Cafe Sunflower, Atlanta

When I last visited Atlanta like 10 years ago, the best place to eat was Cafe Sunflower. I remembered this cafe as having exceptional food back then as one of the only vegetarian restaurants in the city and I was excited to come back this time to see if it was as good as I remembered. The cafe has two locations -- we visited the one in Buckhead.

The dining room is quite casual with simple chairs and tables. The lighting and artwork make it really pop though.

The first time me and my friend went, it was for lunch. I was disappointed to see that the menus are entirely different for lunch and dinner because the fancy stuff was on the dinner menu. But, we made the most of it. Most of the food is vegan, but they do offer some dairy cheese as an option on some dishes. I started with a tasty Angel Greens juice. Made fresh with kale, celery, ginger, lemon, cucumber, apple juice, it was just what I needed to jumpstart my day.

For an appetizer, we started with the Buffalo Lollipops. Despite its humorous name, these soy chicken drumsticks coated in housemade buffalo sauce were amazing. The vegan blue cheese dressing was great as well. Wow.

For my lunch, I ordered the Quinoa Avocado Burrito. It was simple, fresh, and delicious. Unlike many other places that skimp on the avocado, this burrito was loaded with avocado as well as quinoa, steamed spinach, zucchini, mushrooms, and sweet potatoes in a spinach tortilla with chipotle aioli dipping sauce.  It was very, very filling. This dish came with a mushroom barley soup and a nice salad as well. All of it was very good.

My friend ordered a special -- the Taco Salad. This bowl was filled with mixed greens, avocado, black beans, radish, chorizo with bell pepper, pico de gallo, Daiya cheese, and chipotle sauce. He loved it.

After that experience, we came back with friends for dinner. We started with an Artichoke Spinach Dip and more of the Buffalo Lollipops. Both were a hit among these non-vegans. I didn't think the dip was all that great, but everyone else did!

For my entree, I ordered the Chimichurri Seitan Steak. It was so good. Layers of grilled seitan were doused with chimichurri sauce over a cauliflower potato mash and served with asparagus.

One friend ordered the Orzo Egpplant Lasagna and this one was fantastic as well. Layers of baked portobello mushoom, eggplant, zucchini, roasted red pepper, spinach, and tofu ricotta orzo pasta made up this masterpiece. The slow-roasted shallot marinara and grilled asparagus on top were just the icing on the cake.

Another friend has the Fettucini Alfredo special, which was okay, but not great.

Another friend had the Sesame Soy Chicken dish and loved it. I did not try it, but it looked great.

Between the two visits, I give this restaurant an A+. The service was fantastic on both visits and the atmosphere is lively. The entrees are quite pricey at $19 to $22 each, but the food was great overall. If you are in Atlanta and are looking for a casual restaurant with great food, this is the place.

Cafe Sunflower
2140 Peachtree Road
Atlanta, GA 30309
(404) 352-8859