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White Lotus - CLOSED
Categories: Restaurants Vietnamese Restaurants Vegetarian Vietnamese, Vegetarian [Edit]
303 Lansdowne AveToronto, ON M6K 2W5
Neighbourhood: Brockton Village
(416) 539-8488
- Price Range:
-
$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- Yes
- Take Away:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Good For:
- Dinner
- Alcohol:
- Beer & Wine Only
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
13 reviews for White Lotus
13 reviews in English
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Review from Sandra T.
Toronto, ON
Updated - 4/1/2011
I've been here a couple more times and am always so sad to see this place empty.
I really like this place!!!!
Tried the lemongrass beef with rice platter - soooo yummy! I am a huge fan of lemongrass so this was right up my alley.
The deep fried spring rolls are seriously my favourite rolls - ever!!!!
What is really awesome about this place are the owners.
They provide complimentary CDs and books of buddhist chants/ prayers.
I was also there to see them offer a free meal to this sweet young looking boy who came into the store trying to sell chocolate bars. The boy asked the owners to sell him a bowl of rice (I guess that was all he could afford) so the owners ended up giving him a free meal ...
Hope you give this place a try :)
Oh, and I just wanted to say, there is free street parking if you dare walk through the alley to the houses across the restaurant.1 Previous Review: Show all »
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12/16/2010
I have only eaten here once but it definitely makes my list of top 5 vegetarian restaurants in the… Read more »
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Review from Kent P.
11/27/2010
Went for a classic Bun meal with vermicelli, shredded pork, a spring roll, and vegetables. Best spring roll I've had at a pho spot. End of the meal, someone informed me the entire menu is vegetarian. Mind Fuck.
Big comfortable space, CP24 on in the corner, very friendly staff, and inexpensive.
Free tea!Listed in: VEG that's more than risotto., aZN food ^__^ kekekek
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Review from Vivek S.
So I returned for mock pork with the esteemed Crystal H; it was definitely a strange experience. As per usual there was no one else in the gigantic space. We were waved to a table by a young girl clearly filling a familial obligation, that is to say, she had no idea what she was doing.
It's all about the details really. Like when they brought out the green tea and Crystal almost spat it out in shock. It was ice cold. No biggie. But when the server replaced it, she took the teapot but not our already cups. So we had nothing to pour the HOT tea into. We moved on. Our two bowls of fish sauce were served as disproportionately as possible, with Crystal getting 4% of the broth and me getting the other 96%. Weird. The deep fried tofu app was also a bit of a failure.
Our mains however, were more or less successful. I'm starting to understand why I'm always one of the only two people in this place.Listed in: Places with CP24, No meat? No problem.
1 Previous Review: Show all »
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12/2/2010
Visited here in the blistering cold with top yelper Kent P. This large space could probably seat… Read more »
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Review from Michelle A.
Toronto, ON
As a vegetarian, I really appreciate that places like White Lotus exist, however, this restaurant really seems to fail on execution. I've been to a lot of really great restuarants that do some very tasty/creative things with mock meat, but this restaurant's versions just aren't that appetizing.
Part of my problem was that I didn't read the menu carefully and accidentally ordered plain PHO, which was just mock beef and noodles ($7.50). I shoud've known three different types of mock meat floating around wouldn't really be that appealing. I'm used to the veggie versions of everything where they throw in lots of vegetables in too.
My friend ordered the 'pork' vermicelli, which comes with a deep fried spring roll, mock pork, noodles and a salad. I liked this meal better than mine. We traded mid-meal - I've never been more excited to eat iceberg lettuce salad with cucumbers.
We also ordered an order of fresh 'shrimp' spring rolls. The 'shrimp' tasted more like plain tofu than anything else, but the rolls were really good. They serve it with an excellent peanut sauce for dipping.
For dessert, we ordered a deep friend banana with chocolate ($3). You can choose between chocolate or vanilla. We assumed this meant chocolate or vanilla ice cream- but we were wrong. The dish comes served wtih four huge pieces of (cold) battered/fried banana and a tiny tablespoon of chocolate icing for dipping.
The service was also not that great. The food comes out fast, but nobody cleared our plates (even after they brought desssert), and there were only two tables of people in the whole restaurant! (Side note: The other table had some rice/vegetable dishes, and I agree with other reviews - huges domes of rice, not a lot of vegetables).
Overall, the restaurant is a good option if you're a vegetarian really missing 'pho,' but I lwouldn't drive out of my way for it.Listed in: Very vegetarian-friendly…
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Review from Rian D.
Montréal, QC
9/14/2010
This place is def not getting enough cred for the magical mouth parties that come out of their kitchen. Finally a place I can get some good vegetarian Pho and the BBQ pork and chicken thigh (mock meat) are tastetastic. It's super cheap and best when shared.
My 4 stars is def for the food, bc it's cheap and the service is super friendly. Fancy, hip or cool it is not.
The downside for me is location (although it is close-ish to Roncesvalles) and I guess if you're picky you might not like that the decor is pretty tacky but hell, I'm there for the food.
I recommend the chicken thighs, Pho for sure and the BBQ pork is to die for.
Good news? They deliver! I'm going to order some and nomnomnom now...Listed in: Vegtastic Omnomnoms
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Review from Kevin C.
Toronto, ON
I wanted to grab something quick to eat on my way back from the grocery store, because all that food shopping made me tired and hungry, not a good combination. Luckily the White Lotus happens to be on my walk home. So I stop in and order the Lemon Grass Veggie Chicken, my personal favourite here.
At this point I'm pretty hungry and I'm really dreading the wait. I've never ordered anything to go from here before, but it didn't look that busy so I had high hopes. I ask the cashier how long it would take and she tells me 5 mins. "Yeah right" I think.
So I'm standing there, minding my own business, enjoying the stand, when this older lady tells me to sit down with such motherly force I'm almost thinking I'm in trouble. She then brings me a tea and tells me to drink. Good, I'm not in trouble, I think. Unfortunately I barely have a chance to drink the tea because my meal is ready to go! 5 freaking minutes on the dot! Who do they have working back there?
I bring it home and it's amazing. The Lemon grass veggie chicken is so freakin good, it comes with a great portion of rice and the soup is quite tasty. I couldn't be more pleased with my take out experience here, and with only a 5 minute wait, I'll definitely be stopping in more often. -
Review from D P.
Toronto, ON
10/10/2010
Why... Why 3 stars? Only because it is trying very hard. Very hard. Very! It is all vegetarian so that is great.
However - It was hard to find something that contained real food (such as vegetables ya know) as nearly everything on their menu had a mix of weird textured 'mock' meat. The 'mock' shrimp for example... I just don't know what to say about that shit.
The service was friendly enough and the quality of food was average, as most Asian places are (dont hate me for that one)... You know as you get older and more cynical and you become a better chef yourself your standards get higher - and why shouldnt they?? I could make better than this blindfolded. The saving grace for me was the bean curd.. and I think that was trying to be beef.
Oh - but it is vegetarian!! Maybe I should give it another try. -
Review from angela k.
Toronto, ON
4/14/2010 1 Check-in Here
This all vegetarian Vietnamese restaurant is incredibly tasty.
The menu is vast, there is a lot of mock meat on the menu, and the service is good. Plus, the value is GREAT. Most entrees are less than $10 even after including tax. The portions are huge!
If you go with someone, I highly recommend sharing so you can taste a wide selection of dishes. I went with about ten people for a friend's birthday on my first visit and literally every dish tasted better than the last.
The atmosphere/ambiance leaves a lot to be desired, it's your typical cheap asian food joint in that respect but that's kind of what you sign up for when you're talking about this price point.
Only word of warning, if you order a rice dish I found the serving size of the non-rice portion to be a little on the small side compared to the amount of rice you get. BUT the non-rice portion is so tasty I keep ordering it despite this small downside (as a side note, my favourite is the spare rib and duck dish... . delicious).Listed in: Best Vegetarian in Toronto
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Review from Diana K.
Toronto, ON
7/5/2010
Everything here is vegetarian Vietnamese food. Yes, I was skeptical, but don't let that deter you. Everything here is just as or even more delicious as their meat counterparts in other restos.
The Bun Bo Hue is a testament to their wizardry in the kitchen. Great flavours in a dish traditionally heavily reliant on the presence of beef.
Yes, the day has come where I'd happily choose a vegetarian place and it wouldn't be a compromise. -
Review from Jennifer L.
Toronto, ON
4/5/2011
what can I say! I ate the crap out of everything here and was SO impressed. I had passed by this place several times and immediately thought "this place is sketchy." BOY WAS I WRONG AND LIKE, SO JUDGMENTAL. I dined here with my vegan friend who ordered the crap out of the menu as well. We had it all! BBQ Spareribs, duck, pork, and the springrolls. And it's ALL FAKE MEAT! What what! I could certainly be converted to a vegetarian because of this place. And the avocado shake!! I want another one right this minute!! And the fried bananas with vanilla cream?! BEST DINING EXPERIENCE EVER. And they had all these free DVDs about not eating meat, or something. The server was adorable and so helpful and loved the world!
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Review from Damian L.
Toronto, ON
11/30/2010
I'm no vegetarian, but this was really good Vietnamese food. I ordered Take out. It was great.
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Review from Val G.
12/29/2009 2 Check-ins Here
This all vegetarian vietnamese soup joint serves up bowls like bathtubs of noodles, veggies and really great faux-meats for only $7.50. They also subbed soy for milk on a mango milkshake at no extra cost. I'm generally not one to get all happy-go-lucky about mock meat but they do it so well here. The veggie shrimp was really impressive and so was the Veggie Beef noodle soup. My dining companions found the Tofu + Veggie Soup (the safe choice) a bit bland and wished they had been more adventures. 3.5 stars
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Review from Jenn l.
Toronto, ON
5/14/2011
The people that work here are lovely and pleasant. The food is amazing and they have a large menu with no msg or meat! If you happen to be a vegetarian that loves Pho or any other meat-y Vietnamese dish - you GOTTA try this place!
