Inn Season Cafe in Royal Oak

Following a relaxing morning, Saturday afternoon seemed like the perfect time to venture down to Royal Oak and eat some vegan cuisine at the Inn Season Cafe, located at 500 E. 4th Street. Though it took about 40 minutes to make the trek to this restaurant, it received positive reviews on Yelp and Urbanspoon, so it sounded like a trip worth the time and gas money. Plus, their menu seemed to offer quite the enticing variety of vegetarian and vegan dishes.

With my sister at my side, I arrived at Inn Season Cafe at around 3:00 pm. It was very easy to find the charming yellow building sitting on the corner of 4th and Knowles Street. And parking was not a problem either, as we smoothly parked near a meter less than a block down the road. Outside of the cafe were benches that were protected from the sun by a brown awning, along with a lone picnic table placed in the shade of a few big trees.

After entering the building and walking through a very short, lobby-like hallway that housed a bulletin board covered in the cards of local businesses, we opened another door to find a friendly hostess waiting to greet us. She immediately led us to a table directly in front of the window. The large store-front glass flooded the entire dining room with natural light, only slightly complemented by some lamps and a couple of humble chandeliers. The lower halves of the walls were covered by green wood paneling, somewhat hidden by the booths and tables that lined the walls. A few black and white photographs were placed on the top halves of the walls, along with a colorful painting of a peacock that gently demanded my attention.  An interesting, white molded pattern concealed what would be a boring ceiling. The antique-looking, wooden tables in the center of the dining area sat on top of different oriental rugs.While the eating area was not very spacious, quite a lot of tables were strategically placed in order to create a high amount of available seating. Although there were occupied tables on either side of us in this small stretch of space, I did not actually feel cramped at all. Instead, I felt cozy and calm, relaxing to the pleasant variety of soft music wafting through the restaurant, never interrupted by the low hum of friendly chatter.

Our server approached us a few minutes after we had sat down and placed water and two menus in front of us, the lunch menu and a list of the day's specials, with a couple of items covered in a "Sold Out" stamp. It took us a while to decide what to order. The menu seemed to have everything from burgers to Mexican dishes to spaghetti, all vegetarian and most able to be prepared vegan. After a couple visits from our waitress inquiring if we were ready to order, I had finally decided on "The Big Brapawski" burger and my sister chose the Caesar Salad. I ordered my tempeh burger with vegan Daiya cheese and inquired whether the sides of coleslaw and Thousand Island dressing had dairy in them.

"Nope, the coleslaw and the dressing are both vegan, dairy-free," our server responded, with a smile.

And after my sister placed her order for the Caesar Salad, our waitress helpfully said, "I just want to make sure you know that that particular salad does have dairy in it."

Since my sister is not a vegan or vegetarian, she did not mind at all. Our server's knowledge about veganism, her familiarity with the menu items, and the kind courtesy of making sure we both understood what was in our entrees were all highly appreciated.

Only after about fifteen minutes, our meals arrived at our table, looking near heavenly. My Big Brapawski was a double-decker burger, made out of tempeh, which is sort of a cultured soybean cake, and topped with vegan cheese, onions, slices of tomato, and lettuce. It was served on a grainy, house-made bun, which was quite good even on its own. The tempeh burger itself was moist, flavorful, meat-like and very nicely enhanced by the warm, melted Daiya cheese on top. The sauteed onions, fresh tomato, and strips of lettuce combined deliciously and almost effortlessly with the tempeh patty and cheese. It absolutely hit the spot and didn't even need the Thousand Island dressing that was served on the side. The burger also came with some coleslaw and tortilla chips. I had actually been craving coleslaw for a while now, so this was a much appreciated side dish. The coleslaw was crisp and refreshing, not blanketed in a heavy mayo sauce as it normally is. Instead, the shredded carrots and cabbage were mixed with a very light, tangy sauce of some sort. It was tasty, yet a tad dry. However, the Thousand Island dressing was the perfect flavorful addition to the slaw. Also, the navy blue tortilla chips were good and not stale at all, they were quite obviously freshly made in house.

Although I did not try any of my sister's Caesar Salad, she told me, "This is definitely the best Ceasar salad that I have ever had."

We left Inn Season Cafe feeling relaxed and satisfied, enjoying a short stroll through downtown Royal Oak and discussing how much we had enjoyed our experience at the restaurant. My meal was simply delicious and I thoroughly enjoyed the cozy, hospitable atmosphere inside. Those working were kind and helpful and, in my opinion, the menu items were fairly priced. The only negative I can think of was that my sister's water glass had a mysterious crumb in it, but that problem was promptly solved and quickly forgotten. I would definitely, without a doubt, like to visit this cafe again, and I will confidently tell my friends to try this place whenever they're in Royal Oak.


Inn Season Cafe - 4.5 out of 5 stars