterest board for months.

TL;DR: Come for the plant-based power, stay for the Paquita, and leave questioning if you’ve been living wrong all along. Good Intentions? More like...