Vegetarian options: Today was my first visit to Livbud; I found it through Seattle Restaurant Week. The service was great and I enjoyed the mushroom tartine, but the roasted eggplant soup was absolutely delicious. I can't describe the flavor; an unusual kind of pepper might have contributed to it.
There are a lot of other dishes I want to try in future visits. That soup will be hard to resist, though!
EC
I’ll have to come back another time to get the full experience but dinner fell a bit flat.
Tried some of the board options to start and flavors were a bit muted. The leek confit stood out but it was a miniature portion. Focaccia had an almost communion wafer feel to it, again it was later in the evening so it could have just been an off loaf or the wrong hour for fresh bread.
For main course I went with the black cod. The fish was cooked fine and had a good salt to it. The rice was ok, think that could have been because it was a later seating towards the end of the night. The coconut milk sauce was quite mushy and a bit bland, I was missing the lemongrass and herbaciousness that felt promised. The little eggplant bites were fine and when I got the Thai basil it was good.
The chicory wedge really failed to deliver for me. I was between the chopped salad and the wedge and went for the wedge. Extremely mushy and hard to cut, overpowering blue cheese and sweetness note. Felt like an experiment gone wrong and I like chicory, raddichio, bitter leafy greens and blue cheese. The side salads that others had were phenomenal. The winner was the oyster mushroom shwarma wrap, good flavor.
Cocktails were delicious, service was prompt and friendly. The space itself was beautiful and loungey. Music was appropriate.
I’ll have to come back for coffee and breakfast or lunch as I want to give it another try.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 2
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Oyster Mushroom Shawarma
AnyaS
I've been twice now with friends and it's a nice relaxed place with good vegan options. There's an outdoor seating area and it's really spacious and airy inside.
I recommend the foccacia, cauliflower with muhammara, lion's mane tacos, and tofu bahn mi (wow the tofu was incredible and flavors and textures were well balanced).
The mushroom shawarma on the other hand was not my favorite - the spice mix in the mushrooms was overwhelming/heavy-handed, there was a ton of mushroom and nothing else that would provide a texture or flavor contrast or some brightness/freshness to cut the spice. The flatbread was soggy and fell apart, which could be resolved if it were grilled to dry it out a bit (and would give it some depth of flavor too). This could be a good dish, just felt like the chef didnt put much thought into developing it (or perhaps it was the execution that evening).
Also, considering the place is plant forward and they should expect vegans or vegetarians to dine there, I was surprised that our server didn't ask us about dietary preference and went on to recommend fish dishes that we wouldn't be able to eat anyway. So that was very unhelpful.
Monica Jones de Borges
Locally family owned restaurant, the name coming from a mix of the names of their 2 children. We tried every cocktail and they were all fantastic but the two with the perfect balance of flavors to alcohol the Spa Water and the Something magical. We were able to chat with the bartender who talked us through the cocktail menu. She is great and has a good palate. In terms of the "to shares", the focaccia was great but what really made it yummy was adding the baked feta with honey. The charred rapini was really delicious with great marinade. The Morell tartine was definitely interesting. I was hoping to taste more of the fiddlehead but it had a great flavor nonetheless. The chickpea fritters were light and loved the pistou. We tried 2 boards that seemed to have most everything on them: the falafel board (the falafel was a little dry for my taste but the dips helped with that. ) The dips really were the best part. The other board we tried was the Dipable board. All the dips were fantastic. Great flavor, not too much salt and each one was very different. In terms of the main, The lion's mane tinga tacos were amazing, great flavor. Very different from the usual tacos. Worth trying. I personally didn't love the pappardelle but the rest of the family thought it was good, not great. The king salmon however, was cooked perfectly and not over salted (this can happen alot in restaurants). The Nettle and Cowpea bowl was absolutely delicious, nutty, yummy greens and spiced perfectly. The service was impeccable, personable and the server had great suggestions and was patient with all our questions. All in all it was a wonderful time. The restaurant space is cozy, fun and unusual. The only disappointment and at this point, it wasn't much because we were so full, happy and satisfied, were the desserts. The skillet cookie was definitely too healthy and dry tasting for us. The creme brulee did not have the right consistency, not creamy enough and the coffee jelly...well it just wasn't good. Keep in mind as you read this we are not vegan nor vegetarian so have a bias.
I find it hard to find great new restaurants that are mostly vegetarian and I think this one was awesome!! Go in sometime and tell them you were recommended by Madrona Moms. They just might give you a freebee.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Natalie Janssen
My friend and I went to for a coffee after walking around the Fremont Sunday Market. The atmosphere reminded me of a country cafe. I ordered a chai latte and it was spiced up and delicious. My friend ordered a machiatto and it was strong.
Dietary restrictions: Vegan friendly
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Miche S
This is a great spot for a break along the BGT. Located next to Brooks store, the friendly staff was followed by great coffee and a delicious persimmon w pomegranate glazed bun. Most unique pastry. Dog friendly outside seating. Support this local gem!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Aashita Ramteke
Best breakfast place in Fremont! If you like aesthetic food with a cozy funky environment this is it! The food they serve is beautiful?. Also a great place to do study/work. ?
If you get the chance, peep the cinnamon bun. Absolutely elite. Healthy option for a quick bite. Staff was super accommodating - went above and beyond!
Sara Leopold
We’ve been twice now and food has been amazing both times! My husband and I are both vegan and we appreciate the vegan options! Highly recommend! I’m sure the non vegan options are amazing too as you can tell that the chefs really know how to season things well and pair flavors together in a dish that really complement each other.
3.5 I appreciate the commitment to using locally sourced food, the aesthetic of the cafe, and the variety of options for dietary restrictions. However, the breakfast burrito I got was just okay, and a little dry. The portion sizes were inconsistent among my party, even for the same item. My friends say the cinnamon rolls were good though. Their machine is also set to have you tip on the after tax amount, which I think is unfair.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 3
Service: 4
Tammy S
The food here was so-so and the portion sizes are very small as compared to the price. I got the vegan summer scramble which was seriously lacking in flavor. The taste was very monotonous while the scramble lacked seasoning. It was not an enjoyable experience. Furthermore, for the price, the portion size is abysmal. I'm sure someone might make an argument stating that running a restaurant is not easy, there's so many overheads so on and so forth. However, as a hard working, tax paying citizen of the country I put in a lot of effort into earning my bread. So if I am parting with money to eat at a restaurant I expect to get a bang for my buck. There are so many other places such Peloton cafe which serve incredibly tasty food for a very good price. Maybe all items on the menu are not equally tasty however, providing a respectable quantity would be welcome. My friend got the egg sandwich, which was once again very small and severely devoid of flavor. Surprisingly, the oats porridge was not bad. I hope the owners/managers take my criticism constructively to better the flavor of the food and to provide a more generous quantity at the same price.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 2
Service: 5
TomTomLord
Came in for breakfast and a cuppa - we both had avocado on toast and I added vegan egg. Food was delicious, the avocado was great and addition of pickled beetroot and herbs really lifted it. The menu looked so good we changed our plans for the day to come back for lunch.
As others have pointed out including honey in some marked vegan options is weird but you can ask and server will double check. Service was prompt and staff were super friendly - highly recommend.
Christine Davis-Goff
This is what I've been looking for - interesting, delicious food, great service and a welcoming atmosphere, all at a good price. I'll be back!
Parking: Parking is convenient and heavily discounted with a QR code scan.
Vegetarian options: Today was my first visit to Livbud; I found it through Seattle Restaurant Week. The service was great and I enjoyed the mushroom tartine, but the roasted eggplant soup was absolutely delicious. I can't describe the flavor; an unusual kind of pepper might have contributed to it.
There are a lot of other dishes I want to try in future visits. That soup will be hard to resist, though!
I’ll have to come back another time to get the full experience but dinner fell a bit flat.
Tried some of the board options to start and flavors were a bit muted. The leek confit stood out but it was a miniature portion. Focaccia had an almost communion wafer feel to it, again it was later in the evening so it could have just been an off loaf or the wrong hour for fresh bread.
For main course I went with the black cod. The fish was cooked fine and had a good salt to it. The rice was ok, think that could have been because it was a later seating towards the end of the night. The coconut milk sauce was quite mushy and a bit bland, I was missing the lemongrass and herbaciousness that felt promised. The little eggplant bites were fine and when I got the Thai basil it was good.
The chicory wedge really failed to deliver for me. I was between the chopped salad and the wedge and went for the wedge. Extremely mushy and hard to cut, overpowering blue cheese and sweetness note. Felt like an experiment gone wrong and I like chicory, raddichio, bitter leafy greens and blue cheese. The side salads that others had were phenomenal. The winner was the oyster mushroom shwarma wrap, good flavor.
Cocktails were delicious, service was prompt and friendly. The space itself was beautiful and loungey. Music was appropriate.
I’ll have to come back for coffee and breakfast or lunch as I want to give it another try.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 2
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Oyster Mushroom Shawarma
I've been twice now with friends and it's a nice relaxed place with good vegan options. There's an outdoor seating area and it's really spacious and airy inside. I recommend the foccacia, cauliflower with muhammara, lion's mane tacos, and tofu bahn mi (wow the tofu was incredible and flavors and textures were well balanced). The mushroom shawarma on the other hand was not my favorite - the spice mix in the mushrooms was overwhelming/heavy-handed, there was a ton of mushroom and nothing else that would provide a texture or flavor contrast or some brightness/freshness to cut the spice. The flatbread was soggy and fell apart, which could be resolved if it were grilled to dry it out a bit (and would give it some depth of flavor too). This could be a good dish, just felt like the chef didnt put much thought into developing it (or perhaps it was the execution that evening). Also, considering the place is plant forward and they should expect vegans or vegetarians to dine there, I was surprised that our server didn't ask us about dietary preference and went on to recommend fish dishes that we wouldn't be able to eat anyway. So that was very unhelpful.
Locally family owned restaurant, the name coming from a mix of the names of their 2 children. We tried every cocktail and they were all fantastic but the two with the perfect balance of flavors to alcohol the Spa Water and the Something magical. We were able to chat with the bartender who talked us through the cocktail menu. She is great and has a good palate. In terms of the "to shares", the focaccia was great but what really made it yummy was adding the baked feta with honey. The charred rapini was really delicious with great marinade. The Morell tartine was definitely interesting. I was hoping to taste more of the fiddlehead but it had a great flavor nonetheless. The chickpea fritters were light and loved the pistou.
We tried 2 boards that seemed to have most everything on them: the falafel board (the falafel was a little dry for my taste but the dips helped with that. ) The dips really were the best part. The other board we tried was the Dipable board. All the dips were fantastic. Great flavor, not too much salt and each one was very different. In terms of the main, The lion's mane tinga tacos were amazing, great flavor. Very different from the usual tacos. Worth trying. I personally didn't love the pappardelle but the rest of the family thought it was good, not great. The king salmon however, was cooked perfectly and not over salted (this can happen alot in restaurants). The Nettle and Cowpea bowl was absolutely delicious, nutty, yummy greens and spiced perfectly. The service was impeccable, personable and the server had great suggestions and was patient with all our questions. All in all it was a wonderful time. The restaurant space is cozy, fun and unusual. The only disappointment and at this point, it wasn't much because we were so full, happy and satisfied, were the desserts. The skillet cookie was definitely too healthy and dry tasting for us. The creme brulee did not have the right consistency, not creamy enough and the coffee jelly...well it just wasn't good. Keep in mind as you read this we are not vegan nor vegetarian so have a bias.
I find it hard to find great new restaurants that are mostly vegetarian and I think this one was awesome!! Go in sometime and tell them you were recommended by Madrona Moms. They just might give you a freebee.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
My friend and I went to for a coffee after walking around the Fremont Sunday Market. The atmosphere reminded me of a country cafe. I ordered a chai latte and it was spiced up and delicious. My friend ordered a machiatto and it was strong.
Dietary restrictions: Vegan friendly
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
This is a great spot for a break along the BGT. Located next to Brooks store, the friendly staff was followed by great coffee and a delicious persimmon w pomegranate glazed bun. Most unique pastry. Dog friendly outside seating. Support this local gem!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Best breakfast place in Fremont! If you like aesthetic food with a cozy funky environment this is it! The food they serve is beautiful?. Also a great place to do study/work. ?
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Warm Flatbread, Matcha and Elderberry Cake, Egg Sandwich, Falafel Board
If you get the chance, peep the cinnamon bun. Absolutely elite. Healthy option for a quick bite. Staff was super accommodating - went above and beyond!
We’ve been twice now and food has been amazing both times! My husband and I are both vegan and we appreciate the vegan options! Highly recommend! I’m sure the non vegan options are amazing too as you can tell that the chefs really know how to season things well and pair flavors together in a dish that really complement each other.
Dietary restrictions: Vegan/vegetarian options!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Oyster Mushroom Shawarma, Falafel Burger
Kind staff and healthy fun menu.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Restaurantji Recommends
Lovely vibe and delicious food ?
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Oyster Mushroom Shawarma
3.5
I appreciate the commitment to using locally sourced food, the aesthetic of the cafe, and the variety of options for dietary restrictions. However, the breakfast burrito I got was just okay, and a little dry. The portion sizes were inconsistent among my party, even for the same item. My friends say the cinnamon rolls were good though. Their machine is also set to have you tip on the after tax amount, which I think is unfair.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 3
Service: 4
The food here was so-so and the portion sizes are very small as compared to the price. I got the vegan summer scramble which was seriously lacking in flavor. The taste was very monotonous while the scramble lacked seasoning. It was not an enjoyable experience. Furthermore, for the price, the portion size is abysmal. I'm sure someone might make an argument stating that running a restaurant is not easy, there's so many overheads so on and so forth. However, as a hard working, tax paying citizen of the country I put in a lot of effort into earning my bread. So if I am parting with money to eat at a restaurant I expect to get a bang for my buck. There are so many other places such Peloton cafe which serve incredibly tasty food for a very good price. Maybe all items on the menu are not equally tasty however, providing a respectable quantity would be welcome. My friend got the egg sandwich, which was once again very small and severely devoid of flavor. Surprisingly, the oats porridge was not bad. I hope the owners/managers take my criticism constructively to better the flavor of the food and to provide a more generous quantity at the same price.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 2
Service: 5
Came in for breakfast and a cuppa - we both had avocado on toast and I added vegan egg. Food was delicious, the avocado was great and addition of pickled beetroot and herbs really lifted it. The menu looked so good we changed our plans for the day to come back for lunch. As others have pointed out including honey in some marked vegan options is weird but you can ask and server will double check. Service was prompt and staff were super friendly - highly recommend.
This is what I've been looking for - interesting, delicious food, great service and a welcoming atmosphere, all at a good price. I'll be back!
Parking: Parking is convenient and heavily discounted with a QR code scan.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Egg Sandwich, Oyster Mushroom Shawarma
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