The Plant Café Organic

The Plant Café Organic has spent over 20 years making the case that clean, organic food should be the norm, not the exception. Founded in 2005 by Matthew Guelke and Mark Lewis, the café was built on a simple conviction: food is medicine, and what you put in your body matters. When they started, there were almost no places in San Francisco where you could eat a fully organic meal or get a green juice without added sugars. The Plant set out to change that, and it did. In 2025, the café was recognized in the Tourism of Tomorrow Awards, an international program honoring businesses that lead on sustainability, social responsibility, and economic impact.

The Plant’s commitment to organic goes all the way through. Unlike restaurants that use organic ingredients selectively, every item on the menu meets certified organic standards, free of GMOs, synthetic chemicals, hormones, and antibiotics. That same rigor extends to the physical spaces: restaurant design applies the greenest materials available, minimizing carbon impact from the ground up. The result is what SF Weekly called “the greenest restaurant in San Francisco.”

The sourcing philosophy is rooted in the belief that removing toxins allows the body to thrive, and that starts with the farm.

The Plant Café Organic is a rare example of a restaurant that doesn’t compromise. In a food industry where “greenwashing” is common, Guelke and Lewis built something with real standards baked in from day one. Over two decades later, the mission is the same: make organic food accessible, delicious, and worth choosing every time.