SunCafe Organic Cuisine

To say that we’ve been to SunCafe Organics a few times is truly an understatement. At this point, we’re just shy of getting a chorus of “Norm!” every time we walk in. It started out as a novelty vegan joint close to home, and has quickly become our favorite couple hang out.

All I can do at this point is to just post photos of the amazing food we’ve had and hope that you will visit this incredibly hip and creative vegan cafe. There’s no reason to really “review” a vegan place other than to say you have to eat at SunCafe. There is no shortage of vegan restaurants in Los Angeles, but there is certainly a shortage of quality. SunCafe does not disappoint. It’s everything you ever dreamed of in Vegan Cuisine and more.

Enjoy!!

Starters

Let’s begin with Soups and Appetizers. Whatever the soup of the day is, get it. We’ve had two amazing soups – creamy and full bodied.

Avocado Curry Soup

Tortilla Soup

One item we cannot get enough of is the Lettuce Tacos. I’ve taken so many photos of these tacos that my iPhoto library looks like a lettuce taco garden.

Lettuce Tacos

Another item that has had multiple photos is the SunNachos. This is one of those “vegan” dishes that if you fed it to a non-vegan, they’d be hard pressed to accuse it of being vegan. Messy, gooey, and trashy just like nachos should be. Order a round of drinks and chow down!

Sun Nachos

To celebrate our anniversary, we sat in a quiet booth and drank Prosecco and just ordered plate after plate of food. They must have thought we were crazy, but we had a fantastic time! On the menu that night was this unique BBQ Cauliflower appetizer.

Prosecco

BBQ Cauliflower

Brunch

We’ve discovered that the best time of day to dine at SunCafe, where the creativity really shines, is the Brunch service. If you have an opportunity to try a Brunch Special, please do. Last weekend, we were able to try the Avocado Toast. It looks like nothing in the menu description, but when it arrived….oh…em…gee. It’s quite possibly the best thing I’ve eaten there to date!

Avocado Toast (brunch special)

If you’re like me, you haven’t had eggs in a long long time. Perhaps I just don’t remember what they taste like, because I thought both the Fritatta and the Omelet were better than any egg version.

Fritatta with home fries

Veggie Omelet

And don’t forget to get a side of Rosemary Potatoes!

Rosemary Red Potatoes

If you like Kombucha, definitely order a glass. There are a couple different brands (on tap) and various flavors. I’m not normally a big fan (sometimes it tastes too much like vinegar for me), but they really have the nicest Kombucha there.

Kombucha and Coffee

Sandwiches

One thing I love are in-house made veggie burgers. As good as the mushroom burger is at SunCafe, just be warned it is super dense and filling. The worst part was not having enough stomach space leftover for dessert.

SunBurger

The (Tempeh)Bacon Lettuce Tomato was actually really good! Again, a BLT is not something I’ve had since going vegan, so this was a real treat!

(Tempeh)Bacon Lettuce Tomato

All sandwiches come with a choice of side. I usually go for the Hummus & Pita.

Hummus & Pita

Entrees

The focus of all our dining is dinner. And we’ve had pretty much everything on the menu. Everything is delicious. Order without fear: you won’t be disappointed.

There is always Mac n Cheese on the menu, but in June, there was a Jalapeño Mac n Cheese special. And it was very special! It wasn’t necessarily spicy, in fact I though it was on the sweet side. Whatever your worries, put them aside. It’s delicious!

Jalapeño Mac n Cheese Special

June also boasted a BBQ Farmers’ Market Pizza. Pizza was the only thing I hadn’t tried yet on the menu, so I decided to go for it. The BBQ sauce was tangy and sweet, a perfect match for the kale, tomatoes, red onions and (wait for it) grilled peaches. The peaches threw us for a loop because we couldn’t identify them at first. I’m not normally a big peach fan, but as our server explained, if they’re still on the hard side peaches are a perfect match for the sauce. Loved it!

BBQ Farmers’ Market Pizza Special

While we’re on the subject of pizza…my son actually ordered the Tomato Basil Pizza when we took him there. At first, he was a little put off by the giant basil leaves, but he ate them! The cashew cheese is fantastic.

There is a choice of crusts: rice flour or raw Suncrust. Always get the rice flour. Or don’t. I’m not the boss of you.

Tomato Basil Pizza

The idea of “raw” food scares me a little, especially when we’re talking about raw squash like zucchini. But I took a chance and ordered the Raw Zucchini Lasagna. It was surprisingly good, and so light that I had plenty of appetite left for dessert!

Zucchini Lasagna

My first meal at SunCafe included the Raw Pad Thai, with tofu. Like the lasagna, it was fresh, crisp and satisfying!

Raw Pad Thai

A fun dish on the menu this summer is the Land and Sea Paella. As traditional paella usually includes five pounds of seafood, this one actually captured the essence of that flavor. I was surprised! The oyster mushrooms do actually elude to the flavors of the sea. I loved this dish.

Land & Sea Paella

We decided to introduce my parents to fun vegan food at SunCafe. My mother was a bit skeptical at first; I think she was worried she would be eating what amounted to side dishes and so wouldn’t be satisfied. To her delight, it turns out this was not true! She found this Farro & Changerelle Risotto and went nuts over it! I think she’s officially a believer!

Farro & Chanterelle Risotto

My father, on the other hand already loves vegan food, and was excited to see Ratatouille on the menu. He claimed he had never eaten it before, and since seeing the movie with my son when he was little, he’s been dying to see what the fuss is about. It’s been months since his dinner at SunCafe and he is still talking about how good his Ratatouille was!

Ratatouille

Want comfort food? Look no further! The Shepherd’s Pie satisfies that craving!

Shepherd’s Pie

We’ve definitely discovered that ordering the specials is a good thing! Friand took a leap of faith and ordered the Tamarind Tofu. Let this go down in the record book as the first time he voluntarily ordered a tofu dish: and he loved it!

Tamarind Tofu

Dessert

(the most important meal of the day)

Save room for dessert. Seriously. Do not skip this part of the meal. SunCafe has the best vegan desserts I’ve ever had. I’m going to let the photos speak for themselves because across the board, every last one is a home run!

Banana Creme Pie (my personal favorite)

Chocolate Mint Cheesecake; Banana Creme Pie

Key Lime Pie

If you couldn’t tell, I love the Banana Cream Pie (I think I’ve ordered it a total of 5 times).

Banana cream pie; key lime pie

If you are dying for something sweet, but not sickeningly sweet, try the almond butter chocolate and cookie dough cheesecakes.

Almond butter chocolate cheesecake; cookie dough cheesecake

Specials

The highlight of the SunCafe menu is always the Specials Menu. Make sure you hit at least one item on that menu while you’re there.

SunCafe also holds cooking classes. Although they teach you how to make raw food, so not sure it’s really called “cooking”. Maybe it should be called “concocting” or “creating”!