Leaf

So we had a order for my office we placed the order at around 1030 am had to call 3 times to figure out where the food was or when it would be ready and keep in mind we got hung up on on the first call them tried to tell us we wanted our order at 5 pm, like are you serious. I understand you are a new restaurant but get it together after getting the food hours later finally almost every order was messed up, there are many ways to run into the ground in the food biz and poor service and half quality food is a sure shot way to fall fast so if that’s your intent well your doing a great job I it’s not it’s time to get it together. I was really excited to try this place, now glad for it to be over and would not recommend I think with half average cooking skills you can whip up a better salad from heb it will save you money and about 4 hours of your time.

I came here for lunch with my coworkers and was surprised to see the line going all the way outside. After about 15 mins wait when i did order, I noticed that most of the employees behind the bar were hustling. They were really being pushed with the afternoon rush. Then when it was my turn to place the order, I noticed that most of the veggies were all over the place on the counter and then worst thing I could think of happened: I noticed that the person serving my Salad was not wearing gloves and was picking veggies with bare hand. This was a huge deal breaker for me since he was freely moving in and out of the bar.
Salad did taste great and the portion was good too but I was clearly not very satisfied with the overall experience. I am going to give them one more chance to see if the service has improved and will update this review accordingly. For now I would say if you can afford healthy and tasty $ 15 salads, this is the place for you right in the heart of downtown.

Today I ordered a custom salad — steak, romaine, blue cheese, mushrooms, cherry tomatoes, egg, cucumber and corn. I called it in and had a 45 minute wait, which I was ok with. But THE CORN — it tasted horrible, in fact it ruined the whole salad, it must’ve been sitting in garlic for days — or it was bad. After a few fork fulls, I gave up and threw the salad out. SO DO NOT PUT THE CORN ON ANY SALAD.

It was my first time here and to keep it simple, it was like a salad bar «chipotle» style. You would first choose your base salad from the salad wall and as they make it you can add in whatever else you like from the salad bar.
It is an upgraded, tasty salad bowl but pricey. I had the cesar chavez salad bowl. They do give you a lot but salad is a salad.
I went on a Saturday for lunch and it was really quiet and clean. They don’t have separate parking and downtown can get busy. I can’t say much about customer service. I just don’t know if it would be worth to pay that much for a salad bowl again.

Great salads, the quality is unbelievable when you can get one. Line is out the door and they decide to do carry out orders when its convenient for them. I don’t have time during work to spend 45 minutes in a line for lunch, I can wait an hour then go pick it up but to wait in line is just not possible.

Ate here for a business meeting and thoroughly enjoyed it. Would highly recommend this place if you’re into salad. Great options and easy to order.

Went for a Monday lunch and came away maintaining our belief that Austin severely lacks top-​notch salad places. The veggie selection was OK, but there weren’t that many dressings to pick from. Also, why is the cheese at the far end of the bar after you’ve already picked your 6 items (unless they’re coercing you into paying extra)?? Portions were large, but so was the price. Would not recommend or go again.

This place has amazing salads, probably one of the best in Austin. However, certain people who work there make it not worth the trip. I’ve had many bad experiences with servers at Leaf, but today may have taken the cake. I ordered one salad and asked for it to be split into two to-​go containers. The server was so rude throughout, saying things like «I’m doing a lot of work for you, and you don’t appreciate anything» and «I’ll never be doing this for you again» after we had already said thank you. I asked for a very basic thing and got berated. My friend who was with me couldn’t even look up she felt so uncomfortable. Safe to say we won’t be going back there for a while even though the salads are great. Based on many other bad reviews I’m seeing on Unilocal due to customer service, I’d say the owners to this place need to make a change.

The new spot is great. I arrived close to 2:00 so there was not a line. The owners must have gotten over their new space jitters because I got great service. I love the Italian chopped salad. Portions are huge and expect to pay $ 13 for your meal.

Fresh, fast delicious salads! I was a big fan, and would highly recommend the margarita salad (basil, arugula, mozzarella, pine nuts, olives, olive oil) with chicken.

I’m not going to complain about the line because that’s warranted in downtown Austin at lunch time. The lady who is either the manager or owner is super rude and acted as if I was inconveniencing her the entire time. My bad lady. Didn’t mean to ruin your day. Probably won’t come back. Bad experience after bad experience.

Hands down best salad bar in town or anywhere really — we live in both Austin & San Francisco and can NEVER find a solid salad bar. They have allll the right topping options and DRESSINGS! One of my biggest qualms with salads everywhere you go is how limited or lacking the dressing options usually are — they have such a variety that you’ll prob wind up asking for multiple. The spicy ranch & spicy caesar are bomb btw! Been waiting for them to open this new spot for awhile. Must say, it was frustrating dealing with the closure of the old location bc they had very minimal to no information on the close & new opening so we just kept check backing over a period of months. They could have handled that better but we were happy to be back!

I really enjoyed my salad (strawberry fields) and felt like it was very filling. I was anticipating poor service and was pleasantly surprised when it was excellent and friendly service. It was on the slower side, maybe it gets hectic when there is a long line.

I am a small business owner and I have to say that the owners of this place deserve zero success and zero customers. The quality of a product is irrelevant when your attitude towards customers is combative, ungrateful and demeaning.
My encounter with Leaf’s owner today was the most shocking and negative display of customer service I’ve ever encountered in Austin. Judging by the other reviews, he has a knack for saying awful things to customers and being completely clueless about how to treat people who spend their money at your business.
I have no respect for this business or its owner. There are far too many other owners who are busting their asses to do right by their customers to give this owner a dollar.
If you’re reading this and debating a visit, consider where your money is going. You have the opportunity to keep cash from going to someone who does not deserve it.

I am a small business owner and I have to say that the owners of this place deserve zero success and zero customers. The quality of a product is irrelevant when your attitude towards customers is combative, ungrateful and demeaning.
My encounter with Leaf’s owner today was the major shocking and negative display of customer service I’ve ever encountered in Austin. Judging by the other reviews, he has a knack for saying awful things to customers and being completely clueless about how to treat people who spend their money at your business.
I have no respect for this business or its owner. There are far too many other owners who are busting their asses to do right by their customers to give this owner a dollar.
If you’re reading this and debating a visit, consider where your money is going. You have the opportunity to keep cash from going to someone who does not deserve it.

They charged me $ 2 for extra dressing because «of the containers.» Lol on a salad that is already $ 12 I can’t get extra dressing? Won’t be coming here again.

I don’t see why the Leaf has the reviews it has. I understand that line can get hectic but tell whose line is outside it’s doors during lunch time in downtown Austin. The Leaf was far more than what I expected. I knew it was going to be a bit pricey, but we are talking about a salad shop in downtown Austin. Anyways, the food was great! I got the El Jefe salad and it was everything i hoped for. the flavors were good all around. The portions are really big. I got full off one bowl. And I can EAT! Lol. But it’s only been the 4^th week open so I’m sure all the wrinkles in the cloth will iron out.

Finding a tasty salad in Texas is no small task, but Leaf absolutely fulfilled our cravings. And they had amazing customer service to boot. We came in a bit after closing, but the manager recognized we had traveled a little and went out of his way to make our salads despite the entire service line already being cleaned up and put away. Then when we went to pay he gave us the salads for free because he had already closed out the register!
And the salads were perfect. We’ve been searching for a great salad in a state that worships fried food and barbecue and were unsuccessful until now. Our salads had great fresh lettuce and ample toppings and left both me and my wife very satisfied.
We will definitely return to Leaf when we’re in Austin. Their new location is really cool and convenient. Great salads and great customer service are a combination we’d recommend to anyone.

Dudes, seriously. Get your sh*t together. Your (first) website provides two things: menu and order form. 1. You have to fax your order then call to confirm. It’s 2016 people. I can order anything I want from Favor… from an app. on my phone. 2. You don’t answer the phone when I do call. 3. When I show up, you are rude about the fact that your fax machine is accepting orders and you’ve provided an order form on your site yet you are not accepting fax orders?! 4. You didn’t even offer to take my order; you just sent me out the door unhappy. 5. My business partners are sitting in a lunch meeting with no food. People remember that. 6. Your line is out the door at 11am and takes 45 minutes to get through. Should I eat it on my walk back to the office? PS– Delivery services can get food to me from anywhere in Austin in less than 45 minutes. 7. Maybe that is why you were so rude. You don’t give a crap about your customers. I’ve gone ahead and pulled your restaurant from our list of places to order from at the office. We cater lunch almost every day. All you had to do was apologize genuinely. Now you’ve lost a lot of business. 8. Your second website says WE DELIVER DOWNTOWN. In all caps on the first page. If you’re not accepting fax orders, I’m guessing you aren’t delivering either. 9. Your last location closed at 430pm. Right when I would love to pick up a salad on my way home. You’re also missing out on loads of business there. 10. This is really sad. You have a great concept and are finally in a prime location and everyone hates you. If I were your investor, I’d walk away…
This experience was yesterday and apparently they have received such terrible feedback that they actually updated their website today to remove the delivery statement and say their services are currently limited. Golf clap.

Regarding the salads, I personally think they are great. In my experience the items have always been fresh and I love their «make your own» options. The dressings are fantastic.
They are on the pricier side (I’m paying around $ 15 – 16 for mine), but the portions are really big and easily feed 2 people.
My experiences with service have been just fine. There is one staff member that can get a little cantankerous, but everyone else is friendly and fast. It’s true lines can get quite long during lunch hour (this has always been the case even at the old location) and I agree they need to hire more staff, but overall, this is one of my favorite go-​to healthy spots that’s really convenient for us downtown workers.

I love Leaf. And I really love that its new location is even closer to my office. But PLEASE hire more staff and/​or speed up the salad assembly process. Waiting 45 minutes in line for a to-​go salad at 11am just isn’t something that I can mentally manage. I shudder to think how long it would take if I went at 12:30.

Save yourself the trip. Or at least if you are walking in this direction go across the street to the Athenian for a fresher, bigger and tastier salad.
If the line is to the door, leave. It is a 45 minute wait to get your salad. Unless of course you want to wait 45 minutes.
They don’t seem to answer the phone there. I have faxed in an order as they say to and I am calling to confirm, as they say to on their website. I am writing this review as I trying to confirm. I am now on my 3^rd call with no answer.
The lettuce wasn’t fresh. I was picking out brown lettuce. Not just one or two pieces. But 10 or 15 pieces.
I also heard about this supposed free salad. I wonder if that was just a rumor? If so I hope the owners come on here and correct the misconception because it’s clearly damaging their reputation.

I have to say sissies please do not move to Austin, Austinites can’t stand your whining about stupid stuff. If you have no concept of business don’t tattletale about a restaurant on Unilocal.This restaurant is downtown so it is going to be pricey. Most of us who work downtown are used to spending money when we go out to lunch and many bring lunch most of the time for this very reason. Leaf is a great concept and the food is always fresh and delicious. The line can get long because they are making your fricken salad on the go, from scratch, get it. It is not prepackaged in a plastic bowl like what you can easily get from HEB. If that is what you prefer do that and don’t leave a negative comment about Leaf on this site. They do make the salads to go, so if you can’t eat that big of a salad take the rest home and eat it for dinner, and please never complain about not getting something for free seriously. Free is an absolute luxury and should never be expected. The employees are always friendly and service oriented. Sometimes you reap what you sow. The new location is beautiful. Thanks Leaf. I will come back often.

Great salad place for men
I love the concept of Leaf: a healthy, nutritious lunch location. So when my mom texted me about Leaf moving to a location within walking distance from my work, I put down my HEB pre-​mixed salad package and met up with her for lunch.
Pros
The salads are great
Cons
The salads are man-​sized and expensive
After adding green onions to my salad and leaving a $ 1 tip, my salad was almost $ 13 and more than I could eat in one sitting, yet not quit enough to split with a friend. I hate food waste, and I won’t contribute to it.
If Leaf could just tweak their business model, much like Pei Wei did by offering a slightly smaller portion (about ²⁄₃ the size) vs the regular portion I would eat there everyday.
But sadly, right now, they’re a salad joint that only caters to men.

Terrible service from who seem to be the owners, a woman and man who wear glasses. very snarky! Also told people that salads were complimentary for first 2 days to get business but started charging without having the common courtesy to let the patrons who were standing in line know. They even took the time to argue about a till being open, which was not supposed to be open while i was paying for my food and made me feel very uncomfortable. So unprofessional!

Today’s experience was horrible. They marketed a free salad today and took it back without publicizing, plus the owner was very rude. Not worth going to this place for an average salad.

I’ve heard rumors of poor customer service from Leaf employees prior to today’s visit and got to experience this first hand today. Somewhere, it got lost in translation over the past 24 hours on their second day opened at their new location that salads would be free to patrons. Or not?! Apparently we weren’t the only ones in Austin who thought this, because we watched several groups of people turn around and walk out once they found this out.
Fine, okay, no free food — I understand it’s not a charity, but they could’ve communicated this without be a snark monster. The owners seem relentlessly unhappy and make it a point to make you feel non welcomed, whether it’s unlocking the door at the start of business, handing you a water cup, or telling you it’s not free today.
Quality salad, but I’m not sure it’s worth feeling like I’m interrupting the owners’ day.