Early Bird Vegan — Restaurant in Tempe

This place is a SCAM!!! This was the worst vegan food I have ever had. I got the French toast platter and asked for veggie bacon instead of impossible sausage, because I’m not a fan of impossible. The bacon was disgusting, barely warmed up, the tofu scramble was mostly arugula, and the French toast was tough and difficult to cut with the plastic fork I was provided to eat with. The French toast came with a “syrup” that was NOT any kind of syrup I’ve ever had before. Worse than the $1 pancake syrup you can buy at Walmart. I’m not joking, I think it was Torani flavoring syrup, like the kind you flavor drinks with. It smelled alcoholy and when I poured it on my barely passable french toast it completely ruined it. Absolutely disgusting. My partner got a breakfast burrito which he said was also mostly arugula. Worst breakfast burrito he’s ever had. We got two slices of their cake, one pumpkin spice and one lavender. The cake part itself was as plain as cake can possibly be, absolutely zero flavor, maybe even zero sugar? The flavor was all in the icing. The icing on the pumpkin spice cake was passable, but still borderline flavorless. The icing on the lavender cake was actually bad, disgusting. I’ve never had a piece of cake that nasty in my entire life. This place was shockingly bad, and spending almost $60 on breakfast there was an enormous waste of money. I am sick of pop up vegan restaurants in strange business parks using BOTTOM OF THE BARREL ingredients and plastic utensils to save on costs, scamming vegan food fans out of money and getting away with it. DO NOT EAT HERE.

Editing this 11/1/24 to reply to the owner’s comment on my original review: I feel compelled to write reviews on places when they shock me with how terrible they are. The fact that I’ve only written two of them should serve to demonstrate that of all the vegan places I visit and frequent yours was one of the worst, only rivaled by Slim Thick Cafe. My beef with your establishment has nothing to do with your race or gender, which I did not even know before you posted it in your reply for me to read; but thanks for glancing at my profile, judging me and immediately assuming that because I’m a white guy I must be a racist. My issue was that the food was the worst I’ve ever had, same as Slim Thick Cafe. Maybe try providing your customers with proper ceramic dish ware and real metal utensils instead of cheap plastic plates and Dollar Tree plastic forks. I felt straight up scammed by the way your business served me and you should be ashamed. I think it says a lot about you as a person that you took the time to write such a nasty reply to my genuine and honest review, instead of taking the criticism constructively like an adult. Have a great day, or better yet, don’t.

P.S To anyone reading this ridiculousness - after viewing multiple other posts, it’s apparent that she does this to everyone who speaks their mind and writes a negative review. This owner is a petty, small person who can’t take criticism constructively whatsoever and probably shouldn’t own a business. I have never been so disrespected by a business owner in my life, please do not eat here or give this person any more of your hard...

We’ve been vegan for almost nine years, and we’re always on the lookout for great plant-based spots. This past Friday, we had the pleasure of visiting Early Bird Vegan for lunch, and it was such a wonderful experience.

There’s lots of free parking. The location itself is inside an ASU building, and we were pleasantly surprised by how spacious and impeccably clean the space was. It had a welcoming atmosphere that made us feel comfortable right away.

One of the highlights of our visit was meeting the owner, who happened to be there at the time. She was extremely sweet, warm, and supportive, and it was evident how compassionate she is—not just about the food she serves but about the people who come in. She even took the time to greet our baby, which made the experience feel even more personal and special.

Ordering was simple and straightforward. The menu had a great variety of options, making it easy to find something delicious. We went with the avocado toast and the breakfast tacos, and both were incredibly flavorful and fresh. We also ordered a vanilla coffee, which was a perfect complement to our meal. Everything was made with care, and you could really taste the quality in every bite. The menu is very affordable, and the options are vast!

One thing we really appreciated was the service. The setup is where you order at the counter and then grab a seat, but since we had our hands full with the baby, the owner personally brought our food to the table, which was such a kind and thoughtful gesture.

Beyond the food, what makes Early Bird Vegan stand out is its strong sense of community and environmental responsibility. They host various events, including spoken word nights, and they are deeply committed to sustainability. They use compostable items and promote recycling, with posted throughout the space. From what we understand, they even host recycling and composting events, which is such an eco-conscious and forward-thinking initiative.

Overall, we highly recommend Early Bird Vegan. The food is phenomenal, the atmosphere is welcoming, and the owner’s genuine kindness made our visit unforgettable. We can’t wait to go back and try more dishes. If you’re in the area, do yourself a favor and check them out—you will love it! God bless the Early Bird Vegan and Krystal! We can’t wait to...

I’m not typically one to review but I was visiting my friend who had started to get more into veganism, yay! And she was so excited to show me a few vegan places that are locally sourced and really respectful of the environment and the impact some restaurants can have. This place was just not it. I’m sure everything they cook was purchased that morning (or at least from local people) which I think is great, but it seems like maybe they don’t really know how to have consistent cooking. It seemed like our portions were a bit weird, like my burrito was mainly lettuce which yeah I like lettuce but if I wanted mostly lettuce I would have gotten a salad. Also, I understand wanting to cut costs in this capitalist society we live in, but plastic and disposable utensils are such a bad look for a vegan restaurant. Veganism is about respecting the environment and all life on the planet and just adding more plastic waste to the world is such a bad look. To add insult to injury, it was over priced for the portions and the service was noticeably slow. I just wouldn’t recommend for people who take their...