Zephyr, A Vegetarian Cafe in Long Beach

So how does a total neophyte review a restaurant? I’m not Elmer Dills and I’m not even a seasoned Yelp.com reviewer. I became interested in writing about food only because of seeing Julie and Julia. I wanted to formulate a blog in which I would write a vegetarian/vegan response to the film. Among my strongest blog topic options were preparing veggie equivalents of Julia Child’s dishes and visiting and reviewing vegetarian restaurants. At first it seemed like the former would be my choice, but now it appears to be a blend of the two…and this blog is ever in flux.

Today I visited Zephyr, a Vegetarian Cafe on 4th Street in Long Beach, CA.


My considerations are look, ambiance, menu, service, price and recommendation…in that order.

Look: Red flowers with long black stems are painted on the frosted windows, and there's a pale yellow flower (or sunburst) on the door. Cool art on canvas decorates the olive green/avocado walls. The tables are of varied sizes and styles; one is an octagon with a checker board in the center. Like my favorite coffeehouse, there are also couches with coffee tables. Magazine racks offer fliers, postcard ads and local freebie newspapers.

Ambiance: People of all ages are represented, but it's largely a young crowd. The dining area is spacious with a comfortable distance between the tables. Earthy colors on the walls, floor and furniture and the strategically placed potted plants give it a cozy feeling. Speaking of cozy, today it was about 100 in the shade, so there were fans blowing; there’s no air conditioning, which makes it warm but environmentally correct. :)


The music was actually quite fun, something of a cross between instrumental jazz and contemporary classical. Lots of brass and low timpani.

Menu: Almost exclusively vegan, the menu offers soup, salads, sandwiches, burgers and bowls. The back page offers two vegan entrees, five “living food” options, four side dishes and three desserts.

My choice was the Fakin’ Bacon BLT on toasted multi grain bread. They were out of Fakin’ Bacon but they offered to make me the same sandwich with a smokey-flavored tempeh, which was actually more natural. It came with a side of organic blue corn chips and a just-spicy-enough salsa, unsalted. The sandwich was just a tad dry for my taste, so I asked for an extra side of vegan mayo, and I was not charged. The presentation was great. Dark, leafy lettuce sticking out from under the bread and the side of salsa gave it some nice color.

Service: Orders are placed at the register where there is a stack of menus. Lining the counter are also several types of bottled drinks, some natural and some…well…Bubble Up! Cashiers bring the food to the tables. There is a condiment stand for extra needs, and it houses organic ketchup, brown mustard, blue agave sweetener, soy sauce, sugar, salt, pepper etc. Very interesting. The speed with which my order came was perhaps a bit on the slow side but basically I was happy. The workers are all friendly and down-to-earth: no cookie cutter uniforms and no obvious dress code. Everyone looked natural and comfortable, which probably contributes to their happy attitude.

Price: What I got was $5.50. The bowls and larger entrees average $8.00 more or less. A slice of the vegan cherry pie (which I didn't get, or have room for) is a bit less than $4.00 a slice. I would say the prices are great...especially for a mom and pop vegetarian restaurant in today's economy.

Recommendation: Definitely check it out. It is well worth the trip, and even worth the heat on a hot afternoon.

Location: 340 East 4th St. Long Beach, CA
Hours: 11-4 PM Sun-Thurs, 11-9 PM Saturday

562-435-7113