Vegan
American
Organic
Raw
Juice bar
Delivery
Take-out
Serves comfort soul food that is vegan. Menu varies and might include lasagna, mac-n-cheese, and corn bread, desserts, and others. Brunch on Sunday. The Eternity Juice Bar is owned by the same people, and sells juices, elixirs, sandwiches, deli-style salads, and a few vegan groceries. Black-owned. Open Mon-Fri 11:00am-6:00pm, Sat-Sun 10:00am-6:00pm.
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Last update on 28 Jul 2023 by Guest
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56 Reviews
First Review by amargrav
SheilaE
Points +18
Life saver! - Edit
Cauliflower au gratin was so good!
Read moreGuest
lavender25
Points +304
One of the best in Chicago - Edit
There’s a hot bar during lunch that you buy by weight, or there’s a sit-down restaurant. They have different options and both are really good.
Read moreThey also have a hot bar in the French Market downtown called Vegan Now that’s also delicious.
Guest
pvz
Points +33
I️ love this place. - Edit
Great, friendly, affordable vegan soul food. I’ve been eating here for years and have never been disappointed. The carrot salad is a must try.
Read moreGuest
smethekin
Points +70
Go for weekend breakfast - Edit
Along with another veg place in Chicago, we always stop here when we visit the area and it always happens to be on the weekend so we get the "Breakfast Sunday's Cameo" and for $10 it is a great value. Sometimes we sat for a bit before someone taking our order (it's pretty busy on weekends) so I would suggest doing your research ahead of time and being ready to order right away. Quick service once the orders are placed and the food has been consistently tasty. I always add cayenne pepper to the tofu and hashbrowns for that extra kick. The pancakes are so large that you'll be filled up.
Read moreCons: Butter for pancakes came in plastic container
Guest
Miss_Elusive
Points +72
vegan soul food. - Edit
Amazing food, terrible service. If you are going to eat here, do not have any time constraints, plans or anywhere to go, service is beyond slow and food comes out randomly with consideration of course times. Save time by carring exact cash plus tip, so you can leave. It gets 5 stars anyway, because the food is that good.
Read morePros: all Vegan, Damn delicious
Cons: SLOW Service, religious affiliation
Guest
PatriceLHenderson
Points +23
I love this place! - Edit
I have been going to Soul Vegetarian for years as a meat eater and a vegetarian. I think they have found a niche in blending the desire to have meat like foods that are vegan. I love the gyros sandwich, the bbq twists, carrot supreme salad and the kale salad. They have added the Eternity Juice bar in recent years where you can get juices, smoothies and deli ready foods. They only thing I suggest is if you are carrying out, call first because everything is cooked to order.
Read morePros: Good foods, cooked to order, Juice bar , Vegan ice cream
Cons: Some foods are cooked to order meaning wait time
Guest
Amandajwhitlow
Points +84
the best restaurant in Chicago - Edit
My boyfriend and I got multiple things on the menu and everything was so fantastic. Even their coconut cake was moist and delicious!
Read moreGuest
OliveBranchSchool
Points +24
My soul loves it - Edit
Their portions are huge, tasty and filling. When I've been I can never seem to get the items they sell in stores but that's ok there is more than enough to enjoy here. Really friendly staff and average service times make this an enjoyable place to eat at.
Read moreGuest
KMR607
Points +355
delicious! - Edit
The buffalo tofu wings were delicious, as was the Bbq twist sandwich! Textures and flavors are amazing here. Highly recommend.
Read moreGuest
maggles
Points +33
Very flavorful food! - Edit
There's only so many salads, kale smoothies and vegan lasagna I can stand before I really start craving some home cooking.
Read moreEnter Vegetarian Soul East. Delicious vegan food for extremely reasonable prices. Their lunch special costs $11, and they give you very generous portions. I guess they have smoothies, juices and salads for all you masochists out there (eating a SALAD while watching everyone else enjoy vegan barbecue or macaroni and cheese?! You're out of your mind), but for me, this is a "must" for all vegans in and around Chicago.
I've gone a few times, and it's amazing every time. If you haven't been, you're really missing out!
Pros: Delicious Food, Nice Staff, Friendly Vibe
Guest
Vegan Vagabond
Points +3597
Best Vegan Soul Food - Edit
This is a great place for vegan comfort food. Don't go here looking for health food. This is vegan comfort food. They have a daily special, for an excellent price that includes the entree, two sides, and a choice of soup or salad. They have fried cauliflower, mushrooms, french fries, "steak" bits, and onion rings. Mac-n-Cheese, greens and cornbread, and the absolute best BBQ you will ever eat, the BBQ Twist. They make excellent desserts and they now have vegan soft serve.
Read morePros: 100% Vegan, Very reasonable prices, Good food
Cons: Not healthy food
Guest
Ben Reilly
Points +27
Great Comfort Food In Chicago - Edit
This was our 2nd visit to Soul Vegetarian & it is always worth the trip from the burbs to this spot. The food is always delicious. The 1st time I wasn't even vegetarian & I still loved it!
Read moreThe portions are surprisingly filling. We generally starve ourselves before we go out to eat because we like to gorge on as many dishes as possible. This time we ordered 2 appetizers (onion rings & Buffalo wings) & a main dish for each. I had a basket dish with fried seitan 'steak', tofu, and mushrooms, and served with fries. I guess it was because I ate so many fried things that I felt so full but the portions were plenty that I had to take home leftovers.
For the 4 dishes, we spent around $35. Worth it. Comfort food at its best!
The place has been around since the 80s & despite its relatively small location, it's a laidback & nice environment. We also stopped at the Eternity Juice Bar that's attached to the restaurant & got smoothies before leaving. The juices were also worth it and a nice, refreshment after all that heavy food.
The only thing is that you have to park in the street. Typical Chicago stuff. It's not a real complaint but it's the only thing I can think of that was close to being negative about the experience. We've gone during the day both times so parking was never an issue but I'm not sure how it is during the dinner hours.
They take cash or credit, too.
Pros: delicious comfort foods, welcoming environment, good value
Cons: no parking lot
Guest
Rosa and Joe
Points +558
Brilliant place, great atmosphere, delicious food - Edit
We went for Sunday lunch. When we got there we were told what the Sunday dinner option was and it sounded good so we had that (we weren't quite sure if there were other options!) The food was amazing. They did vegan chicken soup with corn bread, then a big roast including the best mac cheese we've had so far, garlicky kale, seitan, delicious sweet potato tzimmes, stuffing, other things... followed by a really good apple pie. The people working there are really lovely.
Read morePeople told us it was hard to get to but it isn't - it's 10 mins walk or so from the red line (79th st stop).
Shame we went on our last day in Chicago, otherwise we'd definitely go back.
Guest
jbglidd
Points +71
The Food Is Delicious! - Edit
I don't know what their special sauce is but the way they make tofu and seitan is to die for! Their "unreal chicken salad" is one of my favorite things on the menu! Try this place, you won't regret it.
Read morePros: Delicious
Cons: Location a bit far south
Guest
vegan_ryan
Points +3865
Best of all soul food locations - Edit
I compare all Soul Veg locations around the US to this one. It has the best food of them all. The shakes are great, the bbq sandwiches are amazing, the people are always really nice...I could go on.
Read moreThe food is amazing, the prices are low, and you'll be pleasantly full after you leave.
The service isn't what you'd expected at most restaurants, so allow a little more time. That extra time making the food super delicious is worth it to me.
Go here!
Pros: Cheap, Vegan, Amazing
Cons: Semi-slow service
Guest
MattyB
Points +94
Go hungry - Edit
This food is for real. You're not going to be eating super healthy, but it's awesome. The fried veggies were great and the collared green were really good too. Gyro was kind of meh, but I hit this place up every time I am at U of Chicago.
Read moreGuest
veganmiss
Points +540
Good Food, Large Portions, Long Wait - Edit
To start, my friends and I split the battered cauliflower. Pretty much most vegetables battered and fried are tasty and the cauliflower didn't disappoint in this aspect. It is definitely something to be split among 3-4 people, though, because it would be too much fried food for just two people. Other appetizers on the menu are more battered things like mushrooms, onion rings, fries, and tidbits (seitan).
Read moreWe got a side of carrot supreme salad which was absolutely amazing. If you get anything at this restaurant, get this salad. For $4.50, it could have been a meal! It was gigantic and packed full of awesome veggies. We got the creamy garlic dressing with it and I'm thinking they use fresh garlic because it was super garlicky, but the creaminess balanced it out.
For sandwiches, we had the East Coast BBQ Roast Sandwich and the Hand Burger. The BBQ sandwich was as to be expected: messy. They use their signature seitan tidbits and coat them in their own bbq sauce. Overall, it's a good kind of messy sandwich. I'd get this again for sure. My friend had the Hand Burger and he said it's the best veggie burger he's ever had (and he's an omnivore)! It is made out of lentils and various spices. My only problem with the sandwiches are that they come with no sides. It feels a bit like an incomplete meal to just have a sandwich. Of course, you can order a side, but you get what I mean.
My other friend had the dinner special. This dinner was something like $12 and for that price, there was SO much food. All three of us could have eaten this for dinner and been stuffed. It came with greens, steamed broccoli, breaded tofu (think catfish fillet style), a whopping piece of lasagna, and a choice of soup or salad (he got the soup, bean curd veggie, with fresh cornbread). I've had the greens from Soul Veg before and I always find them a bit too musky from the liquid smoke they use. The steamed broccoli was pretty standard, tender and healthy. Now, this breaded tofu business. One of my friends who was with me is from the south and the other grew up eating breaded catfish and both of them were as impressed as I was with the breaded tofu. The lasagna was alright. I didn't love it or hate it, but I wouldn't order it again. Just wasn't my thing - something about the taste of it. Lastly, the soup and cornbread were really tasty.
For a complete review, please see my blog here: http://veganmiss.blogspot.com/2012/04/vegan-chicago-restaurant-review-of-soul.html
Pros: juice bar, large portions, soul vegan food
Cons: long wait, unorganized staff
Guest
elles_belles
Points +1301
One of my favorite restaurants - Edit
I love their raw blueberry ice cream. I also enjoy the cauliflower and the mac and cheese. I'm surprised by how much I enjoyed their raw options. I tried most of them and there were a lot of really tasty items. Normally, I resent cold food but not this time.
Read moreGuest
Annakin
Points +79
Yumm! - Edit
Loved the BBQ Platter and the Lasagna. And the Garlic dressing for my side salad was amazing!
Read morePros: Yummy Food, Price, Healthy & Filling
Guest
HenryHemphill
Points +25
Great - Edit
This place is great. Huge menu, decent prices. Fast friendly services. Great location.
Read morePros: Price, Variety, Location
Cons: Not open early for breakfast
Guest
·X·
Points +20715
Not for a long time.... - Edit
Updated Review:
Read moreI was very disappointed to read this article. Normally I re-rate restaurants with 1 cow after seeing a report like this, but Soul Veg was one of my favorites. I'm so disgusted that I doubt I'll be back for a very long time. Please clean your act up Soul Veg.
http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2009/12/mice-infestations-close-2-south-side-eateries.html
My previous 5 cow review:
Review: OMG this is among one of the best places to eat a Vegan meal in Chicago. Now the food here is by no means healthy, but it's damn good and well worth the trek all the way down to 75th street to get it! I love the staff but I got say, the service is slow as molasses here; however, I've been to Soul Vegetarian's all around the country and they're all like this, but whatever, I'll wait for the food.
Things I recommend: fried cauliflower (great appetizer!), gyro's (yum yum yum), macaroni and cheese (wow), potato salad (out of this world), BBQ twists, cakes, and of course my favorite... my custom ordered Jerusalem sandwich (replace the ketchup and mustard with lots of the vegan cheese sauce...WOW!).
Yes it's 75th street and everyone warned me that it's a bad area, but come on, it's not. I'm a little lady that goes down there by myself - I love the people there staff and the customers!!!. This is one of my favorites in Chicago!!!
Guest
Sophie
Points +376
One of my favorites... - Edit
Love the mac and cheese and greens here! We grab soul veg items from Whole Foods and the DePaul center for lunch all the time. The jerk steak wrap is excellent as well.
Read morePros: Excellent Food, Friendly staff
Guest
Absolutroyalt
Points +21
Finger lickin , jaw smackin, MMm MMmm Good! - Edit
When are you going here? I want to smell your breath when you come out the door lol.
Read morePros: Where to begin??!! MMmmmm
Cons: I don't live there
Guest
berserker29
Points +28
Delicious - Edit
I just went here while visiting Chicago for the weekend and was very happy with their food. Went for lunch and I got carrot nog, greens, and BBQ protein tidbits. Everything was so good. The people working there were very nice. It was fairly busy and there were only two people taking orders and checking people out. Though, the food didn't take long to be served. I would definitely go here again and would reccomend this to other people.
Read morePros: Delicious, Fair prices
Cons: Small, Understaffed
Guest
shineonyou
Points +937
Worth the drive! - Edit
When I've been, the place is always packed, which means it must be good! Fortunately the service doesn't suffer because of this; the staff is always helpful. The food is really delicious.
Read moreGuest
BadassJB
Points +654
Not 100% veg*n restaurant. - Edit
The BBQ sauce has honey in it. Cornbread, too?
Read moreI love the soul food and everything is very grubtastic, but I think this should be clarified, especially with everyone talking about everything being vegan. Which clearly the BBQ tofu is not, nor is the BBQ sauce for dipping.
Just a heads up.
Pros: Tidbits, Mac-n-cheeze, atmosphere
Cons: honey, pricey, excessive fats
Guest
noah
Points +71
mmm - Edit
vegan bbq tofu. vegan corn bread. and some soup. was good soul food in chi-town. worth a visit. and decently priced.
Read moreGuest
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