Surrey's reminds me of the first restaurants opened by people my age in the 1970s, full of innocent natural wholesomeness. A closer look at the menu reveals all the fat, bacon, red meat, and butter of any other neighborhood restaurant. However, that's like the steak on a seafood restaurant's menu: it's there so you can bring friends with limited appetites. What charms Surrey's regulars are the fresh juices, vegetables, whole grains, and all the rest of that eating culture. So it works for everybody.
Greg Surrey opened in a converted Lower Garden District house in 2001, at first focusing on the juice bar, salads, and offbeat breakfasts. The place caught on to a near-cult degree almost immediately, and that encouraged the growth of the menu. A number of now-major chefs passed through Surrey's kitchen over the years, leaving their imprints. Surrey's made a lot of friends by reopening quickly after Katrina, when its sort of food made people feel good.
The premises in the Lower Garden District are a bit cramped, with small tables lining the walls of a narrow room illuminated with naked light bulbs and stirred by ceiling fans. The tall ceilings help, as do the sidewalk tables. There's a bit more space in the juice bar section. At the Uptown location, things are a bit breezier and open, although there are not many open spaces left unused.
Go for breakfast during the week. It's tremendously crowded on Saturday and Sunday. Avoid the tofu dishes, unless you eat that sort of thing all the time.
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