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The Foundation is a funky, retro casual restaurant with relaxed service offering a menu of vegan & vegetarian dishes til 1am.
...and then everything falls apart after that. Food, service, the seats you're sitting on, everything. I had their spin on a Veggie Burger which was really not my thing. I'm not Vegan or Vegetarian, but I've had decent veggie burgers before and this was just a step below.
Everyone knows what the service is like here, but I'm not sure if everyone knows how dirty and rundown the place is. If you're looking for a place to feel superior about yourself and talk Broken Social Scene or find inspiration for your latest epic poem then maybe you'll be able to overlook the shoddiness of this hipster dive. If you're a nacho lover or a vegan who has yet to try the place, then maybe you should give it a shot.
If you're anyone else, why bother? Go once so you can say you've been to this semi-famous location, and then try not to get dragged back there again. I've been there twice now, first just for the Nachos and then for a burger, and there won't be a third time.
Lesson learned the hard way: always read reviews before checking out recommended restaurants.
My friend and I tried Foundation twice -- like most folks, on recommendation of their nachos and with a gift certificate in hand. The first time, we went for lunch and of course weren't able to get them. We opted for sandwiches and soup instead. (Note: if you ask for a soup-and-salad combo, they'll just plain tell you it doesn't exist, rather than compromising.) My sandwich was excellent, but my friend found the soup a little too-much-of-the-same-thing. The service was horrendous -- after waiting at the 'please wait to be seated' sign our waitress waved a hand and told us 'go sit wherever' and then proceeded to ignore us for about a half an hour, despite the relatively emptiness of the restaurant. Overall, I think it took us about an hour between stepping in the door before our food got to us -- and this, for a simple bowl of soup and open face sandwich. The building was freezing and dark inside, as though they couldn't be bothered to provide those amenities, and the bathroom, when I visited, was pretty scungy.
Despite this, we discovered that nachos were served around 4:30, so we vowed to come back and brave the extremely poor service a second time, coats and gloves at hand. This second time we arrived at around 4:20, hopeful and a bit early. Our new server was (we thought) a little better in that he pointed out a specific table to sit at. He gave us the lunch menus. The ones without nachos. "Oh, it's getting on to 4:30, aren't you serving them yet?" I asked.
"Nachos come out at 4:30," he replied.
"Would it be possible to get the menu in any case?" I wondered, knowing full well that with the wait time we'd had on our last visit, it would be long after 4:30 when we'd finally be served.
He replied with a simple, smug sounding, "Nope." He seemed as though he were enjoying thwarting us.
We got up and left. I'm usually an extremely patient and optimistic diner, but this was just too much. Even if you have heard about their nachos, I'd suggest avoiding this place regardless. The servers are piss poor examples of the industry they work in and, though the food itself isn't bad and the scenery is indeed quirky, the servers do such a bad job that I'll be warning anyone and everyone who brings it up not to even think about going.
Foundation: Shame on you.
I have eaten there several times, and everything I have had has been absolutely superb. The vibe is funky, fitting into the area perfectly, and I like that you can see the cooking going on. I have always found the service to be very good, with friendly servers. Five stars for utter perfection.
"Never doubt that a small group of surly hipsters hatefully serving bland vegetarian fare while unnecessarily loud hip hop music blares in the background will change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has."
-Margaret Mead
I have to give them props for their nachos and that quinoa thing with the peanut sauce is pretty tasty, but other dishes I have sampled lack flavour. The service is lousy, to put it mildly. The community centered/ revolutionary quotes around the restaurant are almost insulting as the environment seems more conducive to posturing/ snobbery than positive social change.
Went there for drinks and food with some friends I hadn't seen in a while. Was told before going that the nachos are "the best in Vancouver". I didn't realize it was a vegetarian restaurant until I looked up the name of the place this meet-up was happening......being a former vegetarian, and now a meat-eater who still eats mostly vegetarian, I was excited to try this place out. The hipster thing I read about didn't really bug me, I'm a hippie at heart and my unshaven beard surely helped me fit in.
First of all, this place is DIRTY. That is kind of the point, but it's too far gone. The furniture is shabby, and I hear it's recycled, so great. But there's no reason for tons of flies to be flying around the restaurant.....bad sign. The bathrooms are actually not terribly dirty, but the way they are organized is baffling. I sincerely hope no one who goes there ever has to take a number two......first of all the stench will probably reach some of the patrons, and you'll likely have a member of the opposite sex using the toilet next to you. Nothing says "let's go for drinks sometime" like dropping a nuke within whispering distance of a pretty lady.
The service, unlike many reviews I have read elsewhere, was not too bad. We were a large group, so perhaps they felt it in their best interests to serve us a little better. They came around often enough to keep the beer flowing, and that is commandment number one in my books, whenever I'm having booze at a place.
The FOOD.....is....amazing. THE best vegetarian food I've ever had in my life. I never knew Quinoa could be so mouth-wateringly delicious. That wasn't even the best part of the night. It was. The. NACHOS.
They speak for themselves. Everyone says it, I've experienced it, it's true. The best nachos I've ever had. They are the main reason I'm going to have a hard time staying away despite the inspection reports and what I saw with my own eyes.
I really liked the atmosphere, and the quotes on the walls were a nice touch. I especially liked the feel that you might just be in some hippie's basement - Old kitchen stoves, old lighting. It's It's not for everyone, but I enjoyed it.
I hope they clean up their act.....I want to return many times. I can take the ripped booths, the old stoves, the crappy (but cool) decor, but the flies and the feeling that a rat may have slept on your nacho plate the night before are definitely big minuses. They are lucky their food is so good, and the demographic they cater to so loyal, for sure.
So, I live within walking distance of the Foundation and my partner has asked me why I never went there - same old story as a lot of other folks' reviews - crappy service. I and a friend actually went in a year or so ago & they literally walked around us & served everyone else and completely ignored us until we got up and left - a very bizarre experience. Plus, they often have a long line up and I refuse to line up for a restaurant in Vancouver - there are just too many others to choose from. And, I'd heard of the HepA outbreak & was loathe to go...That all being said, a serious foodie friend's status update on Facebook about missing Vancouver & missing the Nachos at Foundation made me want to check it out so my partner & I ended up there this weekend. Apart from the fact that they don't friggin serve Nachos for lunch (I think they start serving them at 430pm), the food was excellent. We had a cup of ginger carrot soup which was more like a large bowl for $4 and 2 burgers - the Foundation which was ok, and another (can't remember the name but it was a bit spicy and had hummus on it) & it was EXCELLENT. The waiter barely spoke to us and didn't even ask if our meals were ok, so when he reached over to pick up the plates when we were done I said "the food was awesome, by the way" and he brightened right up & we actually had a convo about which burger was better and he recommended that we do need to come back to try the nachos. I think I actually may have seen a wee smile on his face as we spoke, which was weird because honestly there were quite a few people working there, and I didn't see a single one smile. What is that about? Please don't tell me you're too trendy to smile?
Also, my partner & I are both carnivores (him more than me) & we both loved the food options on the menu and will come back to try the Nachos & probably one of their yummy salads.
Having lived in Vancouver for years and bing a veggie, people often told me to check this place out. I finally did last weekend. It was... okay.
The decor is fine, but I am not a fan of the quotes on the wall. Overall the place felt like it was trying too hard to be hip/alternative.
The server didn't really speak to us, just looked at us once in a while and assumed we knew what to do. Look one, order drinks. Look two, order food. Look three, time to pay the bill. He wasn't rude, just awkward.
However, my burger was great and my friend's chilli was also yum. I had coffee and my friend had a pop: the drinks were fine. I didn't like that they slathered my greens with some thick mangoe dressing, but overall the food was very good and it came at a good price.
I would come here again for a casual quick bite if I were in the area. I wouldn't make a special trip to come, though.
I have always driven by this place and always wanted to try this vegetarian restaurant.
I had the Tight Spin Salad, tried a little bit of the Pesto Imprisoned and the Mingling Yams. Definately yummers!!!
Can't say much about the service though. It feels like our server (a hippy like guy) didn't seem like he really wanted to work. Although the little cooks look like they were running around like little elves.
Don't expect any heat. I figured if I was having a salad that wasn't hot and my body had no heat going through it, they would put some heat on in the middle of winter.
Would go back and try their nachos for dinner. They don't have it on their lunch menu!
I've been to the Foundation a few times, and have had varying opinions about the service. The first couple of times the service was pretty bad, but I went recently and the service was actually pretty great. Their nachos are to die for, and are an extremely good value. The large nachos is enough to feed four people at a mere $15!! Their menus are really neat, and the place has a good vibe. Every time I've been there they've played the same 'A Tribe Called Quest' song; last time they played it twice! It's not a complaint, just an interesting oddity. The music seems to be mostly old-school hip-hop which I think is great.
Finally went to The Foundation today after complaining about going there for months. I went with 3 other friends for lunch in hopes to avoid big line ups and such. It was only about half full of people. Right away you notice that.. everyone who works there are hipsters. And everyone that comes in are hipsters too. So if you're not even close to being a hipster.. you might feel a little out of place.
Okay. It looks worn out. Seriously. The place could definitely use a new paint job.. and replace their really old worn out chairs with "new" vintage chairs or whereever they find their furniture. Apparently the washroom was creepy and the door was broken too. The music volume needs adjusting.. it's not all equal. Sometimes it's blaring and sometimes it's soft. And wtf is with the jars for glasses? It's not cool, the ridges on the jars make it inconvenient to drink out of.
It's true. The service sucks.. so badly. Other than coming to take our orders and dropping off the menus, don't expect a smile or recommendations. Oh, and don't even think about a water refill. They ignore you unless you go up to them. And sometimes they leave your order sitting there for like 5-10 mins before they bring it over to you. And we had to wait for our orders for OVER HALF AN HOUR. Around 40 mins! And this was when the place was only half full! My god, I don't want to know how long dinner would have been.
I'm a vegetarian, so this place is a HUGE plus for me. Despite everything else, I would so come back for the food. And the price. It's so good. One of my friends had the burger which is really good (it's her first time trying a veggie burger, she's almost a carnivore), another had the hummus plate, another had the mingling yam plate (ahhh I loved this, I almost got a take out for this dish), and I had this sandwich.. I forgot the actual name of it. It has sourdough bread that's spicy though. The salad is a plus, dressing was very different from your usual salad. Loved my sandwich. But loved the yam dish even more, it's a mixture of yam and strong garlic dip with tortilla chips and flat bread. They could have heated up the bread more, and if the dip were hot instead of served cold, even better. And with the price? Wow. Each dish was anywhere from 5-8 dollars with tax.
But yeah. If you're not in a rush and with a few friends that have plenty to chat about (so the wait doesn't seem so long).. come here and eat. Great pricing, great food. If they're service finally met up to their food standards, this place would easily be one of my favourite places to eat.
Had a group dinner for my volunteer gig at Foundation about a week ago. My favorite kind of food is free food :-)
Food - Had the Peanut Pasta. Sounds bizarre I know, but it was actually very tasty and enjoyable. My colleague had the "tofu bacon" to go along with his veggie burger and he said it was pretty decent. Really? I think I'd prefer the real thing. Appetizer of salad, pita bread, dip, and fried tofu was pretty good as well. Sangria was marginally passable, but that's what you get for ordering Sangria at a vegetarian non-Spanish restaurant.
Service - Poor and pretty slow. Though friendly, our server looked disinterested in providing us with any service what-so-ever. Or maybe he was just being true to his hippy ways.
Ambiance - A "hole-in-the-wall" kind of place. I do like that they played some pretty obscure hip-hip in the background. The place seems to be fairly popular with the late-20's crowd; I would describe it as the chic place to be.
Perfect summer food if you're not a year-round vegetarian. It's not entirely vegan as cheeses & such gets used though I'm sure you can request to have the dairy excluded.
The soups are filling; the pastas, like the Mango Forte with large chunks of mango) are appetizing (though seemingly a little smaller in portion than the other options at $9.50; the salads (Satay, Serial, and Tight Spin) are delicious, and the nacho plates like the Katered Affair are well worth it in its $11 (tax included) cost plus huge portions good enough to share!
Absolutely love the place. You never feel rushed though you might feel the urge to rush their service, but how true it is that by the time you do get your orders delivered in front of you, you immediately forget about the seemingly longer than standard wait time.
Service is otherwise solid all around, and somewhat varies depending on your server in that none of them are rude, just that maybe one or two of them are just "all business".
Love the old retro 80's tree-hugger ambience!
The Foundation is SO incredibly overrated.
The atmosphere sucks. The hip-hop music is aggressive and loud, I don’t know if I’d hate it in another context but it’s wrong in a restaurant context. The quotes on the wall aren’t “charming” they’re cliché and taken out of context. I have a socialist streak so it’s not like I disagree with the quotes themselves, or think they’re stupid, it’s just that to me, painting them in big letters on the wall screams “Look at me, I’m an intellectual!”. The place isn’t very clean either and the furniture is annoying.
The food is not bad but it’s overrated. I’ve had much better vegetarian food elsewhere. I’ve tried two dishes there and both times it was swimming in oil. And kind of rancid oil, too! The flavours themselves weren’t too bad, but nothing special either. I can make better food myself and I hate to cook so… But to be fair, it’s not terrible. Just very average. The famous nachos mentioned below are okay but often burned. Are vegetarians really that ignorant about taste? I think not, I have a vegan friend and her cooking is very good.
The service, as mentioned by other reviewers, is abysmal. It takes forever for them to acknowledge you when you walk in the door, then once you’re seated, it takes forever to get menus. Then you wait some more for water, then for them to take your order, and then, you wait even longer for the food to get there. I understand that they’re busy (the restaurant is full of masochist hipsters who apparently like average food served late by unfriendly servers) but there’s no reason why a pasta dish that should take about 20 minutes to make takes over 50 minutes to get to your table. Especially since I noticed it had been sitting next to the kitchen for at least 15 minutes. The staff is inattentive and unfriendly. One server seemed nice one time I went, but she wasn’t the one serving us.
Value is good, I will give them that. You get decent portions for the price and the ingredients are healthy, so you can fill up your tummy with healthy food for not much. That is the only thing about the foundation that is even remotely worth the reputation it gets.
I might give it another try in the future but I’m not sure. If the service was good and the music was decent, I could probably deal with the average food that takes forever to come, but it’s certainly not the case…
normally i would have visited a place at least a few times before i review it. in the case of foundation, i have only been to 3 times. so maybe my review is skewed. that being said. the other times that i have wanted to go here. there were line ups to get in. with so many dining options and a motor vehicle, i really dont like waiting in line.
there line up and wait can be frustrating. as a former restauranter, i really know what to look for and at when i dine out. from my two exp here, i see a lack of system and training. what i mean to say is sometimes this place can be very unorganized.
as a customer, it matters because i waited for longer than needed on the cold outside while there were tables that were empty. i should say that this is not the fault of the employees, whom seemed nice but inexperience. that is where leadership and ownership comes in.
once sat, service was painfully slow throughout my experiences here. like you have to wait for them to order and they dont come and check up on you ever. to be fair, it does seem like they were understaff FOH.
the location is next to the XXX theather on main and 7th. parking on the strret if you can find one. or pay parking on the lot on the block below.
The food was tasty with a great price to boot. I love the final option, the spicy peanut pasta and the east van town. The drinks are pretty good as well, I would suggest the sangria if your feeling like letting loose.
The kitchen can be a little slow at time but mainly because it is such a busy place. this just means more time to to have another drink.
I would recommend this place to anyone that is traveling to Vancouver
We went to "The Foundation" after a long bicycle ride one afternoon and it was definitely a worthwhile stop. They have a great menu consisting entirely of vegetarian choices. The service was terrible but really a non-issue considering the incredible value. There is a very youthful feel to the place with loud hip hop music and revolutionary quotes on the walls. The decor is funky and rustic and they serve beer in mason jars which I happened to like. Overall a must go for vegetarian options if you don't mind hip hop and can deal with shotty service.
One of the best restaurant in Vancouver, and one of the most affordable... I've absolutely loved every single meal I've had here. However, the same can't be said for the service. It's a real crap shoot. Some are friendly and timely, others are seriously rude. A few of the servers here obviously haven't gotten over their better than thou teenage angst and have no idea that being a server should include service. The nachos here are the best I've ever had. Tons of toppings. Basically everything here is really affordable, tasty and healthy. I hardly ever find all three at the same time. When I eat here with a friend, the bill is rarely over $20. As for the ambiance, I agree that the hip-hop music can be a little loud, but the quotes are fun. I don't think the owners are pretentious, it's just a part of the restaurants theme.
I go to the Foundation all the time for one reason : The nachos!!!! You will not be disappointed! They are HUGE, $12, and delicious. The salsa that comes with it is always so fresh and good too! go for it!!! Yes, the service is pretty bad.. just know what you want before you sit down so you can order right away. The servers are super friendly and funny though - just slow !
I LOVE the food at The Foundation, and it's super well priced. As a student, this is one of my "go to" restaurants.
The service can vary. Sometimes you're left standing at the door for a long time, sometimes you're helped right away. The servers also vary from quick and efficient to lazy and rude. I believe in tipping accordingly, so when I get bad service they get a mediocre tip.
Otherwise, food is outstanding and I really like the lunch server, she's rad.
Try the Molton Tofu, it's my favourite. My boyfriend loves the BLT-ish, but I think it may only be served for lunch.
As for ambiance, I hate the wall quotes, but otherwise it's fine. Suits the food, if you know what I mean.
There's not a lot to complain about with The Foundation (unless you had eaten there during their Hepatitis A scare. The menu offerings are simple and effective, perhaps too much so as I've taken several of their recipes and easily replicated them at home - often improving on the originals by using higher quality ingredients. The price point is fair, however, for both dinner and drinks... and with their younger less affluent hipster clientele (seemed like students mostly) they have to keep it on the cheap. The corners cut in terms of food quality are excused when the context is put into perspective, because after a couple of pitchers of sangria you're not going to be too discerning about such things.
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