Leaf Salad Bar

I like The Leaf and its nice choices of fresh ingredients for good salads. There are some really nice unusual ingredients and nice dressings as well. I haven’t tried the smoothies, but their soups are very nice too. The price is a bit hefty, hence the 4 stars. Overall a much needed «healthy» choice in an otherwise bare landscape when it comes to healthy food in East Lansing.

Fruit was great and everything else is downhill.
Salad was uninspiring and average. Way overpriced and the service was terrible. They were polite at check out but no greeting, no Thank You, and could have cared less we were inside. Totally average place and we will never be back. I was horrified by the total cost at checkout.

Salads are great! The 1 star is for the chunky sad excuse of a juice I paid $ 6.00 for. I pay money for smoothies because I can’t get them as smooth at home. So when I came here and saw the same cheap Nutribullet behind their counter that I have in mine, I knew I made a mistake. Where’s a Jamba Juice when you need it?! Disappointing…

Very nice healthy option for customized salads and smoothies. The salad bar is very clean and fresh. No wilted or brown veggies and they have a large selection of toppings. I like that I can just go in pick up a container make my own salad pay and leave. The only thing I hate is the location. It’s hard to get in and out of the parking lot.

This place is incredible and so needed in the area! Tons of choices and toppings make for a unique salad every time and the staff is very friendly. Everything is freaky fresh, and I was surprised to see as many fruit options as there. Some others have stated that it’s pricey, but I disagree as I can easily spend only a dollar or two less on a combo meal at a fast food restaurant and feel instantly terrible about it. I’d say on average it costs around $ 8 or $ 9 for a very large salad.
My only major complaint is parking. It’s a disaster. I’ve seen two fender benders while eating there on two separate occasions… I’ve never witnessed a fender bender in a parking lot any where else in my life! And people just park any where, making it tricky to navigate your way out. It can get pretty busy at lunch time, so your best bets (at least for now) are for an AM lunch or late afternoon run.

I know Leaf is a chain, I know it. And I don’t care.
This place is delicious. With all the options I would want in a salad, fruit bowl or smoothie all in one easy place.
From primary proteins (tuna, quinoa, tofu) and cheeses (feta, goat cheese, smoked gouda) to specialty veggies (artichoke hearts, sweet beets) to seasonal fruit variety and nuts. I couldn’t be happier with the selection.
This specific location is awkward to get in and out of depending on the direction you’re coming from, but I found it worthwhile.
I had a delicious salad, and a very tasty smoothie all in the same trip.
The seating is limited inside, and –almost– cramped. There are some bar-​height tables which is where I sat, but only because the usual lower-​seated tables were all full.
The staff was very friendly and courteous, even knowing I’d never been to a Leaf location before and had NO idea what I was doing.
Delicious, light fare well worth your dollar.

Not too shabby. I was a bit skeptical first going in. A place called Leaf brings to mind groups of pretentiously spiteful vegans and patchouli.
Good quality, nice selection, soup was tasty and the jambalaya was appropriately spicy. The smoothie was tasty, reasonably priced, and fresh ginger is a big plus.
The negative of this place is that is not meant for hunger. To keep the product of Leaf fresh, it costs you. I had a decent sized meal there true, but it still cost me 17 bucks. That’s a little pricy for soup and salad fast-​casual.

Great concept, but a little pricey for what you get. The salad bar is self serve, so if you don’t like what you make, it’s pretty much your own fault. Some toppings don’t have appropriate serving utensils, so they are difficult to use, slowing the flow of traffic down, which can be frustrating during a lunch rush. The array of toppings is plentiful, however! I just felt that my salad should not have cost me $ 10 is all.

Five star if they promote local and organic foods. And they really need to recycle. I bring my dishes home with me.

Great selection of options! If you want a healthy salad, you can grab that. If you want an awesome & possibly bad-​for-​you salad… you can get that too. With so many choices. its a free for all! Summary: this place makes salad fun!

This place has a great selection of salad, veggies and fruits. It’s a cute atmosphere where you can easily pack a great salad to go, or eat inside (or outside) if you choose. Highly recommend!

I love it here! I have never been disappointed. For someone who needs to eat healthy, this option is a fantastic addition to the East Lansing area. It is rather pricey, but that is the price of eating fresh fruits and vegetables. They have an huge selection of fresh and tasty salad options, and their soups are good as well. Always a good meal choice!

I would give 3.5 stars, mostly because the price seemed kind of high… for a light salad (by weight), two small soups, and two smoothies… about $ 25.
The salad bar itself was fine… they had the usual leafy greens like mixed greens and baby spinach. I added feta cheese, bell pepper slices, strawberries, dried cherries, raisins, cucumbers, olives, and whole walnuts. I think their dressing selection should be enough to satisfy most people. I did a combination of honey mustard and red wine vinaigrette. The cheesy chipotle soup had a nice spicy kick, with bits of corn and roasted peppers. They also had salt and pepper mills at the sit-​down tables, which I appreciated.
For the smoothies, you can choose from pre-​selected combinations, such as «tropical,» or you can make your own from the fresh fruits they have available. Then you can add yogurt, milk, or juice, and extras like protein powder, honey, or agave. The smoothie itself was okay – could have used more flavor. Maybe I just picked the wrong fruits!
As others have mentioned, the parking and location is slightly horrendous.
Overall, I’d try it again when I’m in the area. At the very least, I think the salad bar is worth another try as the lettuces were very fresh.

I am in love with Leaf! Finally — a truly healthy (yet still tasty) lunch option in town.
Leaf is a salad and smoothie bar with a couple of daily soups as well. They keep the salad bar extremely clean and well stocked, and offer more than enough items to allow you to enjoy a completely different salad experience every day of the week. In addition to a plethora of traditional veggie choices, they offer smoked salmon, shrimp, turkey, ham, salami, avocado, and cheeses. Their dressing selection is expanding as well, which is nice. They also offer the option of making a wrap instead of a salad. There is limited seating inside and on the patio, but your best bet is to grab a salad to go.
The price is extremely fair — I average $ 10 for a «dinner salad» sized salad — and the staff is very friendly. This location near Frandor is their first, and they are planning on opening a second location in Okemos soon. Traffic can be congested in the area, and their lot is fairly small, so the best bet is to go at 11:30 or after 1:00. I sometimes stop in in the morning on my way to work as well.

Ok I’m in love. Leaf is something that I just never want to go away. Their soups are fabulous, so many great veggie options for salads and their smoothies are the bomb. I’ve only experienced one employee there that wasn’t super great, but she wasn’t horrible. Just dull. all of the other employees are very friendly and enduring! I sincerely hope this place can stick around for a long time because I have even waiting for a place like this to open for years :)

A solid choice for a healthier lunch in town.
Leaf is a much needed addition to the Lansing lunch scene, as we haven’t had a good salad bar since Sen. Buzz Thomas’s place on Washington Sq. Everything is fresh, choices are abundant, and staff is friendly. My only gripe? Dressings come from a bottle (not sure whether soups are homemade). With such a fresh concept, I would have loved to see a but more inventiveness there; I’m thankful for this option in town, though.

I have a bad history with this location. Back in the late 80’s, there was a car stereo place there. Took them 6 months to fix the cassette deck of my ’85 Prelude. Grrr.
Okay, I’ll live in the «now.» Leaf takes a wee bit of the bad taste away.
First off. .. parking here is problematic. It’s a small wedge lot, between two really busy streets. Maximum of 5 tables inside, can seat maybe 14 – 15? There are some outdoor tables, but in these here parts, pardner — not an option 6 months out of the year. It’s not at all pedestrian-​friendly, either. I don’t mind a park/​walk, but there is no crosswalk to it, and you cross (at a minimum) three of the busiest lanes of 45 mph traffic in the area.
If you brave the perils of the parking fire swamp…
Inside, mahogany /​rosewood, clean stainless steel /​glass. It’s impeccably clean. Basically, it’s a salad bar. But, a really, really GOOD salad bar. Many varieties of lettuce, fresh and varied toppings, cheeses, olives/​pickles, and meats. Three soups are out daily, including a vegetarian option (the black bean is nice.) Dressings abound, including a nice selection of olive oils, and vinegars. (Personal crochet — I like a choice of balsamics, and grow weary of a lone bottle of Heinz Red Wine vinegar.) They score well on this.
Staff is really, really friendly, and helpful. Clearly they work their tails off to keep things fresh and tidy.
Overall, worth it if you’re in the market for a healthy, tasty, varied lunch option, and willing to chance the parking.

Nice salad options and seems pretty fresh but rather over priced. I like that they have multiple meat options like smoked salmon, chicken and turkey. Don’t like that all these meats are so processed. They should offer organic options as well

Yay! This tasty, healthy option in the sea of fast food joints and pizza places is a fresh and welcome addition! Looks like they’ve already addressed one of the complaints in the other two reviews; upon my first visit today someone behind the counter spotted my lost puppy face and gave my husband and I some instructions on how things worked. There are so many options available, one could eat here multiple days a week and not get bored. Veggies, fruits, meats, crunchy toppings, dressings, oils and vinegars… it’s wonderful. Soup’s tasty too. And call me crunchy, but I kind of liked the fact that there was no pop machine. Cans are available for purchase, but you’d kinda have to work a little to get the stuff.
It’s true, they really could benefit from more parking and seating. The place is small. Granted I went during the lunch rush, but I was seriously considering hovering near one of the chatty tables who’d already finished their salad, patting my nine-​month pregnant belly and looking for a little sympathy to encourage them to move along. Thankfully someone got up voluntarily before we’d paid and I didn’t need to stoop to such levels. I could claim a table by leaving my purse there. Although that left me having to keep one eye on the salad bar and one eye on my purse…
Anyway, I’m a fan even with the limited seating!

This is a badly needed addition to the Lansing area! It is a nice change to ALL the sandwich and pizza places in the area! The concept is great! Fresh vegies and fruit for both a salad bar and fruit bar. They offer smoothies and soup as well. The salad, soup and fruit bar is completely self serve.
There are a couple things I think they are lacking though.
from the moment you walk in, no one says welcome TO THE BRAND NEW LOCATION that has only been open a week! No one explains their concept or what they are offering, I have no idea what flavor soups they had today. The only reason I know they have smoothies was the sign. They offer a couple flavors of wraps instead of a salad which is great… but a salad should be tossed before folded into a wrap. I asked if they had a bowl to put my salad in so I could toss it and the girl just repeated (3x) we have salads or wraps. the only drink they had to offer was ice tea which was at the end of the counter with the register, ice (on the counter) cups, the scale to weigh your food, napkins and silverware. It didn’t leave a lot of room to actually make my wrap!??
My suggestion: they had a little table behind the counter that they were cutting avocado on… Offer your customers who want a wrap a bowl to place their fixings in… at the end of the counter, have the employee toss the salad and actually wrap the salad for you. It would be very easy, they have the help and on the back side of the counter is THE ONLY place to do tha