Vegan restaurant in Boston Chinatown serving Thai and Chinese food. Menu offers items like pumpkin curry, fried rice, pad thai noodles, tofu chickn fingers, boba milk tea, wonton soup, and spicy curry. Formerly Original Buddha's Delight, same owners with revised menu. Location requires taking stairs up to the 2nd floor. Open Mon-Thu 11:00am-10:00pm, Fri-Sat 11:00am-11:00pm, Sun 11:00am-10:00pm.
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3 Beach St, 2nd floor (at Chinatown), Boston, Massachusetts, USA, 02111
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Last update on 09 Sep 2024 by geometric-noise
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300 Reviews
First Review by tablemoonspoons
vegangirl13
Points +34
Dirty - Edit
Will not be my first choice the next time I'm in Boston.
Read moreHope they will change all the plastic items and dirty stuff-could be a good place to be...
Pros: very friendly, nice Service
Cons: Dirty Menu/tables/windows..., everything was plastic, Food seems to contain glutamat
Guest
gwild
Points +1596
fast and delicious - Edit
We told the extremely friendly host that we had a show to catch and the hot fresh food took less than 10 minutes to be served to our table.
Read moreWe loved the Pad Thai and the Sweet and sour chkn. The Brocolli and tofu was good.
Three dishes were just the right amount of food for our family of 4
With bubble tea and tip it was under $50.
The stairs going up to the place were a bit sketchy. Maybe not the best place to go on a first date. It is a good place when you need something quick before a show in the theater district.
Pros: fast, friendly
Cons: dirty stairwell
Guest
veganamanda
Points +251
Dirty - Edit
First off, this place is a little hard to find. No good sinage when you walk in the door. Although it has a large menu, the menus and tables are stained. I question how clean the kitchen is if they can't keep the rest of the place clean. The food was good, but I'd only come back as a last resort...
Read morePros: Location
Cons: Dirty
Guest
Babette
Points +2107
The only vegan spot in downtown Boston - Edit
There are so many dishes to try there! There is a lot of seating, large windows, and although it is not a modern place with new furniture, it feels comfortable.
Read morePros: Central location, Large menu, Lots of plants inside
Cons: A bit run down
Guest
Alliz
Points +51
Don't be fooled by the street entrance... - Edit
3 stars for food
Read more3 stars for variety
4 stars for customer service, giving you space and time to eat
I didn't enjoy the large soy chicken style fillets that make most of the dish or portion. It was a crude style of cuisine, but tasty nevertheless!
Don't be fooled by the street entrance, just go upstairs. You'll know what I mean....
Pros: Good customer service, Basic, but tasty
Cons: Crude cooking style, Needs better quality for $, Gets a little chilly in winter
Guest
WriterGirl
Points +70
I gave it a second shot - Edit
So, my first trip to Boston I tried this place. I don't remember the meal. I liked something. I didn't like something else, but I was back here today and thought that My Thai, a dedicated vegan place, deserved a dedicated vegan. Indeed, the menu is overwhelming. I had read online it was hard to get veggies there. When I got my meal, nothing could have been further from the truth. My Red Curry half-chicken had tons of veggies. Loved the half-chicken. I'm so glad I gave the restaurant another try.
Read morePros: Excellent entree
Cons: Drafty
Guest
s_k_
Points +616
Decent but nothing special - Edit
Meh. It's okay.
Read moreThe decor is definitely hole-in-the-wall. If you know to expect that, it's not such a big deal.
The service is pretty weak. Friendly folks, but not entirely clued in. Some mains came out before starters, one person got both starter and main while another person had nothing, there was a ten-minute spread across which all the food materialized, one person brought us the bill while another person was taking an order, etc. Just be prepared for it and it's not a big deal (especially for a hole-in-the-wall).
The food was okay.
The initial dumplings were decent but nothing special.
The soup was the highlight. Actual vegetarian Thai soup! And made well, too.
My main was pretty weak. I ordered the tofu variant (you can get lots of fake meat if you prefer); there were a few pieces of tofu, very little vegetable, just lots of noodles and brown sauce. So, lots of carb and not much character.
I wouldn't go out of my way to return here. Veggie Thai soup for the win, so if I were in the area, I'd go back for that. But I'd skip most of the rest of the menu.
Pros: veg Thai soup, big menu, inexpensive
Cons: dingy, so-so food, odd service
Guest
antcataldi
Points +27
Great Vegan Thai Food - Edit
This was one of the first vegan restaurants I tried after making the transition and it remains one I frequent to this day. Their menu, like most Thai restaurants, is overwhelming in the number of platters they offer. I typically go with the specials, and I am very fond of the Bird's Nest.
Read moreI find the staff are usually responsive, but can sometimes seem aloof or uninterested in business. Perhaps it has something to do with their location and having to deal with cranky tourists.
The "fake" meats and seafood (they have veggie shrimp!) do a decent job of approximating their real meat counterparts, but within reason. I wouldn't go so far as to say they'll be converting your hardcore carnivore friends, but I have had some of my own tell me that eating here they had the best non-meat food in their recent memory.
Their desserts are definitely worth trying - I very much enjoyed both the chocolate and carrot cakes.
I found prices to be reasonable for a downtown restaurant when also considering the generous portions.
Cleanliness sometimes leaves something to be desired. The dining area is typically fine, but the bathrooms can sometimes be questionable. My food has always been served clean, fresh, and delicious.
Pros: Wide Selection, "Fake" Meat and Seafood, Desserts!
Cons: Staff Attitude, Cleanliness
Guest
slithers
Points +701
Good vegan Thai option - Edit
As most of you probably know, Thai restaurants frequently put fish sauce in EVERYTHING (even vegetable dishes), so it's a relief to have a Thai place that is all-vegan. This is also the only all-vegan place in downtown Boston and is open good hours (lunch and late dinner), so it's a good option to have
Read moreI've eaten here more than 20 times and it's usually good. Their many noodle and curry dishes have nice flavors. I wish they had more "healthy" (as in wide array of vegetables/greens) dishes, but what they have is generally good. Occasionally I've gotten undercooked/cold appetizers, which leads me to believe they are pre-made and only heated up, but I've never had that problem with the main dishes. As others have said the service is mediocre. It's almost always on the slow side and the server may be friendly or surly; some do not speak English well, so can be hard to communicate special instructions (e.g., changes/omissions or allergies).
The prices are very cheap (like 8$ for an entree), so with that, being all vegan and the central location, this is a great option to have. Given the service issues, I could not give it 5 though.
Pros: Huge menu, many Thai/Vietnamese options, Great location (central / downtown), Good hours (every day/night)
Cons: Service is not always great, Entrance area is dingy, Loud / hard to communicate inside
Guest
sglcklch
Points +3027
Average at the very best - Edit
My partner and I shared a green mango & pineapple salad, a pad kee mao, and a penang curry with tofu. The food here was on the sweet side and much less spicy/flavorful than the Thai food I'm used to. With the lack of Thai basil, the pad kee mao was no different from a plain old Chinese style stir-fry noodles. The curry was an even bigger disappointment. The sauce was loose and, again, there were no Thai aromatics to be found. Taste was too sweet without the complexity that this cuisine is well known for. But then nothing was actually bad, just not up to my standard on how Thai food should be like.
Read moreI usually don't fuss about décor or ambiance too much, but this place was in dire need of deep cleaning. The windows were dirty; the plants were all dusty covered in spider webs in the corners; the menu was grimy. I honestly don't get the overall high rating.
Cons: food, cleanliness
Guest
raphalla
Points +768
Very oily - Edit
The only reason i would go back to this restaurant would be: because it is vegan and there is no other choice. We ordered chicken finger. Basically, it was the tofu coated with flour and deep fried in the oil. The tomyam soup taste only sweet, not sour, not spicy, with a layer of oil floating on top of the soup. The mango fried rice came shiny oily. Service was acceptable. By the way, the restaurant is at the second floor of a run down building. The restaurant itself looked clean and nice though.
Read morePros: Vegan
Cons: Food
Guest
TheHippieGypsy.COM
Points +22
service is slow but the food was worth it - Edit
My husband is an omni and I am vegan and it gets hard to go out without the restaurant being vegan and my husband angry and hungry. However he ate everything we tried. We started with spring rolls and chicken fingers. He thought the spring rolls were bland and tiny. They were tiny but I don't like spring rolls so I have no comment in taste. The chicken fingers were what I had remembered from years ago. Perfect slightly oily and dunked in duck sauce, yum heaven! Then we had the yellow curry soup. It was so delicious. The tofu in it was great there were unidentified green cubes in it that were tasteless but fine. Still not sure what they were. Then there was the main dishes of Tamarind Duck, shrimp lo mein, and beef and broccoli. The duck had good flavor but was the least favorite despite my husband eating half the dish. The lo mein was smoky and we debated whether it was liquid smoke or actual char. Then there was the beef and broccoli. My husband said it was delicious and texturally on point. He wouldn't know the difference. I love those moments. So we found a restaurant we can both eat at and enjoy. I topped off the night with an avocado bubble smoothie and it was like a creamy coconut milkshake. Great night! PS try to get the female waiter the male waiter isn't friendly or attentive.
Read morePros: taste, quantity, selection
Cons: waitstaff, stairwell
Guest
Vegansoymilk
Points +38
Island for vegans - Edit
Boston is full of surprises concerning veganism and My Thai Vegan cafe is one of them without shadow of a doubt! At first, the place seems to be gloomy but once you reach the restaurant's floor, you'll feel yourself in a wooden, natural atmosphere which was very pleasant. I opted for a Thai mango/pineapple salad with "veggie-chicken". I know, it sounds weird but the "veggie-chicken" is actually soy although it might really taste like chicken meat for some dudes . Speaking of which, do not be scared to try it out except if you are not really fan of chicken flavor. Beside this, the salad was amazingly fresh, tasty and full of savors popping out in my mouth. I loved the pineapple/mango/peanut and basil combination.
Read moreI also grabbed a bit of food from my friend's plate ( I usually do that). He chose the Asia Sizzling platter which is served on a hot plate (see pics). My friend isn't vegan and could barely make the difference between "veggie-beef" and normal beef which is surprising. How could they reproduce the same taste?! We were both wondering whether or not it was real beef! After confirmation from the waiter, it wasn't meat but soy-based.
The appetizer above was the Tow-Hoo Tod crispy tofu cigars served with "duck sauce" which of course wasn't made from duck :-). The latter is definitely a recommendation to you guys when starting your meal there! Also, the bubble tea machine was out the day I went at Thai vegan so I wasn't able to order a Coconut-mango-tapioca tea. I was a bit disappointed but never mind I'll try it next time
Pros: yummy, endless menu, Friendly atmosphere
Cons: meat-like appearance
Guest
markc7
Points +99
great choices - Edit
I'm not used to having so many menu options! Tasty food, good prices.
Read morePros: so many choices, great portion size
Guest
jujutsuka
Points +546
mmmmm mock meat - Edit
This is one of the many very good vegetarian asian restaurants in the Boston area. Places like this are the best to find amazing and creative mock meat. Since it's a designated vegan place, the vegan options are extensive!
Read morePros: nice view, upstairs, quiet
Cons: not obvious at street level
Guest
veganmiss
Points +540
Awesome Vegan Asian Fare - Edit
It was awesome! I highly recommend this place for some Asian vegan fusion food. One of the things I miss since I had gone vegetarian/vegan was won ton soup. I'm too lazy to make it myself and I've never come across a vegan one yet. Low and behold, my dream came true and the added bonus? It was super tasty! I had a Thai Basil Salad to finish. Mmm!
Read moreFor a complete review, please see my blog here: http://veganmiss.blogspot.com/2009/04/ive-got-that-joy-joy-joy-joy-down-in-my.html
Guest
JohnKeith
Points +144
Amazing Pure Vegan - Edit
We live in Calgary Alberta and whenever we are in the area we always eat here. The food is delicious, the menu is extensive, and the staff is friendly and accomodating. I would like to move this restaurant and staff to Calgary.
Read morePros: Excellent Food, Large Menu, Pure Vegan
Guest
VeganPlease
Points +68
Love this place!! - Edit
Big simple restaurant, friendly staff, AMAZING food! So many options, good size portions, desserts (with to go option) because you're too full from all the delicious vegan food you ate. A little tricky to find but its worth it! Keep looking for that door with the arrow pointing up and the bubble tea signs every where. I wanna go there now...
Read morePros: big selection, every things good, nice staff
Cons: parking... obviously, hard to find the first time
Guest
O-liv
Points +100
Great place! - Edit
I loved this restaurant! Their food is really good, and you must keep some room for a slice of vegan cake! I had the chocolate cake, and couldn't finish it, so I would recommend sharing a piece with someone.
Read moreDon't be put off by the strang entrance, it's worth going up stairs!
Pros: great food, yummy vegan cake
Cons: strange entrance
Guest
Jaelus
Points +117
A Life Saver - Edit
My wife and I (and several of our friends) went to this restaurant every day during the PAX East convention, as we are vegan and the free lunch trolly stopped very close by. This place was a real life saver during the con. We tried many of the lunch specials and everything was always delicious. The desserts and bubble teas were also delightful. Our friends (who were not vegan) were also very pleased with the food. I know for next year's con we will definitely be coming back to this restaurant for sure. The only thing to be mindful of is that the entrance is a little shady looking, but once you get up to the second floor the decor is nice and relaxing. They were very friendly and understanding of our shuttle schedule to get back to the con, and brought our food quickly every time.
Read morePros: Delicious food, Friendly staff, Bubble tea!
Cons: Shady entrance
Guest
sarahp
Points +57
Delicious! - Edit
I eat here regularly for lunch and dinner. Definitely my favorite restaurant in Boston after 6 years of living here. The service and the atmosphere are so-so, but the food is great. The fake meat selection is impressive. I can't get enough of the yellow curry "chicken."
Read moreGuest
BridgetMO
Points +33
delightful =] - Edit
WE LOVE MY THAI!
Read moreThe food is amazing! HALF CHICKEN DISHES ARE UNBELIEVABLE!!!!!
yes the service is iffy, its chinatown. the woman are very nice and seem to always remember a familiar face! Love to support this place, and the staircase is just a part of the adventure!
Pros: GREAT FOOD
Guest
andrea
Points +638
It's a Go. - Edit
As a resident of Boston, and a regular here, I want to try to make sense of these reviews. Yes, the entrance is sketchy looking. Most of Chinatown is a little sketchy looking. Not a deciding factor. Now let's head upstairs.
Read moreThe food is good. It just is. We've eaten countless times here, sometimes with large groups. The half-chicken or duck dishes which cost more, are always really good. So are the noodle dishes and the ones with sliced seitan. Probably a little on the salty side, but really tasty with fresh ingredients.
The service: yes, it can be a problem. I can be a picky eater, but even I won't bother anymore to say "leave out the mushrooms" or whatever. Don't try to make changes to any menu item. If you have questions, try to get someone over to the table who can speak English. Often the service is fine, sometimes it's bad and even though I'm a regular, I speak with my wallet. I've walked out of there having left zero tip.
But rather than support a meat restaurant, and take your chances that they are telling you the truth about what's in the food (I'm talking in Chinatown), I much prefer to eat at My Thai.
Pros: generous portions, tasty food
Cons: the service
Guest
bgoodwin17
Points +47
Sooo Delicious! - Edit
This place is absolutely delicious!! I have been here twice and have LOVED my meals both times.
Read moreThe only reason why I am giving a rating of 4 stars is because of the ambience. The stairs going up to the restaurant are cold and creepy. I got lost the first time I went here because it definitely didn't feel like an entrance to a restaurant. Also, the restaurant itself is big and open (not very warm/welcoming). Lastly, depending where you sit, it can get very chilly. And the service is, many times, subpar.
Now on to the good stuff. THE FOOD!! I have tried both the hot and sour soup (eh..just ok) and the Tom Yum Gai soup (YAHOO). The Tom Yum Gai soup is absolutely delicious. It is full of fresh, yummy vegetables and the "chicken" was a great touch. It will definitely be a staple to my order every time I go back. For main courses, I have had the Asian Sizzling Platter and Tamarind Duck. Both meals were so tasty!! The Sizzling Platter was a plethora of veggies and faux meats that were surprisingly great! I definitely recommend this dish. The Tamarind Duck was equally as good, or maybe better!? Before I became a vegan, I was a big duck fan. I'm not going to lie, I was a little sketched out at the idea of a "veggie duck". Because it has such a unique flavor, I didn't think it was possible to pull off both the texture and flavor of duck. BUT THEY DID IT!! I was so impressed with the meal that I purposely didn't finish it so I could eat more the next day!
Their bubbly teas are also very yummy...I like the pineapple. :-)
If you haven't already...go try this place!
Pros: delicious food, delicious food, delicious food
Cons: weird location/creepy stairs, bad service, cold in the restaurant
Guest
Richard Myers
Points +765
Lots of choice - not a problem - Edit
I came to Boston to watch my wife run the Boston Marathon. In our short stay in Boston we ate at this restaurant 3 times and thought it was great. Despite the unattractive entrance and rather plain interior, it was very tasty food. The items on the menu seemed endless but that made the eating experience more enjoyable.
Read morePros: Good taste, Lots of choice, Generous portions
Cons: Not a pretty place
Guest
feorag
Points +542
Variable, but mostly good. - Edit
I've known this place in its previous incarnation for about 10 years now, and considered it one of the old reliables. Reading some of the more recent reviews left me with some concern - had things really gone that far downhill? So, I got off the plane, checked into my hotel and wandered into Chinatown with the omni partner to see for myself - even if it were terrible, it would be better than the airline food.
Read moreSo, what has changed in the year since my last visit? The stairway has been cleaned up and re-tiled for a start. It's still not a welcoming entrance, but there are handwritten signs on the stairs reassuring you you are heading in the right direction. The loos, too, have had a thorough make-over and are completely tiled and impeccably clean. The place has not been taken over, though, and I was greeted by the same woman who has greeted me over the years.
We were starving, and probably over-ordered. On this first visit, a Monday evening, we shared a portion of fried dumplings - basically fake chicken gyoza; I had the Tom Yum Goong soup, which was mild for a Tom Yum of any kind, and my partner had the Chinese-style hot and sour. This was the right call - it was perfectly and outrageously hot. We went for extravagant mains. I chose the Thai Roast Duck with Red Curry; C had the Green Curry chicken and it was my turn to make the right call. The "duck" was luscious, with a choice of vegetables that perfectly complemented the rich, spicy sauce. The green curry was good, but not as impressive. We left full, and happy that the reviews did not reflect our experience.
The second visit was the following Saturday, Valentine's Day. We had the Chicken Fingers for our appetizer, and both went for the Chinese hot and sour soup. The Fingers were basically tofu in a deep-fried dumpling, and not that exciting. A little over filling for an appetizer. We ordered "lighter" entrees - noodle dishes, and found them enormous, and rather too greasy.
Visit three was the traditional lunch prior to departure, taking advantage of the cheap set menu. This was back to Monday's high standard, though C noted that the "Lemon Chicken" was not what had been expected, but it was still good.
Overall, the place hasn't changed. There was some variation in the standard of the food (two cooks?), and items such as the chicken fingers had been reheated from frozen, but for the price, there's little room for complaint.
Pros: cheap, central, big portions
Cons: grease, variable, inaccessible entrance
Guest
A.Z.P.
Points +635
My (TERRIBLE) Thai Vegan - Edit
This place used to be "Original's Buddha Delight" and I really loved it. When I reviewed it I called it an "Asian Beantown Treat". No More. Those days are over. 2 days in a row recently Ive had absolutely awful dining experiences. First the food. I once wrote "The food leaves you with a very pleasant and distinct flavour without having to hit you over the head with it." Those days are gone. Since their renovation their Vietnamese/Chinese menu is now a Thai/Chinese menu and the flavors are overpowering/horrible. Both tofus we tried were unbearably potent. Sucking on 2 lemons at once wouldve been less sour than the Sweet and Sour Tofu and the Tom Yum Tow-Hoo Tofu tasted like the chef had a party with a spice rack and put it on a plate. Both the Lemongrass beef and hot & sour soup were above average, but this hardly made up for other mistakes, like the Basil chicken had almost no vege chicken in it (5 tiny pieces). The same with the shrimp fried rice (an even smaller and more appalling 4 pieces). But as disappointing as the food was, the rest was much worse. The first day our waiter completely disappeared. The second night, first they screwed up our order and then when we got it, it was cold (we asked them to warm itup, but the english there now is minimal and they struggled to understand our request). Secondly because we ordered alot there wasnt enough room on the table. When the waiter came with our food instead of putting it on an empty table and then connecting it to ours (and there were many empty tables) he decided to stand over us like the statue of liberty and glare at us for not having enough room (eventually myself and a friend had to get up and do it ourselves while the waiter looked on angrily at what took us so long). Lastly, at the end the waiter literally threw the check at our table. No "would you like a dessert" or even a "thank you". Theservice wasnt bad, it was laughably bad. As for the enviroment formerly a big complaint here was that it wasnt very classy. The changes they made are spurious like forks with 3 prongs instead of 4 and of course the prices have increase so for that 1less prong you pay 3 dollars more a dish. Lastly the orange Juice (which was half ice) was the worst orange juice ive had anywhere. (Hawaaiin punch has more fruit in it than this did). But in general the state of this restaurantis deplorable. It is a sad day in boston as one of the best vegetarian asian restaurants on the east coast has gone down the drain.
Read morePros: 1 of only veg options in central boston
Cons: Awful nasty service, Overpowering bad flavors, Higher prices/smaller portions
Guest
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