I don't know why food served in this very nice zoo have to be gross. Burger was not fresh, tasted like it was old and/or microwaved. Garlic fries was soggy. Chinese food was gross. Rice was dry. Seriously needs improvement. Of course, being in the zoo, the prices are higher, so why not serve better food? Seriously. Bring your own food and have a picnic with your family out in the many beautiful areas outside. read more

I hate leaving negative reviews, but I've tried this place so many times and always disappointed that I feel I need to do that as a PSA. I'll start with the good, GARLIC FRIES!!! Real garlic and fresh made fries = yum! Ok, now on to the disappointing... The fam and I have ordered the Asian option several times, which include steamed vegetables, rice, and teriyaki [some sort of protein]. Consistently, the steamed vegetables are soggy or undercooked, the rice has always been dried out (with pebble hard dried pieces), and the teriyaki sauce usually SO salty that my eyeballs rolled backwards. The reason for such meals? We try to limit the wheat in our lives, which is just tough at this zoo. For such a culinarily advanced city, the food options at this zoo really can use an update. I like the zoo, but the family and I really make sure we either pack a lunch or leave during lunch time these days b/c the food is SO subpar. read more

The food quality was pretty good but it's just.. the prices. Bah. I know that the lemur cafe has a zoo monopoly going on, but 25 bones for a couple of hotdogs and fries? Oye. That being said, the hotdogs and fries were good. :) read more

I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of Leaping Lemur Cafe. My experience with eateries at zoos are museums are that they are AWFUL. Take the restaurant in Academy of Sciences for instance - I don't think anyone can say that place is good. I came to Leaping Lemur Cafe with a grumbling tummy and low expectations. I left satisfied. Ambiance: This place would most likely be very busy so I can't guarantee that you can get a table. My family was luckily to snag 2 tables for a party of 8 right when we got in, but we had to rush a bit for it. This place is very cafeteria-like, with different queues for different sets of food - you have the grill, the deli, etc. Customer Service: These people are efficient. When I saw the long queue for the grill, I thought I was in for a massive wait. Surprisingly, it only took a few minutes before I was at the front and only a few more minutes for my food to arrive. I waited only about 2-3 minutes for 6 burgers and 4 sets of fries for my family. Damn Leaping Lemur Cafe, you crazy. Food: Not the best, but for a cafe at a zoo, I'm impressed. I ordered a Cheeseburger with a side of Fries for myself, and I also tried a bit of my cousin's Sweet Potato Fries. The cheeseburger had a bit too much lettuce LOL. I actually had to rip off huge chunks so it would be aligned with the rest of the burger instead of sticking out. However, it still still alright - the patty was thick and the ingredients tasted quite fresh. I really enjoyed the fries - soft and delicious - both the regular and the sweet potato ones. --- Great job Leaping Lemur Cafe. You've managed to exceed my expectations and be a kickass restaurant in a zoo! It's not too overpriced either, so guaranteed to be a-ok. read more

Yummers! I know the prices are a bit high, but I figure my animal friends need money too. My heart swayed when I spotted the boards for sweet potato fries. Must zombie over to get my tuber fix. I also ordered a Garden Burger. The burger came out with a huge piece of lettuce leaf with fresh cut tomatoes. The faux meat patty was juicy and not dry husks of other gardenburgers I ate before. I thought the buns had more texture but figured it wasn't white flour made, it's definitely made from some other grain. Thank goodness the sweet potato fries were very very good. I'm torn now, should I try their garlic fries if their sweet potato fries treated me so fine? So many flavored tubers to try, so little time. I like that there are different types of cuisine offerings other than the usual slap crap of burgers, fries, and pizza. Definitely a thumbs up for healthy offerings too. read more

I've never really eaten at the zoo before, but this time I ended up doing so. The food was actually better than I expected. The prices are fair(4.99 for a cheeseburger) for a place like it and locally-sourced(they have a chart on the wall telling you where they got each item from). Unfortunately what they don't tell you is that the cheese on the cheeseburger is the average supermarket kind and the taste really clashes with the burger. Get the plain one instead. read more

This is fantastic food for a zoo cafe! The staff was friendly and kept the line moving. We had sushi/chicken strips/pizza and were very satisfied. Oakland Zoo should definitely take note when it comes to food options and quality. read more

Great food :) Expensive :( There is plenty of seating, but ever table is a little wobbly. It is always clean and tidy. Long lines move quickly. Employees are friendly and focused. Member discount!!! read more

Food was ok. Customer service was awful. Didn't even get what I ordered. Girl working the food seemed like she hated her job and had an attitude when we ordered. Told us they didn't have Pho even tho we saw someone with it. read more

Biggest disappointment ever. Ordered a banh mi sandwich, noodle soup bowl, coffee and it came to more than $32 and NONE of it was edible! Banh mi sandwich was served on a cold, hard French roll with unseasoned cold dry chicken breast and wilted sliced cucumbers. Mystery sauce slathered on one side of roll with shredded cabbage. That's it. Disgusting. The noodle soup was cloudy unseasoned hot water (seriously, not even salted) poured over cold pre-cooked rice noodles with a sprig of cilantro and some crushed peanuts. That's it. No seasoning whatsoever. I had to pour on soy sauce and sriracha just to give it any flavor at all, but I still couldn't eat it. We ended up buying 2 plain hot dogs for $20. Unbelievable. And - they don't allow you to bring any food inside. Wow. Just wow. read more

Food is okay. The drink machine is terrible. Most of the sodas are flat, there are no lids or straws, and no ice in machine

My husband and I took a trip to the zoo for the day and decided to just make things easy and eat at the Leaping Lemur Cafe. It was surprisingly tasty! They have a lot of healthy options, including sweet potato fries, vegetarian stir-fry, salads and whole wheat pizza. Being gluten-free, I went for a cheeseburger with no bun, which was tasty and filling. I also thought the prices were very reasonable, especially since places like a zoo or an amusement park tend to be expensive. I would definitely eat at the Leaping Lemur Cafe when visiting the zoo again. Lots of seating, clean, and tasty food to give you energy to enjoy the animals, read more

3.5 actually... The food here exceeded our expectations.. Restaurants in zoos or museums usually serve overpriced, bland foods. Leaping Lemur Cafe offers a lot of dishes: pizzas, rice with orange chicken, salads, burgers, fries, sandwiches, yogurt, ice cream, fresh fruits, mac n cheese etc. We tried the taco salad w/ beef, strawberry yogurt, cheeseburger and garlic fries. Prices were decent and we actually enjoyed eating there :) It's usually pretty crowded and that makes it difficult to find a seat in the cafe... read more

What cafe in San Francisco offers only cow milk cream for their weak coffee? No soy, no low fat milk, no skim. No apologies from the staff. Lousy coffee made worse by thoughtlessness. read more

we always eat here when we go to the zoo. The prices are not bad considering. $5.00 for a good burger... the fries are good. i totally recommend this place if you don't want to pack a lunch. Totally worth it and if your a member you get 10% off... read more

I like how they serve real food here and have options for vegetarians. The kid's macaroni and cheese is not that awful, much instant Kraft stuff, but homemade fare. I like their chicken and avocado sandwich and garlic fries. The fries are a bit on the greasy side, so I can only eat a few. I wish that there were more fruit and vegetable side options, but I'm just being picky. read more

Unfortunately, the food is terrible (although the zoo is great). Clam chowder is unedibly salty, garden burgers soaked in oil. Our son hardly touched the mac'n cheese, which was in one big lump. The bbq on weekends is slightly better, but is extremely disorganized. The bbq is sometimes burnt or raw. Perhaps it could be set up earlier, so that they get the hang of it before the first customers start arriving at 11.30? Just a suggestion. Bring your own lunch if you would like to avoid being disappointed. There are lots of nice benches at the zoo! The second star is for the kind service staff inside the restaurant. I knocked over my tray, but was helped straight away. Thank you for being so attentive and nice about it. read more

I wanted to try this place because they had pizza lol, and my boyfriend and I were starving. We had the cheese pizza, a cheese burger with fries and he was craving a side of garlic fries. We did buy one of the two souvenir cups because you get free refills all day. It was a bit of a wast considering we were full off of two refills. But hey, for all you thrifty families out there go for it! There were loads of seating and I can only recall two associates who were so nice and pleasing an working hard, that I did not think to seek their names! One was cleaning our table and the other was this pretty Asian girl working the pizza station. Everyone else was forgettable. They do have loads to chose from if you forgot to pack a lunch, I only had snacks in my purse. And there is the other cafe place too. read more

Selection of healthy food got worse, and prices went up in the last few months. Managers, pay attention!

$$$ food. Members get discounts but it's still not that much. I like the chicken finger baskets and the cheeseburgers. They have veggie burgers which are also good but I like to choose meats most of the time. You get to build your own burgers at the salad island. read more

I'd say above average for your standard hamburgers, hot dogs, chicken fingers, pizza, etc cooked by a bunch of kids making minimum wage. I expected bland stuff, but everything has generally tasted one step above bland, which is pleasantly surprising for me. The garlic fries are nice. read more

Can't believe the best burger around is not In and Out, not Gott's, but in the zoo! Soft Brioche, juicy patty, and yummy fries. Chicken strips were done right, crispy but juicy white meat, not your average McDonald's or Foster Farm frozen nuggets. Yes it is expensive. But compare to the "claim to be" quality offerings outside it's actually not bad. Nice view too. I am looking forward to another visit to the zoo just so to eat that burger again! read more

Overly priced with good food. Variety of selection, but the drinks was extremely pricey.

Get the garlic fries! A little pricey but hey! What do you expect, you're in the zoo. Very clean and neat friendly environment. Not 5 stars because it's your average zoo/amusement park restaurant. read more

Just ok. My pepperoni pizza was mediocre. The prices are definitely unreasonable though. $4.00 for a small soda with no refills?! It's just like going to the movies, I guess. It is convenient however, to have a place to eat inside the zoo. read more

this is the main eating place in the sf zoo. it is a mall-like food court and is indoors. they have various food items including...brickoven pizza, garlic fries, chili cheese fries, fish & chips, chicken tenders, burgers, pasta, mac & cheese, etc. so far, i have tried the chili cheese fries, garlic fries, and chicken tenders. they were all very good. i particularly recommend the chili cheese fries because they give you a huge portion of fries(as opposed to the garlic fries), with tasty chili and melted cheese on top. soda's have free refills and they have beer! definitely the place to eat if you are at the zoo. read more

Prices wayyyyyy to high ! $11.95 for a cheeseburger noooo wayyyyyy I would pay that much

The food is more expensive than at Disneyland, but the overpriced food was decent.