Bay Leaf Vegetarian Restaurant
Hours
Profile
Neighborhood
- Southeast
Smoke-free?
- Yes
Reservations?
- Accepted
Wheelchair Accessible?
- Yes
Accepts
$$ - average
Taiwanese, Hot Pot, Thai
Pan-Asian Vegetarian
Bay Leaf Vegetarian Restaurant is a new (late 2005) and unique vegetarian and vegan restaurant in Portland, Oregon. They have substituted high-quality, high-protein soy products for meat for healthy and enjoyable dining experience.
Vegetarian and vegan dishes has influences from many different cultures, with a strong influence from Asian and Chinese, but also European, cuisines. (Sesame tofu, mustard green tofu, eggplant garlic, Yellow Curry, Papaya salad...).
The restaurant is decorated and adorned in a welcoming, relaxing style.
- Kid-Friendly
- Large Group-Friendly
- Private Rooms
- Quiet
- Romantic
Added by joannalovesyou on Jul 4 06 (updated Jul 12)
Reviews
The Bay Leaf was a pleasant surprise when my wife and I stumbled onto it last year. Some friends had recommended it to us prior to the night we found it. One of the rare joy's of the food was that it was so beautifully prepared. The presentation of the food on the plate actually made me feel a twinge of guilt when I jabbed my fork into it and took a taste. Kinda like the twinge you get when chomping the ears off a chocolate bunny, that isn't your bunny, at Easter... The first bite was heavenly, the smell, texture and the taste was fantastic... The only complaint I had was the portions did seem a bit on the small side. Not small in the a serving is 1 1/2 cup and its so tasty I want 3 more servings, more along the line of the 1 1/2c is the serving and It was a 3/4c serving... But all in all I thought the price was reasonable and the service was excellent.. If they bumped the portions up a bit and left the price alone I think they would have people lined up out the door..
My wife and I moved to the Portland area about six months ago and are delighted to have found Bay Leaf. It is one of our favorite restaurants in the greater Portland area. The food is terrific and presented with beauty and class. The atmosphere and service are both warm and inviting. The prices are reasonable.
Whether you are vegan, like me, or not, I think you will enjoy both the food, charm, and value of this little gem.
By the way, make sure you try to sesame Tofu. Fantastic vegan deserts too!
My family and I frequent this restaurant at least twice a month. We've tried nearly every dish on the menu except for those with faux meat. Try the green bean and tofu special, it's heavenly. The sauce is slightly spicy and the heat is offset by the fresh tomato slices. Then there are the mushroom crisps which are seasoned with black pepper and dried seaweed and are delicious. Another dish you have to try is their vegetable tempura. This dish is made of taro,yams and most recently green beans. With the light tempura batter the vegetables are so flavorful. The ambiance in the restaurant is very comfortable and relaxing you can definitely feel the Buddhist influence. These dishes are so wonderful I don't know why people continue to eat meat.
I thought this place was pretty darned good. The prices for lunch were great - $6 per plate! And it's mainly vegan, which is a plus. The waitress was very nice, and the food was great. Yeah, it wasn't spicy enough, but I'll just ask for extra spicy next time. I recommend this place, very nice.
Unfortunately for my family and myself, this restaurant fell flat for us. The food was nothing to write home about, and the atmosphere was cold and uninviting. The lighting in the restaurant was dim. We were seated in the back room at first, with no windows, and artificial lights. We asked to be moved, and it took them awhile to move us. The Hawaiian Fried Rice was poorly made, with only 5 small pieces of pineapple, and tiny frozen peas and carrots added. They were skimpy on the tofu. The other tofu entrees my family had were bland. The fruit smoothies my kids had were artificially flavored, and over sweetened. We were disappointed. Hopefully Bay Leaf will improve.
This is hands-down my favorite vegetarian restaurant in Portland. I don't know how they prepare their tofu, but I almost want to get a job there just to find out. So far, our favorites have been the eggplant crisps (totally haute cuisine) and the sesame tofu. They also offer a different flavor of vegan cheesecake every day. If I could afford it, I'd eat here for every meal.
Superb vegetarian food with an Asian focus. We have eaten there twice and all of the food we've had is delicious. The dishes are prepared in beautiful servings, and the service was kind, and reasonably quick. Quiet Asian music from the Orient plays in the background, and a subtle Buddhist feel compliments things. I'd recommend this restaurant to anyone, you don't have to be vegetarian to enjoy it.
If I had to find negatives I'd say they could use a little more decor, foliage perhaps, which might help separate the tables a little, and perhaps a little better lighting, especially at the back of the restaurant, though there are a lot of window tables that help.
Others have complained about sizes of portions. Either Bay Leaf have fixed this, or the complaint is unfounded, as we thought the portions were perfect size. Another complaint was of some bland food, if this is a concern of yours there are now dishes marked on their menu with stars to indicate they are spicy.