Conscious Café

You have to try the salmon burgers and the bean pies I place my order for whole pies they are really good taste like sweet potato pie but it’s beans you can’t tell at all. They are a nice change from all the grease filled fast food restaurants that surrounds this lovely place it’s nice and relaxing also staff has great customer service. Its a Winner all around I’m a customer for life not only for the great food but also for somebody caring about the community to eat healthy for a change

My husband and I love the navy bean soup and the malt o meal bread is the BEST! The food here is delicious, and the bonus is that the food is healthy!

The salmon burger was way better than I expected. The collage of ingredients went together well. The portion size itself is right on. Not too big to make you feel like your eating a chain restaurant’s glutinous burger. I’ve been thinking about coming to this place for the past couple of weeks and I’m glad I stopped in for lunch.

Loved the lentil soup. I felt great all day. The bean pie was really good too! Salmon burger was ok, but what more can you expect from a salmon burger? Nice people, awful construction out front thanks to Metro!

I’m making an update because I’m just now catching on. When I said I DID NOT feel like I was getting my money’s worth, I was really being sarcastic. The sandwich was on point from the beginning. If you could’ve seen it, you’d think I was the owner’s cousin the way they hooked me up. What’s funny, is that I’ve been there several times since that first review.
I read what the Sister wrote about how my sandwich will be fixed better the next time but I didn’t think nothing of it because to me, it can’t get any better because it’s already above standards.
Listen, if I felt like I wasn’t getting a good service and quality product, I would’ve went somewhere else. I might go tomorrow now that I think about it. PEACE.

The place was empty on a Saturday at 3pm, but the ladies working there were so attentive and helpful. They helped us with the menu and made sure we got everything we needed. I got an eggplant hoagie with the famous bean pie. My friends got slices of the bean pie as well, along with the salmon burger and the veggie po-​boy, respectively. It took us about 10 seconds to scarf down our meals because they were so good! The vegetables were fresh and filling, and the PIE. Don’t even get me started on the pie. Just utter perfection. I’ll have to make the drive back soon to pick up a whole instead of just a slice, because as soon as I finished mine today, I wanted more. Conscious Café is amazing.

About a year ago, I was walking through the Museum District, pushing my SUV-​sized stroller w all 3 kids inside, when an old Mercedes Diesel stopped alongside me, its windows open. The driver got out of the vehicle & approached me on foot – literally – he wasn’t even wearing shoes, & it was summertime. Yikes. I sped up, praying silently. But the driver didn’t beat me over the head & sell my babies into slavery – he handed me a flyer for the Conscious Café, explaining that he & his sister own it, & that they serve healthy food there, & would love for us to stop by with our little ones. How could I not reward such zealousness?
It took us ~ a year to fufill my promise to co-​owner, Andre, but my family & I finally stopped by for lunch with Unilocalers Ellen C., Gretchen P., Tiffany L., & Kim H. And we’re so glad we did.
The café has its own small parking lot, 1 block north & 1 west of the restaurant, on Napolean St (on the corner of McGowen). Park in the lot, cut through the neighboring field, & the café is the 2^nd building, you’ll come to.
It’s a true hole-​in-​the wall joint, a bit shabby & rundown, but clean. Serving was informal – each dish came out whenever it was ready. We enjoyed our food & our «Andre-​did-​WHAT?!» chat w co-​owner, Nicole & her daughter Ebony, so much, we stopped by a week & a half later, for take-​out.
The Conscious Café’s menu is a simple one. It offers tea, coffee, & smoothies (w or w/​o spinach), as well as milk; juice; & water, 4 sandwiches, an entrée-​portion of grilled vegetables, a few sides, including bean soup, & bean pie, for dessert. All but one of the sandwiches (the salmon burger) are vegetarian. Everything is otherwise served vegan, by default, unless you ask for milk in your drink.
We’ve tried all of the dishes, except the salmon burger, & have loved them all – this is comfort food at its best. Even our über-​picky 3 year old ate a bit of the eggplant hoagie. Our veg-​loving toddler liked everything. And all 3 kids loved the Popeye smoothie (blueberries, strawberries, bananas, spinach, & probably apple juice). They also loved the café’s house-​baked Malt-​O-​Meal sub rolls, which are excellent toasting bread, slightly sweet from the added malt extract. All sandwiches are served on this, & one can order sides of it too.
Here’s a description of the entrees:
The Veg Po-​Boy contains roasted zucchini; summer squash; red pepper; & onions, romaine lettuce & tomato, & (vegan) safflower mayo. The caramelized onions make the sandwich slightly sweet.
The Avocado Sandwich is packed with avocado, & so is very filling. It also contains lettuce, tomato, red onion, & safflower mayo.
The Veggie Bowl contains zucchini, summer squash, spinach, tomato, red onion, garlic, red pepper, black pepper, & oregano. This is a sort of stew – it’s somewhat soupy, but the veg aren’t at all overcooked. The flavors of the fresh veg, garlic, & herbs meld well together.
The Eggplant Hoagie contains grilled eggplant, romaine lettuce, tomato, onions, black olives, & safflower mayo. This is my favorite of the sandwiches we’ve tried. The olives *make* the dish. If you love eggplant tapenade, you’ll love this too.
The Bean Pie (a variation on sweet potato pie, in which navy beans are substituted for the sweet potatoes) is a rare treat. Katharine Shilcutt listed this among her 100 favorite dishes in 2011 (
). The honor is well-​deserved. The pie’s filling is remarkably smooth & sweet, the topping, redolent with nutmeg & cinnamon. This can be ordered either w a graham cracker crust, or a very flaky pastry one. Yum.
Prices are about average for vegan fare made from fresh organic veg. We paid ~$ 3 for a small soup, $ 6 per sandwich, $ 7 for the Veggie Bowl, & 75 cents for each extra roll. Fruit-​only smoothies are ~$ 5, $ 6 for a Popeye Smoothie. The pie is downright cheap: ~$ 2.50 per slice.
In all, the Conscious Café offers simple, yet inventive & comforting pescetarian food made with fresh organic ingredients & lots of love, in a family-​run, family-​friendly setting. It’s a great place to study, watch the game, or just hang out. If this sounds like your kind of thing, it probably is, so stop on by. Sooner or later, Andre’s gonna pull you in off the street, anyway…

It’s so refreshing that Houston has a few really good vegetarian and vegan options. I’m neither vegan nor vegetarian (from here on out: veg.), but I love my vegetables and appreciate a good veg. restaurant that knows what they’re doing. If I detect soy (often used as a lazy filler to add protein), I’m out of there.
Conscious Café is brilliant. They have a short menu, but everything is great. Well, everything I’ve tried so far is great. Technically (read: slightly backtracking), so far, I can say that the Veggie PoBoy, Bean Pie, and bite of my buddy Kim’s Spinach were fantastic. Based on what the others at the table said, or didn’t say for the few minutes they were scarfing down their food, the different things they ordered were also tasty.
The veggies in my PoBoy were cooked in oil, but it was light. Mostly summer squashes and tomatoes. It also came with veganaise which I would normally 86, but it was a Saturday and I was living dangerously (digestively).
The spinach had a bit of a spicy broth. Not terribly hot spicy, just spice spicy. Think cumin. Very good.
The Bean Pie was lovely. Think of it as that distant cousin who lives a block over and is always in your pool to a Sweet Potato and Buttermilk Pie. If these three pies had their way, pumpkins would just stick with being jack-​o-​lanterns. I know, different types of pumpkins, but I think you get my drift.
Parking is a bit tedious, but that’s all in your mind. The entrance to the lot is around the backside of the block, then you cut through the side field. Just park there, you’re car will be fine and you can walk a half block to get to and from the entrance.

Great food, salmon burger was a winner! Spinach is the best I’ve ever eaten from a restaurant.

Came here with a friend for lunch one day and decided to take a voyage to 3^rd ward for an extended lunch because I was overwhelmed from work.
Anyways, when I arrived I had a hard time finding parking because the I didn’t see a designated parking lot for the place but I may have overlooked it, who knows. Once inside you’re greeted by the staff and greeted politely at that. I love the fact that the place has a healthy menu which is why I decided to come here in the first place. I opted for the salmon burger and a side of beans. The order came out in about 10 – 15 minutes, as they cook everything fresh and there is only one cook, and everything tasted GRAND! Paired up with water, my total was about $ 7.75, now that’s a great value for a fresh salmon burger.
This will definitely be on my rotation of lunch munch spots in the future and it’s nice to see that the new light rail expansion will land you right at their front door.

Parking was a little confusing. The restaurant doesn’t technically have a parking lot and with the construction in that area, finding a place took more effort than it should have. I eventually just parked on a side street and hoped for the best. Aside from this, the trip was well worth it.
I got the salmon burger and my friend got the eggplant sandwich. Both (best friends share) were delicious! Service was fast and friendly. The portions were just the right size.
Overall, the food was good, the price was right and I had a healthy lunch. (Healthy restaurants are a bit sparse in this area). Will be back!

The eggplant hoagie was one of the BEST sandwiches I have had since moving to the Houston area. GREAT flavor and the bread was amazing. I can’t wait to bring some of my vegetarian friends here to give them break from the usual chain restaurants and just so I can try the salmon burger. The staff was so helpful and accommodating and honestly, I am super jealous of U of H students who can just hop on over here to get a sandwich!
Oh, and there is parking in the back! If you are facing the restaurant, to the right there is a sign on a fenced area for parking! Just takes a little of exploration but it is worth it!

Loved it! I had the Salmon burger and the navy bean soup. Definitely a must-​try for UH students. The only thing was I didn’t know where to park!

First and foremost, the people here are very nice. This is a quaint place, with a great atmosphere. Now to the food… it’s delicious. The salmon burgers, the eggplant hoagies, the bean pies, the teas, and so on and so forth, are all too die for. You just can’t beat good food and good service.

Found out about this place from the internet and Unilocal didn’t let me down. I had the avocado sandwich and it was great. I also had the bean soup and it was awesome. I ordered a whole bean pie because of the reviews and it was one of the best pies ever! A must to go to when you’re in the area.

Amazing food. The people are great. Only thing is. The menu is semi limited an kinda pricey. A lunch special would be wonderful. Te salmon burger is the best ever and you cant go wrong with the lentil soup. I love this place. But only when I want to splurge on lunch

We were running late and ultimately unable to get into a cousin’s graduation at UH. We walked over to this café to wait for the ceremony to end so we could rejoin the family. Anyway, the employees/​owners here were so nice. They actually put the ceremony on one of their laptops so we could still watch her receive her diploma. On top of that — the bean pie we ordered was SO good. Crazy good.

Yummy and cheap! The salmon burger is made with whole salmon fillets, not ground salmon patties like in most salmon burgers. You can ask for it to be cooked the way you want it (go for medium rare!) but I’m not sure if it made much of a difference. It tasted pretty good, but it wasn’t too memorable.
What WAS memorable was the experience getting there. I went with a few girlfriends for dinner, and we drove in circles looking for the restaurant and parking. We finally parked across the street and had to walk there. It was quite possibly the most frightening experience I’ve had in Houston. The dark neighborhood, construction, barking dogs, and suspicious figures made the journey to dinner quite exciting, to say the least.
When we finally got to the restaurant, we immediately relaxed with the super friendly and kind owners. They chatted with us and even gave us two free bean pies to share! So nice of them :).
I’ll be back! Probably only in the daytime though.

Service. Top notch. Warm, inviting and just feel good. They make you feel like you are at home and want you to relax.
Eggplant sandwich. Wow. What a burst of flavor
And bean pie. Man it’s hard to find bean pie.
I went back again and had the salmon sandwich. Talk about yum. It was a piece of salmon not that patty stuff and topped with cartelized onions.
I will make a point to stop here the next time I am in Houston.

If someone told me that I could find a health conscious veggie option, one that went completely organic and in the the 3^rd ward area of Houston, I’d say you were probably smokin somthing (which you probably got right outside the place!).
Conscious Café is truly a diamond in the [very] rough! A stones throw from the UH campus on Scott St, it totally blew my mind how very few people know if this place. Due to all the construction because of the new Metro mono rail, it is VERY easy to miss the place… it literally looks like a building that is no longer in use! But down to the good stuff…
When you walk in, don’t be surprised if it’s a little empty! I honestly don’t know anyone who’s eaten there, so it’s nice and quiet and ideal study setting with a very funky atmosphere, with plenty of tables, a moderate temp and free WiFi! :)
The most important part though is the FOOD! Being a vegetarian myself, it was very refreshing to find a menu that catered to my liking, thogh they do have a salmon burger which evidently is very good (I wouldn’t know haha).
I’ve been there twice so far, and had a mouthgasm both times. I suggest you start with the Eggplant Sandwich… trust me, mouthwatering GOOD. And also the Veggie Poboy did justice :)
I’ve also heard epic things about the bean pie (yes… it raised an eyebrow for me too, but just try it!)
Overeall, I give it 5 stars… Organic food, a reasonable price, free WiFi with a chill environment. The place is clean, and the staff is nice… only drawback is the parking. You have to park next to the place on the street, which isn’t very inviting, but so far no probs!
ENJOY!!!

Really hesitant about parking… street parking in 3^rd ward. With construction because of new tram coming had to do side street parking. Friendly staff. Had a salmon burger and it was delicious, though a bit more pricy than I expected.

I love that Conscious Café is truly a local establishment, a brain child of brilliant Nicole, who’s also a personal trainer and teaches classes at Inner Me studios (also awesome, by the way).
Despite the construction and neighborhood surroundings, the inside of the café is cute and clean. (Don’t be fooled by the entrance!) The service is awesome. Nicole is so sweet, she gave us one of their fresh cookies, and offered to bring the bean pie to the boot camp class so I could try it. It took them a while to bring out the food, but I like to think it’s worth the wait, since the food came out hot and freshly cooked.
I couldn’t decide between the eggplant hoagie and vegetable po-​boy (both $ 5.99) so I got both. The vegetable po-​boy was stuffed full of sauteed and seasoned vegetables. Extremely flavorful and almost a little sweet. The wheat bread was warm and toasty. The eggplant hoagie was equally good. I just wished the eggplant was slightly more mushy (but I guess appearance wouldn’t look as good). My friend got the salmon buger ($ 6.99), which is one of the top sellers. The sandwich was a little bit more on the smaller side, but the salmon was cooked perfectly.
The only thing that I don’t like about Conscious Café is the hours! They are only open Tuesday-​Saturday 9am-​7pm. Wish they were open longer hours, so I could go more often. By the way, the menu is on their facebook page.