Buddhist Vegetarian Kitchen in Scarborough

During the takeout meal, the amount was 15% less, and the change of 20 yuan was five yuan less, so I went back to get it back.

Mushroom soup was a little bland, but overall a solid chinese restaurant. Got decent amount of food for the price we paid. Vegetarian options: Everything vegetarian

Very curt and unfriendly waiter, sterile and plain dining room with boxes and supplies in the corner,. Food was okay with generous portions but everything had a similar taste. Vegetarian options: Most items are vegan.

A perefect place to get good food and enjoy chinese vegetarian buddhist cuisine.

I rarely ever write bad reviews but the service here was unacceptable. The servers behavior was beyond rude and inappropriate. We ordered a lot of dishes to share between the 3 of us and the server said under her breath: why are you ordering so much?. Like what?? We were the only table in the restaurant and we are supporting your business... why would you complain about the amount someone orders? We could also hear her yelling at the cooks in the kitchen and calling them profanities and telling them they dont know how to cook (we are Cantonese speakers too). She aggressively threw down plates of food onto our table to the point where sauce even splattered everywhere with one dish. She walked away and dismissed us everytime we tried to speak to her. At the end, she basically threw takeout boxes at my Mom - and they fell on the floor!! We were patient and polite but this individual was extremely disrespectful to my family and I for no reason. We just wanted to leave asap and get away from her negative, off putting energy. The food was not even worth putting up with this treatment. There is nothing Buddhist about this restaurant at all.

Family style cooking

This place is awesome. Lots of vegan options available. Amazing customer service and friendly staff. Highly recommend. Vegetarian options: Vegan options Dietary restrictions: Vegan options Parking: Parking right in front of the restaurant Kid-friendliness: Kids are welcome Wheelchair accessibility: Wheelchair access

Dim Sum sauce is thinned....Westerners arr too dumb to notice loss of vital flavor, taste. Bland. A very prejudice place to ....I was s customer on and off for 20 years....they dont care uness you are Chinese ....THEY Are blatant about it ! They always pester for a tip....even though... I never felt really welcomed, doesn t matter how much I spend.

Very good Chinese vegetarian food and busy Vegetarian options: Stir fried veggies was excellent Parking: The parking was good

Just gave it a try on a recommendation. Very tasty. Had the Veggie Noodle, with Veggie balls and mushrooms in black bean sauce. Yum! I have a new food option in North Scarborough to try.

Yummy veggie versions of popular Chinese dishes.

So delicious and always brings back good memories.

good food for the dollar spent. nothing fancy. clean

Good vegetarian take out food. Could be a long wait if its busy. Some of the dishes have very similar sauces. The sweet and sour chicken was pretty close to the real deal.

Lovely family owned business for Chinese vegetarian food. We sat down for lunch today and had the dan dan noodles and a stir fry noodle. You can pick and choose from a dozen of soy options for takeout or to enjoy in house, as they are kept hot in the front of house.

Great customer service and the food is awesome!

their foods are good compared with other Chinese vegetarian restaurant in Toronto, but dont expect servers smiles to you

I didn t even bother to take photos of my food. That was a really bad experience. I usually pack my leftover. But the food I ordered today either tasted bad or not cooked properly. One of them was e-fu noodles. They fried the noodles and then put the sauce on top just exactly the way to cook Cantonese fried noodles. So hard to chew. Do they really know how to cook e-fu noodles? The restaurants I ve visited so far, they usually have to cook and soften the noodles first and then mix with ingredients. And the waitress was rude. When I asked something, she looked unhappy and told us to sit with bad attitude. At the end after I paid, I was taking my money. She even reminded me TIPS !!! I still have to her but definitely I won t go back.

food is okay, but not much choice

only ordered takeout from the section at front of store.... excellent quality of the gluten and bean curd... great value from pricing... especially the party tray

Zhai braised food, right!

I live in Mississauga and when ever I go to the east side, I always go to this Buddhist Vegetarian for a takeout, now that they avoid serving customers in the restaurant as a result of the pandemic. My favourites are fry tofu , fry eggplant and meatballs with caixin . I tried other Chinese vegetarian restaurants for the same dishes, but Buddhist Vegetarian got my taste buds! Language is a problem. You talk to them nice, they respond in kind. The pandemic had made things difficult for most restaurants and they are trying to stay in the business, especially vegetarian one like this family run one! I just love their ... For Thanksgiving 2023, I am having my son who lives in the East bring me the same dishes while they have their turkey! Be Vegan Make Peace!

Lots of options and decent food. A little under seasoned for me and my guest. Would recommend getting takeout and adding soy sauce/chili/hot sauce at home. Huge portions. Ordered $60 of food and could have easily fed 4 or 5 people.

Food is delicious, especially for Chinese. Vegetarian options: All food are for vegetarian. Parking space Somewhat difficult to find parking

Love the soup noodles and veg dishes! Amazing and been going there since a child!

Best Chinese vegetarian offerings here.

Amazing taste!

Taste good and healthy

I was excited to try this place after so many years but I guess there was a good reason for that. Firstly, when we were ordering the food (in-person) the person working there was a bit rude and rushing us. She told us it will take 10 mins at least so we waited outside and when we went to pick it up she just handed me the bags. Only when we got home did we realize that this does not look like what we ordered. We ordered 4 things : vegetarian ball & & cashew nut (i asked her if it was a sauce and she said yes), fried noodles with mix veggies, fried rice, and kung pao chicken. The fried rice barely tasted fried, the noodles werent cooked properly and frankly it looked sloppy the way they just put the noodles and dumped the veggie and sauce on top. However, what was really infuriating is that we ordered a vegetarian ball but there was no ball... just mushroom and cashews... and then the kung pao chicken looked exactly the same. Ive attached the images because if you ordered those items, would you expect these? We thought maybe they gave me the wrong order by accident (even though when she saw me she immediately shoved it to me). Therefore, we called them... no response. We went all the way back there to ask and it was locked.. no one was there. Mind you this was around 6:50pm.. they say they close at 9pm. I was at least hoping to give this a 2 star rating but the food was not good at all. I dont like writing negative reviews but this was just an overall terrible experience and wanted to warn people before wasting their money.

Food is ok....but washroom is deplorable...and this washroom reflects the whole restaurant quality.....never going back...my friends said the same thing also...

Taste OK

Ive been coming here for the last 30 yrs. Love this place

Loved the food. Excellent vegetarian/vegan selection of authentic Chinese cuisine

Love their food, but service and ambiance... much to be desired of. Dreary looking.

My absolutely favourite vegetarian restaurant . Never disappointed ! Always fresh .

Long story short, we ordered take out. The person that we spoke to (assuming is the owner?) asked can we come now, we said yes we can so we did. When we arrived at the restaurant, the restaurant was closed! We couldnt receive our order and had to order from somewhere else, which delayed our dinner by an hour. The next day, she called again though we missed the call because we were away from home. We eventually called her back. Turns out that she blamed us for not coming to pick up the food, but we did! We even confirmed a note that we saw on her window about a private home sale in Markham. If we did not have come to the restaurant, how would we have known about the notice? She also blamed us saying this was the 2nd time that an order was received but nobody picked it up. Of course that is not true...why would we order and not come to pick it up...isnt it silly? She knew we were long time customers too. She said she called our house, but obviously we were not home as we were on the way to the restaurant. She should have asked for our cell phone contact if she wanted to contact us and not assume we were close by (we had to travel for at least 20 minutes to get to the restaurant!). And logically speaking, if what she said was true, why would we even bother to call her back when we saw her missed call? Super disappointed at her behavior and blaming us for her mistakes. After more than 25+ years of buying food from this restaurant, this is how the store owner treats her long time customers. And the most disappointing thing was she said the next time she sees our number she would not pick up to receive the order. Could you believe that!? This is not the only vegetarian restaurant in the GTA, and certainly other restaurants treat their own customers with respect. Definitely will not order take out from this restaurant ever again!!!

Very tasty vegetarian food and very reasonable price

Reasonable price.

Nice vegan food for those with a budget in mind. Fast efficient service.

Good selections and foods didnt taste too much msg.

Absolutely in love with their tray of an assortment of mock meats made of bean curd. No clue what its called in English...with that said, little signage (if any) in English inside the restaurant. Tray of assorted mock meats are ready to go as you order. I havent been very impressed with the rice and noodle dishes though. Very mediocre. Their stir-fry with mock meats are more worth your money. I dont know how to describe it, but they prepare the same ingredients (bean curd, tofu, etc.) in different ways and thus achieves varying textures. Its quite amazing.

The best vegetarian food Ive ever had. You would never guess it wasnt.

Been going here to eat with my family since I was little and been ordering most of the staple items consistently. Love their flavor and food. The stuffed bean curd, fried chow mein with mixed vegetables, and vegetarian dim sum are musts! Every time I order takeout here it brings back good childhood memories.

The server was a little rude and the foods were super oily. However, the taste was still good. We got the mock duck and fried noodles with three types of mushroom.

Tastes so good! Would get it more often if I lived closer!

Been going there for 25+ years. A great non-meat bunch of tastes

The waitress was not helpful at all, the dishes don t have description on the menu and she was so impatient even though there were like 3 tables busy. We had to rush and pick random stuff which was awful. Do not go if you are not speak or aren t familiar with Chinese culture/cuisine. We did not enjoy our meal there

We love coming here! great food and service.

Large quantity food. You will like this place if u like soy/seitan foods. However, i personally thought the food was bland. Quick service. I doubt if its fresh.

Good prices, delicious variety of vegetarian options

Very good Always get the variety dish they have on display bar 5 or 10$ Many varieties of bean curds, tofu, and mock meats Fair pricing and friendly service

The Buddhist Vegetarian Kitchen has been around for ages. It is one of the oldest vegetarian restaurants in this area! While, food can be oily, as with most more traditional Buddhist vegetarian restaurants; their dishes are none-the-less delicious. The oil used in one dish can probably be used for four to five dishes at another restaurant. To avoid a moment on your lips, a lifetime on our hips/guts situation, you can inform the kitchen to cook with less oil when the order is being placed. This will reduce the mishaps of the dishes being drenched in oil. My go-to dish is stirred fry rice cake. Its usually enough for 2 meals. its always delicious. Rice cakes are constantly perfectly cooked with a slight chew and not too soft. Overall, support local and visit The Buddhist Vegetarian Kitchen if you are in the area! Take out and delivery on UBER Eats are available during this physical isolation period.

Moat popular place for the veggie restaurant, Its has been there for a long period of time.. When ever I think of the veggie dishes.. This is the place..

Google hours are wrong. Wednesday 7:30pm its closed. :( Came all the way from Ottawa for this. Im critically wounded in no way any vegan meal can save me.

My family has been coming to this restaurant for over 30 years! The ladies still recognize my sister and I when we come. This place has the best vegan/vegetarian food and have always been a favourite of ours since I grew up vegetarian! The Dim Sum is fantastic, lemon chicken, anything with the black bean sauce and the stuffed bean curds. Honestly everything is great. This place has a special place in my heart and my families and I will always highly recommend. Also, while in the plaza check out the bakery next door!

Great vegan options

Very cheap and affordable. Small place and lots of variety in the menu. Good portions. Food is very greasy and full of oil, however. Taste is moderate.

I havent been to this place in a while but I would like to give it 4 stars. Perhaps it HAS gone down in quality but I am still surprised that this little hole in the wall is STILL here! I remember going to this place when I was a kid back in the 90s and ALWAYS ALWAYS loved their sweet and sour pork gluten or their dim sum. It was way cheaper then but inflation does what it does. Asians especially those that are from an older gen has no real timing on their food reaching your tables. So say an app, for Westerners typically we would get that first before the main meal....welp, sorry, dish that out the window because whatever is made first comes to your table first. OR if more than one table made that same order, expect it to be delayed because cooking 2 dish with 1 wok. In the 90s, they never wore gloves but they had the metal tongs to handle the display food to cut up for the veggie mock-ups and I never seen her handle my food with bare fingers I should revisit this place and hopefully my 4 stars doesnt change! #childhoodmemories

Dont be fooled by the managers cold exterior. English just isnt her thing, thats all. The food is yummy.

The large vegetarian meatballs at this restaurant are delicious. The fried noodles are a bit hard but pretty good. The mushrooms are also delicious. The portions are quite generous and substantial.

Chinese vegetarian restaurant. Take out counter at the front with a small selection for quick pickup. Assortedjuy vegetarian platter is not flavourful though.

Consistently delicious vegeterian food. Wife and I go quite often. Try the pea shoots, faux-fried chicken, fried rice. All amazing!

Good vegetarian food.

Ive only had good experiences here. Ive read some of the other reviews, and I was saddened to hear the average to horrible experiences by other people. That being said, I tend to go in, order my food, and leave, so I havent been able to get the same experience as others. I can tell that they tend not to be a fan of speaking English, which may contribute to a feeling of prejudice, but I hope Im wrong. Otherwise, I am very happy with the taste of the food and my quick experiences with the staff. I can get a little pricey so its a little vegetarian treat every once in a while. I truly hope that everyone has a good experience with the staff, and that the staff need to understand that most other cultures enjoy experiencing the foods of others and that sometimes a little effort is needed to bridge that gap so both sides can come out happy, and on the customers side, fed as well.

The only place I have found that serves good/flavourful bean curd <jah>. The pricing is fair and the person at the front cuts it up and puts together your plate in front of you (with option of having some items instead of others). It is a tad oily but its not drenched in it when they put it in the container - be aware this is the process in making and preserving them so its relatively normal. There are different flavours and textured bean curds. Cost is approx $10 for a large. They speak canto here. Every time ive been here there arent a lot of people eating inside. I usually take it to go.

The place is a bit small, the food is good, the taste is OK, and the price is reasonable. For those who like vegetarians, it is worth a try.

Love it. Recommend it. Dont sleep on this place. Its been open for years over 20yrs so think about it, but dont play yourself haa this place is a goto. OTHER people care about atmosphere and blah blah blah. Im about food and good food, especially vegetarian food.

The waiters attitude is really average. I dont know why he is so cold and impatient. There seems to be no salt or seasoning in the soup. The oil used for cooking is the same oil that has been used to fry other foods. There is a lot of it and the quantity is very large. But whats the point of having a poor taste? Woolen cloth

Very small family style bistro. Really love the assorted vegetarian gluten dish, it should be one of the best in town. Price is very reasonable. We ordered fired noodles, congee and small assorted vegetarian gluten dish, and only cost $19.

The service is indifferent and the food tastes...

I had spring rolls, sweet and sour chicken, and 3 mushroom fried rice. It was ok! The chicken is a bit tofu-y, not as nice as some mock chickens. the spring rolls were a bit mushy inside and tasted a bit like old deep fryer oil. the fried rice was EXCELLENT. Service is pretty limited so don t except some crazy great service.

Too much oil, and the food is only average

Small place, but good food and good prices

Greasy vegan Chinese food, love it.

Prices are moderate and food is average.

My first taste of Chinese vegetarian cuisine was from Buddhist Vegetarian Kitchen, a cozy casual restaurant tucked in a dated but nonetheless well-trafficked plaza in Scarborough. Things have changed: lunches were busier in my childhood, whereas on a recent visit there was no wait despite it being the weekend; and things were drenched in oil, while now they show restraint. What stayed constant is their low prices and simple but satisfying dishes. Do not visit without getting a plate of the vegetarian dim sum (the small pictured for $4.50), which is deceiving as it s not really the steamed dumplings synonymous with dim sum. Rather, they are pieces of gluten and tofu, prepared in different manners (braised, fried, steamed) and flavoured with various sauces (sweet soy, curry, sweet and sour) all served warm to munch on at the beginning of the meal. This is the it dish for the place. In fact, you ll see many people visit just to get this as take out. The stuffed bean curd skin ($4.50) was one of my favorite dishes, but sadly the recipe has changed. While they re less oily, it s now deep fried instead of pan fried so there s no difference in texture on the wrapper (I loved having the contrasting crispy and silky bites of the past). The filling, which was hot and plentiful in the past, is now stingy and lacks all the different vegetables and fungus that gave it the interesting flavours. Buddhist Vegetarian Kitchen s soups are all a combination of bean curd, vegetable, corn and bamboo - the sweet corn soup with vegetable and bean curd ($4.50 for small) is one that offers three of the four ingredients. It s a simple concoction made with a semi thick cream corn base with tons of tofu and bits of mushrooms mixed in. It s tasty, but a few chopped green onions would help add some colour.

Great spectrum of delicious Chinese vegetarian food here. Been a patron for almost 20 years now!

Cuntong vegetarian dishes, delicious

Old style, foods are good

Good food! And vegetarian!

Came here for lunch and it s not bad for vegetarian food. The place is pretty small and prices are reasonable. I did enjoy their noodle soup and the staff has low patience so it s better to know what you want to order cus if you are trying to figure while they are their they will just walk away and tend to to other customers.

A small place but surprisingly good food. Highly recommended.

Great healthy food. Price is midrange. Small place but have tables enough to accomodate party of 8 Parking a bit busy.

Tasty food, reasonable prices, slightly on the oily side.

The owner has a bad attitude and impatient. If your English speaking the are definitely talking smack about you in Cantonese. THE ATTIDUDE IS SOOO BADDDDD. English speakers beware.

Family owned style vegi restaurant with reasonably priced , big portion and above average quality food. Place is small, good for small group and more casual gathering, lots of people buy their home made vegi.

I m with the comments regarding bad attitude, I just thought I caught the waitress on a bad day. The food was ok. Definitely better choices elsewhere.

Been here dozens of times, mostly for take out. Love everything they offer. 5 stars.

Great Vegan food

each dish is very big, so you shouldnt need to order a lot of dishes. dishes are very yummy.

Been coming here for over 20yrs...excellent food!!! Now we bring our Grandkids

I will not recommend of going to this restaurant !! We ordered Spring rolls andctwo other dishes. We were surprised that the other 2 comes first and we eat and still waiting for Spring rolls. We fibish the other 2 dishes and 10 minutes after our Spring rolls comes that was supposed to be an appetizer.

I really don t recommend you to come to this restaurant , it was my worst experience. I saw the waitress cutting meat and touching other foods with bare hands. Spring rolls came after we ate our other two dishes. Appetizers should be the first to serve right?

Amazing food

The food is tasty

Good food, average service. I stick to take out.

Not impressed..not a welcoming environment if not Asian. Food container right beside the entrance door. Didnt look very good and the owners didnt come over to seat me so I left. Was NOT worth the drive.

Great food

Food is pretty good but the staffs who are working there is a problem of the restaurant, but I would still visit them for the foods.

Some of the best Chinese vegetarian food in the city. Great value

I am one of your costumer since 25 years ago. I came with my son who was in kindergarten since now he is 30 years old. always always always i enjoy your food especially Bean cord . i love your place and food. it is very classical for me. thanks

The prices on the menu are reasonable, and generally less MSG to be used on the food.

The problem is they put a 10% surcharge without letting you know if you are taking out.

This is probably one of the better vegetarian places in Scarborough. The dishes are decent portions. The flavors are good.

Great Chinese vegetarian spot, good service & first thought that came to mind after our meal was done is that the food was clean, even if it was more on the oily side.

Great variety

The food is one thing. This restaurants waitresses/owners are the worst. Have you heard of people bad mouthing customers out loud and telling people should quit being a Vegetarian or Vegan? When we didnt offend them a bit. This place is called Buddhist vegetarian, I see not an ounce of Buddhist practice or views in these people. They bad mouth people in Chinese, which I happen to understand every single word of it. I strongly recommed go to a real Buddhist restaurant where you can get some Healthy Peaceful food. Dont let phony buddhists poison you with negative energy

Tucked in an extremely busy plaza its easy to miss with all the other restaurants nearby. They have some of the best vegetarian bbq in the city. The takeout traffic is high but at the right time the tables are filled. Ive tried a couple dishes and they generally taste better eaten at the restaurant. Overall its a good vegetarian restaurant if youre in the area.

Decent vegetarian place. Things a bit on the oily side but things come quickly. An easy come and go place.

I was fascinated in the idea of mock meat dishes, but this place did not live up to other Buddhist restaurants. Both the hot and sour soup and the minced beef soup were bland and I left after appetizers.

I am a regular at this vegetarian restaurant and its one of the best. I often buy the mixed veggie dimsum and bring it over to guests and always get good feedback. The mixed vegetable deluxe and is good and also the Shredded vegetable rice noodle (item 74) is very good.

Quick, yummy

Yummy

Food is okay but do not get the dim sum. It was incredibly cold and hard to stomach. Everything else was delicious.