Vegan
Chinese
Beer/Wine
Take-out
Asian
Vegan Chinese restaurant with an extensive menu that includes dim sum, noodles dishes, stir fries and more. Open Mon-Sat 12:00-22:30, Sun 12:00-21:30.
© OpenStreetMap contributors
-
105 Upper St, Islington, North London, England, N1 1QN
-
Loading...
-
-
Last update on 15 Jul 2024 by RichardⓋMolyneux
Update business info -
Are you the owner?
Claim this business -
Added by MessyCook on 18 May 2021
-
-
227 Reviews
First Review by MessyCook
ErinLouttit
Points +1963
Outstanding vegan restaurant - Edit
I had high hopes for this restaurant after reading the reviews, but the staff went beyond my expectations. Every vegan should know about this place. The menu is extensive, and the food is delicious. If you're looking for a treat, consider booking a table here.
Read moreGuest
·X·
Points +21590
Tofu Vegan - Edit
I am teetering between a three and four star rating, but since this is a fully vegan place I’m rounding up to a four. Based on the other reviews, I think I might have come to this restaurant on an “off” day. They were extremely busy that day I ate there.
Read moreFirst, many of the things we wanted to order we’re not ready yet. Particularly the vegan chicken items.
The vegan wonton appetizer was not great. I know this is a highly recommended item at Tofu Vegan, but the flavor of ours was lacking. Our second appetizer was the crispy spring rolls, which was fine, but we would not order it again. The spring rolls were presented very nicely on the plate.
We also ordered a cold clear noodle dish. Again, the flavors were fine. We were originally under the assumption that these would be thin glass noodles based on the menu picture, but they ended up being wide glass noodles. Had we known that, we wouldn’t have ordered it.
And lastly, we ordered a tofu dish (see attached picture), Which was fine, but there were ingredients in there that actually stung our tongues. It was the strangest sensation! We definitely would not order that again.
Overall, I love the idea of this place and wish we were able to try the menu items we went there for. That said, I’ll give it another shot at some point.
Updated from previous review on 2021-10-31
Guest
Dan+Ash
Points +155
If we could give it 10 stars we would! - Edit
It’s not often we go to a restaurant more than once in a month, but this is the exception! One of the best vegan restaurants in London. Amazing food and the best service - definitely recommend the Gung Bao sauces, so good! Make sure you book as it’s really popular.
Read morePros: Amazing extensive menu, Great service, Delicious food
Guest
hack_man
Points +25849
Check out Guitar George - Edit
Fabulous place serving vegan Chinese food with a passion for animals and the environment. It was difficult to choose from such an extensive menu but in the end went for a hot and spicy soup followed by their famous won tons in chilli sauce and tofu in black bean sauce. The tofu was delicate, possibly silken and not the chewy style firm tofu I was expecting but it worked really well. They know all the chords.
Read morePros: Location , Friendly staff
Cons: Expensive (London)
Guest
PaulFroy
Points +337
Just go and regret nothing - Edit
Perfection, every dish is perfection!
Read moreEverything vegan, everything a taste sensation. Book ahead this place is quite rightly very very busy.
Pros: A big menu to cater all tastes, Everything is delicious, Lovely staff and great vibes
Cons: Must book in advance, it’s so popular
Guest
CarlottaCaiti
Points +40
Best chinese food ever, amazing service, good to veganise ppl - Edit
Brought my friends to this place and we asked for recomendations. We tasted 4 starters, 4 mains, 32GBP each. Excellent pricing and super tasty food. Looking forward to being back. Good to veganise meat eaters haha
Read morePros: All vegan, 100% tasty, good pricing, Excellent service
Cons: Table outside are not very confy , No table cloth
Guest
Nicola.W
Points +132
Best Chinese food I’ve had - Edit
The staff were very friendly and accommodating after I turned up early for my visit. The wontons in spicy sauce we’re probably the best thing I’ve ever eaten - the waiter recommended them as they’re a popular item. I also had tofu in black bean with a side of rice - the tofu was more like a silken than firm which gave a clean texture. The flavours were really good and I enjoyed it a lot.
Read moreIt is a bit pricey but everything tasted very fresh and I didn’t mind paying extra for the difference of having something made that day.
Pros: Whole vegan menu, Fresh clean flavours
Cons: On the pricey side.
Guest
davidtay
Points +502
Good Chinese vegan food - Edit
Good place for people who wants Chinese food cooked in Sichuan style
Read moreUpdated from previous review on 2021-10-05
Pros: Tasty , Lots of options , Sesame roll is very good
Cons: Oily but it’s Sichuan style so it’s expected
konlish
Hi Davidtay, if you liked the food why would you give them such a low rating. At least a four would be nice this too for a Vegan business. My sister used to tell me that businesses struggle so I should be more considerate when rating them.
Read moreIf there was something you think that they could improve on please contact them and give them that opportunity.
davidtay
I will leave it at 3* it’s not a low rating it’s good enough for the standard of Chinese vegan food. I m sure you have your reasons for giving 3* to some of your own ratings at some restaurants.
Read morekonlish
Yes and I explain why they didn't get the extra star. Also good idea to feedback the restaurant so they have an opportunity to improve.
Read moredavidtay
Let’s put this in the right perspective: if I am the only one or the minority who gave a 3* rating and the majority gave higher ratings then it’s probably just my personal preference for the taste. There is no need for them to make any drastic change just for me as it was not a disastrous dining - the universe does not revolve around me. But if many customers give them 3* or lower then it may be wise for them to reach out to their customers (esp the regulars) to find out what needs to be improved.
Read moreThe tastebuds of one person should not be the turning point for the restaurant to make major changes.
As I have said I gave it 3* (not high & neither low) in view of the standard of Chinese food based on my personal preference & tastebuds.
Let’s leave it as it is…I was there as a visitor to London so I don’t think I will be back at the restaurant anytime soon.
Guest
tversteeg
Points +400
Lovely - Edit
Really nice Chinese dishes, most seem to be based on Szechuan and Chongqing cuisine with some obvious exceptions like dim sum. Would have been a bit more authentic if it was more spicy but I understand why they didn't do that. Everything was very delicious!
Read moreGuest
tapalong
Points +130
Great food - Edit
Really great restaurant. Friendly staff. The food was incredible. Though would love for some portions to be better (e.g. small rice bowl for £3 is a bit much).
Read morePros: 100% plant based, Nice staff, Really tasty food
Cons: Fairly oily, but it’s authentic to the cuisine , Some portions could be better
Guest
sfio
Points +3242
Terrible service - Edit
I was really looking forward to going here as it had so many great reviews and because the whole menu is vegan.
Read moreMy friend and I were really disappointed. Service was really bad, the tables are really close and you end up hearing more of the conversations from the next table than yours.
You have the table for 90 minutes and will be rushed out.
they overcharged us (only by £1.50 but still) because the waitress couldn’t divide the total amount by 2 and kept ignoring the correct amount i gave her.
The food was nice but the unusual dishes I wanted to try were not available. So we had tofu in black bean sauce and a potato, aubergine and pepper dish which were nice but not spectacular (quite oily too). We ordered some plain rice to go with them and were presented with probably the smallest portion i’ve been served to date. Good for avoiding food waste though.
We also had some dumplings for starters, those were really good, and salt and pepper fried tofu-had better elsewhere.
I’m actually quite easy going and initially wasn’t even annoyed when they asked us to move to another table so they could sit another party where we were, but all in all I just didn’t feel welcome here at all, the food wasn’t extraordinary and we were charged the wrong amount. I’d rather spend my money elsewhere.
Updated from previous review on 2021-10-01
konlish
Hi sfio, I find this review very harsh that too for a Vegan business. It's struggling times for restaurant industry and as customers we should be considerate too. As an Ambassador you should also speak to the business manager. I hope you contacted them and provided the feedback directly to give them an opportunity to improve.
Read moreAlso understand that the staff are mostly Chinese so there is a cultural difference to what you might be used too and shouldn't be taken personally. I found them very friendly and kind.
I love Asian and Chinese food and this is the 1st Vegan Chinese and the best I have been too. I am Ambassador for Cardiff.
sfio
Hello. As you can see from my other reviews, I honestly am not harsh but in this case I stand with my review. It’s just one of many and so people can make up their own mind but I cannot recommend it based on my own experience. I’m not sure how to take your comment on this being a vegan restaurant. I considered that in my rating but there are multiple other vegan restaurants in London that I could whole heartedly recommend.
Read moresfio
PS: I didn‘t take the lack of service personally, I just wanted to highlight some of the reasons on why we didn’t enjoy our experience and thought putting some specific examples would allow others to make up their own mind of if those things matter to them or not.
Read moreGuest
PaulDaly☘️
Points +2953
Really friendly staff & a lovely man who told me I ate too fast, which is true - Edit
Had the black bean dish with steamed rice. Was delicious
Read moreUpdated from previous review on 2021-09-28
Pros: Outside seating with heaters , Friendly staff
Cons: The bill adds up as the dishes & rice separately
Guest
Cudbury
Points +18
✨✨✨✨ Amazing - Edit
Honestly, I've been waiting to be able to have time to go here for months, I finally had the chance after I had a meeting.
Read moreThe food is amazing, I have nothing bad to say about this place, the waitresses were so helpful! My favourites was the chicken with celery and the dim sum!
Pros: All vegan and totally worth the price!
Guest
BenHewins
Points +17
Mind blowingly good - Edit
Easily the best vegan restaurant we've been to. Tasty, varied food and they handle allergies much better than most similar restaurants.
Read morePros: Great taste, Fair prices for the quality, Good service
Cons: Book in advance
Guest
KevinDonnelly
Points +80
So good! - Edit
Best Chinese food in London!
Read moreGuest
Saregreenbean
Points +86
Really good chinese food - Edit
Positives:
Read more- really really tasty food! Everything I've had there has been really excellent. I especially recommend the special fried noodles, stir fry lamb, chicken with chillies, cloud ear mushrooms and mapo tofu.
- staff are really friendly
- everything on the menu is vegan
Negatives:
- steamed dumplings are quite tasteless and the outside is a bit thick and rubbery. If you really want dumpling type things have the wontons in spicy sauce, much tastier.
- they only do two sittings a night so it can get get booked up easily - book ahead
A brilliant restaurant I have taken loads of different friends to and all have absolutely loved it and recommended it on again!
Guest
yumchadong
Points +5547
Tofulicious - Edit
Tofu vegan specializes in tofu dishes (who would have thought). Tofu is made in house everyday.
Read moreThe dishes we ordered were all tasty. Definitely among some of the best vegan Chinese restaurants we tried outside of China. The wontons are particularly great. I loved the sauce they were in - chilly oil, fresh garlic & (guessing) vinegar. I also enjoyed the tofu, shitaake & garlic stir-fry very much. The Peking 'duck' has quite interesting texture however I didnt particularly enjoy the condiments it came with so I used the wonton sauce instead.
Regarding dim sum, I found the dough of some of them too thick and didn’t enjoy it at all (my husband liked them though).
It is useful to enquire about the dishes before ordering - some of them (but not all) are excessively sweet (such as the aubergine). So it is quite easy to place a unsuccessful order if you have preferences in this regard but do not ask first. The menu is quite large and there are many dishes we didn’t get to order so we’ll likely return for another feast.
Unsurprisingly, the restaurant gets quite busy so better book in advance.
Updated from previous review on 2021-08-14
Guest
del_monte
Points +276
Too good - Edit
I’ve been waiting to come here for a while and it really didn’t disappoint! So much choice on the menu and everything we had was super tasty!
Read moreOnly thing is that it’s quite expensive and/ or the portion sizes are too small. Especially the rice bowl, but after reading other reviews on here it seems the rice is unlimited per head... which I think they should have made clearer!
But all in all, fantastic food and helpful and polite staff. Will definitely come back here to systematically work my way through the menu.
Pros: Lots of tasty options , Friendly staff, Nice atmosphere
Cons: Expensive , Small portion sizes
Guest
cathiea
Points +20
Delicious vegan food - Edit
So much choice and everything is fantastic, can't wait to go back
Read moreGuest
grete
Points +190
A fully vegan Chinese restaurant - Edit
We went to Tofu Vegan for a friend's birthday and the amazing dinner was most suitable for the special occasion. The waiter recommended two starters and three mains with rice to share between the three of us. We had some dim sum, a mushroom salad, green beans, fried 'fish' and a 'chicken'-style dish with nuts. It was delicious and didn't taste artificial, unlike some Chinese food I've tried that is laced with flavour enhancers. Staff were very friendly and helpful. I would recommend this place to anyone who likes Chinese food, I strongly believe even non-vegans would enjoy it.
Read morePros: Lots of choice, entirely vegan menu
Guest
svlomax
Points +320
So tasty - Edit
Mixture of meat substitutes, tofu and vegetable dishes available. Good selection on the menu, friendly staff and all super tasty!
Read morePros: 100% vegan, Large selection
Guest
StefanoE
Points +488
OMG💜 - Edit
Ordered ‘duck’, ‘lamb’ and deep fried tofu/mushrooms. Loads of choices in an excellent location. Make sure you book!
Read moreUpdated from previous review on 2021-07-18
Pros: Outstandingly delicious , Nice environment
Cons: Staggered arrival of food, Rice expensive
Guest
NatalieCummings
Points +105
Vegan chinese - Edit
We had most of the menu which was all really tasty. We really liked this chicken in batter starter that came with a sweet chill sauce. The fried rice and singapore noodles were really good too. Spring rolls were crunchy and tasty. I couldn’t move having ate too much! Will definitely be returning soon.
Read moreGuest
kool_kitchen
Points +862
Very good dim sum and mock meats proper Chinese - Edit
Good quality dim sum and Chinese mock meats.
Read moreWhen we arrived it was fully booked so we had to wait for an hour to get a table so be sure to book ahead.
We had the spring rolls which were nice and crispy. Highlights were the smacked cucumber starter which was juicy and refreshing and the chilli wantons in a lovely sauce.
Also we had a selection of dim sum platter and a tofu and mushroom dim sum which was very good. Frequently we'd go to dim sum places in London and be disappointed but not this time. Finally the last dish was the chilli chicken, which was a bit dry but had plenty of chillis.
All this was pricey about £67 for food and a pot of tea, but it was good quality and great flavours.
Updated from previous review on 2021-07-04
Pros: Great service, fantastic dim sum, tasty
Cons: Bit pricey
Guest
jamesthomsonn
Points +680
Some of the best vegan Chinese food I’ve had - Edit
Very much a must visit, new place as well so worth a visit
Read morePros: Entirely vegan , Huge menu , Amazing staff
Guest
OmniTurnedPlantbased
Points +199
Proper Chinese food! - Edit
Excellent place, short walk from Angel tube station. Nice atmosphere of an authentic Chinese restaurant. Food is delicious. Not cheap though, but we’ll worth the money in my opinion. Hope they open another restaurant south of the river!
Read morePros: Everything is vegan , Everything is made on site (own tofu etc), Food is heavenly
Cons: Bit on the expensive side, but still worth it
Guest
Richard Ross
Points +1008
Good food in a welcoming restaurant - Edit
It's nice to have good, vegan, Chinese food. We started with spring rolls, which were delightfully crunchy. I then had the dim sum selection - three varieties, all flavoursome. A nice atmosphere and helpful staff.
Read morePros: Good food, Welcoming and helpful
Guest
For Members
Why was my review removed? Guidelines for writing a review View our privacy policyFor Business Owners
Claim this business See inaccurate information? Submit an update here Link to this page from your site See an unfair review? View full terms & conditionsThis page has been viewed 32148 times.