On a mobile device? Try our mobile site, optimized for faster browsing.
Loading...
Nature's Grill on Main Street in Ventura, CA...aka...Natural Cafe of Santa Barbara and Goleta, CA.
I have been a patron of Nature's Grill on Main Street since it opened up a few years ago, but I have been a patron of Natural Cafe for a total of 8 years. And one of the reasons is because it is just plain good & affordable. Everything on their menu is under $10.
The inside of the restaurant is always wood. All wood benches & tables, there is always a Buddah out front, lots of plants & green things. And the vibe is unmistakeably relaxed.
Nature's Grill is Delicious with a capital D! They are vegatarian & vegan friendly. Their menu is simple, accurate & makes it easy to order. The descriptions are on point.
When you order you can get a bottled beverage or just get water(which you get yourself, along w/ the utensils & napkins) and you get a number so they can serve the food to you at your table. Their food promotes sharing because they are usually big portions.
I have probably tried 80% of the food there including the vegetarian menu...and yes, the non-meat menu is VERY satisfying. I have had their portabello mushroom sandwich, its great because it is meaty in texture w/out the meat!
My favorite item on the menu BY FAR is the grill chicken cesar salad. I am absolutely IN LOVE with that salad. The dressing is a lot less in fat because instead of being a cream based dressing its a vinegarette but you don't miss the old school cesar dressing! And although I eat "healthy" portions, I can not for the life of me, eat the whole thing...so bring someone to share it with!
The other thing you should know about this resturant is that they sell pastries & sweets. Available are some vegan desserts too, so the vegans out there are not forgotten...but they tend to be much higher in price than regular pastries. Also, they have real fruit smoothies which are really, really good. I would probably have their smoothies more often but I would rather have one of their sandwiches or salads instead.
This is the perfect place to go when you want to meet up with friends, talk & catch up because they don't try to push you out the door as soon as you are done eating. Its on beautiful Main Street Ventura where there are many historic buildings and a few blocks from the Mission and a few blocks from the beach...So enjoy!
As you can probably guess by my avatar, I'm in no way a vegetarian. That doesn't mean that I'm not into trying new things. I was out and about on a beautiful Friday in Ventura and thought I'd give the place a try. I decided to go vegetarian and got the Tempeh Tacos & Veggie Juice, hoping it wouldn't shock my carnivorous system too much.
The juice was tasty albeit a bit warm. A chilled glass might have helped. The crowd was a mix of the Ventura locals and tourists. You order from the counter and the food is delivered to your table. There's nice, unobtrusive music as well.
The tacos sew pretty darned tough to eat with one's hands. I finally resorted to cutting them up and pouring the beans and rice side dish over the top. They were pretty bland as well. This was partially due to the stronger flavors in the vegetable juice, but still requiring extra salsa and hit sauce.
If one of my vegan friends wants to go to lunch, I'd happily take him or her here. I'll be at the pizza place next door.
I want to love this place. I don't. My vegetarian soul hurts.
Look, I've tried a bunch of stuff on the menu. Black Bean Enchiladas (actually, these were OK), the Natural Burger (eh), the quesadillas, salads (never EVER try the tofu dressing). Still nothing. I want to run in the back and dump salt into everything - this is the blandest food I've ever tasted.
Always packed, though.
Always fresh, delicious and wholesome. OMG did I just really say that? I don't even own Birkenstocks... but I love Nature's Grill!
I've tried the other dishes and diddnt like them at all. But I keep comming back to get the Primo Pesto, it is soo dam good. And the lemon dressing they give you for your salad? And the carrot milkshake? I don't even like carrots but god dam!
As a vegan, it's a little tough to find to restaurants that cater (pun intended) to my preferences. Luckily, Nature's Grill is one of those places- with the plus side that I can bring my non-veg*n friends along and know that they can order something that they'll enjoy.
I agree with the hummus and tofu (perfectly firm). my friends enjoy the buddha plates (?) and burritos. Some say that they lack flavor... load that shit up with Bragg's- solves the problem asap.
Lastly, cheers to making beer available to meal patrons.
I have been eating at this place for years and the food has been consistently good. Consistency can be a rare trait in the restaurant business.
Nature's Grill is a great little veggie and vegan friendly cafe, without entirely omitting meat from the menu. An even bigger plus - it doesn't even smell like patchouli oil! A health food cafe that inhabits a sense of balance and forgoes the esoteric ambiance that unfortunately often accompanies restaurants that have more than three salads and offers tofu. OK, so I am generalizing and exaggerating but perhaps you know what I mean.
Such a diverse selection of satisfying healthy eats makes Nature's grill an excellent meal option for all. Each menu item is a health conscience creation that celebrates the qualities of each ingredient in a simple yet creative manner.
With generous portions this cafe is also quite the bargain.
What to try...
- The Nachos (blue corn chips, black beans, jack cheese, avocado, some other great stuff I don't remember)
-All the salads, especially the East Beach (P.S. they are huge)
-The soups
-Chicken pita sandwich
- Carrot Milk shake (Yum!)
If you want healthy food, this is a good place to go. Or, if you want some granola ambiance, its good for that too.
The salads are huge and I recommend splitting them unless you can eat a lot of salad. The soups are usually good, but if you are not sure about a soup, they will usually give you a sample so you can decide.
I recommend the nachos grande with grilled chicken added (NOT the chicken ranchero, which I would not recommend), the Buddha burrito with grilled chicken added if you feel like more vegetables, or the turkey burger. All are sure fire bets.
It does get pretty crowded and slow at lunch during the week and sometimes on the weekend. So, if you go in and see a long line, be prepared to wait.
Healthy affordable food in a casual setting.
As a Vegetarian , Natures Grill has become one of my regular dinner spots. Most of the menu is pretty much standard fare, but done well. The Primo Pesto and Black Bean Enchiladas are both very good, and my boyfriend swears by the Chicken Enchiladas.
The atmosphere is good. It's simple and clean; the kind of place where you don't feel the need to dress up for dinner and it's not at all uncommon to see people looking through newspapers or the VC Reporter while waiting on the food.
My one gripe is that despite a well stocked fridge that includes water, juice and beer, they don't sell soda. I get that it isn't "healthy", but neither is the four cheese quesadilla, and thats still on the menu. The sparkling apple juice is pretty good though.
Great food, good portions, good prices...stuff for vegetarians, vegans and meat eaters!
I like the atmosphere. Very 'nature-ish', veggie ambiance, plenty of veggie dishes. However, lots of meat dishes too! And the food is not good at all (we had the wild salmon and veggie stir fry with tofu). Tofu tasted old, they put weird fruit sauce on the salmon, and the rice was tasteless.
Nature's Grill is always a solid standby for quick & casual no-fuss meals. I prefer to stay clear from the turkey sandwich as its typically way too dry & there's always too much of it. Also not a fan of the Falafel Pita, there's just simply no good falafel in Ventura (RIP the now burned-to-the-ground Cartwright's & their Falafel Burrito!).
However, I am a big fan of the Gobbler Burger, the Baja Chicken Burrito, and my absolute favorite that I order way too often is the Tostada Salad. My recommendation for the salad is to not accept the choice of dressing that they offer, that salad already has all the flavors it needs without being doused in a new one. If anything I just enjoy a little extra salsa. ...*Also, I love that they have Reed's Natural Ginger Ale in the fridge!
Its Vegetarian, VERY good, menu is always the same but they add "Specials" on a daily basis for lunch and dinner. (Written on the board by the door, and the register)
I ate Nature's grill every day for 3 years, mostly because I worked there anyway and I found it easy to make up dishes, which allowed me to fall in love with their menu all over again. Their atmosphere is wonderful and their waitresses are always really nice and helpful. Their food is very consistent, mostly because their cooks have been there since it opened (I think in '02 or '03) and they really care about the quality of their food.
The owner, Mark really cares for his employees as well as his customers, whenever either have suggestions he really interacts with them to make everyones experiences better. Over all, I love this place and would recommend it to anyone, vegetarian or not.
They have dishes for nonvegeterian customers, I recommend the Turkey burger; I'm confident to say they'll fall in love with it 5 out of 5 times.
My favorite dish: I came up with this one day; I had tried EVERYTHING on the menu and was experimenting with my favorite salad. Took the croutons out and added a cup of brown rice to the Nature's Caesar salad. IT DELICIOUS!!!!
Their wheat grass is grown locally by the sweetest Ojai lady, their baked goods are also made locally. For desert, I loved their huge rice crispi treats, which the waitresses sometimes come in early in the morning to make. Their cakes? I love the Chocolate Ganache!
They try to switch up their drink selection every once in a while, their freshly brewed ice tea is always good. The drink in the fridge are brought in daily, and sometimes they have Stewards Lemonade, which is my favorite! They'll always have imported beers, which change every once in a while, and always feel free to recommend or suggest new beers, the girls (waitresses) will most likely talk to the owner and make it happen. Or make a note to him on a napkin, he loves costumer feedback!
Nice little find on Main Street. Food is very fresh -- tomatoes in the turkey sandwich were divine. But if you've eaten at the now-defunct The Source on Sunset or also defunct (detect a theme?) Good Earth restaurant chain, you know the menu is pretty much a throwback to 1970 health food. Sprouts, really? Who eats those anymore? But that being said, quality is excellent. The pea soup is divine, even though someone in the kitchen was too lazy to chop the onion fine. The turkey was excellent. The salsa and blue corn chips rock. The tempeh tacos - not great, and so glad that wasn't my order. Vegetarian food has come a looooong way, though, in the last 40 years -- Nature's Grill needs to get the memo, because with a few updates this place would knock my socks off.
Cool points for being nestled in downtown Main street. This place draws the right crowd and rewards them with delicious choices of organically prepared entrees. I chose simple and like many places I rate creativity by how well their nachos are made. Nature's Grill scores high, using blue corn tortillas with fresh guacamole, cheeses, olives, fresh pico de gallo, sour cream and frijoles negro. I sampled the Buttermilk Squash soup with a honey oat roll, which was tasty. Try the shakes, they're made fresh to order with choice berries and fruit! I can't wait to come back.
They have a large menu with several vegetarian options. I got the falafel pita. It would have been very good if everything was mixed together, however, they put in the sauce and hummus, then then carrots, then the sprouts, then about 4 hunks of falafe (see my uploaded picture)l. So the flavors didn't mix together, I could have eaten everything separately. My girlfriend got the chili, which tasted fine, but kind of bland.
Great organic and vegetarian options. Amazing shakes and wheat grass shots. I love their huge salads with tasty and healthy homemade dressings.
It's so simple, I don't know why we don't just make this sandwich at home, but my wife was so happy to find that Nature's Grill makes an avocado, tomato, sprouts, shredded cheddar cheese sandwich just like we used to get at one of our favorite Tacoma, Washington eateries The Antique Sandwich Company (http://www.yelp.com/bi...). Like I said, it's so simple, but when done right, it's so satisfying and will keep us coming back.
And personally, I think their turkey burger is one of the best burgers in town and the last time we ate there I had the Primo Pesto Pasta and it was very good. I don't always want a super simple sandwich so it's good to have other options and with Nature's Grill, there are a ton of options. It works out perfectly when one person wants some simple lunch-y food and the other wants a more complex entree.
It's Nature's Grill, not Natural Cafe, as I often hear it's called (as it apparently was called Nature's Cafe once upon a time). As the name suggests, it's an establishment that specializes in natural and "health" food. You enter through the front on Main St. and you're greeted by a happy Buddha with a hole in his tummy so you can pick up a menu. They have a pretty great selection of food from sandwiches, wraps, nachos and the like, and all have the natural, healthful spin on it (lots of cheese isn't so bad, right?). They also have a great selection of beverages, including beer (which is made from wheat, and is natural, right?).
Service is quick and friendly. You order at the counter, and you take your number on a stand, sit down in a section of somewhat eclectic seating, and in time, you get your food. Last time I was here I got a black bean wrap with some other goodness inside, I forgot. What I do remember is that it wasn't really a wrap, as they filled the thing so much, that it was more like a giant soft taco that I couldn't pick up because the spinach wrap was so thin and flimsy it would have just fallen apart. It was just as tasty as I expected even having to eat it with fork and knife, as most of the food I've had here is.
It's definitely a place to consider to go when you're roaming around Main St., and especially a spot to go to when you're planning on catching a show around the corner at the Majestic Ventura Theatre.
So we drove all the way from West LA to Ventura (in traffic, argh!) for the Morrissey concert. We had a couple of hours to spare and we thought why not visit the vicinity of the Ventura Theater. We found a couple of Thai food restaurants, a few pubs, a cinema all located in a compact little town.
One of the places that drew us in was this cafe. If I recall correctly, the name was printed as Nature's Grill on the window. You order like you would in a fast-food restaurant. and you grab a number for them to serve you.
I ordered the roasted turkey sandwich and my wife went for primo pesto pasta. The sandwich bread is laced with dijon mustard and garlic mayo. A few layers of freshly sliced turkey breast are packed within along the usual lettuce, tomato and sprouts. Oh and freshly made blue corn chips and salsa. I thought to myself what's so special anyway? One can get similar sandwiches in West LA.
One bite into it and I love it. Well...to be honest the trick to a delicious sandwich is freshness. But it's the price that took me away. For a sandwich this good, I spent a whooping...$6.25. That is cheap compared to those offered in West LA! And I couldn't even finish the chips.
The pasta dish was quite a star as well. Made with homemade pesto sauce and feta cheese. Came with a slice of garlic bread and a bowl of salad. And no funny business in the salad bowl. When I said funny biz, I meant greens that turned brown or the presence of soil or similar particles. Greens were fresh fresh fresh!!
In all, we spent less than $15 and we were energized for the concert.
Since you are the grill of nature, tell me, is your tahini made of the joyful tears of the lord? It's that good.
It used to be part of the Natural Cafe group, so the menu is very similar. I found the food similar, but the ambience not as nice as the other similar places in Westlake, Newbury Park and Santa Barbara. Not sure if I would come back here.
Pro's : great albacore melt. excellent nachos. definitely a great spot to grab a solid whole food lunch or dinner.
Con's: tempeh tacos are bland and 'meh'. House Ice-Tea is overbrewed.
Nice utilitarian "health food" restaurant. I've certainly had better but this place is charming, clean and serves good sized portions.
They could stand to swap out Veganaise for the mayo and make some other such changes to make the food a little healthier or low calorie. It's kind of like a 1970's idea of health food, reminiscent of The Good Earth, they even have squaw bread -- don't think I've seen squaw bread since The Good Earth went out of biz. All sandwiches come with fried tortilla chips. I'd rather have some Asian slaw, salad or fruit on the side as an option, or even grilled potatoes.
They have unlimited filtered water and lemon slices for customers. Very nice.
Again, the food is good but a little dated in concept. Natural and health food has progressed a lot in the last 30 years and they could benefit from some "modernization" of the menu.
Best for lunch.
Good falafels, salads and nice people watching.
One of my Favorite spots in Ventura!
Great food for the health conscious, inexpensive.
The food is good of course, but I always tell myself that I can replicate the same meals at home- but I'm sometimes too lazy to go out to buy the right groceries, when I live with some not so healthy eaters. The place is always busy and eating here always gives me a nudge that I could be eating healthier on a daily basis. It's a great place to meet a few close friends downtown for lunch. Or perhaps impress your date that you love healthy food as the next hippie in Ventura, and not spend a lot of dough!
Blue corn chips! whoohoo! This place was recommended by a friend (thanks Ballow!) and it was delicious. I had the chicken tacos and they were jam-packed with goodness. My boyfriend had a chicken stuffed backed potato and our friend had an awesome tuna sandwhich. Everything was fresh and tasted great. Cute atmosphere too, right downtown and very Ventura. Very tasty, I'll be back.
The Food is always delicious, I've ordered just about the entire vegetarian menu and loved everything The only thing is i feel like the beans and rice don't have much of a flavor. The staff is very friendly, polite and prompt. It may be a little expensive but i would rather pay alot for good healthy food. They also have a great menu for meat eaters as well.
This is my favorite place to eat on Main Street. Their food is good and consistently so. I like the grilled vegetable sandwich, the turkey burger, and their daily soup specials. The best thing about this place is the staff, they are super nice.
This is the kind of place I wish I could eat at every day. Their food is unpretentious and healthy. I rarely stray from my Old Town Salad...but when I do decide to live dangerously and try something new I am never disappointed. Their sauteed tofu is absolutely addictive.
This is my favorite place to go when I'm downtown. Good-sized menu, huge portions, and reasonable prices. Everything I've tried has been wonderful. The halibut tacos are awesome! They make wonderful smoothies too. I could eat here every day!
Ah, a restaurant that caters to vegetarians. I love it!
This is one of my favs! Everything is delicious every time. I luv the Old Town Salad withChicken and Ranch. Yum.
Ojai, CA
Category: Restaurants
Oxnard, CA
Category: Chinese
Ventura, CA
Category: Bakeries
Ventura, CA
Category: Bakeries
Ventura, CA
Category: Vegan
Some of my favorite dining destinations in the…
Places it is particularly easy or yummy to be…
Some of my favorite dining destinations in the…
