A few months ago when driving up from Miami international Airport to West Palm Beach for a weekend at Michael’s parents’ house, I looked at possibly stopping off at Green Bar & Kitchen get something to eat. However, I nixed the idea of stopping off there, before even checking with Michael, because I had read that it was “mostly raw” and I have this completely unfounded and unreasonable aversion to raw vegan restaurants. Fast forward to the weekend before last when we needed to get a bite to eat while driving through Ft. Lauderdale and I thought, “oh, you’re wanting to eat healthy. You can get a salad. It’ll be fine.” Well, it was way more than just “fine”. After finally trying their food, I have now proven to myself that I must get over this aversion once and for all because their food is simply superb. And by the way, it not “mostly raw,” most of the food is cooked.

Green Bar & Kitchen is clean, bright and inviting.  There is a large communal table in the front as you enter and there are also some private tables. Just off to the side is a large beautiful outdoor covered seating area.

Outdoor seating

Friendly staff ready to answer your questions and take your order.

The large communal table

I started with the soup of the day which was a curried lentil soup. Made with puréed garbanzo beans, this soup was rich, savory and had the perfect balance of spice from the curry yet still allowed the flavors of the lentils to come through.

Special Soup of the Day: Curried Lentil

For our main dish, we both enjoyed the roasted bowl. The base of the bowl was a mix of quinoa and brown rice topped with roasted vegetables including: cauliflower, broccoli, sweet potato, union zucchini and yellow squash. Topped with their mildly spicy Santa Fe sauce, this bowl had just the right amount of heat and kick for me, but wasn’t overpowering for Michael, who is less spicy-friendly.

Roasted Bowl

We had read online multiple claims that their cupcakes were incredible so, naturally, we had to try them. We shared the birthday cake cupcake which was so light, we still find hard to believe was gluten-free. It was perfectly moist and full of good ‘ol birthday cake flavor. We also splurged and tried a chocolate cashew cup, their version of a peanut butter cup, was rich and decadent. Be forewarned, if you do not like coconut this is not for you as it has a strong coconut flavor in the chocolate.  For us, that worked perfectly.

Birthday Cake Cupcake

chocolate cashew cup

The food was so delectable that we literally couldn’t stop talking about it. The next day, we decided that we simply had to come back before boarding our cruise ship. When we arrived for an early lunch on Sunday, they were serving their brunch menu which included chia pancakes, French toast, biscuits and gravy, and tofu scramble. They all looked so appetizing and tempting but we both had our eyes on the buffalo tempeh sandwich. Served on millet bread with a side salad Michael really enjoyed this. I enjoyed it as well but I got it “hippie style” without the bread and on a large leaf of romaine lettuce. There’s a beautiful amount of heat that is tempered nicely by the ranch dill dressing.

buffalo tempeh sandwich

buffalo tempeh, “hippie style”

While we were eating, we happened to meet the owners, Charlie and Elena. Elena approached us because of t-shirts we were wearing and wanted to take our photo (it pays to wear message wear! In fact, during our first visit, Michael was wearing a Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary t-shirt and someone asked him if we’d ever been there. This led to a long talk about the sanctuary and being vegan, but I digress). We introduced ourselves and told Elena about the blog, that we had been there the day before and posted about it on Facebook and Twitter. Her eyes lit up and she said, “I saw that! And, this morning in bed I read your post about vegan crepes in Williamsburg!” She manages their social media and really does an excellent job of keeping up. Though we were full, Elena insisted that we try their soft serve ice cream. We didn’t protest. The flavor was vanilla and strawberry swirled together. Made from a base of tapioca and coconut, this soft serve rivals anything non-vegan we’ve ever had. A true treat! While chatting with them, we found out that they are transplants to South Florida from New York City (YAY!) and that they just opened a second location, their “Green Bar Express” up in Lauderdale-By-The-Sea.

soft serve ice cream!

There is so much more on the menu at Green Bar & Kitchen that we really need to try, so we know we will be back, often. If you find yourself in the Fort Lauderdale area (or in greater Miami or West Palm, which are both a short 45 minute to hour drive away) we cannot recommend this place more highly. The food, the service, the atmosphere and overall vibe to this restaurant makes it tops in our book. And when you go there, let them know the ‘Mos from Brooklyn sent ya!

Ethan and Elena

Charlie and Michael

Green Bar & Kitchen
1075 SE 17th Street
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33316
954-533-7507

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