1. Restaurants
2. Phoenix

Giving Tree Cafe

Reviews 707

• Kaye Oberg
  Fri, 26 Jan 2024 13:31
  Visited this cafe twice on my weekend trip to Phoenix and was immediately captivated by the earthy decor and atmosphere. Smaller restaurant but still very open and inviting. They have Fresh juices and desserts for a quick grab and go to accompany the well versed menu of vegan and vegetarian options. I had the tacos, Buddha bowl, banana bread, and two refreshing smoothies on my visits. It was hard to make a decision! And I will be making this a regular part of my stops whenever in AZ!
• M S
  Sat, 16 Mar 2024 4:12
  We've been to The Giving Tree probably 7 times, so this review reflects consistent experiences across multiple visits over two years. To start, the positive: the food. We've eaten breakfast items, lunch selections, and dinner fare and all of it has been excellent. The taste, presentation, portion size, and cleverness of the meal is clearly well thought-through and executed with skill and care. So, in this sense, the primary function of the restaurant is going very well - i.e., good food. The challenge, from my viewpoint, comes with the consistently subpar service provided by some servers. Empty tables go un-bussed, promised glasses of water don't materialize, and it often takes staff upwards of 10 minutes to even approach us once we've been seated. Coffee orders can take almost 20 minutes to arrive and the food even longer. I say all of this with a sincere sense of affection for the place - I want it to not be like this. When my spouse suggests TGT as a dinner choice, my first inner reaction is one of hesitance because I worry I will feel ignored or overlooked during my visit. I've witnessed staff engage in 10 minute long conversations with other tables while we languish waiting for a glass of water - I've even gone to the bar to get it my self before. This isn't a unique experience for us - it's happened to us almost every visit we've made, and I genuinely hope that this aspect of the restaurant can improve. One last thing - the owner is ever-present and doing multiple jobs often at the same time. He is attentive, lovely, and genuinely cares. I want to encourage everyone to visit The Giving Tree for a meal, because it's good, good food and the place is relatively unique for the Valley. Please don't take this review as a torching of the place, because it's anything but. Service, though, still matters, and I feel this restaurant could use a reset on this front.
• Suhey Ortega
  Fri, 1 Mar 2024 17:03
  Easily one of the beautiful spots in Phoenix for a cafe! Lots of open windows and beautiful decorations that make this place unique! Upon entering it has an interesting smell but knowing that everything is in-house and made from scratch, it made sense and got used to it! I ordered David's Bowl because it had so many flavors jam packed in the bowl and it was absolutely delicious!!! It worked well and I really enjoyed it! The enchilada was also huge and really good! Their chai with in house oatmilk was really good too! I'll definitely be coming back when I visit Phoenix next!
• Rafael K (Raf)
  Mon, 30 Oct 2023 0:09
  Giving Tree is one of my favourite vegan cafes in Phoenix. A lot of good and healthy options from salads and lighter wrap options to burgers and all day breakfast. Kimchi pancakes are just the best . So are Buddha and Dave’s bowls. In addition really yummy smoothies and cold press juices. Plenty of sits around including kids corner. Service is fast and very friendly ! Love this place !
• April Slater
  Thu, 18 Jan 2024 17:22
  Upon entering, my husband had doubts because of the place didn't smell fresh. I assured him that it was cashew cheese being made on the premises (that was an assumption). 😆 We wanted lunch, but nothing moved us until we saw the specials of the day. What was on the picture and what we ordered looked totally different. Plus, I was disappointed that they ran out of the bun for sliders so I had to have my sandwich open-faced. Neither order looked like the picture. That night, I made my husband's order of the smashed potatoes. Take a look at the picture from the menu, then the plates, and the one that I remade. The photos are not in order.