Finally…after umpteen visits to San Francisco I scrape my dollars together and ate at the much trumpeted Millennium.  Inside this totally vegan mecca, the lights are dim, the atmosphere sedate, and the lighting poor.  Hence, the pictures do not portray the food in its best light.

I had spent many a minute reading the hundreds of Yelp reviews.  The majority stand together and wave a green V for the famous San Franciscan restaurant, set in a hotel in a rather seedy side of town.  Yelp reviews need to be taken in the context at which the are written because a) you do not know where the reviewers have dined before b) if they are in good company c) what mood they are in d) whether they chose from the menu well…e) f)..etc…..so many factors maketh a meal.  This night I was in very good company, I’d also dined at many a good vegan restaurant before and I was in a cheery mood.

This was my opinion of Millennium on this one visit.

fingers poised on the highly polished cutlery in anticipation!

first we were brought an amuse bouche.   lightly herbed sage and white bean pate.  buttery and delicate

 The really friendly (and patient) waitress helped me to whittle down my selections, but I still squirmed in my seat even when I’d narrowed things down.  My friend and I opted for the Crusted Oyster Mushrooms. Dusted in rice flour and coriander seed and served with a pot of kumquat-ginger-chili jam.  They were deep fried darlings, piled up on a plate.  The jam was tart, citrus and sweet.  Then, guess what happened?…you’ll never guess.  The waitress placed on our table a sampling of the other starter I spent minutes in angst over and had thought I’d left to the halls of ‘the one that never was’.  ‘I thought you should try it’ she said, as angels danced over her head.  So starter #2 was Nopales, King Trumpet Mushroom Ceviche.  grapefruit, radish, carrot, avocado and endive with crisp nuggets of hominy (white floury corn) glistening with a toasted lime, oregano and garlic vinaigrette.  It was good.  For me, the hominy stole the show.

Pictured above was my friends entree (the entree I wish I’d ordered).  Green tea & ginger edamame cakes.  They were very good.  Full of dense flavour.  Dressed with a Korean chili-fermented black garlic sauce that was rich and flavoursome.

My pumpkin seed picadillo tamale.  It was good but not rocking.  The chocolate chili emulsion was good but I thought it could of been more punchy.  The tamale was fluffy and tasty but, for me not fabulous.

Our ‘non-alcoholic libations’ were giggle making.  They were phenomenal.  We both had the ethereal named ‘Snowbird’.  It truly dazzled!  Citrusy, coconut nectar softened with lime juice to impart a gleeful zing.  I would happily return, just to sip this out of a fragile martini glass, and hum a happy tune whilst relaxing at the bar.

The dessert was an easy decision -
Terrinelayered hazelnut bark, coffee bean cream & chocolate ganache, salted caramel,
marshmallow cream, maple hazelnuts.

??!!  L and I were speechless!  We both were.  It was a rich, dense mousse with the perfect balance of coffee and hazelnut flavours.  The marshmallow was unusual, with a silkiness that melted slowly on my tongue. Put all this together with a salty, crunchy hazelnut, oh my,  a sweet confection heaven. It was a showstopper!  A Marilyn Munroe or Moulin Rouge of desserts!
There is no doubt about it, chef Eric Tucker and Stephanie Roston, together with pastry chef Emmy Miller are vegan gourmet wizards.  I will definitely return.  My meal was right up there with the best of my best restaurants so far. I took my time and savoured over every single morsel.  The experience was entertainment in itself and not just a refuelling.  All of the staff were extremely attentive and friendly.  Faultless.

Millennium is affiliated with Joie De Vivre Hospitality, an organisation that gives under-privileged adults education and training to develop the skill-set to find employment in the food and beverage industry.  More vegan chefs…I say bring it on!