Geranium: Big disappointment

June 6, 2004

I thought I would post this review in hopes of saving people some

hard-earned money. Some friends and I went to Geranium last night and

had one of the most disappointing dining experiences in years. As a

point of reference, I consider Herbivore to be very mediocre food,

prepared with little care. But at least it's cheap. The food at

Geranium was as bad as Herbivore on its worst nights, yet the prices

were at least double. In fact, the prices at Geranium are nearly on par

with Greens and Millennium. We had a little sticker shock at the high

prices, but were certainly prepared to have a nice meal. The starters

were okay. The raw almond roll was nicely presented, but the flavor was

bland. The Tuscan bean stew had nice flavor, but arrived lukewarm.

Things really fell apart with entrees. Two of us ordered the barbeque

seitan plate. The seitan tasted like beanie-weanie in catsup, the

grilled corn was rubbery and inedible, and the mashed potatoes were

positively cold. I ordered the pizza special ( " roasted potatoes,

peppers, dates and arugula " minus the goat cheese.) The crust was cold

and rubbery--it really seemed like a frozen naan or pita bread that had

been microwaved. The potatoes had no flavor, nor could I detect any

peppers, or herbs anywhere. We also had the masa cakes, which again

were cold, although our server informed us that this dish was to be

served at room temperature. After it was clear that we weren't enjoying

our food, the manager came over to talk to us. They ended up away our

food half eaten and offered us a free piece of vegan chocolate cake

(nothing special). They also told us that the seitan dishes were taken

off our check. When the check came, only one of the seitan plates had

been removed. So including a $32 bottle of wine (one of the cheaper

bottles), we still paid about $110 for four people. This was probably

the worst quality/price ratio of any meal I've ever had. In fact we

were still so hungry after that half-meal that we went up the street to

another restaurant for some real food. If others have had an even

remotely similar experience to ours, then Geranium is really in

trouble.

June 6, 2004

Hi Ian

We had the exact same experience a few weeks ago at Geranium'a and came away very disappointed. I had the BBQ seitan and your description summed it up really well. I do hope they get better over time, but we'll not be returning unless we hear some very positive reviews from people we know. The only saving grace for that night was the trip to MaggieMud after.

For more reviews of Geranium check out the Ultimate Guide -

http://www.bayareaveg.org/ug/display.htm?id=232

There's one review that I think summed it up pretty well -

"Geraniums is a cross between Herbivore, Millennium and Greens. Sadly it fails to match them in price, quality of food or the view."

Take care

Chris

Ian Albert [ian] Sunday, June 06, 2004 2:48 PM Subject: Geranium: Big disappointmentI thought I would post this review in hopes of saving people some hard-earned money. Some friends and I went to Geranium last night and had one of the most disappointing dining experiences in years. As a point of reference, I consider Herbivore to be very mediocre food, prepared with little care. But at least it's cheap. The food at Geranium was as bad as Herbivore on its worst nights, yet the prices were at least double. In fact, the prices at Geranium are nearly on par with Greens and Millennium. We had a little sticker shock at the high prices, but were certainly prepared to have a nice meal. The starters were okay. The raw almond roll was nicely presented, but the flavor was bland. The Tuscan bean stew had nice flavor, but arrived lukewarm. Things really fell apart with entrees. Two of us ordered the barbeque seitan plate. The seitan tasted like beanie-weanie in catsup, the grilled corn was rubbery and inedible, and the mashed potatoes were positively cold. I ordered the pizza special ("roasted potatoes, peppers, dates and arugula" minus the goat cheese.) The crust was cold and rubbery--it really seemed like a frozen naan or pita bread that had been microwaved. The potatoes had no flavor, nor could I detect any peppers, or herbs anywhere. We also had the masa cakes, which again were cold, although our server informed us that this dish was to be served at room temperature. After it was clear that we weren't enjoying our food, the manager came over to talk to us. They ended up away our food half eaten and offered us a free piece of vegan chocolate cake (nothing special). They also told us that the seitan dishes were taken off our check. When the check came, only one of the seitan plates had been removed. So including a $32 bottle of wine (one of the cheaper bottles), we still paid about $110 for four people. This was probably the worst quality/price ratio of any meal I've ever had. In fact we were still so hungry after that half-meal that we went up the street to another restaurant for some real food. If others have had an even remotely similar experience to ours, then Geranium is really in trouble.BAY AREA VEGETARIANS (BAV) is a community group for veggies to network & find support. Event Calendar, Charter, FAQ and More!http://www.bayareaveg.org/Bookmark this page! Don't miss local events!http://www.bayareaveg.org/events.php