Zhu Vegan

We finally dined in at Zhu Vegan after years of wanting to come here.. tucked on a busy street with limited parking (unless you are lucky) on the street.. we went in for lunch and the ambience was decent nothing great or bad.. there was only server at the time and she did her best with whatever communication she could muster. We ordered a dumpling, soup and entree.. the waitress could have warned us prior to ordering the entree that it comes with an optional soup ($3 extra).. the food was decent .. nothing exceptional.. I personally preferred a bit more flavor .. overall a decent place to dine for vegans.. the lemon grass hot and sour soup was great, dumplings average, tofu delight was bland and mushroom seitan was decent

I normally love this place, but tonight my Autumn Roll had what appears to be plastic inside it! I bit into it, but couldn't bite through. When I examined the roll, I pulled a large amount of what feels and tastes.like plastic (as seen in the picture). It is possible that this is dehydrated, uncooked soybean paper, but it made eating the roll unsafe. Honestly, I lost my appetite and I'm not sure I'll be able to come back to this place again. In general I have had great food at this place, but tonight was so horrifying that I am nauseous.

The $12 lunch special with vegetables, brown rice, miso soup, and soybean sauce was delicious and beautiful (foto).

Where do I start, great vegan food or a really really rude server. The owner is pretty nice and patient, but the young woman who works with her is too rude. She left our table in a middle of the conversation. I had ordered a soup and an entree without being aware that the entree for lunch comes with a soup. I asked if I can cancel the soup that I ordered, but she was too rude and left the table. Apart from that, the food is really good. A budding vegan restaurant, and I would not like for it have such bad reputation. It is too rare to find a good vegan Chinese restaurant like this. Get eggplant kung pao and mushroom seitan. Their seitan tastes really good.

I have been a vegetarian for 3 years me and my family feel so lucky to meet this vegan restaurant. Best sweet potato fries ever-crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside. Autumn rolls served with the spicy sauce are tasty. LOVE the fried noodles / Udon - especially the smoky, savory flavors and aromas of stir-fry. Sesame tofu is amazing with an amazing sauce Can munch on forever! It tastes a little bit like the orange chicken but is more delicious. Ingredients are fresh. Quick service. Can't wait to order again and check out other dishes! Highly recommend to non- vegetarian/vegan friends as well!

This restaurant totally hit the spot for lunch today. The vibe was warm and inviting, and the lemongrass soup was a total game-changer. The broth was so flavorful and refreshing, with hints of ginger and spice that really kicked things up a notch.

Amazing food, I got a soy milk tea with passion fruit, scallion pancake, and Malaysian curry stew. Everything was perfectly seasoned and cooked. Being vegan does not feel like a drawback at all. I highly recommend if you are in Arlington!

Calming, relaxed, casual dining experience. Get to eat classic Chinese-American fare with a vegan take on all the dishes. Not a vegan myself but I can assure that you can’t tell it isn’t meat. Only downside is the place needs to serve some white rice. Yall Asian, don’t tell me all you have is wet, soppy brown rice.

One of the best vegan spots in MA and even Thai, can't wait to have again. Had: Scallion pancake (one of my favorites I've had) Malaysian curry stew (very good) Pad-Thai (clean, no sodium overload, big portion) Soy Ice Cream Vanilla (great)

The flavors are comforting, if somewhat understated. The menu boasts good variety and the service was efficient. The space is inviting and cozy but a little basic. I think it merits four stars for the fact that it manages to do all this while being completely vegan, yet without centering the fact that is vegan. It just tastes like good pan-Asian cuisine, slightly on the healthier side.

Delicious vegan chinese food! I had the tofu delight and scallion pancakes from here at a catered event. The tofu delight was so good that I was actually worried they used beef broth in the sauce before learning the restaurant was all vegan. Scallion pancakes were wonderfully crispy as well. Highly recommend!

A couple of appetizers that are really nice; the king oyster mushroom (fried) had a nice texture. There was also a fried triangle samosa, with squash or sweet potato inside.

I had a fabulous dinner here. My roommate and I were looking for a nice little treat to get and came here. I am not vegan but my roommate is and honestly I couldn't tell the difference. The soy fingers tasted just like chicken fingers. It was a wonderful experience. 10/10. I'm definitely coming back.

Love this spot, delicious comfort food. Amazing flavors and a good amount of gluten free options

I'm so fortunate to now live in easy walking distance to this vegan restaurant! I usually order online and schedule a time for pickup. All my experience has been positive, and frankly, I love going to a restaurant where I know everything is vegan. My recent favorite is the seitan lo mein, which is about 2 meal's worth for me. I also love the curry vegetable noodle soup (which they have prepared mild at my request) and the soy protein salad (which is very simple, and comes with delicious peanut dressing on the side). All of their seitan items are excellent -- I love the seitan skewers too (note that these are mostly seitan with just a few pieces of pepper/onions). The item I don't see mentioned in other reviews is the soy ice cream (there are 4 flavors). It is delicious! To my knowledge, this is the only restaurant in Arlington that has soy ice cream. The people who work here are all very nice. There are plenty of tables and booths, and it is a quiet place to enjoy a meal.

Wow - got delivery and it is incredibly fresh. Veggies are cooked through and have good body, even ones like zucchini and broccoli that don't always travel well. Appropriate size (small) on the rice that comes with meals. Loved the Malaysia dish. Definitely are putting this in our rotation.

The food here is very very good. We ordered a ton of appetizers and entrees and really enjoyed all of it! So nice to have a good variety of vegan options like this.

I was hesitant at first to try this place since I'm a meat lover but the food was actually quite tasty and well flavored.

So I stopped in on a Wednesday, about 1:30/2pm or so and the restaurant was empty. (Another party came in a little after I did, but I nearly had the whole restaurant to myself. The weekday lunch special is a pretty decent value for $12, a main, miso soup, a spring roll, and all but the two noodle options also come with brown rice. The Thai Tea was tasty (and I didn't even think I liked Thai Tea much) but a smidge expensive. I will acknowledge that that could be because of the fact that we're still in a plague and the cost of ingredients could have gone up. Maybe that's not the normal, I don't actually know. I eat pretty much everything, so in no way am I a connoisseur of vegan food, but I left the restaurant pleased with my choices and a full belly. What more can you ask for?

The fried satan with stringbeens was very good. Service was excellent. Will definitely be back.

I'm not currently a vegetarian, but thought I would try this place which is near my home. I enjoyed all the food, which I picked up for takeout. The entrees I tried were the Malaysian curry tofu and the orange seitan, which were both good. The lemongrass hot & sour soup was pretty good. I thought the miso soup was ok but not as tasty as what I typically get from Japanese restaurants. I'll probably try this restaurant again and check out some of the other dishes.

We were there for the first time recently, enjoyed our meals, and will return. The M6 Seitan Strips with green beans were very good; I took half home and had the leftovers for lunch twice as tasty hot sandwiches in pita with the green beans on the side. My wife had the M11 Tofu Delight; lots of vegetables and firm fried tofu; very good too. We ordered the N13 Veg Fried Rice (we later found that brown rice came with entrees), which was good. We ordered the A12 Curry Samosas for an appetizer; they were relatively thin little triangles unlike any Indian samosas I've ever had; they looked and tasted OK and the wrap was nicely crisp, but the filling was mushy. Our desserts, Brown Rice Pudding and Chocolate Cake were very good. The servers were very nice and efficient, and the food was served within minutes. Our tab was $70 before 20% tip. I recommend Zhu. My reference for comparison is My Thai Vegan Cafe on Beach St. (2nd floor) in Boston (called Buddha's Delight years ago); everything is flavorful, superb and reasonably priced by today's standards (when I've taken my meat-eating friends there they would say that that they couldn't believe the food wasn't vegan) .

This place was excellent! We came back again, visiting from AZ. Appetizers, Thai tea, soup, meal and even dessert were so good. Try cute family business, with exceptional quality food. The second time we came, I believe the 2 sons served us. They were very excited to be there. I wish I lived closer; I would be a regular.

Wanted to try something completely new, so, being a complete omnivore, what better choice than a vegan restaurant. I tried the BBQ seitan (as I'd never tried that meat substitute before) and while the sauce was a bit too sweet for me, the protein itself was pretty good. Definitely couldn't replace beef for me, but I enjoyed it. The highlight for me, though, were the cold noodles. I've had cold noodle dishes before, but none in the way this was prepared. The green tea noodles themselves were beautifully understated, and the sesame and peanut sauce was plain addicting. I also really appreciated the addition of lettuce (on the bottom of the plate) for some needed crunch. It may be one of my favorite noodle dishes right now, and I can't wait to go back to get it again. Additionally, the service was great. This restaurant is also a block away from a stop on the 77 bus, so there's really no excuse not to try this place out if you live in the area, even if you're not vegan.

Zhu Vegan: so fresh (even their basic salad is 'fancy' because it's so fresh. Scallion pancakes: perfect and not a bit oily. Eggplant dish; so beautiful and delicious. Thanks for having great miso soup on the menu. Lovely service. Will be going there again, for sure. Affordable, too. Great experience.

I love Chinese food and this place is incredible. I don't even miss the meat! I often go with friends and it's required we go when my vegetarian daughter comes to town.

Their pillowy steamed dumplings with their tangy sauce might be the best dumplings I've ever had. I love, love, love their kung pao eggplant (if you can't do spice you can request that it be mild). I only ever take out, and the food is always ready pretty quickly. I've ordered the lunch specials, and a range of entrees, and the rice pudding. Everything is truly delicious.

With a vegan in our party my mom friends decided that we would all forgo meat and dairy in solidarity for our night out. Vegan mom recommended Two friends ordered the general gaos "chicken," and another ordered the orange "chicken." Both dishes are large enough to share. I tasted both and thought the orange "chicken" was better than the general gao. One friend ordered what looked like an amazing cocktail, and I tried to buy a beer, but it was out of stock, so I got hot sake, which was low quality, but cozy (as expected). Nobody in their right mind heats up a good quality sake! The wise vegan in our group got a giant tofu noodle curry soup that looked amazing and she devoured it. I ordered the fried yam appetizer, which turned out to be sweet potato fries. I also ordered a salad with ginger carrot dressing, and it just ended up being a bowl of romaine and some cucumbers with dressing on the side. The service was good and our dishes came out very fast. The best part about this place (other than it being a hard to find 100% vegan restaurant) is that the prices are moderate. I will be back with my kids!

Ordered take out for the first time here. I do not agree with the reviews. Would not eat here again. Ordered lemongrass hot n sour soup, king oyster mushrooms, roll sampler, pad Thai, orange seitan. Called this order in over the phone. Upon arriving to pick up fifteen minutes later, I could see my bag sitting on the bench next to the employee who continued playing on his phone for a few minutes before coming to help me at the glass window. Paid for my order. Get the bag and ask for chopsticks since we were eating this away from home. No spoon included though we had two soups. The mushroom app was good. Flakey batter and salt and peppery. The orange seitan was very orange and okay though too gooey for me. The pad Thai was terrible. Tasted nothing like it should. Zero bean sprouts and no cilantro though I asked for extra. The lemongrass soup was fairly watery. Some good ingredients floating around, but not enough. The rolls were supposed to be two each. The autumn roll was a small one cut in half. Sauces they came with weren't good nor were the rolls. It was an expensive mistake ordering here. So many great vegan options elsewhere.

Really solid food! They don't speak perfect English but the Basil seitan is incredible

Great choice for Vegan Chinese. The barbecue and orange seitan were good as well as the black pepper. The vegetarians in the family appreciated meat free dining!

The citrus soy protein main dish looked and tasted surprisingly similar to beef. That was a win. It was served with broccoli that retained a nice crunch. The lunch specials seem reasonably priced. Unfortunately, in the delivery process some sauce got into the compartment of the small egg roll that came with the lunch, so it was soggy. The miso soup was bland. My side order of vegetable dumplings was not outstanding. The sauce didn't seem to be the soy-vinegar combo that I'm used to. I'm not a vegan so I wouldn't go out of my way to order from this restaurant again. My vegan husband was not wowed either.

tl;dr - Five stars on savory stuff alone; minus one on dessert After a full day of travel back home to Greater Boston (Medford, this time around) on no less than two busses, one Lyft, a plane, another bus, the Red Line, and one MORE bus, a delivery involving my favorite things (in general, SAVORY PANCAKE AND DUMPLING THINS OF ANY KIND WHATSOEVER, plus cake) was precisely what I needed when I finally crashed at the Airbnb. I'd have gone my old Meju/Jae's route for a kimchi scallion pancake if they had not closed (nooooooo!), so I looked around for something similar and found Zhu. I must say, what a lovely scallion pancake this was! Quite a crisp-chew combination, and just the right flavor and salt balance. I think I liked Meju's less-stretchy texture a little better, but this one was excellent in its own right. The steamed veggie dumplings were simple, tender, and very good as well. I loved their sweet, bright sauce, though I might add some soy or other umami touch to really make it stand out. Finally, the requirement: some cake! The chocolate cake was....eh, just fine, I suppose. To Zhu's credit, vegan baking is hard, and except for the almost stiff-jelly twinge of texture from whatever the subbed for egg behavior, it was almost there. I think instead of mousse (which was likewise okay but would be AMAZING with more salt and fat) inside and out, they should do a richer frosting for the top! Otherwise, though, I happily ate the whole thing (I was really happy with its generous size, too) and would probably have eaten another if it was in front of me.

i love zhu's!! my go-to all vegan asian eatery all of the dishes i have tried are consistently delicious, fresh, and come out supet quick! i love the miso soup that comes with the entrees and i love their lunch specials. i always rotate between ordering the sesame tofu and orange seitan!

Hands down the best vegan meal I had on my one-week visit to Boston! I had the orange seitan and fell in love. For $15, it came with brown rice and a cup of miso soup and was more than enough (I had leftovers for lunch the next day). The orange sauce was just exquisite, tangy and exotic. I wish I could re-create it at home. The seitan was also yummy and would appease any meat-eater....no weird texture or aftertaste, and tasted very meaty. It also came with a ton of broccoli so you don't feel too unhealthy ;) I would happily go back to Boston just to try other things on Zhu's menu! The atmosphere was also very pleasant. It had an elegant, dimly-lit vibe, perfect for date night. (Although I didn't feel weird dining solo there either.) I went rather late (after 8pm) and it was quiet and the staff was super-friendly. Really, there's nothing to fault about this place.

These guys do a great job on service, ambiance AND food. A top vegan option. In fact a place you can bring your omnivorous friends too! I've brought the kids a number of times and they are welcoming and helpful. Water glasses stay topped off and food comes out rather quick. The ambiance is pleasant, with comfortable seating. I haven't been here when this place was 100% full, I hope i just come at the wrong times for them (I do try to eat at off hours to avoid crowds) because I want them to do well. On cold days, you are thankful that they seat people on the side of the restaurant away from the door. One of my big pet peeves is sitting near a door on a cold day, and worse, some fool holding it open too long:) The food is great. Lots of great vegan options and when you order the imitation meat you get good quality, good texture and a full feeling. I will say that if you are ordering a dish, and you're hungry, be careful because you can be left feeling super full or still a bit hungry depending on the dish you select. The sauces on the dishes are tasty I must add. Give these guys a try. And if you go to lunch at say 1:30 you will have the place to yourself!

Hot and sour soup was decent. The soba stir-fry was very poor quality. The noodles were soggy and really everything was soggy, sad and tasteless. I like the idea of a vegetarian / vegan Chinese restaurant, but Zhu sadly underperforms. I've written the place off as a place that I will ignore and not order from again.

Great vegan place. We ordered starters - skewers, Dumplings and curry samosas. For the main course we choose individual options which all came with soup as part of a meal package for individuals. Ended the sumptuous lunch with desert of fried ice cream and brownie cake. Starters were very good but the skewers were top class In the main course the noodle option was not upto the mark. But the egg plant and terayaki option were top class. Deserts were very good

Food was great here so I'm still giving this place 3 stars, instead of 2. Service really lacked here and seemed like the staff did not care enough to ask how the food was or if we needed anything else. After our meal, we basically had to get the waitress' attention so we can get our check and leave. Although I was disappointed with the service, I enjoyed my meal and they do provide large portions for what you're paying. I think take-out would be better here than coming in for a meal.

Of course I miss eating at Zhu but they've done a great job of providing takeout while keeping everyone safe. Everything is vegan and delicious at this spot. My favorites include the Soy Skewers, Seitan Spareribs, and Sweet and Sour Soy Protein. Even meat eaters have enjoyed eating here with me. The only warning I have is that whenever indoor dining and going to the movies becomes a thing again, beware of fellow diners and movie spoilers! I found out a huge Star Wars: The Force Awakens spoiler while dining here.

food was delicious and unusual in a kosher restaurant. service was fine. background music was atrocious and distracting.

The service could use some attention, but the food and atmosphere are outstanding. Best hot sour soup in the Boston area.

I'd wanted to visit Zhu for a long time and finally made plans with a friend to meet here. Had a great time and ate some great food! There are kind of a lot of items on the menu and everything sounds good, but we settled on stir-fried udon noodles with veggies and the sizzling teriyaki tofu platter. The udon noodles were good, but the sizzling platter was fantastic. Literally was sizzling when it arrived at our table, and the sauce was very yummy. The place felt clean, the staff was very nice, and the atmosphere was cozy. There was some nice twinkling lights inside, which my friend and I appreciated. Excited to come back to explore more of the menu.

Nice place with an interesting menu, fast service, and tasty food. They were able to make a spicy dish mild for me.

Unbelievably delicious food! I met a friend there for lunch and we both cleaned our plates! I will go back for sure.

I have never been to a Vegan restaurant and was excited to try Zhu. Why not enjoy a dinner that has pan Asian dinner options with no animal products? Well I can tell you it was delicious! I enjoyed every single thing we ordered - especially the Genera Taos and the curry! What I loved most about the food is that it was just good food. I didn't think about it being Vegan (nothing wrong with Vegan) I just thought about it being good food. We came with 2 friends and were happy to see a cocktail, wine and beer menu that had anything we would want. The staff were also very nice and attentive, not overbearing but not missing in action. The space is on the smaller side and intimate. I will definitely come back for another round!

I've only gotten takeout/delivery from here, but I've been very impressed with it. Super consistent and speedy preparation. As for the dishes: The mock meats are delicious, but I love that most dishes are also abundant with fresh, varied, and perfectly cooked vegetables. Sauces are fantastic, but can be on the sweeter side. Exceptional brown rice. Highlights: basil soy protein, general tso's soy protein, fried mushroom appetizer.

Pretty bad food. Was so disappointed as I had just driven six hours and was delighted to find a vegetarian restaurant near my Airbnb room. The avocado salad was just lettuce and a little avocado and no dressing; the vegetable fried rice was mushy and overcooked, probably leftovers; and the summer rolls were the worst I've ever had. Most of my meal went into the trash. On top of that the person taking the order was not a person who should be dealing with the public. Quite brusque and impatient. I had walked over and placed my order in person and was quite taken aback. What a waste of $25.

I had decided to go Vegan for a month to try and eat healthier and I was really impressed with this one. It is located in East Arlington. It is a little bit of a pain to find parking at times because you have to on the street, but it also isn't the worst. I had ordered the Pad Thai and vegetable dumplings, both were amazing! They replace the meat in the Pad Thai with tofu and honestly you can't tell the difference. I always order steamed dumplings that have pork on the inside from other places, so I didn't know how I would feel about the vegetable ones. I was surprised at how content I was with the food, not to mention the portions were very big. The interior is clean with a nice set up. The staff is also very respectable. On top of it all, the food is great! Especially if you do not normally eat vegan food and are a picky eater, trust me you won't even taste the difference. It is worth it! I would come back again.

My daughter has gone vegan for the last couple of months. So we tried Zhu and were very happy. We had some steamed vegetables, vegetables spring rolls, sesame peanut cold noodles, saiten lo main and vegetable fried rice. Everything was very good.

Absolutely perfect Asian cuisine! I loved the steamed dumplings and spring rolls the best :) also Vegan ice cream! Mint chip!

A friend recently told me there was a vegetarian/vegan Asian place in Arlington and my daughter needs to check it out. It is really hard to know if you are getting a real vegan dish because sometimes the staff will say "yes, we can do that" and then the kitchen does it the regular way (like eggs in the pad thai). It is nice to go somewhere where they really know their stuff. We ordered spring rolls and pan fried dumplings and they were good. Crispy and fresh and full of flavor and the sauces were really tasty and complimented the dishes. We got General Tso's Soy Protein for the main dish. I am a meat eater but the smell blew me a way but in a good way. Smelled just like the chicken version and the flavor was perfect. The veggies were not soggy and their was plenty of sauce to put over our rice and dish. Another awesome thing is that my daughter could get a Thai iced tea and it was very good and you would not know that it was not the real deal. We did a walk in and took out so I can not speak for the service but we did observe while waiting. We were given our drink and offered some water during our wait which was not long at all considering it was a Friday night.

I don't really see what's so special about this place, honestly. It's a bit pricey but I wouldn't mind if the food was absolutely delicious. However, I can't say I was wowed with Zhu. We ordered the pineapple fried rice and the Singapore rice noodles. Fried rice was better than the noodles but quite salty and the noodles were kinda wet- nothing like a picture that another Yelper posted a few months ago. It was more like lo mein than stir fry noodles. Maybe we just ordered the wrong items but I was not impressed...

They have a great variety of vegetarian food on menu. Even as a meat lover, I was a very satisfied with the food. The portions are good, and service was fast. We had the Spicy Basil Soy, which was delicious - never liked any Basil flavoured food as much as this.

The food is delicious--interesting, healthy, and tasty. There are dishes for when you're feeling adventurous, and more familiar dishes (sesame tofu!) too. But also the service is beyond incredible. Highly recommend!

Best vegan Asian food in Boston! Everything is really fresh and delicious. I've gone with friends who aren't vegan and they agree that the food is, without a doubt, extremely tasty and full of flavor

I love all vegan restaurants. Makes life a lot easier when ordering. Service was great and all the good tasted amazing! You would never know it was vegan .