Greens Restaurant: What’s Vegetarian Editorial Review

Greens Restaurant has served vegetarian food at Fort Mason in San Francisco since 1979. The San Francisco Zen Center founded the restaurant, and the kitchen still cooks from the Zen Center’s Green Gulch Farm and local growers. Nothing on the menu contains meat or fish. Dairy and eggs are common, and Greens labels which dishes are vegan and which come vegan on request.

The setting is half the draw. The dining room fills a spacious warehouse with floor-to-ceiling windows facing the bay and the Golden Gate Bridge. It works for an anniversary, a birthday lunch, or a brunch with out-of-town guests.

The menu changes with the season, so treat the dishes below as an early fall snapshot. Lunch starts with a bread basket of cornbread, seeded lavash, and focaccia with corn miso honey butter at $9. The Terra Firma beet hummus costs $16, comes vegan, and arrives with pistachio dukkah, meyer lemon, and fresh pita. The Falafel Platter runs $28 and the Fried Cauliflower with remoulade runs $23. Salads include the Frog Hollow pear salad with Point Reyes blue cheese at $18 and a Brussels sprouts Caesar with Grana Padano.

For a full meal, the Wild Mushroom Shawarma Bowl at $32 layers sweet potatoes, chickpeas, avocado, and tahini. The Portobello Mushroom Burger at $25 takes poblano aioli and two cheeses. Dinner mains include a Wild Mushroom Wellington with porcini jus at $45, a Pozole Verde at $35 that is vegan as served, and a Roman Gnocchi for two at $52. The Black Mission Fig Pizza at $28 is a longtime favorite. Brunch on Saturday and Sunday adds scrambled eggs with poblanos, a vegetable hash with poached eggs, and two kinds of French toast.

Vegan diners get a clear map. Look for v (vegan), vp (vegan possible), gf (gluten-free), and gfp (gluten-free possible) beside each dish. Vegan and gluten-free dishes are always on the menu. Staff will work with other dietary needs, and you can email [email protected] ahead of a visit. Because the whole kitchen is meatless, a vegetarian never has to ask whether a dish touched meat. Greens doesn’t publish details on how its vegan dishes avoid shared surfaces with butter and cheese, so ask if that matters to you.

Expect restaurant prices. Mains run $25 to $52, and Greens adds a 6.5 percent surcharge to the bill to cover employee benefits. Parties of six or more pay a 20 percent gratuity. Cocktails start around $17, and the bar also serves wine.

Practical notes: Greens sits at 2 Marina Boulevard in Fort Mason Center, Building A, and the number is 415-771-6222. Lunch runs Tuesday through Friday from 11:30am to 2:30pm. Brunch runs Saturday and Sunday from 10:30am to 2:30pm. Dinner runs Tuesday through Sunday from 5pm to 9pm. The restaurant closes for private events on some dates, so check the home page before you book. Reservations are available online. Paid parking is available inside Fort Mason, and free spots line the waterfront nearby.

Book a window table for brunch, order the pear salad and the mushroom shawarma bowl, and save room for dessert.