Clover Food Lab - KND

Reviews 8

CH

Christian Witte

Let me start off by saying the nice things. Im a carnivore (and I enjoy it), but this places food is *fantastic*! Texture, flavor, aroma, portion-size -- its all great. Ive had good vegetarian food before, but never this good. The Kendall location has a mural documenting their ovens certification journey, and I could probably write something of equal length praising the pita bread that they produce with it. Plus, all of the workers are super-friendly, and it seems like theyre well-treated. So why the one-star review? The queue-ing system... it sucks. Like really, really hard. Like, its loud, confusing, and during a lunch rush, there are always more people waiting (to either order, or pick up the food) than there is room for them. Still, this is eminently excusable if two things hold true: 1. your food is good (it is) and 2. the system works (it doesnt). I made my way to the front, ordered a sandwich, then proceeded to wait. The level of noise can make it difficult to hear ones name called, but Id experienced that before, and knew to keep my ears peeled. And so I waited some more. By this point, the people who were behind me in line had left with their meals. Thats fine, maybe my sandwich takes longer to prepare (Ive worked in food service, I know how things go). And so I waited a little longer. After another few sandwiches and orders of fries come out (none with my name), I realized that I had coincidentally sent a text immediately after ordering, so I checked the timestamp. Almost 20 minutes ago. Thats fine, wait a little longer, patience is a virtue. When 30 minutes hit and no sandwich was forthcoming, Id had enough. In keeping with the other great things about this place, the employee was super-friendly -- she gave me a refund, and the only question she asked was that if she could get a sandwich out to me right away, would I take it (I declined)? She even apologized, said the next sandwich was on the house, and acknowledged that sometimes people grab things that arent theirs. Now, some of you might feel that this 1-star rating is a little harsh -- after all, when they realized their mistake, they offered me a free sandwich! But hear me out: 1. They didnt realize their mistake, I was forced to remind them of it 2. The whole purpose of a restaurant is to give people food. I dont care how nice a person you are, or how good a cook you are -- if you cant actually get the food into the peoples hands, youve failed. Spectacularly. 3. I saw the potential for problems of this class within five minutes of walking through the front door; I took steps to "play ball" with their system and do my part to participate; I still ended up waiting over thirty minutes for something that they said would take three. I really miss this place, Id love to come back. Its not going to happen unless they unfuck their queues.

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YU

Yu-Pu Wang

The sandwiches are creative and affordable while other sides are a bit overpriced. One thing to be particularly aware of, though, is that the pita bread they use for their sandwiches seem to have mediocre quality control. You know when they try to put so much stuff in those pita breads, they really need to have a better and stricter SOP for them to ensure pleasurable eating experiences. While no sandwich is absolutely foolproof, Clovers sandwiches tend to fall apart more often than desired. It is very rare to be able to finish an entire sandwich without any structural failures. Sometimes it just started leaking on its own. Sometimes small parts of the bread broke off. This morning I was out of luck and an entire side of my chickpea fritter sandwich collapsed before I barely started eating it, spreading fillings all over the place on the table. Fortunately, had already prepared for the worst, I already lined the landing site with several sheets of napkins so I could save most of my sandwich. Bottom line, if you dont mind getting extremely messy, go for it. Otherwise, whenever you order a sandwich, grab a few napkins and a fork really quick and be prepare for surprises!

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AD

Adam Lasnik

Absolutely delighted by my experience and this companys laser focus on customer satisfaction, employee well-being, and environmental sustainability. - I was greeted swiftly by a friendly and very knowledgeable employee. - My chickpea sandwich, rosemary fries, and rhubarb cooler were delicious! - After eating, I felt satisfied and energized, not bloated. - Im not a vegetarian by a longshot and was skeptical Id like this place, and was really surprised! What really impressed me, though, was the fact that this restaurant pays their employees a fair, living wage rather than making them dependent upon unpredictable and discriminatory tips, and in fact tips are refused. Given this, make sure you mentally add a 20% discount to the prices you see, and I think youll agree with me that the prices are then very reasonable for the quality of locally-grown, mostly organic, and delicious food you get. Id say that companies like this really deserve our support, but more importantly, Clover Food Lab has EARNED my support. Whenever Im in town, Ill be sure to eat at one of their locations, and I encourage you to give em a try!

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KL

KLARA Bell

Today you get 2 stars from me. Went into Kendall and ordered Shitake Mushroom platter. Mushrooms were cold. Compared to other visits the portion was tiny. Ive never been displeased with my food there before but today was just awful. Usually I wait around 10 minutes for my food so I should have known something wasnt right when my name was called 2 minutes later. 12 dollars is no small price for a miserable eating experience. Sorry Clover for the review but you deserved that today. Update Went back today and spoke with Joey B. about my last experience and my previous review. Needless to say he was amazing. I received my meal and it was as delicious as Im used to. Thank you Joey for making me feel that your customers are important and you dont want us leaving unhappy.

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LE

Lee Movic

Clover earns high marks for their commitment to environmental sustainability (everything is compostable), quality sourced ingredients, and vegan/vegetarian options. This location, convenient to the Kendall Red Line stop offers 2 beers on draught, along with the normal menu of pita-style sandwiches and nouveau Mediterranean-American plates. It can get quite busy during lunch and after-work hours, but the staff moves quickly. They are also a pick-up location for a local farm-share. The Sharan (pronounced Sha-RON) was a new spicy treat. They sometimes hold events here as well!

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JY

Jyoti Shankar

A casual eatery with a seasonally and internationally-inspired vegetarian options, Clover is pretty interesting. However, its food creations can be a hit or a miss and if you eat here often, feels expensive relative to other similar places in the area. Lunchtime crowds can get chaotic and if you miss your name being called out, your order gets set out on the counter and turns soggy and cold. Especially not ideal if youve ordered their Rosemary fries.

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MA

Martin Colwell

Im not even remotely vegan but I love this place. Every time I go theyre serving a completely different selection of salads so its always new and interesting. Practically everything they make is a new and usually delicious experience for me. They frequently show me that some things Ive always hated actually can be prepared deliciously. I always get the mezze platter which is a selection of 4 salads and a side of surprisingly tasty humas.

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TI

Tiziana Buddle

Vegetables only folks and its still dam good! So far ive only had the fries but thats enough to make me want to try more off their constantly changing menu. The smells are fresh and heavenly the moment you enter. They make their own soda (cool) and im not a coffee drinker but its quite obvious its not made in bulk but personalized for you. I look forward to trying more off their vegetarian options. Did i just say that outloud???

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