01/30/09

Poor Service

by shallysharma

Me and my boyfriend have been to Golden Lotus about 4 times. The food is okay but the service is sooooooooo poor that it spoils your mood to enjoy the food and its expensive. One meal can easily cost u over $30.00 . It is also loud, and not peacful to enjoy your meal.

07/08/08

Nothing special

by JDandHL

The food has been okay but not great. The last time I went in I found a long black hair in my entree and was so grossed out that I completely lost my appetite. I'm not sure I'll ever go back.

• Pros: all vegetarian menu
• Cons: lack of cleanliness in kitchen

02/15/08

Excellent Vegetarian Food - Wonderful Staff

by Miltonhare

Golden Lotus at Franklin and 13th St. in Oakland is an excellent restaurant with a friendly staff committed to vegan principles. I have eaten at the Golden Lotus over 50 times and have introduced many returning customers. The food is very tasty, always fresh. There is a culinary artistry here that you often don't experience in vegetarian restaurants. The sauces are very tasty. I personally like No. 61, sauted string beans and tofu in a wonderful garlic sauce. The restaurant is open until 9:00 PM so it's good for lunch or dinner. There is inexpensive parking at the Merchant's Garage directly across the street, accessible on the Webster Street side of its square block.

• Pros: Very tasty food, friendly service

02/11/08

WOW! I need more stars... five isn't enough!

by BobbyMarne

I still remember my first time at the Golden Lotus... I was expecting some salad bar with tofu on the side. Needless to say when I picked up the menu I was blown away. They have such a variety! ... and to top it off they were quick to customize the orders. I personally hate peanuts... and once I mentioned it they completely erased it from the dish, AND added a different veggie sauce that just blew my taste buds away.

This is a place were you'll go once... then suddenly find yourself craving it the rest of the week. Even if you're not vegetarian, you'll find the flavors to be great and surprisingly realistic.

The one negative I will say is that if you go on a busy day, there might be a bit of a wait and the waiters might be a bit stressed.... but for me, the food more than takes care of that minor fault.

~B

• Pros: food, taste... everything!
• Cons: ... busy sometimes.

10/30/07

HORRIBLE SERVICE!

by bomp77

My boyfriend and I were really excited to try The Golden Lotus after reading such good reviews online. When we got to the restaurant, we waiting about 20 mins for our take-out and paid $30 for a thing of Hot and sour soup, lemon chicken, 3 spring rolls, rice which you have to buy separate, AND for the boxes they put your food in ( a dollar extra for containers...wtf)! We get home excited to try our food..and after about 2 minutes of dishing everything up, and realizing they screwed up our order, we put in all back into our paid for boxes and drive back. NO LEMON SAUCE FOR THE Fake chicken??? A soup that smelled like dirty diapers and grass, and egg rolls about the size of my index finger! The woman who helped me was a nightmare as well. All she could to do is say..."no refund" over and over. We ended up spending $30 for some food we probably couldnt get a bum to eat and wound up eating a bowl of Ramen. What BS! DONT GO!

• Pros: Vegan
• Cons: EVERYTHING ELSE

08/18/06

consistently good

by m_c

I've eaten at this faux-meat, veggie joint many times, and it's always good. They have good to-go lunch options (without fake meat dishes), and even better sit down options. The only caveat is that I don't know how healthy some of the dishes are - one of my favorites is a spicy "beef" dish that seems deep fried. But it's so good! I also like that they have brown rice (to balance out the fried dishes!). They also have a superb, fresh lemonaid drink. It's right in downtown Oakland so it's pretty convenient for a lot of folks. A block from BART, too.

• Pros: very tasty
• Cons: a little pricey

04/14/06

Vietnamese Vegetarian Restaurant

by liuruby

The Pho was made up of a clear broth that was felt very clean and was tasty. (#21 is recommended). The lemon chicken presented itself well and the sauce was good old fashioned lemon syrupy flavor, however, the batter on the vege lemon itself I thought was a bit too thick.

• Pros: Prompt Seating
• Cons: diff parking @ 8 pm

04/04/06

Pho of The Gods

by kristinsummer

My sister and I eat the Pho practically once a week. No joke. We're both total foodies, and Rarely eat the same thing twice. The broth is Ultra Comfort, and the basil, beansprouts, jalapenos and lemons are always fresh and good adds. I've tried other dishes, amongest which the Lamb Claypot and Imperial Rolls stand out, but can never stray too far from the Pho.

• Pros: freakin Pho, cute kids, decent prices
• Cons: water refills (try!), will be full soon

11/08/05

dying for pho

by oylin

i had the hugest craving for pho and walked all around chinatown looking for veggie pho. but after at least two other places we stumbled upon this place. right off the bat i ordered the pho, which was seriously so good that i continued to eat it even after my boyfriend left to answer his phone. the service was a little slow and they didn't bring the basil leaves i had asked for, but the pho more than made up for it.

• Pros: ph!!!, price
• Cons: bad parking

11/03/05

One of my FAVORITE vegetarian restaurants!!!

by fairdathm

I've eaten at this restaurant ~16 times in 3 years, so I've tried many dishes. Most have unique flavors, with a nice depth of seasoning and not too salty. I often go with a friend whose tastes are different from mine, and he usually prefers the dishes I don't like as much--so if you don't like something you order, that doesn't mean you won't like others! Here are some things the two of us (and other friends) always agree on: The soup with several 'meat analogs' and vegetables (the best!!), veggie pancakes, lotus salad, black bean sauce dishes, the eggplant-tofu claypot, and vegan flan. Personally, I think the 'beef' analogs are oddly textured, and the mongolian 'beef' is a little sweet.

The additional booth space in the back is very comfortable.

I STRONGLY recommend this restaurant, as well as nearby New World Vegetarian.

• Pros: Food!, Comfy booths in back, The 'everything' soup
• Cons: sweet mongolian beef