Elovate really needs to Elevate their game!

I'm gonna preface here - I hate to do this and so I'm gonna make it short and as sweet as possible...
This past weekend my schedule was full of several foodie delights and I was quite eager and excited to check out a few "newish" restaurants off of my ever growing list of places to EAT. ​

One place in particular that I was really looking very forward to was ELOVATE in Santa Monica, CA. 
The menu looked outstanding and the pictures that I'd seen looked amazing.
I needed to try it for myself.

Well I did, and I'm so sorry to say that it was a big let down.
I was totally disappointed. It goes to show that the age old phrase 
​ “You can never tell a book by its cover” holds true for menus and pictures too!

Located in Santa Monica and just one block south of the Santa Monica pier, they definitely have a great location - and while location is usually good for property and business...you know the other phrase "Location. Location. Location." this just wasn't enough for me - I went for the FOOD.

I want you to succeed, but in doing so, I want you to strive to serve the best possible product or dish to your customers. Especially since you are a vegan establishment!

Elovate really needs to Elevate their game! While the service was spot on, the food had failed.
It wasn't so much that I hated each bite that I took, or even that I didn't finish my meal.
It was that the flavor profiles lacked and the meal was just bland. At one point I had sadly even mentioned that it was like eating hospital food! 

Was it that we ordered the wrong things? All of the wrong things?
From the deliciously sounding Wild Mushroom Soup to the Cobb Salad, and then from the signature dish Sake Braised Daikon Scallops to the Chick’n Dijon - Nothing stood out for me.

Yes I admit that I'm foodie snob. I smell my food before it goes into my mouth. I taste with a critical and discerning mind. I grew up eating some of the best food New York City had to offer. And I know really good food, I know what I like, and I also have no problem telling you what I don't like - although I really want to stress how this should not be taken personally, but taken as insight.

I travel the globe in search of good vegan eats and this was disappointment.
This is not a place that I would recommend to friends and family. This is not a place that I would suggest a non-vegan try vegan food at.
I want my friends, family, and followers to be wowed, to get their socks knocked off.
To experience VeganFoodGasms and not to just settle on an okaaaay meal - which this was.

Sadly, I've had (vegan) fast food that was better and a whole lot cheaper too!
I certainly don't mind spending the money on great food, but when the price point for the entrees here are $14-19 per plate I expect better than fast food quality.

I came here eager to do a review on amazing food and to look forward to what I would order on my next visit. But instead I sat there and with each bite I took, I said "I can't do a review. I just can't do a review here (because I don't want to be mean)". But as I continued eating I decided that I should say something.
I can't just be one of those "other" vegans who are just happy enough that there is another vegan restaurant out there. The vegan scene is booming and we have several choices to choose from.
It should not be okay to just be mediocre.

Again, I'm sorry if this comes across harsh. ​I'll give them the benefit of the doubt - maybe the Chef had the night off.