Making that run up and down Highway One between boyfriend and school, between San Luis Obispo and Sonoma County, I used to stop at the Saturn Cafe in Santa Cruz from time to time. I remember it being known for its lentil soup, but it was also one of the only vegetarian pit stops even in the hippie heyday.
Berkeley has had a Saturn Cafe for quite some time. Having never been to the Berkeley version until now seems a little silly, even though it’s within walking distance of my neighborhood and even though I’ve been wanting a vegetarian restaurant within walking distance for a long long time. I guess it hasn’t been on my radar because I think of it as a Santa Cruz institution of sorts.
I’m going to recommend it on reputation alone – since I only had a basket of fries, which were excellent, by the way. Well maybe not on reputation alone as it is one of the few late night restaurants in town, being open until midnight, so you can hit it up after a movie or a night at the Berkeley Rep.
Saturn Cafe
2175 Allston Way @ Oxford
Berkeley, California
And the original, well not the actual original, because the original was on Highway One, it moved down to Laurel years ago …
145 Laurel Street
Santa Cruz, CA 95060
Bah! The Berkeley location closed this summer!
The original Saturn cafe is still open in Santa Cruz and is as popular as ever.