ELife — Restaurant in Washington

On Saturday, April, 11, 2015 my husband and I along with two of our friends decided it was time to visit Evolve Vegan Restaurant. The ambiance of the restaurant was good. The lighting and décor was warm and inviting. We ordered a few drinks at the bar before we were seated. My Malibu with pineapple cocktail was watered down and had too much ice. We wanted to try a little of everything especially after reading the rave reviews this place received on Yelp. So we ordered the infamous Macaroni and Cheese, Sweet Maple Kale Salad, Yams, Vegan Tuna Salad, Collard Greens, N’Orleans Macaroni Salad, Southern Fried Chick-un and Chick-un Drumsticks. Our waitress, Stephanie returned to our table shortly after taking our order to inform us that the Yams and Sweet Maple Kale Salad were not ready. She also informed us that she was not sure how long it would take to be ready and suggested that we order something else. We decided not to order anything else and to just wait for the rest of our food to arrive. However, while we waited we did decided to sample the lentil soup. It tasted okay but we chose not to order a full serving.

Our food arrived within a reasonable time frame and we were very excited, until we tasted the Macaroni and Cheese. It did not have a pleasant smell to it and tasted quite sour. We informed Stephanie of this and she collected all of the Macaroni and Cheese, apologized and said that she would bring out the Macaroni and Cheese that was just freshly made. The second batch of Macaroni and Cheese was sour and still had that unusual and unpleasant smell. When asked what was in the Macaroni and Cheese we were told it was comprised of cashews, mustard, vinegar and a few other secret ingredients. The Macaroni and Cheese tasted nothing like we anticipated and we would not order it again.

We all agreed that the Southern Fried Chick-un and the Chick-un Drumsticks were quite delicious. The texture and taste was very much like real chicken. Amazing! The Collard Greens were not as fresh as expected. They tasted more so like canned Collard Greens. The Vegan Tuna Salad was okay. I really couldn’t find anything to compare it to. The N’Orleans Macaroni Salad was very good. Stephanie gave us the opportunity to try two of the Chef’s Specials in lieu of the Macaroni and Cheese. So we tried the vegan lasagna and the Broccoli Pasta and Tofu. The vegan lasagna was very delicious. We ate every last morsel. However, the same type of cheese sauce used for the Macaroni and Cheese was used in the Broccoli Pasta and Tofu and it was disgusting. For a change this time around, we opted not to order any desserts. We did not want to order desserts and have another awful experience.

Our waitress, Stephanie was very courteous and I commend her for remaining very polite and professional. Even though the manager was there he did not show the right kind of support to his staff. He was not concerned about his customers either because he did not visit our table to apologize directly for the issues we experienced with the food. It's disheartening to know that a business like this one; who requires customers to stay in existence don't value their customers. The manager should've came and spoke with us directly to apologize for food not being readily available when ordered and for the quality and taste issues we experienced. Instead of taking the opportunity to apologize and solicit a future visit, the manager did nothing.

To the many vegans out there who want great food, customer service and an overall great dining experience then this is not the...

Really wanted to love this place. Came in with strong expectations and got real hangry!

Food: The meal was good - the tuna salad was a bit overpowering though so I had to save it for the last thing I ate. I did enjoy my meal overall. The one issue was that I arrived within 45mins of opening and they were out of several items already. So my guess is the ordering/cooking balance was off as it was hard to believe on what seemed to be a slow morning that they had no more mac n cheese and just enough for one more steak and cheese sandwich. I ordered the chick-un drumsticks but got a chick-un sandwich instead - and I couldn't wait forever to get it fixed (see below). So just powered through it.

Environment: A very nice space that has a good decor. Some of the behind the bar area could be tidied up a bit. One thing I noticed was that guests who ate at the bar were given a table mat. This is fine but the table mat was never wiped down after someone else used it. I watched as one person got up and the table mat was rolled up and put on the fridge and then as another person sat down that same mat was unrolled and given to the next patron. I would suggest getting a couple more mats, doing away with them completely or doing a quick wipe.

Value: The price felt just right to me.

Returnabilty: Honestly, I would go back and give it one more try but I may just do a to-go order instead because of the mixed up order and then the wait make it hard for me to sit through once again.

Service: I think I waited about 30+ minutes for my food. This was the part that really derailed the overall experience for me as I thought it would be a great meal that would be delivered quickly (not fast but when it was ready). Instead I got my meal about 30-35mins late (and what seemed to be after others who came in after me and ordered a sandwich). No real appeasement from the staff other than "it will...

Vegan to vegan: I wouldn't spend another dollar there if you gave me the money and offered to pick me up. I took my wife to dinner at Evolve on a Groupon before heading to see a show. The store randomly opened one hour later than its posted time. Okay, stuff happens. We killed time and went back... Only to discover that half of the menu wasn't available. Okay, fine. It's a small vegan joint. We're just happy to give it our support. We waited a good twenty minutes to order even though we were two of maybe five people in the whole place. So we sat at the bar. "Can I have an Old Fashioned?" "What's that?" "Okay, how about a Manhattan?" "How do you make it?" Whatever. Just give me a whiskey. We ordered the fabled mac n cheese, and we were told that it's now an entree and not a side. There were two of us, so we'd happily share the dish. It came out - no joke - 30-40 minutes later, and while it was the size of an ice cream scoop, we were told it was a $12 entree. No. That's not how entrees work. We explained to owner/manager Dr Barruch - whom I'm pretty sure is slightly less of a doctor than Dre and J put together - that we weren't hot on this new non-entree, entree business. He told us how the mac n cheese is his best-selling item but that he's lost money on it for 8 years. (?) Then he tells us that he's not making money on the Groupon. (?) Next, he gets hostile. "Are you telling me how to run my business?" No, dude. I'm your target demographic - a vegan who drinks and has a couple bucks to go out - and I'm telling you that my experience is unpleasant. We decide to leave. I use the restroom only to return to my wife standing outside. "He told me to get the f out." Are you kidding? It's a shame, man. I want to love this place. That was our third visit - second, consecutive bad time - and there won't be a fourth. Know your customers. Appreciate...