Café Bar

Although I’ve lived in Astoria for several years now, I still had not been to Café Bar until last week. It’s quite a pleasant place – full of interesting decorations and faux stained-glass windows through which sunlight was streaming in. I met a friend here for lunch, and took the opportunity to try out their veggie burger.



The burger (which the menu describes as “homemade”, and which the waitress assured me was vegan) arrived with a side salad, and a small pile of lettuce and tomato in case I wanted to put them on the burger as toppings (I did, but I opted for some greens from the salad instead of the provided lettuce, because the greens looked tastier and the lettuce was just a sad-looking piece with a thick stalk. The tomatos were fine though!)



The bun was delicious, light and sweet and flakey like a pastry, and covered in sesame seeds. Not overwhelmingly sweet, but just the right amount.



The burger patty itself was pretty good too - definitely homemade, soft and flavorful with grains and bits of vegetables, but a little too mashed together to tell exactly what those consisted of. I would have liked it a little chunkier or a little crispier on the outside, something to give it more texture. Perhaps some kind of sauce (aside from the bottle of ketchup provided at our table) would have helped as well.

It was still far better than being served one of those generic frozen pre-made patties, which too many restaurants try to appease vegetarians with! A homemade vegan patty is quite a pleasant thing to find at any restaurant in your neighborhood. We came for lunch on a weekday, but I can imagine the restaurant is a great place for a weekend brunch too.

Cost: $8.00 (fries cost $3 extra)
Rating: ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆
Burger patty: 3      Bun: 4      Toppings: 1

Café Bar
32-90 36th Street
between Broadway and 34th Ave
but the entrance is actually on 34th Ave, despite what the address is listed as!
Astoria, NY 11106
718.204.5273

YumVeggieBurger review #41