Buddha’s Veggie Restaurant

I love this place. The vegetarian and vegan options are plentiful and great quality. Sunday dim sum is my favourite.

We came here for Dim Sum with a vegetarian friend! We were able to order the usual dim sum options as well as veggie versions. Everything was delicious!!! The regular options were just as good as the places down in Chinatown, and the veggie options were really tasty! Service was wonderful, the girls who worked there were very attentive and sweet. Loved it! Will be back!!!

The second time I have been here. Last time was over 10 yrs ago.
Very clean and updated… service was very very good… Ordered Ginger beef which was very good although too sweet, and had to use the pieces dry rather than sauced up. Also Drumsticks and dumplings and Chicken fry rice. Everything was Vegan. Seperate MEAT menu!
I would recommend it highly

Boyfriend and I are vegetarian and wanted a place where family (meat eaters) could take us out for dinner but still be able to have a great selection of food.
We easily made a reservation for 7 people on a Friday night just a few hours ahead and we were easily accommodated.
I was surprised to see two different menus, one vegetarian/​vegan and the other with meat. I thought this was excellent to see so non-​vegetarians don’t get scared off. They also happily removed bell peppers from an item I ordered due to my sensitivity/​allergy.
The other 5 people in our party decided to split one of the pre-​planned Meals for 6. The dishes seemed a smaller than I expect, even for 5 people to share. The dishes were served one at a time and each person had a chance to try each dish. They were very full at the end.
The only downside of the whole meal (which is why I removed a star) was that one of dishes in the Meal for 6 had a crazy crazy hot pepper. Watery eyes, burning mouth, and sweating ensued. We even started daring people to eat the pepper and we all did cause why not… Many regrets.
I will definitely come here again in the future and bring vegetarian and non-​vegetarian guests with me.

If I wanted to eat something that tasted like beef I’d eat beef. The fake meat at this place is pretty terrible and much more expensive then real meat which also tastes batter.
If you want to eat over priced, chewy and flavourless vegetables this is the place to go. If you want to eat real food then your best bet is to go just about anywhere else

Went here today for lunch for the first time in years, and was pleased to see that it’s still a great place to eat!
The menu has changed so it’s now got meat options (a bit confusing when one person is looking at the vegetarian menu, and the other is looking at the meat-​eaters one, and you can’t figure out why they’re so different), but otherwise it’s still the place I used to love.
Although we had one ommnivore (me) and one vegetarian (my sister) eating, we both ordered the (fake) Ginger Beef lunch box special. Steamed veggies, non-​meat Ginger Beef, and steamed rice — for $ 8.50!
The flavour and crunch was good (even with the veggies), although I wouldn’t have minded the ginger sauce being a little more gingery — it was good, but could have packed more punch. Portion size was huge, the service was extremely quick, and we left sated, with leftovers, for just $ 22 (including tax & tip) for the two of us!
This is definitely going to become a more frequent lunch spot for the two of us!

This is not a good restaurant. Not only is the food overpriced, but its just not that good. Nearly $ 15 for a moderate portion of veggie fried rice that’s nearly all white rice and very few veggies. They have brown rice on the menu and when asked if they could substitute white rice for brown rice, they said sure for an extra $ 4.00 taking the price to $ 19!!!
There are many better vegetarian choices like Globefish just up the street. And the clincher is questionable sanitation … Urine smell and sticky surfaces in the washrooms.
They also don’t seem to understand what vegetarian means — for instance, you shouldn’t be using chicken stock and fish stock in vegetarian dishes.
Needless to say, we won’t be going back … Very disappointing.

Delicious! Couldn’t believe it was all vegetarian. So happy we found this place. Friendly staff and great variety.

I recently dined here with a friend. So not impressed. We tried phoning four times before going to see if they were even open. No answer. Then we had to wait ten minutes even before being greeted. We ordered our drinks and then our food. I will give props that the food came out pretty quick, all was well until the bill came. The server dropped the bill and then told us if we pay debit or credit we have to tip. Didn’t ask how everything was, or offer a dessert menu. Excuse me? I work in the industry and that is not acceptable. A tip is given based on service given. We were never quality checked while dining over two hours. No wonder there is a hand written note looking like garbage on their door saying «short on labour». Also the air conditioner was blasting. Its January and in winter.

Went for dinner last night here and the food was great! It gets a 3 out of 5 as its nothing special inside and the AC was jacked. I hate eating in sub zero temps.
All their food is vegetarian yet they mimic every classic chinese food dish ie: ginger beef, lemon chicken. As a fan of seitan (the wheat meat) I can honestly say it tasted almost identical! Super fresh veggie in the chow mein to and i asked… No MSG!

We’ve been going here for years for the vegetarian menu. Nice flavours, even though all the dishes are made without onions or garlic.
I recommend the black pepper «beef» Shanghai noodles. Much better than a lot of conventional western-​style Chinese places in the city.

So I have a love-​hate relationship with places like these. I mean the types where ‘everything is vegetarian friendly even the meat sauce.’ That is because I was a vegetarian for years and I *hated* fake meat. I like vegetables and legumes and all of the wonderful things you can do with both. I am not just trying to eat fake bacon and ‘chicken’ nuggets. I do like tofu and seitan but because of their own flavor or diversity, not because I think they are meat substitutes.
Anyway, I love places where I don’t have to wonder what’s on the menu, it’s obvious. However, this is also the sort of place that does vegetables and the such well. The dishes have tons of flavor that isn’t just based in salt and sugar. Things are made well and there are a variety of dishes, not just fake meat. They have truly vegetable-​based plates and they have things like ginger ‘beef.‘
The prices are a little steep, I must say. The entrees were between $ 13-​$ 17 and the appetizers ranged from $ 6 — $ 10 (if it wasn’t the veggie platter). There were also quite a few desserts and some beer/​wine on the menu.
Something to be noted: there are two menus, vegetarian and meat-​friendly. There are also notes about gluten free options, which means this is a great place for a mixed group. I would definitely recommend the double-​fried tofu. It’s about $ 8 but it’s definitely the sort of appetizer you can split with a group of about four.

I enjoyed coming here last night. The food was really good. We had the veggie dinner for two. The only thing I wasn’t super crazy about was the soup. I subbed hot and sour soup instead of the creamed corn. I despise creamed corn and corn in gerneral. The soup was gelatinous not really what I expected. I didn’t love it but I still finished it so I didn’t waste it. My significant other didn’t even touch his he smelled it and passed it over to me.
My favourite part was the veggie ginger ‘beef’ it was really good and filling. I really enjoyed branching out and trying a new place.

This is one of those places where, upon trying it, you tell yourself «I should have tried it a long time ago.» This is the best Chinese cuisine in the West. The Won Ton soup alone is worth going for. Friendly, human service that is never rushed yet is blazing fast. Just go there.

Finding restaurants that have a good variety of vegetarian and vegan food on offer can prove difficult in Calgary. But at Buddha’s Veggie they have two separate menu’s, one with your usual meat dishes and one menu entirely devoted to veggie dishes! It feels like there is almost too much to choose from (we are talking around 70 dishes!), this is a strange feeling to a vegan when it comes to dining out!
I chose three items from the veggie menu, ‘Veggie Ginger Beef’, ‘Veggie Lemon Chicken’ and my favourite, ‘Veggie Beef in Black Bean Sauce on Rice Noodle’. All three dishes were delicious, and the ‘meat’ was succulent and tasty, it felt eerily similar to the real thing! The ‘Ginger Beef’ was amazing, it was slightly chewy as the texture mimicked real ginger beef very well. The batter on the ‘Lemon Chicken’ was light and crispy and the sauce very lemony and yummy! The ‘beef’ in the ‘Black Bean Noodles’ was my absolute favourite, it was just spectacular, the right texture, taste and colour, no words can describe how tasty it was! The vegetables in the dishes were all very fresh and cooked perfectly too.
The staff were very friendly and politely answered any questions I had with great knowledge of their menu items. The atmosphere was lovely, the restaurant itself is clean and bright and furnished in a nice modern yet warm and comforting style.
I will be back again very soon now that I have found this gem of a restaurant, next time to try a few different items from the veggie menu, I have quite a lot to get through but I am sure none of them will disappoint! Yummy!

Carnivore? Vegetarian? Vegan? Somewhere in the middle? It doesn’t matter, everyone should try Buddha’s Veggie Restaurant!
I’ve been doing ‘Meatless Monday’ for a while now as a way to expand my comfort zone by trying some new food and recipes, lessen my environmental footprint and the health benefits are obviously a nice perk.
So this Monday, a quick Unilocal search for vegetarian restaurants lead me to Buddha’s and it did not disappoint! You have the choice of ordering either from a meat or a vegetarian menu, both of which spoil you with choice. It is very much a fusion restaurant, serving dishes inspired by Thailand, Malaysia, Szechuan, Peking and more!
We decided on the Menu For Two, which included the following dishes:
–Tofu cream corn soup… it was delicious.
–Water chestnut soy roll… it had an almost sausage-​like texture, also delicious.
–Veggie ginger ‘beef’… OMG this one blew me away. Delicious!
–Stir fried mixed vegetables… exactly as the name describes, and delicious.
–Steamed rice… enough said.
Now before I make this restaurant sound too much as a hippie’s delight, I should put it out there that I am not generally a soy /​tofu eater. But this meal made me forget I was eating vegetarian and was a delight to my taste buds. And if you prefer to stay away from ‘fake’ meat and eat veggies instead, there are lots of options for that as well. As a bonus, they even highlight gluten free options on their menu as well!
The food blew me away, but the only thing keeping this review from being 5 stars was the atmosphere which could be a bit more unique. This certainly didn’t impact our food experience, but atmosphere plays into the overall dining experience.
I’ll end by saying that I’ll be back… and not just on Meatless Mondays!
–
L

I was in town, planning a dinner with a vegan friend. We decided on Buddha’s Veggie for obvious reasons, and met for dinner. Since it was just the two of us, and there were plates already on the table, wee figured it would be best to order one plate and split it. That’s usually what I take the plates on the table to mean at asian places; you are gonna get a lot of food on one order. And that was so! We got the stir fried veggies and shanghai noodles. Well, shortly after ordering, the server returns, and tells us that there is a min charge of $ 9 per person. Our noodle plate was only $ 12.50 (which I did think was a bit pricey) and our tea wasn’t gonna make up the difference. I was surprised they would have a min charge so high, especially at a sharing place. Well, we got spring rolls too, and that seemed to satisfy the woman.
The noodles were bland, and the veggies sparse. The spring rolls were good. The tea pot was not refilled.
Overall, I was rather disappointed. This was on a rainy Thursday night, so it was not very busy. I do not think I will be going back, unless a veggie friend really wants to go there.

This is one of the original veggie places in cowtown and I remember it being this special treat my grandmother would take me to as a child for my birthday (as I was the only vegetarian in my family and no one wanted to eat veggie with me — gasp!). Times have changed — this place has moved and also has morphed into a half veggie and half meat place (and more people support veggie places with me — awww)
Anyway this place is always great for double dates with other half veg and half meat lovin couples as no one has to compromise. This place also has two whole kitchens and the food is prepped completely separate from the meat for those who are very concerned with cross contamination.
I enjoy:
veggie ginger beef
veggie crispy peppered eel
weekend dim sum in it’s sum total
bubble tea
I find it interesting when I’ve there in mixed veggie and meat lovers company and we order regular ribs and veggie ribs and they meat lovers sample the veggie ribs (substitute whatever other dish) and the reactions range from «that’s amost the same», «oh that’s good», or «this is even better». Big veggie win particularly given how meat loving some of my friends really are. BTW for the meat lovers reading this, the dishes that are better are because they are often less fatty or greasy in the veggie form.
This place relies heavily on meat stimulants (for better or worse other veggie people) but they have EXCELLENT products. I like some meat simulations but not all and I try to avoid them but these are good. The little shrimps are even white with little orange stripes painted on them which is cute.
I also don’t usually like Chinese food at all not only because of lack of options but also because it can make me quite sick feeling (a combo of MSG and grease?) so this is one of the only places I will eat. I still sometimes feel a little unwell from here but it’s far less likely than MOST chinese spots.
This place is a bit pricey but good and I would highly recommend.

Okay. This place has finally redeemed themselves, in my eyes. True, they may not be solely vegan anymore, but seeing as how I’m the sole vegan in my group of friends or when I’m with my family 99.9% of the time, I’m glad we have a place where we can all be happy.
I didn’t stick around this time, just grabbed some takeout. The corn chowder was like a soothing balm on my nauseated tummy. Also… vegan dim-​sum! Hooray: D. Ordered vegan versions of what I see my friends order elsewhere all the time; Siu Mai and little «shrimp» pouches. The «shrimp» pouches were my favorite of the two. Those four bombs of deliciousness disappeared first. Also, I had to order the dry ribs again because it’s my favorite thing on their menu. Got a meat dish for my companion (so he wouldn’t gripe and accuse me of forcing my «hippie food» on him again) and they lovingly labeled and separated it from all the other food. The lady taking my ordered was in a cheerful mood; a complete 360 from the bitter-​beer-​faced sour puss I dealt with the last time I was here.
Buddha’s Fusion, I am no longer mad at you. Disappointed that you couldn’t fight the good fight and remain vegan, but if that’s what you had to do to continue making those dry ribs that I love so much… I forgive you.

Food is good, very good dor vegitarian… You don’t even realize it is not meat. Ginger beef is especially awesome!
Prices too high though.