The Fresh Carrot of Surfside — Restaurant in Surfside

I was visiting Miami and wanted to grab lunch before the beach. I found they were the closest restaurant open with vegan/vegetarian options. I came inside to order my food for takeout; I ordered a vegan sausage bowl. After ordering, the woman at the register directed me towards the back to wait for my order. As I am waiting, I can see 3 of the workers who handle the food and there were 2 men in the kitchen that came in and out periodically. The staff wore gloves. 1 woman was prepping food for the day, the other 2 were idled waiting for orders but had their arms crossed (touching skin) with their gloves on. The 2 men in the kitchen were prepping my food and both of them had gloves on as well but were touching their phones, kitchen door, cleaning rags and other objects and going back to handling food without changing their gloves. Honestly, as I was observing this behavior I was grossed out and wanted to request a refund for my food but I'm not very confrontational and against my better judgement- I did not ask for my money back and proceeded to take the food. I had a couple bites of the food and threw it away. I was still a bit grossed out and the food was nothing to rave about. A few hours later, I started feeling nauseous and my stomach was upset. It is now 3 days later and I'm sick- I cannot say with 100% certainty that whatever cold/bug I have now was because of them... But I can say, this restaurant needs to be retrained/refreshed on food safety practices. This is unacceptable and a risk to every customer trusting this restaurant with their food. I will never eat here again or recommend anyone...

I'm going to start off with the good. After the food was done and prepared properly it was good. We ordered a stuffed sweet potato and it was warm on the outside and literally cold in the middle. We let the waitress know that it was cold in the middle and she made it seem like it wasn't possible. So she took our plate and a minute and a half later she comes back with the stuffed sweet potato steaming. Which, the only way possible that you can have it reheated that fast is in the microwave. So now we just spent $40 on microwave food. As far as the service they're all talking amongst each other and not attentive whatsoever. I had to get their attention a few times and ask a few questions about the menu. No enthusiasm in the food that they make or serve. Employees even sit down next to you and share food from the same plates while working. After we brought it to their attention that reheating our cold food that we had already started eating was not acceptable, it was good. We'll never return again so I don't recommend it. Every customer that walked through the door seemed to get into an argument with the employees because they didn't seem to want to assist with questions. Quite over priced for the type of service and level of care with the food. Also, they serve you on a ceramic plate but lay a plastic fork & knife on top of your food. Very odd &...

Atmosphere - Strolled in today for the first time and really enjoyed the experience. Atmosphere was good with a few others dinning in and outside. I think music would have been a nice addition though.

Food - My husband and I ordered the Açaí Fruit Bowl and Strawberry Passion Fruit Smoothie. The smoothie was amazingly and tasted exactly as expected with strong strawberry flavor while not being too overpowering on the sweetness. The Açaí Fruit Bowl was delicious. The fruit looked and tasted very fresh. I did wish I had paid for the additional almond butter or peanut butter drizzle on top of the bowl, however at an extra $3.50, I decided against it when ordering.

Service - no greeting when entering or when standing at the cash register. At least not that I heard, the girl behind the counter stopped what she was doing once we were ready to order. She changed her gloves before switching from food prep to cashier. She was friendly and smiled; but was a little hard to hear her voice due to mask. We sat at the bar and watched the food while it was prepared. I appreciated the cleanliness of the preparation space and the care that the women took while preparing the meal.

Note - use of Greenprint straws and 100% recycled napkins.

Overall very happy with the experience and will be back again! Next time to try the...