Sage Regenerative Kitchen & Brewery

Just as you walk or drive up you are treated to a spectacular sight of lights and intrigue as the corner spot is about to become your favorite spot.

The decor reminds me of a quaint little restaurant you'd find in a small village somewhere with rustic walls of sheet metal and plants adorning each wall.

The food though is the major star, starting with the esquité we devoured immediately even the spices in it tried to slow us down.
For my girlfriend's main she had the Butternut Squash Ravioli which she thoroughly loved and ate with expedience. I ordered the Eggplant Arrabiata that was over a very large portion of spaghetti with a spicy tomato sauce that was seriously one of my favorite dishes I've ever had, spicy enough to slow you down but not enough to stop completely woofing this dish down.

Would definitely return to try more dishes and some vegan ice cream!

Absolutely Disgusted: Beetle in My Meal and Zero Concern from Staff!

I've been a patron of Sage Bistro in Echo Park for several years, but after a recent visit, I'm heartbroken to say I will never be returning. My experience was downright mortifying. I found a beetle in my macaroni, and when I brought this to the attention of our waitress, her response was dismissive and unapologetic, simply stating "everything is natural here" as if that explained the lack of hygiene. The lack of customer service and appropriate response to such a serious issue was appalling. This is not the quality or experience I expect from any establishment, let alone one I've frequented for years. I am extremely disappointed and will be advising friends and family to steer clear. Absolutely awful.

We were there on Sunday night and the food was amazing as always.... I had a Hawaiian burger and fries, and a great cocktail at the bar. My partner also has a sandwich and salad, with a cocktail. The service from the server and bartender were great as usual. HOWEVER, they announced today, on earth day no less, that they are going to start selling dead animals and dairy in a desperate attempt to make even more money. They are turning their backs on the animals and it's both sad and such a tragedy. Guess what the world doesn't need more of? Cruelty for profit.

It was one of my very favorite places to eat but I'll never return.

RIP Sage "kind", "vegan" bistro.

Got some beers and food from this all vegan Echo Park brewery. It may be pretty expensive but it's not crazy for around here. Sage is a long time favorite for hip plant based drinking and eating with a lot of stuff on the menu. A whole lot to choose from. The good thing is no need to ask questions about if there's animal products.

At dinner we recently came. It's a pretty chill place with a quiet classiness to it. This is still pretty casual though. In the front is the counter you can get to go orders from. They have beers to go as well as food and pastries. Behind this is the bar and dining area. The beers are pretty expensive even for a craft brewery, which limited us to only getting like a couple of these. It's about $9 for a pint. The Wet Hopped American Summer Blonde is a golden blonde ale obviously, with a bit of a lemony taste. As for the food it was also expensive but not crazy for around here. It's about $19 for an entree, and one we got was the Spicy Tempeh Ramen. Hot stuff made with a spicy miso broth. This also had blackened tempeh, cilantro, corn, edamame, kale, nori, pickled cabbage, and tempura jalapeños.

Has a lot of great stuff from the beers to the food. It's pricy but not that bad for around here to be honest. The whole menu is okay for vegans and vegetarians.

Always a favorite, I love coming here for the good food and friendly staff. My husband is obsessed with the cauliflower wings (all of them), and the butternut squash ravioli is my go-to. Do yourself a favor and try this place. There's so many options!

Yikes
THIS IS FOR PASADENA.
BUT I BET SOME OF THE GOOD RECIPES ARE THE SAME IN HOLLYWOOD...


I've reviewed Sage before. Love it love the people. Love the upscale casual vibe BUT let's get into this proper:

PARKING/LOCATION (5 STARS)
This restaurant is in a fantastic location. They validate parking if you're in the right lot. I can never remember which one, but there's plenty of metered street parking around too.
Inside you'll find benches and booths. A little more comfortable outside on the patio, unless it's raining or cold. Heaters on the patio are pretty good.

SERVICE (5 STARS)
Excellent. Whether it's busy or slow, staff allays has time to take care of diners.

FOOD

MAC AND CHEESE SHAREABLE (5 STARS)
This was totally on my hit list.
GF and NF???? How I have no idea. Noochy goodness. Tastes like wheat noodles and cheesey sauce.

BRAZILLIAN BOWL ( 2 STARS )
Meh. Ok. Not very spicy. But ticks all the boxes for NF GF SF friends. They've had better.

SPICY BUFFALO BURGER ( 3.5 STARS )
They can make a GF VERSION on request (+ bonus .5 stars but really that speaks to how freakin' awesome the staff is)
The sauce is great. The cauliflower is cooked well, but it's just not a great sandwich. If you love a Gobi Sandwich, but you want buffalo sauce on it, maybe it's for you. French fries were good.

CALI AVOCADO PESTO BURGER (3 STARS)
You've made better tempeh burgers with a slab of Trader Joe's tempeh and stuff in your fridge door.
Side salad is nice. Tasty house dressing.

THESE ARE GREAT OPTIONS:
Read my other review for recommendations:
MOLE BOWL
JACKFRUIT TUNA
BURRITO (either one)
'WING' PLATTER
FARMERS LASAGNE

I want to try the arrabiata at some point, but maybe that's just because of darth Vader's brother, Jeff Vader. Next time.

I love Sage so, so much. If you've never had it, I IMPLORE YOU to check it out. You won't regret it!

Sage is literally my favorite restaurant and I've been going for years. It's just consistently delicious each visit and they've never gone done in quality. And this applies to its Echo Park AND Pasadena locations, so it's a solid establishment.

Their claim to fame is undoubtedly their Buffalo cauliflower, which is featured as an appetizer by itself and as the star of a pizza, wrap, salad and now, I believe, a burger. I've had it on its own, in a salad and on the pizza. You really can't go wrong eating it in any way. The texture is crunchy and the chefs behind Sage mastered pairing it with other flavors to make it delicious, no matter what variety.

My favorite, personally is the Hot Wing Salad, which features the Buffalo cauliflower. It's really hearty and by the end of it, you're feeling left satisfied and full, even though it's just a salad

The pizza and wings alone are perfect to share with others, so I recommend getting it if you're with a group!

Love trying vegan restaurants! This one is so delicious!!! It was hard to choose something, but I git the squash ravioli, blueberry ginger kombucha, and a warm peanut butter cookie. I will be back!

On a spontaneous trip to LA, we were looking for a late night place for dinner. My cousin recommended this place so we went to check it out. Despite it being late, it was still super busy. There was definitely a vibe as you walk in, especially the dim lighting creating a moody vibe.

The service was pretty good & they seemed to have a lot of really good food options on their menu. We were really excited to get our food but unfortunately were not all that impressed. It just wasn't what we were expecting. They took a few dishes and twisted them to something else which feels like missed what we were looking for. It was good just not amazing for us. Especially for the price paying, we expected a bit more. Also, they were out of quite a few things on their menu. The cauliflower wings were good! We were not fans of the dessert unfortunately either.

Sometimes I like to try new things and other times I want to be comforted by returning to a place that is warm, familiar, and exhilarating. Sage is one of these places.

On a rainy day, we wanted to bask in the farm-to-table wholesomeness of Sage, while still eating delicious, flavorful food. This time we picked the Echo Park location because we were shopping nearby in Silverlake (an upcoming review). We lucked out and found a parking spot literally next to Sage, which made things even easier than hoped for.

I have reviewed another Sage, so I won't repeat the same superlatives I showered on that one. Let me say that this one had the identical high quality of fresh, animal-free fare while offering my favorite East Village-like grunge and hipster vibes. My photos here will convey that and you may have seen other reviews I have done about exceptional Echo Park haunts. It is my kind of neighborhood. Without being irreverent, as Saint Paul famously said (and Osho echoed two thousand years later), I can be happy in a cottage or a castle. The digs don't have to be fancy, just clean, cozy, and filled with guilt-free, delicious food. Sage ticks all the boxes.

One last point. This is a menu for people who just can't understand what vegetarians and vegans eat. So, the creators have phrased the dishes in terms carnivores can understand. When you see my photo captions, just remember, everything on this menu is vegan.

I wish there were a Sage in every part of Los Angeles, but I feel grateful that there are several just 30 minutes from me.