Vegetarian House
$$ - average
Chinese
Mostly-vegan Chinese food
One of four mainly vegan restaurants in the Phoenix metro area, The Vegetarian House is the best-known of them.
There are nearly a hundred entrees available; mostly mock-meat dishes that will surprise you with their (soy) similarity to the more conventional food. (Though if you order one of the many mock meat dishes without ordering any additional veggies, it may prove to be a little too much "meat" - and nothing else - for one person.)
Naturally, there's also great vegetable selections, such as the veggie Chow Mein; the Yui-shan eggplant; the stuffed tomatoes; the broccoli and Chinese mushroom; the snow peas and mushroom (Mmmmmmmm good...); and the renowned Seventh Heaven Salad (that says it all!). The Eggplant and the Mu Shoo Veggie wrap appetizer (4 wraps to an order) are as good as any in town.
Plus, this place serves brown rice with meals! (Though, at $1 a pop.)
The Vegetarian House is not much of a place to look at from the outside, but great vegan food on the inside; in a quiet, homey atmosphere; immaculately clean inside, brightly-lit, modern-looking, and nicely decorated.
Be advised: service here is (waaaaaaaaaay beyond) exceptionally slow. Anticipate a near-glacial-like-service experience on most nights. (As the staff tends to move slower than a snail's pace.) If you don't have (at least) an extra hour or two to kill, place your order to go, so at least you'll have your food (and you will have paid for it) in a rather timely fashion. Otherwise, expect (up to interminably) long waits for them to take your order, bring out the food, and (if you're lucky) have them bring you the check. This is especially true if there's only a few customers in the place. (They can have a full staff on hand, yet act oblivious toward any customers there.) Service is much better for large groups; once you get them moving, they move.
Just east of the southeast corner of 32nd St and Indian School Rd in Phoenix.
- Large Group-Friendly
- Macrobiotic
- Quiet
- Romantic
Added by Eric Waters on Jun 13 04 (updated Apr 6 07)
Reviews
I'm not typically the type of person to give a venue I like (on a scale of 1-10) an automatic "10"; and places I don't like an automatic "1." But I'm giving this restaurant a 10 because it's one of but a few truly vegetarian restaurants in the Phoenix area, and they gets bonus points for that alone. I've eaten here dozens of times, and have been reasonably happy time with the food. Service really does vary; it can be incredibly slow, but not always. And the food can really vary, depending on what you order. Just because you order something that doesn't suit your taste doesn't necessarily mean the other 99+ other things on the menu are equally distasteful. I say that because it's the food that keeps me going back and again and again for more; food that's consistently tasty and predictable in portion size and quality, depending on what you order! And who can beat the prices? Entrees in the $5-6 range? Granted, this place is not a 5-star restaurant, but if you're going into a place like this with that kind of expectations (for entrees that are $5-6), you'll probably be disappointed with everything about this place. Nevertheless, the Vegetarian House is my favorite restaurant in the entire Valley! Try it yourself!
This place wasn't good. The food is boring and tasteless and the service was slow. Do not waste your time.
I have been wondering what type of restaurant is this. At last I made it last evening. Here is my rating,
I took my family for a early dinner, 6.30 PM
Taste - Great
Service - Good (Not slow, there were few people though)
Servings - Not big (Very hungry, you need 1 1/2 to 2 servings, if starting directly with main course)
Quality - Good
Over All Rating - I had to keep it 9, because every place needs improvement
They have Raw materials you can buy them too.
Personal Suggestion - If you have not gone there, Go! Go! Go! Don't think.
All those suggested Lemon Grass chicken, Thanks a lot. I can see in the menu, they have even changed the price... :)
Ask, Ask, Ask
what each item is?
What is the quantity?
Gravy or Dry?
Then you will really enjoy
If you read till this, you should go for this restaurant at least once. Wait! With a open mind!
Have a good meal!
I am not sure why my review was deleted. I am very fair and open-minded when it comes to food. This place was NOT accomidating and flat out rude. They also have some items which are NOT vegan, but the menu says meat and dairy free on the front. I will not go back.
We absolutely LOVE going to this restaurant! We are Vegetarian and have been for many years, it is such a relief to go into a restaurant and order ANYTHING from the menu! Not only are the choices extensive, but we have not had a meal that we didn't decide that it was our new 'favorite'. But our all time favorite has to be the Lemon Grass 'Chicken'!! If you are veggie or even non veggie, you will find a LOT here to enjoy and be healthier to boot! And did I mention that the prices are very very reasonable.
Some mentioned that service was slow?? Not when we've been there. It wasn't as fast as a fast food restaurant to be sure, but it wasn't as slow as some 'top' restaurants in town we've been to. Take your time, eat a meal and don't rush :)
Go Veggies!!
Very extensive menu! I enjoyed the many varieties of mock meats.
The lunch specials were exceptionally cheap ... under 5 bucks which included entree+rice, soup, and tea!! Many mock meat (chicken, pork, beef, squid) options plus veggies and tofu ... I tried the mock squid; it was pretty good and quite real. They had good coconut juice too! Portions were good. Very relaxing music playing. Check it out!
Food was good, but not astonishing. Expected more. Still, I keep coming back.
This place really is phenomenal. Their lemon grass chicken is to die for. I would highly recommend this place to anyone, vegetarian, vegan or otherwise, you will not be disappointed. Yummy.
i didn't find this place to be as good as all the hype. the food is good and prices are decent. the only problem i've found since i've moved to phoenix is the random hours they decide to be open. it seems like every time we tried to eat there they were closed on the hours the sign said they were open. i would suggest calling first.
A wonderful, peaceful, very vegan-friendly food. Since moving to this new location about four years ago the food had fluctuated between good and average, but they're back in a groove and the food is great again. A great place to take a crowd; non-vegetarians will also enjoy it.
A wide variety of dishes, all with meat names, but almost all vegan. They even have vegan flan! The only place I know of where a vegan can order a lobster and get a vegan entree.
It's certainly nice to have such a large veg menu, but I have never liked the food I got. It looks and tastes like it came out of a can. I'd give it a lower rating, but my husband thought his food was decent.