Overall Rating: 7.9/10
Food quality: 7/10
Diversity of Menu Items: 6/10
Accessibility (gluten free, vegan, allergies, etc.): 10/10
Location (relative to campus): 9/10
Atmosphere: 7.5/10
Price: $$ (out of $-$$$$)
For more on the meaning of price scale, please see this website.
Qualitative Review
Elephant and Vine, one of the newest restaurants in Downtown Evanston, uniquely offers only vegan food. While their menu is somewhat limited to sandwich and salad/bowl options, they are committed to providing tasty items to vegan and non-vegan people alike. They are also very accommodating about providing allergen-friendly and gluten-free options. Thus, I gave the restaurant a 6/10 for menu options and a high accessibility rating of 10/10.
The food itself is tasty across the board. While the burgers are flavorful and actually taste like real meat, some of the other imitation meat options, especially the “chik’n,” can be a bit off-putting, thanks to their texture. Given the lack of salad places in Evanston, I love how Elephant and Vine’s menu offers extensive, unique salad choices. My personal favorite is the Kale “Chik’n” Caesar, but I am also looking forward to trying the Niçoisa salad. Overall, I gave the food quality a 7/10.
Elephant and Vine is located just south of campus, right next to Chipotle and down from the main Sherman strip. It might be a bit of a trek for North campus students, but overall, it is very convient. Elephant and Vine thus earned a 9/10 for location. The atmosphere is casual and similar to Pono Ono for those familiar with Evanston restaurants. Patrons can easily take their food to go, and there are also some limited seating options. However, it would be difficult to sit with more than two people. I thus gave the atmosphere a rating of 7.5/10.
Last but certainly not least: the price. The majority of the Elephant and Vine burgers cost $11.95, and the cheapest cost $10.95. Standard hamburgers at other comparable restaurants, such as Epic Burger or Edzo’s Burger Shop, cost $7.99 and $5.75 respectively. Elephant and Vine’s salads cost between $11.95-$13.95, whereas both Stacked and Folded and Frida’s salads are at least a few dollars more expensive. Thus, Elephant and Vine is actually reasonably priced, especially for a vegan restaurant. Therefore, I gave Elephant and Vine a price rating of $$.
Overall, Elephant and Vine is a great addition to the Evanston restaurant scene as it uniquely offers quick, easy and tasty vegan food; perfect for college kids and adventurous adults alike! Averaging all the scores (besides price) resulted in an overall rating of 7.9/10 for Elephant and Vine.