Sprout

Past reviews seemed inconsistent so my boyfriend and I decided to try it for ourselves. Server was very nice and gave great service. I had the tempeh and vegan ricotta sandwich, which was fantastic. My boyfriend ordered the dragon bowl (rice and beans dish) and asked to add beef, as is an option. They forgot the beef but the dish was good without it so even though they offered to fix it, he kept it as was. We ordered dessert which was a cherry tart with fresh-​made pastry– Delish! We loved that it was over 90% local product, and will definitely be back.
Was unaware that it closed — we went back in July. Crap!

So bummed to discover that Sprout has served its last meal and PBR.
I really enjoyed their food; it was a vegetarian and vegan mecca. My carnivore Hubs even loved it. Fresh and delicious and the prices were right… unfortunately, it seems like there just wasn’t a sustainable market (harhar, sorry) for it here in RVA. I sincerely hope the staff (especially the cook) and the management can reopen a similar place… smaller joint, maybe? like a café or take-​out only place, but with the same food – less overhead?
I never did get that GD tofu reuben because it always quickly sold-​out.
RIP, Sprout.

I love these kind of restaurants! Total hole in the wall with great, local food. You can tell everything is prepared fresh and they have a chalkboard map of VA on the wall with points marked on it so you can see where on the map actual ingredients came from. The wait staff was very friendly and attentive and everyone at my table loved their dishes. We had sweet potato pierogies, pizza, the meat and cheese board, and some others. I thought it was all reasonably priced for non chain food. We need more places like this!

When your best gay comes back into town after a summer away from you, it’s like Christmas, your birthday, and Halloween rolled into one fantastic, happy, rainbow-​sprinkled night. And you do whatever your best gay wants to, whether that’s raspberry clementine margaritas, dancing at Godfrey’s, or watching wedding porn on We TV. (Maybe it’s all of the above.)
My best gay wanted to go to Sprout. And I must say, the food this time around was excellent! (Even though they still can’t do dessert.) We split the feta cheese hushpuppies, which were surprisingly light for being fried balls of cheese. I ordered a big bowl of French onion soup, despite it being summer, which was delicious and satisfying with a mountain of gooey, stretchy, melty, yummy cheese on top, masking a mound of croutons soaked in rich broth. (I kind of want some right now, could you tell?) Best Gay was delighted with his falafel burger, though I’m not sure he would take 15 minutes to write a poetic description of it. We split a slice of the strawberry brown butter tart for dessert, which was much less impressive. In fact, it was sort of cold, like it had just come out of the freezer. I am not a fan of half-​defrosted strawberries, personally.
So anyway. 4 stars. A whole more star, mostly for that succulent onion soup…

Fresh food and a really nice atmosphere. I had the scottish eggs for appetizer. The eggs were a little overcooked, but overall, the flavor was good. For dinner, I had the beef tenderloin which was very lean, and cooked perfectly. The greens actually had flavor and didn’t taste like what greens normally taste like (nothing).

Last night I was ready to go to Gold’s Gym when my husband came home and said, «Let’s go to Sprout.» So much for my physical fitness quest.
I’d heard a lot about Sprout and was excited to finally eat there. The place is super cute. Loved the stained glass windows, copper ceiling, and the mix-​matched plates. Acoustics were good, too – lots of people were talking and music was playing, but we had no problem hearing each other. I must applaud! This is an impossible achievement for most restaurants.
The food was really good. We started off with drinks – my husband got a $ 2 Happy Hour Session and I ordered Lobo Marino. Then we shared a house salad, the fish tacos, and sweet potato pierogis. Everything was delicious, and I really liked that the serving sizes were something I’d normally eat, rather than one of those giant family-​sized plates so many restaurants serve. I refer to those as «fatty plates.»
For dessert we ordered the chocolate cake and coffee. The cake was YUMMO. The icing was really fudgy and the cake was moist. The waitress said that the dessert menu changes everyday – this should be a staple item. Forever. Hubs was not impressed with the coffee, but he’s a coffee snob. I liked it!
I highly recommend Sprout. And if you’re one of those West-​Enders who’s afraid of the city because of parallel parking, Sprout has its own convenient parking lot. We’ll definitely go to Sprout again.

I’m a locavore and support restaurants that serve locally grown food. The food itself was really good.
We had the cheese and meat plate and a glass of wine. Unfortunately, the plate only included one cheese. It was wonderful, but usually cheese plates feature several cheeses, at least two.
I was looking forward to trying their Fanhattan cocktail, but the bar was out of the key ingredient: house-​made orange maple syrup. That was disappointing.
Sprout did not honor their Unilocal «Special Offer» of 10% off for VCU faculty staff students, «Please show us your VCU id to receive this discount!»
I presented my VCU id and mentioned Unilocal’s Special Offer they simply said, «We don’t offer VCU discounts.»

Delicious! Great food for vegans & carnivores alike.

Only been twice, had chicken, bacon, & cheddar both times (they ran out of sliders 2^nd time) and it was delicious!
[[Although the sides are less relevant because of the nature of this restaurant; i’ll add that i tried the hush puppies & mushroom and sweet potato soup and they were great!]]
Next time I’ll be trying brunch!

Really friendly staff, beautiful building, and awesome happy hour specials ($ 2 rails until 8pm!). My tempeh sandwich was huge and delicious! Non-​vegan fellow diners agreed. The night I went there was a movie playing about the local foods movement, as well as co-​op vendors who gave out samples, and I thought it was great that Sprout went beyond just sourcing local food and also provided methods for people to get to know vendors and farm owners.
I would’ve given it 5 stars had there been more vegan options on the menu.

I really wanted to like this place… I really did.
We had dinner there recently and ordered the quiche of the day, salad, and an order of sliders (4). When dinner came out, we looked at each other and laughed! The portions were «doll-​house» small. Ugh.
Maybe we ordered the wrong stuff? To spend $ 30 for dinner and come away hungry doesn’t cut it in my book. We’ll give them another try though.

Last time I wrote of Sprout: «I usually don’t write reviews after one visit, but I’m almost certain that my sentiment toward Sprout will not change.» …Darn!
I still love Sprout, but after numerous lunch dates here we have to knock them a few stars. This isn’t easy for me, and actually it has taken me months to do. Each lunch date we seemed to be in denial thinking that it must just be a bad day for Sprout. Now, we don’t even consider Sprout for lunch :(
There are numerous things that have disappointed us on numerous occasions, from getting a tiny piece of pumpkin pie with… strawberry yogurt on top. Not good. Sparse amounts on our sandwiches… a sliver of cheese that I try and find the taste buds to savor. No, you can’t taste it because it’s so thin and sad. No aioli on sandwich that is supposed to have aioli. Burnt potato crisps. Having to stir my coffee with a butter knife after asking the server 3 times for a spoon. (By the time I stirred my coffee it was cold.) The strawberry yogurt on top of the tiny, tiny piece of pumpkin pie was probably the worst for me personally. Other issues I can’t even remember, but it was enough for us to throw in the towel.
We are still coming back, and hopefully when we have a few good lunch dates we will revise our review.

Was curious about checking out this place, for a bite, after frequenting Crossroads directly across the street. The opportunity presented itself when there was a recent Groupon offering.
The Ms. and I ultimately decided to go for dinner and were for the most part very pleased. The place is very cute, and they definitely harp on the use of locally sourced goods. We went during the week, and were the only party dining with exception of a family at one other table (there were a few other patrons at the bar). The menus are presently in recycled record sleeves, specials were hand written on a chalkboard, and we ate via relatively dim lighting. I had the potato, apple, and chicken soup with the smoke pulled pork sandwich, and the Ms. had the apple and chicken sandwich. I can honestly say that my sandwich was one of the top 5 sandwiches that I ever had in my life (and I consider myself a foodie, and have dined all over the world). The smoke pulled pork was the perfect blend of smoke with a bit of a sweet tang to it. The toasted bread was definitely a great compliment. After tasting my sandwich, the Ms. decided to swap a half of hers for mine. She too loved my sandwich. Her sandwich on the other hand was pretty bland, and she found a small chicken bone in her sandwich (apparently they use pulled chicken). She informed our waiter and he was kind enough to provide a complimentary slice of pumpkin pie which was quite tasty.
We went out to dinner again tonight, and I was telling the Ms. that I wish we would have gone to Sprout again so I could have the smoked pulled pork sandwich again. I will more than likely be going again this weekend, before the menu changes. After speaking to the waiter, he informed us that the menu changes monthly. That being said, if you go and find something that you like, like I did, make sure to get as much of it as you can before they change the menu.

I really love what they’re doing here. Working with all the local farmers, making sure it’s local. I appreciate them working with my food allergies. The food is delicious, quality food always taste great!
It would be nice if they didn’t pre-​marinate most foods with canola and used olive oil in their soups. But I understand cost wise it’s tough to use all olive oil. One thing on the tacos, just so I can have them (lol) could you have the gluten free option of corn tortillas? I know, you can’t get it all.
So I appreciate everything that they do and can honestly say, that everything that I’ve had here tastes FANTASTIC! I will continue to support them with my business as I love what they are doing.

My sister and I went here for brunch because they are advertised as a vegan restaurant and she’s vegan. The chalkboard menu didn’t have any vegan items on it so we asked the woman who came out to seat us if they had anything. She thought for a while and said, «we have tofu scramble.» For a place that’s advertised as vegan to have only one option, that’s a little weird but okay, we sat down.
The only juice they have is the prebottled stuff in the refrigerator case next to the counter where you pay. All the standard grocery store options were there but I’m really not digging on buying a bottle of Naked for 4 $.
They say that they are «90% locally sourced». I’m really digging the local food movement in Richmond lately! The home fries were great, their bread was good and they have twin oaks vegetarian sausage. What they didn’t have was tofu scramble. The waitress informed us that they were out of it.
«Is there anything else I can get instead?» My sister asked
«Well I can just give you the breakfast plate without the tofu scramble?» she replied
«Could I get maybe an extra sausage or some more toast to make up for the lack of scramble?»
The waitress looked puzzled for a moment
«Or maybe just knock a dollar off the price?»
The waitress agreed to the latter and breakfast went off without a hitch after that.
They’re a nice place. I love the local foods and the neat little locally made trinkets that you can buy in the front room. The atmosphere is nice. My sister and I left thinking that they were nice for a place that hadn’t been open very long so I’m surprised to see that they’ve been open for some months. They felt a little like they hadn’t really finished putting themselves together yet.

There are good sandwiches and then there are magical sandwiches.
Good sandwiches are solid and dependable and tasty. When you find them in your lunchbox you feel a sense of comfort and satisfaction. «Hello, ham and cheese,» you think. «Nice to see you.»
Magical sandwiches, though, are something entirely different. They are surprising and fantastic and inscrutable. They are little magic tricks on bread that leave you mystified and intrigued. «How are these tomatoes tasting so good?» You ask yourself. «Is it the salt? The pepper?» You shake your head in amazement as you eat the last crumbs off of your plate.
Sprout, it is safe to say, serves magical sandwiches.
The zucchini, lettuce, tomato is incomparable. The fried veg is salty and crisp and wonderful. It is a revelation when dressed with the lettuce and tomato and whatever that creamy spread is.
The cucumber and tomato sandwich is likewise mind boggling. It kind of makes me want to cry. I have been making tomato and cucumber sandwiches for my entire life. Never have they ever tasted this good.
Magic sandwiches: like sawing a woman in half or something.
How they do it, I am not entirely sure. I am only very happy that they do.

I went here when they first opened, so maybe they’ve tweaked the menu a bit since then. I had the veggie cheese «steak» and lentil soup. Vegan breakfast sausage on a cheese-​steak sandwich didn’t really do it for me. The lentil soup was pureed/​kind of thick for my tastes.
The space, however, is awesome (local art and products for sale) and so is the veggie/​local concept. The food was good, but slightly underwhelming. Still worth going back to.

Good location with alot of street parking (Across from Crossroads coffee).
I like the funky but clean space. Good prices for healthy tasty food. Their online menu is up to date. Had the corn cakes with chorizo.
Not 5 stars because the food isn’t super awesome fantastic, but pretty darn good. Happy to support this local business.

I stopped by Sprout today when I was in the area and hungry. The chalkboard menu had brunch items advertised, but I was in the mood for lunch and asked what they had. The very friendly guy at the counter told me about three sandwiches, all of which sounded delish. I went for the eggplant BLT.
If you go here you order at the counter, then sit and your food is brought out. My sandwich was soooo good. Local Billy Bread was topped with garlic aoili, thinly sliced, fried eggplant, crisp bacon, greens and fresh, juicy tomatoes. The size was just right and there was just the right amount of each ingredient. The sandwich was indulgent and full of flavor without seeming huge or overwhelming. It came with greens topped with a balsamic vinaigrette. All in all it was the perfect satisfying lunch.
After you eat you pay your bill at the front counter. Before I left, I took a few seconds to browse the selection of local goods for sale. There were necklaces made from old keys, Always Midnight Richmond-​made hair accessories, handmade cards and other cool stuff. I ended up buying two cool handmade ceramic glasses for $ 10 each. There’s also a bit of local produce for sale.
My sandwich was only $ 8, what a great deal! I can’t wait to go back and try more of Sprout’s yummy food.

I visited Sprout for brunch on a Saturday afternoon.
When i walked in, I was very impressed — the freshly painted walls and home-​made booths give the place a crisp, fresh, and relaxing feel.
I was greated with a friendly smile and directed to check out the menu, completely comprised of fresh, organic, LOCAL ingredients.
Yes, I said it – everything at Sprout is made from food grown in Virginia. How sweet is that?
Well, if you can believe it, it gets even sweeter, because the dishes are delicious.
I had challah french toast with fresh berries. It was the perfect portion of toast with the perfect portion of syrup on the side. I originally ordered the french toast thinking that I would be splurging (in terms of taking a blind eye to my usual waistline-​friendly method of decision making). After eating the french toast I felt awesome — it was absolutely tasty, and I had eaten just the right amount of nutrient-​packed berries & fresh french toast which are so sweet on their own that you barely need syrup at all.
My friend ordered the sausage fritatta, and since I drooled over it from across the table, and the fact that she cleaned her plate I would venture to say that it was just as tasty.
They also sell some jewelry and artwork from local artists, as well as some of the fresh local produce which they use in their dishes.
Definitely give Sprout a visit. You’ll feel awesome when you leave, not only because your meal was delicious, but because you just supported so many local Virginia businesses in the process.
I’m definitely going back for more!