Vegan
American
International
Macrobiotic
Organic
Delivery
Take-out
Breakfast
A non-profit experiential educational community center and restaurant. Provides breakfast, lunch, and dinner using seasonal ingredients and serves complimentary organic kukicha tea. Communal table seating. Located near hike and bike trails on the Colorado River and includes an oasis of gardens, a Montessori school, rental rooms, and onsite massage therapist. Open Mon-Sun 7:00am-8:30pm. Open 365 days a year.
119 Reviews
First Review by Masalaflower
pentagoth79
Points +104
Vegan Cult - Edit
This place was a bit weird. I liked it but it was weird. It's sort of like a vegan cult. They people are very nice and they have the same principles as me. You pay when you walk in. There is a menu by the register. Then you serve yourself salad and soup. Eventually someone brings you the main course.
Read moreThe food is very delicious and healthy. I felt very good after eating there.
The price is right too and there are lots of desserts to pick from but they cost extra.
Pros: healthy, vegan
Guest
LuvPlants
Points +24
Delicious healthy food - Edit
This is a gem! Delicious healthy food - we enjoyed it!
Read moreGuest
mathimp
Points +84
Delicious - a guaranteed spot hitter - Edit
The food is incredible. Amazing that food that healthy can taste that good. I definitely recommend going during the all-you-can-eat buffet. I'm not as fond of the pay per plate-full style of service,(which is the only reason I don't give it a perfect score) though it's understandable from a business standpoint. The outside seating and gardens are very nice. also dog friendly.
Read morePros: Delicious, Healthy, Buffet
Cons: Pay per plate
eatyourveggies
Actually you can get as much as you like even on the non-buffet days. You just go up and ask them for what you want and they will give you more.
Read moreGuest
SonjaCPA
Points +5270
Basic macrobiotic - Edit
While visiting friends in Austin, they brought us here to eat. The grounds are beautiful and tranquil. As they only serve the same meal to everyone, we were able to easily compare. The soup and salad were self serve while the meal was brought out to us. The vegetable soup was barely lukewarm and the salad was just greens with dressing although there was another side salad of quinoa which was quite good. The main entree had butternut squash, beans, rice, collard greens and pickled cabbage. While there was nothing bad about it, it wasn't anything special either. It was just basic and plain. We all agreed the best part was the collard greens due to the terrific miso dressing they used on it, so we had seconds of that. We also bought additional desserts of cherry apple kanten and lemon tart. They were good, but our friend got a carob pie that had an odd gelatinous like texture to it and he didn't finish it. You also have to bus your own table. While the food is healthy and fresh, we all agreed that we'd probably not be back as there are other options in town.
Read morePros: healthy and fresh, beautiful setting
Cons: same meal for everyone, basic and plain
Guest
gr8vegan
Points +2369
Amazing place, really earned this fantastic review - Edit
I was treated so wonderfully at Casa De Luz. I'm on the McDougall Diet, which is a low fat no added oil vegan diet and the cooks at Casa De Luz worked out a special bowl of rice, beans and lemon flavored steamed veggies. They were so wonderful and accommodating. My simple dish was beyond amazing. I'm craving it as I write this. Its so refreshing to have such great service. The tea was fantastic, too. I called ahead and the extremely nice hostess said, just come on in and we'll take care of you... and that they did! THANK YOU!
Read morePros: delicious, great community atmosphere, so kind!
Guest
esestud
Points +65
Again, food is decent, but unreasonably pricey - Edit
And there really wasn't much of a menu. You have a soup and salad, and they bring you a standard meal which everybody else gets, for $12. I thought this was a buffet, from the way it was advertised. Not really in the mood to go here again.
Read moreCons: Price, Portions, Limited Options
Guest
bhenrich
Points +98
More than a meal, an experience - Edit
I eat at Casa de Luz every time I visit Austin and it is always wonderful. It is like stepping out of the city and into a meditation retreat. It is difficult for me to try other restaurants when I'm in Austin. The community seating is really cool- I have met some great people at Casa de Luz.
Read moreIs is very unusual and kind of intimidating if you don't know what you are doing the first time. It is run like a community cafeteria, so read Matthews post above so you won't be surprised by the proceedings.
There is no printed menu- you eat what they have prepared for the day. Today I had (pasted from their website):
July 6, 2010 11:30-2:00 pm
Organic, Vegan, Gluten Free
Posole soup w/fresh condiments
Garden SALAD with Casa Dressing
Brown rice w/ mushroom, tamari gravy
Red Beans
Summer Squash, beets & garlic
Blanched GREENS with a pecan Sauce
Green sauerkraut
Made with Love by
Nora, Blanca, Melvin, Uciel, Mr. Lee, Zack & Ben
It was fantastic, as it was every other time I have been there. I highly recommend this place. You will leave feeling full and refreshed. I love visiting Austin, and eating here is a big part of the reason.
Pros: Ultimate Vegan Food, Community seating and enviroment, Beautiful gardens & relaxing enviroment
Guest
comahony
Points +334
Awsome food and cool atmosphere - Edit
I loved this restaurant. The meal was fantastic and the desserts were so creative and delicious. We actually took several home to-go.
Read moreGuest
kbdragon
Points +52
Great Place - Edit
The atmosphere of this place is so peaceful and relaxed. There is a garden path leading to the restaurant. The staff is friendly and helpful. When the girl found out it was our first time there, she gladly explained how the buffet/set menu worked. The food was very good, especially the cauliflower/zucchini soup. The buffet is all you can eat, but I was full after my first round.
Read morePros: great food, great relaxed atmosphere, friendly staff
Cons: i live too far away
Guest
Barefoot
Points +37
Feeling the Yin and Yang - Edit
Casa has a beautiful atmosphere with such a wonderful community of people, its hard to not want to come back. But for being a macrobiotic (or macrophsycotic for some)resaurant a lot of important things go overlooked... For example the tamari that they put in EVERYTHING contains iodized table salt instead of sea salt. When they management found out, they did't mention it to the customers... Granted, you dont want to look bad when make a mistake like that, but when people are coming to Casa to eat because they have cancer or some other serious concern, you shouldn't fool them in to unhealth. Their have been other various accounts of slip ups that they have decided to ride out, sugar in the bottle drinks, dairy in the chutney, gluten when it says "gluten free" on the menu. Claiming to be completely organic when only about 50% of the food really is... Its really sad to see the standards drop lower and lower for this beautiful place. In the future I wish to see more of the community working with the management to listen and share ideas for upholding the macrobiotic title, which really is the only thing that keeps them in buisness. The food is wonderful the lead cooks are spectacular at bringing flavors together. I love all of the community, most of which visit on a daily basis. All of the employees rock and I'm glad I got to know Casa de Luz, its definately part of my heart.
Read morePros: amazing food, community atmosphere, all you can eat
Cons: macrobiotic slip-ups, poor community/management relationship, organic standards
Guest
Masalaflower
Points +37
A Hideaway Worth Finding - Edit
Set back from the street, and nestled in verdant magical trees and plants, this veg haven has a "retreat center" vibe to it. Always a welcome relief from this tech-heavy world, and a guaranteed way to catch up on homestyle veg food, if you've been on the road. It's ALL YOU CAN EAT, for $12 ($14 Sunday buffet), so arrive very hungry. They have an excellent intense pizza night once a month. But their "indian" cuisine needs some major spice tutoring... understandable, being a macrobiotic, brown rice kinda place. Be prepared to snag your own private table for 2, or else you will likely share a larger table, schooldays style.
Read morePros: Superb ambience & service, Plentiful condiments, Very colorful meals
Cons: Bathrooms are adjacent, Spicing can be bland
Guest
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