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Veggie Garden Restaurant
Categories: Restaurants Vietnamese Restaurants Vegetarian Restaurants Chinese Vietnamese, Vegetarian, Chinese [Edit]
10582 100 StEdmonton, AB T5H 2R6
(780) 757-9060
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- No
- Take Away:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Noise Level:
- Average
- Has TV:
- No
6 reviews for Veggie Garden Restaurant
6 reviews in English
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Review from Matthew L.
Edmonton, AB
While we planned on dining at Padmanadi for Sarah's Birthday, we couldn't, as Padmanadi is closed on Mondays. So, we were in the neighbourhood and decided to give Veggie Garden a try.
Tucked on a sidestreet, Veggie Garden isn't in the most obvious location, but it's still fairly convenient to downtown. The restaurant has a fairly up-to-date, if plain design and the restaurant (and washrooms) are very clean. Yes, you could take your neat-freak Aunt here.
The food is pretty standard Vietnamese com chay (vegetarian food), plus a number of chinese fake meat favourites. Sarah and I greatly enjoyed the (fake) lemon chicken.
We also relished the opportunity to enjoy WonTon Soup. The thin vegetarian spring rolls were also the best we've had in Edmonton.
We also ordered a (fake) seafood noodle dish. Sarah was expecting chow mein noodles, but the restaurant used very fresh tasting thicker noodles instead. Sarah didn't like the fake fish texture, but i liked it a bit more.
And like the other authentic Vietnamese restaurants in town, Veggie Garden serves a number of delicious fruit smoothies and other sweet drinks, including fresh lemon soda and vietnamese coffee (with condensed milk).
I don't think Veggie Garden will convert any carnivores to vegetarianism, but it's a great addition to Edmonton's vegetarian food scene.
Service is very friendly and Ky, the owner, was very thankful we found her restaurant and that we were eating there. They are open every day of the week.Listed in: The Underdog Challenge
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Review from Can D.
Edmonton, AB
2/28/2012
5 stars! Love love! The food was great! It was fresh, flavourful, non-greasy, obviously sans-msg (a good thing).
I can't wait to try every dish on the very extensive menu but so far I can comment that the summer rolls, tofu and mushroom satay, lemon chicken, and coconut rice are all delicious! My favorite was actually the lemon chicken! I thought it was odd that this popular chinese meat dish was on the menu so I just had to have it! Plus, I haven't had lemon chicken in years.... and I must say it really hit a spot I didn't know I had! The lemon sauce was excellent and the chicken was the perfect consistency for wheat gluten chicken! YUM! I would be super impressed if they made their own faux meats but even if they don't (c'mon, no one does), I'm still a huge fan.
I really hope this place catches on and gives the "leading vegetarian restaurant" a real run for its money. Not only does Veggie Garden prepare their food perfectly, its also non-expensive unlike the leading vegetarian restaurant. All dishes are below $10.
Perhaps my review is slightly biased considering I'm super excited we have a new vegetarian restaurant in Edmonton, but I think this is a place even meat eaters can enjoy! -
Review from Rachel F.
1/22/2012
I now have a new restaurant on my list of favourites in Edmonton: Veggie Garden Restaurant, a vegetarian Chinese-Vietnamese restaurant in China Town. Oh my goodness, this place is fabulous!
Our group of four arrived on a snowy Edmonton evening and were greeted by warm and welcoming staff and a hot pot of tea, which was continuously refilled throughout the evening. The menu was a bit overwhelming, especially since, as vegetarians, we are used to having 1 or 2 options and suddenly, we had page after page after page of delicious dishes available to us. Our group decided upon a few appetizers: cilantro cakes, the shredded "pork" skin rolls, and the salty, crispy shiitake (from the chef's menu). While the cilantro cakes were not overwhelming (I think I prefer the ubiquitous green onion cakes), the other appies were outstanding. I especially like the "pork" skin rolls (a combination of shredded potato and jicama) - so good. One member of our party also had the hot & sour soup, which he enjoyed, though it didn't dazzle him. We ordered so many appetizers, fearing that at around $6.99 per entree, our portions would not be very large. We were wrong.
For entrees, we had the lemongrass "shrimp" vermicelli bowl, the tofu and shiitake in black bean sauce, the "chicken" with snow peas and cashews, and the special, ginger beef. My least favourite of these dishes was the one I had chosen, the shrimp vermicelli. It wasn't bad, in fact it was quite good, but it didn't hold up to the spectacular dishes with which it was served. The chicken was a nice, chewy texture, though the dish itself needed some spicing up from the various sauces on the table. The ginger beef certainly gives the dish with the same name at Padmanadi a run for its money. And I say that as one whose #1 dish at Padmanadi is the ginger beef. This one was excellent. And at nearly half the cost of Padmanadi's, this dish may come out the winner in a contest between the two. By far, the best dish of the night was the tofu in black bean sauce. The black bean sauce was absolutely perfect, the tofu crisp on the outside and the shiitake mushrooms completed the dish flawlessly.
My partner and I also had avocado smoothies while our friends had Vietnamese coffee. I loved the smoothies. Yum!
In total, our bill came to $68!! For four people! With four large entrees and all of those appetizers and extras! Surely, this restaurant is one of the best bargains in town. I highly recommend going. I will certainly be back. Again and again and again. -
Review from Mus H.
Edmonton, AB
4/20/2012
Best vegetarian food in the city. Service is excellent, friendly, clean. Recommend everyone to try it. My favorite restaurant.
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Review from Paula K.
12/28/2011 ROTD 1/30/2012
Vegetarians in Edmonton have another option for Asian food, thanks to Veggie Garden Restaurant.
The interior of the restaurant is very similar to the one that inhabited the space prior, save for the booth seats being reupholstered. It is large, bright, and very clean.
What has changed quite a bit is the menu. It consists of page after page of familiar Vietnamese and Chinese dishes, but with no meat products whatsoever. Instead of "real" chicken, beef, pork, and seafood, substitutes are made from soy and gluten. Tofu is another protein found commonly in the dishes at Veggie Garden. Fish sauce is not served alongside the meals, nor is oyster sauce incorporated into the food.
I ordered a rice noodle soup with tofu, mushrooms, dried bean curd, veggie ham, and veggie chicken. It was basically a vegetarian version of pho (Vietnamese noodle soup) with the works. The large bowl was full of noodles, different kinds of mushrooms, and the various proteins. The veggie ham was definitely the winner - it looked and tasted similar to the real thing. The veggie chicken had a chicken-like taste, with a texture similar to skin. The few cubes of tofu were fried and the bean curd was chewy and sweet.
My dining companion chose stirfried thick rice noodles topped with mushrooms, tofu, and mixed vegetables. He mostly wanted the thick rice noodles, and paid less attention to what they were served with. "What are these?" he asked, pointing to one of the tofu cubes. He groaned when I told him what it was, but turned out to like it after putting the morsel in his mouth. When he was finished, he had no complaints.
At only around $7 for each of our dishes, Veggie Garden has incredible value. For another few dollars we had an appetizer of cilantro cakes. They were like green onion cakes, but with cilantro instead of the onion. The flavour of the cilantro was not as bold as green onion, but the cakes were delightfully crispy and served with a rather interesting pink sweet sauce.
Other menu items include a variety of soups, vermicelli noodle bowls, stir fries, chow mein, fried rice, and sizzling platters. Most meals are under $10 and most menu items are also suitable for vegans (no animal products).
A sign on the wall (and notice on their website) proclaims four commitments:
1. 100% Vegetarian - no meat products of any kind
2. No MSG
3. A clean and family atmosphere
4. Affordable pricing and great promotions
Veggie Garden is a restaurant that keeps its promises. -
Review from Aditya R.
It's funny that there are two altogether different Veggie Garden restaurants in Edmonton. I had been to the Indian restaurant on the south side about six weeks back and tried this one more recently. My! Can I just take a pause and say that it's refreshing that Edmonton is opening up to more vegetarian options? This place is pretty much the poor cousin of Padmanadi.
Located in Chinatown, though a good two steps away from all the glitter. Like many Asian restaurants in Edmonton, they serve a combination of Chinese and Vietnamese food. Whatever I had was actually quite good. I started off with cilantro cakes (yes, green onion cakes but with cilantro instead). Now if you're in the mood to try something different - go for it! I THOROUGHLY enjoyed it and found the flavor of these cakes to be a bit stronger than regular green onion cakes.
I also got to try some of the salad rolls - another hit although I wasn't too fond of the slice of fake ham in it but generally fake meat is decent and so was this. I ordered the Wonton Wor soup, which is basically wontons, mushrooms, greens, veggies, fake shrimp etc. all dumped into this delicious broth. The broth had an earthy and fresh taste to it. I've used vegetarian broth before but this was far more flavorful. I suppose the fresh greens and veggies wilting in the broth helped in flavoring it well.
My dining mate's mushroom soup was actually far more delicious looking and she seemed to really (REALLY) like it! So basically, I have to go back damn it!Listed in: Hidden Gems, Green massacre
