Millennium

After using their cookbook for a few months, and dreaming about walking in almost every day staring at the restaurant from a 38 bus window, I finally ate at Millennium.

This is what vegan food should be. It's exotic, stimulating, light, well balanced, and with a shocking amount of flavor.

Their cocktails are also top-notch. Who would've thought?

Pros: Creative, exotic, light, flavorful, vegan

Cons: Location

We came here before Wicked. The Hostess was lovely and took our coats as we arrived. We sat down at the table as reserved. There was water already poured into our water glasses on the table. We had a couple of sips of water and ordered our food and wine. We thoroughly enjoyed our meal until the bill came.

We spent well over $300 at 6 p.m. (in this time of financial crisis). We noticed a charge for water for $8?! WHAT?!

We politely asked the server who explained that Millennium filters their own water through all these processes. We explained that we don't mind filtered water, instead we just weren't given the option at the start of the meal, especially since our water had already been poured BEFORE we even sat down. We explained that not a single person asked us at the beginning or at any time during our meal whether or not we wanted filter, tap, or sparkling water. She explained that 'this notice is on the menu' but not one of us 8 people saw this notice.

The manager, then arrived, explaining the exact policy....and then stated 'would you not have had water with your meal?' We explained that we live in San Francisco where the water quality is excellent and we would have taken tap water but we were NEVER given the option! Instead, the manager REFUSED to take the $8 charge off our bill!

Shame on you Millennium!

Pros: food, setting

Cons: not supporting their customers, not a good choice!

Millennium is fantastic. When you can afford it, you should check out this amazing vegan spot! Everything is vegan, and nearly everything is delicious.I think the only drawback is the pricing... It's a nice space, and a very formal dining environment... but it can slightly break the bank! A refreshing and special change from the usual vegetarian circuit here in San Francisco.

Pros: Fabulous food and drinks -- all vegan!

Cons: Expensive :(

My husband and I went here for dinner the other night. Neither he or I are Vegeterian (Vegan) but we decided to give it a try because of a co-workers recommendation. What a deightful evening. We were seated almost immediately after arriving (we had 8;00pm reservations, and were seated at 8:05pm!) the waiter was very nice, explained everything in great detail, and the food! Amazing! if this is what it is like to eat non-meat dishes than sign me up! The restaurant wasn't over-priced (as more than a few restaurants tend to be here in S.F) All in all, our experience at this restaurant was great! Go try it! and you will seriously think of becoming a Vegeterian!

Pros: Delightful atmosphere, attentive and friendly wait-staff, Great food! Even for people that are not limited to meat-less dishes!

Cons: Not a single thing

This is simply one of the worst places I've eaten. Simply put, it is the type of eatery that gives meat eaters the ammunition to criticize.

Before I get into it, I think the vegetarian lifestyle and movement is important (I personally think people who do eat meat should at least understand where their food comes from, and respect the animal that they're eating not as a commodity but as a living creature); however, that doesn't mean any vege restaurant should get props just because it's in the movement or supports the cause.

Negatives:
1. it's vegan: even though the menu claims to mimic non-vege foods, it doesn't at all. the lack of fat in the cooking leads to basically a plate o' veges thrown about. my gf is a vegetarian and also said she wouldn't go back because of the monotonous flavors...nothing unique aside the attempt at uniqueness in the menu descriptions. here's the thing, flavor of mushrooms or tofu with light sauces doesn't fool the palate at all. they claim you leave frisky or whatever, but that's another word for hungry.

2. $$$$: plates running in the $20+ range is absolutely ridiculous. simple as that.

Positives: drinks were tasty, classy and fun atmosphere (felt like a 40s theater)

Do yourself a favor and find a good restaurant ,and eat a vege dish there that's good. Get a tasty risotto, or a curried tofu dish, etc at places that know how to make vegetarian food. It doesn't have to be an elitist niche movement.

Pros: good drinks, nice vibe and decor

Cons: elitist vege that doesn't deliver at all. save your money and go to a good place.

I visited this restaurant twice in the last couple weeks, and thoroughly enjoyed the food. Rarely will you find a vegetarian restaurant where the environment/atmosphere is more upscale (typically they are very casual joints) so this is a refreshing change of pace. It's also nice to know that anything you order off the menu is 'safe', and you won't have to quiz a reluctant waiter about whether a veggie dish really is vegetarian. The menu can be overwhelming - although very descriptive, it is rather difficult to get a sense of what exactly you are ordering and what it will look like, so you'll need help from your server. The Erbette Chard Roulade was very good, it's a hollowed out bread roll filled with tofu cheese and chard, topped with mushrooms and black beluga lentils on the side. Also tried the Carrot Bolognese, this one I'm not quite sure what is in it except the carrots, but still very good. The flavors are strong so you likely wouldn't have the same dish twice within a few days, but that just means you get to try different dishes. The chocolate cheesecake is very good - tasted nothing like cheesecake, which was not an issue - rich, with berries and sauce on the side. The vanilla bean cream tartlette was a disappointment though, it is a small crunchy tart shell filled with cream and topped with little cubes of strawberry and pineapple. Just not that good, especially for the price. The only real turnoff is the hostess (the one wearing cowboy boots) - she tries to act snooty for no apparent reason, when she should be welcoming guests. But overall, I think it's a great restaurant experience.

Pros: Creative vegetarian menu

Cons: Unfriendly hostess

My boyfriend surprised me with reservations here. I was shocked by the extensive menu and sophisticated ambience. Beingabel to choose anything on the menu and know that I will love it was thrilling. We had three courses plus the olive plate. Delicious! Not even the bill could tarnish theentire experience. It was quite the romantic gesture at the perfect veggie restaurant for me!

We were in San Francisco for our 10th anniversary. Dinner at Millennium was certainly a highlight. bar selection was fantastic - my hunny likes good beers/ales. the food was packed with flavor! we enjoyed a leisurely meal instead of being rushed out of the restaurant - our meal took 2 hours. what a treat! Even non vegetarians will enjoy this place!

Pros: service, long meal

Delicious. Simply amazing. A vegan gastronomical joy. There are few pure vegetarian restaurants, but none other compares to Millennium. The dining room is beautiful, no complaints about the service. And lemme tell you: I miss dessert and it's been a very long time since I've had one as decadent and soul-satisfying as the molten-chocolate confection I just had the pleasure to enjoy. Pure, sweet, bliss.

Pros: sooooooo yummy

Decided to go here for my birthday with 12 of my friends....we weren't able to get the private room (too much money - $750) and were forced to get two separate tables (which did really wasn't great) but the food was great and perfect!! They even made my cupcakes that were delicious!!! Yum!!! Loved it all! Even my drink was good (a bit strong hehe) but great. I will be sure to go back! It is pricey but its worth it!

Pros: Great Atmosphere, Great Food, Great Desserts

Cons: Unable to have large parties at same table

So I'm vegan, and millennium holds cult status among my friends as "the" place to take veg and non veg friends alike for a swanky evening out. First, the service. Unlike the previous reviewer, I think all the hosts are actually really nice (I think there's two or three), they've managed to squeeze in a place at the bar or even a table whenever possible and remember our names from visit to visit. The servers, on the other hand, can really be inconsistent. As far as favorites go, ask for 'Chris' or 'Melissa', they're the best. Others have just plain attitude, or seem bored with the food and with their job. So on to the food. Some of it is really really good -- especially the salads and the appetizers. The caeser is fabulous. The entrees on the other hand, generally aren't worth ordering (price and taste). There are too many competing flavors, resulting in just wierd combinations that don't taste --or even sound--good. The desserts on the other hand, are generally great -- no complaints here. Wine list is very well chosen.
Make a reservation in advance especially if you want to eat at a decent dinner hour and show up on time -- they run a tight ship and will 'no-show' you at the drop of a hat, especially on busy nights.

Pros: Ambience, Desserts, wine list

Cons: Inconsistent service, wierd food combos.

I went with a group of friends and was surprised when we received the check. We did family style so we could taste the different entrees. Though some of the dishes were interesting and had good flavors, every entree was pretty small. It was definitely overpriced for what we got. We all left hungry for more food and ended up getting crepes after dinner!

Millennium is conveniently located and has a good ambience. The menu is very eclectic with vegetarian fare from all over the world.

I had made a reservation for my husband's birthday dinner and was told that there was valet parking. When we arrived the valet area was blocked (with another car) and so we circled around the block while I phoned to tell them we were trying to park and that the valet was blocked. Her response was that if we weren't there pronto, we would not be seated.! I told her that we were following the instructions and attempting to valet the car and she said she would go outside and get the car moved. OK so then that worked out and we walked in only to be ignored while the hostess flirted with the sous chef...No kidding! It was so extreme it was like watching a movie. She looked confounded when my husband told her we would just wait at the bar.. Anyway, not good enough food to deal with the rude service.. The waitress was fine but slow and the food just so so.

Pros: vegan, nice looking bar

Cons: rude and or slow service, just so so food

I have been a regular here for years and it is dear to my heart.
I NEVER had a bad experience until now. Our reservation was off by one person. The hostess was kind and helpful as usual until the manager came over and very rudely informed us that there was nothing she could do. Despite being kind and calm (which we are), the manager became confrontational and downright nasty. The hostess looked horrified at how rude she was. It was shocking. I was practically in tears. She was so nasty--for no reason.
In the end, the hostess seated us. She was very kind and apologized but the manager never said a word to us. This woman is the antithesis of what this restaurant represents. It's a shame. I will continue to recommend and frequent this restaurant as I have too many good experiences to stop over one bad apple.

Cons: nasty manager

I have now been there 6 times, I have never been disappointed! the food is so creative! You can leave feeling full but not uncomfortable. A truly unigue dining experience. THANK YOU!

This place is hyped for the right reasons-- it's got great food. I had heard some mixed reports, but tried it out and found a happy ending. I ordered the paella. Very well balanced. My partner ordered the "Wellington" which we both found to be a little bit too starchy, though it paired well with the blood oranges and asparagus. Good wine recommendations by the staff. Good ambience-- mixture of the casual to the formal. Overall was good, but wouldn't go back because dishes weren't good enough to be charging that much.

Pros: food, wine, local/organic

Cons: price

There is not one negative thing I can say about this restaurant. The decor is beautiful, the service is wonderful and the food is delicious. They also have a great selection of creative cocktails, wines, and non-alcoholic elixirs. Even non-vegetarians would love the experience of dining here - you don't miss the meat. Fabulous place!

Pros: Food, Ambiance, Cocktails

Cons: Can't think of any

My girlfriend and I celebrated our anniversary at Millenium recently and it was fabulous. The food was delicious and creative. The staff was attentive and knowledgeable. It was perfect.

The portions were just fine for a gourmet restaurant...my girlfriend barely had room for dessert! If you want tons of food go to an all-you-can-eat buffet. If you want a great dining experience, go here.

Pros: Food, Service, Ambiance

Cons: none

Millenium is a great restaurant, if you have a reservation, and don't expect to eat a lot. The food is extremely well prepared, creative, and attractively presented. However, the portions are quite small, and dinning without a reservation is a crapshoot at best.

Pros: food quality, great selection, lots of wine

Cons: small portions, long waits

I am carnivorous. I was impressed by everything we had at millennium. Thankfully, the food did not try to taste like meat (what makes most veggie places fail for me), but made the ingredients shine for what they were. We went for a girls night out and ordered family style and were able to try 4 appetizers and 4 main dishes each. We agreed that they were all very good. I thought the value was on par for other restaurants in this price range, if not better. The wine list was short, but well thought out. Hopefully we can convince the guys to come along next time :-).

Pros: food

Cons: wine list short

Millennium should be the pinnacle of a vegan's eating experience. With a tasty sounding menu anyone would be excited to dine here however, much is left to be desired.
The food has so many flavors going on that most of the flavor is lost within itself. Trying my fellow diners' plates, I was saddened by the quality. Fresh, organic vegetables have so much flavor they don't need to be buried in spices. The chalky dense hazelnut cake left the mouth desiring REAL luxurious chocolate.
The ambiance is fun and bistro like however, the service is lacking. The waiter tried so hard to sell everything instead of steering us in the right direction. For a restaurant that prides itself on organic produce and eco-friendly practices, why on earth do they use butcher paper as table toppers?
If you want 2-star food and service at 4-star prices, then this is your place!

Pros: Valet Parking, Bistro Atmosphere, Decent Wine List

Cons: Lacking Value, Poor flavor profiles, Pretentious service

Although the area is a bit sketchy, parking was readily available and the food was amazing. The meals are relatively small but I left feeling full and satisfied--even without any meat! This is what portion size should be like--not Cheesecake Factory America sized meals. Combinations in food are unusual and refreshing. Only cons were that one dish was too salty and another had too much allspice. BUT the coconut sorbet is the best frozen dessest I've ever had. Tasted like premium ice cream but had no dairy products. Other desserts looked promising as well. Go for a nice night out.

Pros: Imaginative dishes, Good service, Nice ambiance

Cons: , relatively expensive, cruddy area

we were party of 4, and 2 people ordered their course menu (one with wine pairing). everything was really great (except for seitan) and we left the restaurant happy and full.

if you are non-vegetarian (like me) and doubtful about this place, give it a try. you will surprisingly enjoy it - a lot. i am hoping to go back to soon, and it sounds odd for me because i didn't like vegetarian restaurants like greens.

Pros: Not-so-good 'hood

Cons: , Very attentive waiter, Creative chef

We ate twice at the previous location and loved everything. We finally visited the new location for their special morel prix-fixe dinner. It was extremely disappointing. We couldn't even bear to finish any course. We took the leftovers to go and gave them to a homeless man on the street. The black forest cake was revolting and we both returned it. They replaced it with DELICIOUS nectarine & vanilla sorbets.
A fellow diner took the Plaintain torte and the peach/pecan tart, which were both excellent. Unfortunately, even the beggar's purse was bland.
I'm wary about giving it another try because it is too expensive to strike out. I'll probably let them settle into their new location and get back into the groove of good food before I go back. Maybe they just have some kinks to work out resulting from the move??

Pros: fantastic service

After hearing so much about Millenium, I decided I had to try it and was terribly disappointed. The service was not great...the server could not answer any of our questions about the menu without asking for help from others and the food left much to be desired. For a party of 4, we ordered 2 appetizers and 4 entrees and I left feeling unsatisfied. I prefered Greens Restaurant much more both for it's food and service.

It really was a great experience eating here. The portion sizes are not huge, but the flavors are perfect and it being vegan food, the food is pretty light. So some people who are accustomed to eating loads of heavy foods, may not get as much enjoyment out of this dining experience; however, i highly recommend this place to anyone. Excellent cuisine and service.

Pros: food, service, atmosphere

Creative, very original, and tasty food. I think this place is one of the best in the city.

Pros: food, service, presentation

Cons: not open for lunch, location

Beautiful food, atmosphere and staff. One of my favorite restauarants in San Francisco! A terrific place to celebrate any occasion or to have a romantic dining experience.

Pros: Delicious healthy foo, Sexy staff

I dont know what some of the reviewers are talking about when they say that the food is under par....it is excellent. One of the best vegetarian restaurants around.

Pros: great menu selection, excellent drinks, marvelous staff

Cons: long wait w/reserva.

One of the women in our party was a vegan with food allergies and the waitress had attitude about accomodating her. You shouldn't work in a vegan restaurant if you'll get ticked at fussy eaters. Then I split the $60 "Taste of Millennium" with another woman and we each had about two bites of 5 different plates -- the food was good, but not great, and it was ridiculously overpriced. The meal came to $60 per person and I was hungry when I left. For that kind of price the food should be exquisite, plentiful and the service impeccable. I will never go back.

The manager was unwilling to accomodate. They wanted to charge $45 per person, then $20 for every peron that DIDN'T show up. I'm not paying for people who have emergencies and can't attend the party. I finally got them to give me an "ala carte menu" which had only three options. The food was ok but then the bill came. They offered to supply a cake, I agreed but the price was never discussed. I assumed about $40 for the cake. They gave us two cakes for the number of people we had and they charged us $120. When I talked to them about this their response was "Millenium has given you lots of stuff for free tonight." Meaning, they didn't charge us for the people who didn't attend, all three of them, and they gave us the alla carte menu instead. I'm sorry that doesn't mean FREE to me.

We tried several appetizers, several deserts, and i tried 2 main courses. The oyster mushrooms were excellent and the rest of the appetizers were all good. Desert was also excellent. The "fake steak and potatoes" meal of seitan was average at best and my curry was below average. Note that i am not a vegetarian so perhaps my opinions are biased.

Pros: Appetizers, Desert

Started out with warm spinach salad (good) and pickles (okay). Moved on to the Kaffir-lime curry (tasty, but with bizarre purple rice on the side). Also had seitan/tempeh "medallions" in a marsala sauce. The side of root vegetables had an odd texture, but the mashed potatoes were excellent. I'm not a big fan of meat substitutes, and that was my one complaint - the texture of a lot of the foods was weird, as was the taste. The dishes weren't really balanced. As far as decor, the dining room was loud and hollow with lots of chatter. The one great thing about this restaurant is the waitstaff. I went with a friend who had severe dietary restrictions, and the waiter really seemed to care, offering different choices and answering multiple questions about the dishes. I'd go back if a friend really wanted to, but probably wouldn't go on my own.

Pros: Excellent service, Accommodated Illness

Cons: Odd textures, Difficult Menu, Hollow dining room

Located in the Savoy Hotel, the dining room at Millennium features high ceilings, intricate moldings and dark, wood-paneled pillars and offers a restful respite from the hectic melee of the Theatre District. Dedicated to dishes with fresh, organic ingredients produced through sustainable agriculture, the menu offers tasty, healthy cuisine, including an assortment of appetizers and small plates such as Sea Vegetable Salad, Carrot and Lemongrass Soup, and Plantain Tarte as well as entrees including Farro Risotto, Morel Tamale, and Roasted Abalone Mushroom. Millennium also has a full bar featuring an array of restorative cocktails and boasts having the most comprehensive organic wine list on earth. While service was adequate, waits between courses were rather long and the servers could use some polish. Millennium offers wholesome, delicious food that is good not only for your body and the environment, but also for your wallet (dinner for 2 with drinks $75).

Pros: Healthy organic food, Good value

Cons: Lack of parking

I read that this was supposed to be one of the best veg restaurants in the city. We went with some vegetarian friends and I have to say we were all very disappointed.

First, we tried lots of different dishes including the tempeh, black bean cakes, beet salad, Millennium plate etc and the food was inconsistent (2 orders of the same item yielded different toppings, strangely), and bland. We all felt very hungry when we left. In fact, we went to Shalimar next door to get great vegetrian that was a fraction of the cost and much much tastier.

The prices are high for what you get.

Pros: good way to lose weig, nice interior

Cons: expensive, bland

Wow. I'm going back to Millennium as soon as I can. How could I stay away, after food like that. The crowd covers a wide range, the decor is understated but fun, and the service is impeccable, especially for pre-symphony or opera dining...but the food, my god, the food! The dishes their chefs are so unique, creative, and mouth-watering, they should take out patents on the dishes they create. And it's all organic and vegetarian/vegan no less, even the wine list! Go to Millennium, you won't regret it. And make sure to order one of their after-dinner concoctions...be more adventurous than just coffee or chai. It's worth it.

P.S. Millennium is moving soon, to the Savoy Hotel. Don't lose them!

Pros: stunning food, near symphony, after-dinner drinks

Cons: small, changing locations

Chef Tucker is an amazing artist. I eat here at least a few times a year and I wish I could eat here everyday. The food is wonderful especially their (hopefully annual) white truffle dinner. The chef uses the freshest vegetables in combinations you would never imagine, and the result is fabulous. I have been a vegetarian most of my life and I am impressed. Everyone I have invited to join me for dinner at this restaurant have been impressed (especially the meatlovers and true fine diners). I just say you have to try it for yourself. Enjoy!!!!!!

Pros: Exquiste Food, Miracle with veggis, would eat everyday

Cons: need upscale decor