Gaia House Cafe - Vegetarian restaurant in Grand Rapids - 1553 Plainfield Ave NE, USA

I’ve been a vegetarian 4+ years and have had this place on my list to try for a while now and it didn’t disappoint! I decided to stop by for lunch last Thursday and the woman working (didn’t get her name) was very friendly and super attentive. The food was delicious and very fresh! Reasonably priced as well. Will definitely be back, there were quite a few things on the menu I wanted to try and it’s so nice to have a restaurant that has an all vegetarian/vegan menu vs just one or two options like most of the restaurants around GR.

Beautiful atmosphere with a plethora of vegan options I tried the vegan reuben,vegan hot cocoa and vegan almond cookie. The staff was super friendly and welcoming.

I’m visiting GR and went with a friend who lives in town and frequents here. As soon as we walked in he told me that it’s kind of a European style staffing approach so it will be a little slow. We were not in any rush at all and knowing that from the beginning helped. I wouldn’t recommend this place if you’re in a rush. You’re going here for a relaxing time with friends or to study/work and take your time. The food was very good! I had the mushroom coffee and that was delicious.

Enjoyed a nice breakfast today at Gaia. Our waitress was friendly and helpful. Our party of six was seated immediate on a Saturday morning. Unpretentious, casual, warm interior. Small menu, but nice to have so many vegetarian and vegan options. Good to have the opportunity to try something different, outside the normal brunch fare. I stuck with what I normally like - eggs & potatoes plus tried a fruit cup. It was a filling portion and cooked well. The potatoes were well seasoned and crispy. I also enjoyed the sourdough bread that came with my meal. The fruit was fresh and seasonal. Coffee was self-service and offered three options, with creamer available at request. I tried the Swiss chocolate brew and liked it a lot. My friend’s specialty French toasted looked amazing. It has tender sweet sautéed apples, cherry sauce, and almonds. Everyone had to try an apple slice - they were really good! Worth your time and taste buds! Thanks for a good experience!

This vegetarian restaurant is excellent. I've never had to wait for breakfast, even on Sunday. The Veggie Stash is my favorite --potatoes, carrots, garlic, cauli, broccoli, cheese, sour cream, tamari. Amazing. Coffee is robust! Omelettes, French toast, eggs round out the menu as well as breakfast burritos. I'm not vegetarian and love this place.

Nice spot for breakfast. Nice variety on the menu. Breakfast burrito was a little heavy on the beans, but otherwise tasty. Cute lounge area towards the back serving drinks only. Did not see any of the cleanliness concerns mentioned in another review.

Unfortunately I don’t have anything good to say about Gaia house . When we were sat down there was paint bubbling near us, probably due to moisture trapped behind the paint. And then a leak above. It’s not really an appetizing sight. We were told that we wouldn’t be able to have espresso or lattes because the espresso machine was down. That’s fine. What I did take issue with was the self serve coffee station. For one, the way the glasses were stored was gross. The shelves were not clean. The cups were freshly washed. I could tell because they were wet, placed rim down. So that the dust and debris on the shelving was collected on the wet rims of the cups. And whenever you picked up a cup you could see the wet rim marked it left. These cups should be dry if you’re going to store them rim down. Drying them rim down traps the moisture inside (causing an unpleasant odor and taste), and damages the shelves, and is altogether unsanitary if the shelves aren’t even clean. Storing them rim side up would be a better option in this case . They are used often enough for collecting dust to be an argument for storing them rim side down. Sanitary conditions aside, for a vegan/vegetarian place for the only milk option to be whole milk was disappointing. Consider offering milk alternatives. The food was even more disappointing . My guest ate his omelet , but I good not stomach my food. The cornbread French toast was incredibly dry, even soaking it in the butter and syrup didn’t revive it. The potatoes tasted fine but they were stale. Since it was the only semi edible thing available to me I picked at that instead of what I ordered. I only managed to eat half of one slice of French toast and didn’t want to take it home. We came out of our way to go here after seeing it on Instagram. So it was that much more disappointing.

1st time trying today. vegan burrito and vegan breakfast plate. very reasonably priced with large portions. self-serve water and coffee station. there was a jar for vegan cookies at main counter, but was empty. love the vegan options for breakfast/brunch/lunch. cute calm dining.