I've eaten in this place off and on for over three decades, and only once, long ago, got a terrible meal, and that was a mushy icky bean burger no longer on the menu. Breakfasts are exciting to me, particularly their waffles and their huevos racheros. Dinners are healthy and flavorful, but are also "substantial grub!" not prissy tiny portions of something that looks fancy on the plate but good thing there's only one bite of it because more would be sickening. These are real meals for hungry vegheads! I marvel that some of the reviews are so critical. I think some people PREFER fancy presentation over substantial grub, and are put off by the slightly arty yet working class "diner" atmosphere and service. Or I just don't know. To me this place has always just been a marvel. read more

Sunlight Cafe definitely deserves more than its current rating! The Vegan Highlander is one of the best healthy vegan breakfasts i've ever had. It's spicy, flavorful, crispy and truly wonderful. read more

The only reason I came here is because a gf heard about it and wanted to try it. Looking online at their menu and reviews I was a bit timid to go but really wanted to see her new baby so we decided to meet there for brunch. It wasn't that busy and was able to get a table within a reasonable amount of time. Food is here is your typical vegetarian diner fare. Nothing amazing but its what you would expect from a basic diner. I was hoping they would have a protein side (didn't see anything and I would of been find with like tempeh or tofu) but nope. I got the pancakes and a side of potatoes. the Potatoes were a bit on the firm side and didn't finish it. Service was meh. It sure took us a while to get our check and then for them to pick up the check. Next time i'm going to tell her to meet me at Portage Bay around the corner and get a side of bacon. read more

There are a couple places I must visit when in my beloved Seattle and Sunlight is one of them. (Twilight Exit is the other, guess I'm all about the light.) I had the nutburger which was a parallel universe/healthy version of some six dollar burger, except it was ten bucks. Big hearty patty with melting cheese and bright garnish, served with a nice little side salad with the ever-popular and addictive lemon-tahini dressing. I had to cut it in half, the sucker was HUGE but a few hours later it tasted just as delicious as when it was piping hot. There are always an array of interesting characters to eyeball during your sometimes very-long-wait but the food is always worth it. read more

I have been eating here for 25 years and it is some of the most amazingly prepared dishes by some of the most creative and knowledgeable culinary artists focusing on this genre of menu. I had terrible eating habits until I found this place at 19. It quite literally changed my life for the better. I live over an hour away now but never pass this neighborhood without an empty belly and an appetite for their delectable creations. read more

A real diner feel to it, which is good in its own right though there were a few things that make you go "hmm" here. Really, we came here for coffee and OJ - just keeping it simple to pass some time at their bar. Also ordered their vegan kitchen sink cookie (which actually is realllllly delicious). Sunlight Cafe would be a regular stop if we were in the area often, but more importantly if we didn't have a clear line of vision to the prep station/kitchen. I'm not so much a germaphobe but when you see the person prepping your food with gloves on, and that same person resting their hands (gloves) on the bar minutes later while talking with a customer, touching the utensils shortly after, etc. ... it just has an unsettling feel to it. The menu is huge, with some vegan options (and lots of misspellings on the menu and menu board haha) so that was nice. read more

This is where I go when I want to recharge, settle my insides and give my omnivorous guts a break from the crazy adventure-foodie nonsense I do to it, without sacrificing flavor. As a longtime customer (20+ years) I'm happy to make my 100th Yelp review a closer look at this Ravenna neighborhood staple. If, like me, your parents went on a health-food kick when you were growing up, you will be familiar with much of the vegetarian fare here: tofu, tempeh, granola, steamed vegetables, brown rice, lentils, black beans, tahini, sprouts, whole grains, organic everything, seeds, nuts... But Sunlight Cafe takes all those elements and elevates them out of the realm of pithy, bland, oppressive '60's hippy healthfood cliché and into flavorful, thoughtfully-prepared, satisfying, local-and-fresh modern cafe cuisine without losing the original holistic ethic. Fresh steamed veggies and rice with their incredible lemon tahini dressing (which you can buy from them by the bottle for home use, by the by) is a go-to, as are their excellent super-fresh salads. Soups are different almost every day, and can be very comforting with a hunk of house-made bread on a drizzly Seattle afternoon. Their cut-to-order fruit salads with honey and nut yoghurt topping make for a great high-energy breakfast, and there are hearty vegetarian entrees for every meal of the day. Homemade desserts too! The missing star? Cleanliness can suffer sometimes, although never dangerously so. The usually open-hearted and friendly service can be absent occasionally. And the fixtures and decor are so dated and worn, they're in danger of coming back into style again, if they weren't ready to fall apart (like some of us, I dare say!) Still, there's something comforting and inviting about the old DIY Boomer vibe this place has. It's as if somebody didn't actually forget what all that "summer of love" stuff was about, turn Republican and invest in hedge funds; but instead stuck to their ethical guns, and (of all things) opened up an appropriately named sunny little cafe and ran it beautifully, with little compromise, for forty years. Just to make the point. I almost wish they would do it to the hilt, get some plants with the macrame hangers going on, and play some Joni Mitchell or Dylan on 8-track over an antique stereo system, and burn some incense. Well, maybe not the incense. Hmm, maybe skip the Dylan, too. But you get me. Peace and Love didn't die...they're just hanging out and eating tempeh tacos and lentil soup, and sipping Yogi tea at the Sunlight! And so should you. Recommended! read more

a classic seattle statement, almost historical restaurant... i absolutely love & will always go back to !

So disappointed!! Have always wanted to try Sunlight Cafe and were in the neighborhood this morning. Unfortunately we couldn't get anyone to take our order so we opted for a friendlier place. We were seated outside and a waitperson came and took the order of the party sitting next to us (who were seated AFTER us) but didn't acknowledge us or ask us if we wanted coffee or tea. She did look at us but opted to walk back into the restaurant. Not sure what it was about us that was so unappealing but there are plenty of other places to take our business. read more

Large blushing lettuce salad with herbal vinaigrette, a side order of tempeh, and yogi tea with soymilk are my go-to! Obsessed with their dressings, desserts, and tempeh! The staff is always friendly. Clean place. read more

A long time Seattle restaurant with old school vegetarian food including house made whole wheat bread. The new location has nice outdoor seating on a quiet street. I think their sauces are all amazing, the lemon tahini dressing which you can buy by the bottle, pepper sauce and green sauce are all exceptional. I am vegan and there a many good vegan options. The seasoned tofu which you can order as a side is delicious! Brunches are also delicious, Staff are kind and friendly. read more

The interior is super cute and definitely fit the vibe but thats about the only positive of this place. Service was beyond horrible from the moment our group arrived. Our waitress acted like taking our order was a chore. Not only did the food take some time to arrive but my eggs were rubbery and cold. The waitress did not check in on us once and when she came to deliver our checks no boxes were offered despite everyones plates having food. All in all our dining time took about 2 hours, with the majority of that consisting of waiting. I would not recommend unless you want rude unresponsive staff and lackluster food. read more

Positive: Food was DELICIOUS. I had the breakfast vegetables and tofu and it was a huge serving and very tasty. Definitely appreciate the option to make menu items vegan as that is so hard to find for breakfast without just eating hashbrowns. Three stars, would be five if it wasn't for the service. Negative: The card reader was completely down so when it came to pay my bill (under $15) I unfortunately didn't have a way to pay. I let the server know and he asked me to visit an ATM and return with cash. Not sure if he thought I just wanted a free meal and was trying to seize the opportunity or what. I was pretty shocked and didn't want to make a big deal out of it so I agreed to do so. (I am DEFINITELY not someone who has EVER made a stink in a restaurant, even when I could have found an excuse to do so. I always tip well and try to not be demanding, even with dietary restrictions.) Came back with cash about 10 minutes later and saw that the original server was busy, so I walked up to the cash register to pay (I had taken my bill with me so I didn't worry about talking to a different employee). She told me she thought I had just walked on my check. At this point I had (maybe) been suspected of trying to get a free meal, asked to walk ~10 minutes out of my way to get cash from an ATM because of a technical problem, and (definitely) been suspected of a dine and dash. Obviously it's fair of her to assume the dine and dash but to actually mention it to me when I'm trying to pay? I feel as though all of this could have been prevented with some more employee training, or maybe their employees have always been this way. Ultimately I am sharing this review on the off chance that Sunlight Cafe will see it and maybe try to change this culture, if that's what it is. Their food is really delicious and I don't want to feel conflicted about continuing to eat there. read more

I was open minded enough to give this a try. I even told the waiter I am just ordering one to share, so as to give the restaurant a chance to shine. So, I ordered a simple dish. A tostada! It was one puny tostada that was buried in a soup bowl. Presentation; HORRIBLE Ok.. we thought it was a wrong order and decided to dig thru and find out. It was a tostada, but is wrong. Black bean and Romain salad- and that's $11.99. And with sour cream and guacamole, that makes it to $16! And the taste- seriously.. it was like a chinese mom trying to make Mexican food without knowing what a taco is. I am very 100X very disappointed with the food. They have the location, they just have to get the right recipe. Gosh. What a waste of my time! read more

I really want to love this place; it's been around since the 70s, for heaven's sake! It's one of those places that we're going to mourn someday when it's shut down to build more condos, but sadly, I'm just not that enthused. I came here for dinner with a large group and the servers were kind enough to set up tables in the extra room (which had been, apparently, "closed" when we arrived). We had given them advance notice of our large party, but it seemed that they forgot. But they managed to accomodate us and all was well... ...until we realized how freaking HOT it was inside. Like, I'm talking maybe twenty degrees warmer than it was outside. Halfway through our meal we did ask them to turn the fan up (which necessitated them turning the lights off), which helped a little bit. But it was SO hot that it made the whole experience not so great. Also, our water was room temperature and some ice would've gone a LONG way. Anywho, onto the food. The entire place is vegetarian, which is fine by me. A lot of the options are typical food you'd find anywhere, and some others skew a little more stereotypical "vegetarian." I chose the fresh whole wheat pasta with pesto; it was fine, but was lacking something. One friend said the same about her "nutburger" - good, but kind of lacking flavor. My pasta came with a giant piece of bread, but because they were short staffed and hadn't had time to slice the bread, it came out when I was almost done with the rest of my meal. Service was fairly slow due to their being understaffed, but the servers were all friendly. Note: They have a very strong preference to avoid credit cards. It's noted on their menu and on a card at the table, but none of us knew beforehand. They graciously accepted cards from most of us, which was really appreciated. read more

So horrible. What's has happened. Was one of my favorite spots for a long time b salad over dressed and forgot half the ingredients. Potatoes so old and hard. What a rip off done waste your time read more

I got the falafel salad, and it was super good! I liked sitting at the bar because I got to watch the cooks. Good vegetarian and vegan options and nice location. I went to Wayward Vegan up the street, and Sunlight Cafe's food was much better. I was skeptical because I saw a 3.5 ish rating on google, but Sunlight Cafe was good. I'd like to come back for waffles. read more

Our Order: Deluxe Huevos Rancheros, scrambled eggs, homefries, half of a toasted 7-grain English muffin with butter, plus a small bowl of black beans. Comments as we ate: "Whole grain done right." She brushes crumbs from her mouth. "Still very extremely hot." He nurses his lips. "Eat the eggs. They'll go cold the first-est." She jabs a fork in the direction of her scramble. ... Away from the window on their other side is a counter, where a man sits, his red plaid jacket nearly-falling off of the stool beside him... You can hear the smile in his voice as he walks out with a "Ciao, bellas." I munch on homefries with unsweetened ketchup, flavorful black beans and satisfying toast: even their condiments and side dishes are wholesome and delicious. This is hippie food done right. Our date continued with a gorgeous drive to Discovery Park, non-stop chatter from me and so "HAPPY" we say, with our grins and our kisses and our eyes spilling out love. (full review here: http://chloelynndancer.wordpress.com/2012/12/14/refuge-in-sunlight-cafe/) read more

Sunlight Cafe - Tabletop view! A pot of honey, warm hands, and a worn wooden table. - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Seattle, Washington

The fact that any dish can be made vegan is why I want to try everything on this menu. Our waiter was super nice and attentive. I had the huevos rancheros, and OMG. I can't speak for any other dish but mine, but HOLY SHIT this dish was amazing. It didn't miss a beat. Being Hispanic from the south. Im a hard critic when it comes to Mexican dishes. Especially when it's so scarce this far north. I will say without question this is one of the best vegan dishes I've had here in Seattle. The lemon poppy seed waffle was phenomenal. My mouth is watering just thinking about it. I loved the small business card on the table encouraging cash payment to support small business. The energy was very warm, and welcoming. We can't wait to go back and enjoy more menu items. read more

I've never been here when the place isn't full with happy vegetable munching people! I take that as a good sign. The food has always been great and the service good. I crave the lemon tahini dressing and the day I found out you can buy it by the bottle was the best day of my life. (Wow, I really need to get out. There's more to life than delicious, delicious lemon tahini, right? That's what I thought. . .) Don't be in a hurry when you go, the food isn't cranked out of the kitchen at a fast pace. But that's what I like about it, good food in a casual atmosphere. And lemon tahini. Did I mention that yet? read more

I'm convinced that anyone who has a bad experience here is just an asshole. I love this place (and therefore, am wonderful person). The sunlight café is my default restaurant for all occasions. Here's the deal.... I'M NOT EVEN A VEGETARIAN, and this is one of my favorite places. Most vegetarian food is mysteriously void of spices and flavor. But these guys don't make that mistake. Though it may seem obvious to most of us, many people don't believe in tasty food, instead they like to use food as a vehicle of superiority and to promote "awareness". The Sunlight Café, thankfully does not make that mistake. The food is delish. My favorite is the Nut Burger (no, you're a nut burger!) So much of what I like about the Sunlight Café isn't what they do, but what they don't do. Again, you might expect a place like this to be ran by self righteous pretentious hipster shits, but thankfully its not! The staff is genuinely nice, and has a flawless tempo of checking in on you. The music is always really good too, it's as though everyone who works there has good taste in everything (even in soup). (I could go on forever) .... One of my favorite things about this place, is that they seem to have subtracted everything dumb and pointless about the dining experience. You don't have to awkwardly wait by the door, while optically following the unaware waitress to "be seated", you get to use your brain, and sit down in one of the available seats. And when the wait staff takes your order, you kind of feel like your having a conversation with a normal human being, rather then some college kid douche. Its great. read more

Food is very mediocre and almost non-existent service. We came for brunch and my wife had the sesame waffle and I had the deluxe (which is basically a huevos rancheros). The deluxe was not bad but not great either. Eggs were over cooked and their was literally nothing else on my plate other than eggs, tortillas, cheese, and potatoes. Also there was an "enchilada sauce" that was smothered on top that tasted like a bottled pasta sauce. They really should add some sort of veggies on top, at least onion and peppers, since it's pretty bare minimum ingredients. My wife's sesame waffle was also too simple, all it was served with was butter and syrup on the side. It was a small waffle as well. For the price it wouldn't kill them to give some fruit on the side at least! Lastly, during the entire time we had our water filled only once and I waited 20min for a second time but never saw a server to flag down. I wouldn't say servers were bad necessarily, just non existent. They were friendly but perhaps way under staffed. Took 15min to sit down at the beginning as well even though there was an empty table and the hostess told us she would wipe off the table right away to get us seated when we walked in. read more

I really wanted to like Sunlight Cafe, but I came away disappointed. We visited on Sunday, May 30th. I had not been here is a long time. It was one of the best trendy vegetarian restaurants when I moved to Seattle in 1989. Since we have gone vegan, I thought it would be time for a long over-due visit. I found limited options for vegans and, to be painfully honest, I felt the menu was totally uninspired. It may have been good enough 20 years ago, but now, with so many wonderful vegetarian places to eat in Seattle, this was sorely lacking. We would have been much better satisfied by going to the deli at Whole Foods directly across the street. The food seemed like something a child would make. I has a clumsily assembled nut burger. The salad that came with it was bag lettuce covered in too much dressing and completely hidden under way too many sprouts (which seem to be on everything). The service was obligatory - I cannot rally say any of the servers that visited the table were friendly. They just seemed to be doing their job cranking out the cafeteria-like food offered here. They were as uninspired as the surroundings, ingredients and the menu. If you want to try really good vegetarian sandwiches, go someplace like Hillside Quickies on Capitol Hill. At a comparable price, this place is heads above the sad Sunlight Cafe. http://www.hillsidequickie.com/ Dear Sunlight Cafe, I'd love for you to thrive. I say it is time for a complete make-over though if you want to survive in the market in which you were a pioneer. I should have followed my instincts and got up and left. Next time I am in the area, I will be having dinner at the Whole Foods Deli where I can get a much tastier meal. read more

My partner was begging to try this place, so we went for dinner last night. Walking in, I did not set my expectations anywhere near high - it's a classic diner and there were very few people there. Going thru the menu, I had a really hard time choosing something. Begin vegan, and this being a vegetarian restaurant, one would think there'd be lots to choose from. But, there's very little that's actually vegan, and the menu isn't that helpful in either letting me know what's in a dish, or that a dish can be made vegan. Most things had some form of dairy, be it cheese, cream, egg... The waitress, after asking, let me know anything but the polenta and the pasta can be made vegan. Still, though, it was hard to choose - everything seemed so... uninspired. I settled on the 'Grilled Tempeh Burger'. Yeah, when it arrived that the table, it really was uninspired. A bun, some grilled tempeh, and a dollop of salsa that looked like it was packed in a can back in the 50's. My sad burger came with an equally sad salad. Basically lettuce and a pile of sprouts (everything seems to come with sprouts) - and the wrong dressing. The waitress said they all taste the same. Great. For starters, we had the sweet potato pancake. This was actually pretty tasty, but really did not look appetizing at all. It arrived as a pile of mush with a side of what looked like soy sauce. I suppose it is a diner, after all, and one should expect nothing fancy. This place serves up sad, basic stuff at a trendy price. There are so many fantastic vegan-friendly restaurants in Seattle, that one really does not have to settle for this. read more

I have been here twice now and both visits were great! The first time I was here I met up with a friend to catch up. I kind of was on an all day eating marathon prior to coming here so I just wanted something on the light side. I got a meal size portion of one of their lettuce and mixed veggie salads with a basil dressing. Needless to say on the first bite I fell in love! One of my biggest rules with a restaurant in order for it to get an ace of a grade is that it has got to be fresh and Sunlight passes with flying colors! When I got home I raved about it to Steve and told him that we absolutely must go there together! So in a few weeks we did! On my first visit here my friend got a Nut Burger and said how good it was so my choice was made almost as soon as we got seated as to what I was going to eat. I got a side salad to go with the burger. Once again the food was awesome! The Nut Burger as far as I was concerned was cooked perfectly and put me in the quandary of what menu item at Sunlight do I like best? Do I really have to decide? I was in the mood for a chai tea but they did not have that as an option. I got something called a Yogi Tea which reminded me very much of a chai and the chai mood was met satisfyingly with this new tea I never tried before. Steve got the Tempeh Tacos which of course, like everything else was delicious. We shared some Walnut pie which capped off our great meal here! I don't have to say it twice, I love this place! read more

There are so many better places to spend your money!! I'm so sad, my brunch was terrible! 1. The milk for my coffee was rotten - curdled rotten! 2. Asked for fruit instead of potatoes and it never came 3. Omelete was swimming in garlic, I picked out 14 full cloves. 4. There were flies flying around. 5. Asked for change when I paid, and they didn't give it....just assumed I was tipping $7 on a $38 bill for the aforementioned terrible service!! However, their pancakes were good read more

My birthday brunch, sadly, was here. My daughter and I always enjoy this event so much, that we're quite easy to please. She's also one hell of a tipper, yet our service was *so* lame, that we left the waiter no tip at all.* She was happy with her eggs, but my tofu dish was virtually tasteless. I had to add lemon tahini (which we had to pay extra for) in order to get it up to snuff. Tofu was mushy, and nothing was scrambled at all, merely steamed, though it was advertisied as a scramble. And the waiter? Let's just say he was aloof and emotionally stunted. It was like being waited on by a bratty 10 year old. :~/ I'm done with Sunlight Cafe, sadly. .... .... *We added what would have been this waiter's tip to make a *super* tip for the ladies at the nail salon, who deserved it all! (check out that review) read more

This place is super close to where we live, so I wanted to like it. We are a big family of vegans that have a series of joints we hit up for weekly brunches. So, all four adults and two kids met up at Sunlight with stomachs full only of hope. Yet, the service was fairly lackluster and the food was abysmal. This is clearly one of those vegetarian places that does not go out of their way to serve vegans; they are happy to remove non-vegan ingredients from the very few vegan-possible dishes they offer, but they do nothing more. They don't offer alternatives or attempt to re-balance the flavor at all. We ordered huevos rancheros that amounted to the most bleh bunch of tofu with a side of avocado that I have ever tasted. The other places in our regular rotation that aren't mostly vegan do take care to make sure the vegan dishes are just as tasty as the rest of what they serve, and that it's not just some tofu minus the cheese or whatever. So, big disappointment. Not going back. Sticking to Wayward, Chaco Canyon, and St. Dames for now. read more

I'm an avowed meatatarian, but I do occasionally enjoy the odd veggie dish. I do not, however, enjoy sanctimonious hippies, and I always feel sort of judged whenever I go to the Sunlight Cafe. The food's ok -- although I'm not sure that lemon-tahini dressing lives up to the hype -- but I swear to God, the servers can smell the steak in my tummy, and they just judge me for it. Anyway, the food: I have had better. Even at non-vegetarian restaurants, I've had better vegetarian meals. Everything's just kind of bland and unimaginative, which, whatever, plenty of restaurants are bland and unimaginative, but when everything's served with a side of holier-than-though sauce, the whole experience becomes tedious. read more

If I could order bacon & bacon with a side of bacon, I would. In fact, I strongly believe that every restaurant should add bacon as a strong entree, side dish, appetizer and dessert to their menus; I'm not the only one. In the absence of a bacon free-for-all, there is the Sunlight Cafe. Vegan and vegetarian options abound, as that is who the cafe caters to: vegans, vegetarians, and people taking a break from bacon for One Meal Only (me). I quite enjoy the avocado and raw milk cheddar grilled cheese sandwich on their Frisbee-sized slices of homemade wheat bread. That was a mouthful. So is the sandwich. Breakfast is really good, too; I love ordering fried eggs with a whole wheat English muffin and one of their fresh and delectable smoothies. I think mine had pineapple in it last time. I think I wept from how tasty it was. This is one of those places I like going alone; there are a lot of people who eat there solo, although I would advise you to bring Eckhart Tolle's new book or some other manual on maintaining health and wellness within your third eye... that kind of reading material is KEY in a place like this. If you can handle the substitutions, and can say the word 'seitan' without snickering, you will love this place. Also, they have a kickass Pez dispenser collection in their display case. It's really something. read more

I love this all vegetarian cafe! Breakfasts are always my favorite, and I'll get to that later. However, if you're a lunch person I hiiiiighly recommend the nut burger. Much better than black bean burgers, it's tasty and clearly made with love. Yum! The polenta is totally worth ordering too. Now, on to the real deal. Weekend brunches here are great! The yogi tea is well worth the money. The blubbery hotcakes are worth 5 whole stars by themselves.. Holy Eff they're perfectly crispy on the outside and slightly mushy on the inside!!! If you like dry/ "fluffy" pancakes theses are not for you. They have a mean huevos rancheros type thing, and the other brunch specials are all very good! Street parking is pretty easy. the staff is friendly. There is a wait during busy brunch times, but not usually more than 15 minutes or so. read more

I refuse to go back here. Our waitress was incredibly rude, the food was mediocre, and the menu selection pretty much sucks. Quick story... my roommate and I had a couchsurfer from Mexico and we decided to take her out to breakfast. We went to Sunlight to get food. Now, our friend spoke pretty decent English and just had a hard time reading the menu. The waitress was incredibly rude to her when she ordered (in perfect English) and then got frustrated and started huffing when our friend took a few extra seconds to answer her question and kept looking at me like I was her keeper or something. Not only was that insulting, but we all ordered soup, a side of bread, and a drink and the waitress was ridiculously rude and muttered "all sides... great... that's it?!" at us as if we hadn't ordered a whole meal's worth of food. Once our food came, any time we asked for another glass of water or something she would just nod and then ignore the request. I've never received such blatantly awful customer service. As a waitress myself, this was totally insulting. That being said... the food we had was just okay. I would eat the food again but the service was so bad. I'm not usually one for upbeat peppy customer service... I like to be left alone... but to be straight up rude to a customer is just awful. read more

Great variety of Vegan and non-vegan menu selections. Most things can be made vegan by request. The enchilada sauce is fantastic! The servers work well as a team and manage more tables than most servers can handle. read more

Sunlight Cafe - Brunch menu - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Seattle, Washington

This is a great place to stop by if you want some wholesome vegetarian food. I really liked the salad I had - I believe it was the blooming lettuces and I added the organic tempeh to it. The lemon tahini dressing is a nice touch and my boyfriend had the nutburger, which he really liked. We also tried the curried lentil soup - it had a great flavor and was full of peas and cauliflower. The service is rather slow, but to be expected as the place has the hippie vibe where things tend to be more slow-paced. The waitress forgot a grapefruit juice that we had ordered, which is always kind of a bummer. I will go back to try more items and see if I can't get it up to four stars. They seemed to have some nice desserts (tofu chocolate cheesecake??)... those might be the deal-maker or breaker! read more

You would think that I would be 5 starring this place?? So would I. But the food is not that good. And the privileged attitude of the servers leaves me cold. I went in again for breakfast, how can you blow breakfast? Well, you can blow breakfast by not having it!!!! They don't serve eggs until after 9 am!! So it's doughnuts and maybe big fattening wheat waffles.. GLUG I better quit now or I'll deduct more stars.. well I better anyway. read more

This is the Real Thing: Food cooked 'au pointe', Fabulous, ever-filling cups of Chai Vegetarianism at its best. (And I am not a vegetarian! My discriminating partner is.) I also love the 'authentic' staff, meaning 'real', earnest, totally cool. All I want this place offers ... including, of course, sunlight in Seattle! (Please, Sunlight Cafe, don't ever leave!) read more

Huge wait time, then once seated an hour before our food came. Very minimal customer service bordering on poor. Food was meh. I had the tofu scramble... should be called a stir-fry. You can do so much with tofu, but this was unimaginative and lackluster. Guess my standards are too high. Needed more staff to provide adequate service and a little bit of friendliness, or even a "Sorry for the wait." would have gone a long way. Not how I would run a business and not where I'll be spending any more money. read more

We walked in, on Saturday for brunch, had a 10 minute wait, and enjoyed every minute of our experience. Our food was great, the waitress was great, and people working there would check in on us if our waitress was busy which I think is a sign of incredible customer service. read more

I like this place. I like the decor, I like the local art (though I would never take home the photo of the drunk with the pretzels on the shore) on the walls, and I like the wait staff, even if they seem a little flighty sometimes. Hey, the food here's good too! I had the tahini french toast. I know. Weird, right? But still, I liked it. Yum. I like the coffee, too. I liked my girlfriend's yogurt'n Blueberry Waffle, too. yum. yum yum. read more

3,4,3,4,3,4........kind of hard to decide. M-kay, I will go with 3 Lets get is said....service at Sunlight Cafe sucks. Look, I get the old school hippie vibe, were all just hangin' out, no need to rush....naw, sorry, the service just sucks. But I'm actually ok with that, I just don't go to Sunlight if I'm in a rush. If your not in a rush, and you want to hang out and eat some tasty veg, then its all good. Sunlight cafe is not serving cuisine. Its old school macrobiotic veggie food. Melted cheese and sprouts. But l like it. Some of the dishes are really tasty. Love their orzo with mushrooms. I like the fact that they have local artists work on the walls, I like the fact that the place has a 'greasy spoon' feel, I like how friendly the workers are. The service is not good, HOWEVER when I was sitting there this evening, I noticed that the staff knew many of the people coming in, and actually took time to talk to them and ask them how things were going. I get it. I like this place. Want to chill with some good coffee on a lazy day, and talk for a while and eat some veg comfort food? Sunlight Cafe will do just fine. read more