Cafe Sunflower Buckhead

My cousins were in town and they are plant based (I am not) so naturally I was a little on the fence at first...But to my surprise the food tasted better than expected!The outside of the place misleads you a little with it's plain appearance, but inside it is sooo beautiful. The lighting is just right too.Our server was friendly, swift, attentive, and was very patient breaking down the menu to us, since it was our first time.We opened the evening with a bottle of chardonnay. For apps we ordered the artichoke and spinach dip, crispy brussel sprouts, and the buffalo lollipops For entrees, we ordered the chicken parmesan linguine, the harvest salad, the fettuccine alfredo, and the orzo eggplant lasagna. To end off the night, we ordered a slice of the peanut butter chocolate mousse cake. Everything tasted so good.....actually TOO good, to the point that you forget it's all plant based. Definitely worth trying.

As someone who does not eat dairy, I have been very excited to come to Café Sunflower for a long time. The anticipation has probably been building for way too long, and my expectations were extremely high. Unfortunately, my experience was just OK.My visit started with a comical start. I arrived exactly at opening time. I pulled in the space right in front of the door and a few spaces over someone else pulled in. As soon as I walked in the door, the person from that other car walked in a different door and directly up to the host stand to seat me. Obviously, the host was running a little late. We laughed about it.The service from my waiter was probably the best part. They were perfectly attentive and there when I needed them. The restaurant and bathrooms were clean. I was a little surprised there were no paper towels in the bathroom since I was one of the first customers when they opened. Oops!The menu had a lot of delicious looking choices. I decided to go with the pesto pasta. It was full of vegetables and made with a cashew sauce. The presentation was beautiful, but I was a little bit disappointed in the dish overall. I really love pesto and was hoping for a bit more creaminess from the cashew sauce; however, I felt it was a little overdressed, too oily, and much too tangy. This could just be a flavor preference. The broccoli was extremely hard and very large. I wish it had been cut down or cooked a bit more. The artichokes that were dressed on top of the pasta were cold. It made me feel like they were pulled out of a can and placed directly on top of the hot pasta. That made for a strange temperature contrast that I did not like. The garlic bread was very soft and floppy. When I have garlic bread, I like it to be a bit crispy. The dish was a very large and generous portion. I took my leftovers home, but to be honest, I never felt like finishing them. I wish I was more excited about the dish, but I wasn't. At some point I would like to give them another try with a different dish, but I'm not sure they will move very high up my list for a retry very soon.

My first time eating here my plate was tiny, and the greens were literally filled with sugar. It almost seemed like a mistake like somebody swapped out the salt for the sugar. I've never tasted anyone intentionally sweeten up greens (sautéed kale) that much. It was a $30 plate, extremely cheap portions, I got it to go but I arrived right when they finished it and it was cold.I tried to talk to management about my plate and mainly the greens. I literally just asked for a replacement for the greens, or make me some new greens without all the sugar. I explain to them that it was so sweet I literally couldn't eat it and that it's an expensive plate and I would just like some greens that I could eat. The manager literally refused to give me any form of a replacement For the greens. It's not like I asked for my money back or anything. I then asked to speak to the owners and they said they weren't there. I asked for some other form of contact for them, they gave me an email addressI emailed the owners and told them about how as a first time customer it was not an appropriate response for the manager to refuse to replace one side item on my plate that tasted so bad and she was extremely rude, and that I was aiming to let them know and preferring to talk with him about it instead of writing a bad review. I literally never got a response from them. To be clear, I used to own a restaurant myself and never in my wildest dreams would I have allowed a customer service experience for any of our customers like this. If anyone had a complaint about their food we would make an effort to replace or fix the issue or give them a refund. This is the most trash customer service, the food was bad, and the fact that the owners didn't care enough to even give me an email response is CRAZY! I ate there another time with some friends we got it on Postmates , I got the fettuccine Alfredo. It was so dry it was once again inedible, it was just a bowl of thick noodles stuck together, the sauce had absolutely no seasoning and there was barely any of it. I literally had to put it in a pan and add some vegan butter and spices and whatever I could pull out of the fridge later that night because it was not edible. Skip this place all together it's not worth it

Met a friend for dinner at this place that she had been to years ago. She knows that I am plant based and relatively new to ATL so we went here. The outside does not do the inside just this. The lighting is bright enough it's not dark, but dark enough there is some intimacy. Very calming tones. The service was excellent. We were seated as soon as we entered and the waitstaff took our order immediately after we got settled. We had the crispy wontons as an appetizer. I could eat the dipping sauce with everything. Then she had the pad Thai and I had the crispy sesame chicken. Both dishes were delicious and the serving size was enough that you would not go hungry. I asked to see a dessert menu, thinking I would not finish what they gave me. That was a mistake. The old fashioned chocolate cake was so good I ate all of it. It went down especially easy because I knew it was plant based. Looking forward to going back as there were multiple dishes and appetizers I want to try. Would recommend to anyone who is not plant based. You will get your money's worth.

The best vegan restaurant in Georgia. In a world brimming with culinary options, it can often be challenging to find a restaurant that marries sustainable cuisine with exceptional taste. However, my quest for the ultimate vegan dining experience recently led me to the extraordinary haven of flavor known as Sunflower cafe. With a tantalizing blend of creativity, quality, and compassion, this eatery easily ranks as the best vegan restaurant I have ever had the pleasure of visiting.

Love this place. I take all my vegan friends. Pasta (fettuccine) is my absolute!!!!! Carrot cake - what all carrot cake should taste like! I like getting lattes as well (caramel oat milk). We order lots of food and share. Wonderful ambiance, always amazing music. Clean place. The people who work there are nice. Same guys every time. I wonder if they're family. Better than the trendy new place. Classic, classy, consistent, not over crowded.

After 23 years of living in Atlanta, I finally made it to Cafe Sunflower. This is an Atlanta institution for vegan food, a cuisine I admittedly don't seek out, hence why it took me so long to get here. As an omnivore, I really enjoyed the food. There's a reason this place has been around so long and is so beloved. They know how to make great restaurant-quality vegan food. As far as vegan restaurants go, I think this is one that sets the standard. Thus, five stars.The first Cafe Sunflower originally opened in Sandy Springs in 1994: https://www.yelp.com/biz/cafe-sunflower-sandy-springs-atlanta. That location unfortunately closed in 2020 due to the pandemic: https://www.facebook.com/cafesunflowersandysprings/posts/pfbid02p5PRhJUqKagL91j3zXRt5kwYBpKRzt5HgBhtvFkWeTJTH6vHjhP9aW29UKxu3gmAl. This Buckhead location opened in 1997. It's located in the two-story Brookwood Square shopping center, next door to Houston's. In 2014, the restaurant moved to a bigger space, but stayed in the same shopping center: https://www.tonetoatl.com/2014/04/planned-apartments-force-cafe-sunflower.html. I remember the old space which was tucked away from Peachtree Street. The current location faces Peachtree.We visited on an ordinary Tuesday night. The restaurant was moderately busy with a combination of dine-in and takeout orders. The clientele was diverse. Young, old, families, solo diners, large groups, date nights, etc. The space is sizable and simply-yet-tastefully decorated. There are multiple indoor dining areas plus a small, uncovered, pet-friendly, outdoor patio. Plenty of parking was available next to the restaurant, though I could see the lot being more congested at lunchtime due to the other businesses at Brookwood Square.One thing that I think is great about Cafe Sunflower is the variety of menu offerings in both food and drink. They offer vegan versions of all sorts of ethnic cuisines, from Orzo Eggplant Lasagna ($20) to Spicy Pad Thai Noodles ($21). Drink-wise, they have fresh juices, plant-based milks, coffee, tea, wine, and beer. Below is what I had (all prices listed were at the time of our visit).Red Wine (also on the blackboard specials at the entrance)* House Sangria ($10) - seasonalStarters* Avocado Spring Rolls ($12) - crispy wrapper, cilantro, aioli* Quesadilla ($15) - white mushroom, spinach, yellow onion, vegan cheese, guacamoleEntrees* Fettuccini Alfredo ($21) - fettuccine pasta, shiitake mushroom, green beans, red bell pepper, asparagus, cashew Alfredo sauce* Gyro Wrap ($18) - marinated seitan, lettuce, tomato, onion, pickle, feta, tzatziki sauce, vegan cheese, pita wrap, friesDessert* Raspberry Chocolate Mousse ($9 slice)* Carrot Cake ($9 slice)I had to get the House Sangria after seeing it on the specials menu on the way in. While not significantly different from other sangrias I've had, it was still tasty and refreshing. It also went well with all of the dishes I tried.Off the bat, I was pleasantly surprised by the Avocado Spring Rolls and Quesadilla. Just terrific quality and flavor all around. Wonderful color too. Generally, the dish presentation popped here. The Avocado Spring Rolls were fresh and hearty. Delectably crispy on the outside and filled with plenty of avocado on the inside. The Quesadilla was packed with cheesy goodness and umami. I believe Cafe Sunflower's Quesadilla can rival just about any other restaurant's quesadilla, vegan or not. It was that good. Generous portion sizes here too.I'm a fan of Fettuccini Alfredo in general. Cafe Sunflower's version was excellent. Normally made with butter and Parmesan cheese, my friend and I were really impressed with how smooth, creamy, and authentically-delicious the cashew Alfredo sauce was. It was really good. The noodle texture was just right too. We were trying to decide between this entree and the Bacon Beyond Burger ($19). We went with the pasta after our server told us how heavy the burger was.I had been eyeing the Gyro Wrap on the menu before our visit. I had to get it. Out of all the dishes we tried, this one tasted the least like its non-vegan counterpart. The reason why is because of the seitan. While the slices looked just like traditional gyro meat, the taste and texture were quite different. The pita was also a little hard and overcooked. The fries were less seasoned and oily (the latter, a good thing). All that said, I didn't regret ordering this dish and I still enjoyed it.Cafe Sunflower is also known for their cakes, so we had to try some. They offered five kinds when we visited. Slices of each kind were in a display at the check-in counter. Both the Raspberry Chocolate Mousse and the Carrot Cake that we got were fantastic. These were large, rich, high-quality slices that we couldn't stop eating. The Carrot Cake had a moist, appetizing consistency while the Mousse was thick, sweet, and creamy.Jose was our server. He did a good job.Like the thousands that have come before me, I recommend this place.

We have been to Cafe Sunflower 3x now and EVERY SINGLE TIME it was delicious!! We tried them during dinner hours the first time (not pictured) I had the Alfredo which was a 10 out of 10! My daughter had the Bacon Beyond Burger and fries which she said was also great and we shared the mushroom quesadilla. Next time we came back to try their brunch menu. All the items pictured/videoed are available during brunch on Saturday. The half stack was huge and the flavors were excellent (the only thing I would say is mine came out warm instead of hot but still good). The loaded breakfast burrito had so many things and the kale salad was very tasty. I've also tried the sesame soy chicken, which tastes exactly like regular Chinese food. All of their menu is delicious you cannot go wrong. My only advice is to be prepared to pay a bit more but it's well worth the price!! The staff is also very friendly and the dining area is comfortable/quiet.

Cafe Sunflower was just okay. The service was good and there was plenty to pick from but I wasn't blown away by my meal, it was just okay. Being a Vegan I was very excited about trying a restaurant that is 100% catered towards that but it fell short of my expectations.

The food is not as good as it used to be to be in Sandy Springs. I ordered the Pad Thai, which is my favorite dish at this restaurant. I had to send it back. The second time was better, but not great. There was barely any tofu in the dish. I may or may not dine here again