Golden Lotus Vegan Restaurant

we ordered here 2 timescatering order - we wanted to pick up at 11. she said 11:30 cuz they open at 11. ok fine. we got food at like 11:55. to go order - we called ahead knowing they were late last time. again, later than told. i understand 5/10 min but anything over is excessivenoodles: good. more vegetables could be uses

It's been years since I've dined here and it is still as good as before. I've always wanted to come back for their Vietnamese sweet and sour soup because I love the soup's tanginess and the all the vegetables. The okra, tomato, and pineapple were some of my favorites. We also ordered the spicy cha cha and the "shrimp" was super crispy and loved the bed of salad on the bottom. The yum yum vermicelli was average because the vermicelli was a bit undercooked, but the egg roll was extremely crispy. I also really enjoyed the fried soy protein. Each item costs $15. We came on a Wednesday evening for dinner and there were plenty of seats available. The restaurant is a bit outdated but I'm fine with it as long as the food is good. The waitress was friendly and gave us time to look over the menu before taking our order. They did take a while to give us our check since there were only two waitresses working and a few customers strolling in.

I came here a long time ago and thought it was pretty great but when I recently returned, I realized vegan food has gotten a lot better and Golden Lotus has stayed the same. We came here on a Tuesday night and it was relatively busy. As I remembered, they're not the most friendly staff but pretty attentive. The menu is vast and you've got a wide variety of dishes to choose from. I went with the spicy "shrimp" and my friend got the house special noodles. We also got the mushu mushu wrap. First thing we noticed is the pictures in the menu don't quite align with what was actually served. Otherwise, the food was decent. It was a little bland and could have used more seasoning. The "shrimp" tasted like shrimp but again, lacked seasoning. My friend's noodles were similarly on the bland side. People love this place but I've certainly had better vegan food. I'd probably skip it if I wanted vegan food in the area.

Been coming for about 8 years and have been consistently ordering the same things! lol... they are delicious and I need recommendations for other dishes

Got take out so I can only speak to the quality of food, though the people I interacted with were nice! Food was yummy - I tried the spring rolls (not fried), papaya salad, eggplant tofu curry, and flan. The curry was tasty but could have benefited from even more flavor (not bad to begin with though). The papaya salad was quite different than what I've had at Thai places - it didn't seem to be trying to mimic the fish flavor that defines the dish I had in mind when I ordered it, but their execution is still good. The peanut dipping sauce for the spring rolls was more coconutty than I've had before but again, not bad! I'm interested to try a soup next time

Golden Lotus has some of the yummiest Asian food ive ever had. The house claypot rice, claypot tofu and crispy chicken are some of my absolute favorites. It's cheap and cheerful and has a peaceful atmosphere from its Buddhist roots. 100% recommend!

Food: 5/5Service: 5/5Ambiance: 4/5Vibe:Big dining room and attentive staff. Located in downtown Oakland. Great place for lunch or dinner. Very full after our meal.Food:Filling and all vegan! Great place for tasty shared dishes or for yourself. My favorite was the curry vermicelli soup.

I've been here numerous times, so this review covers many different dishes:Crispy chow mein: Generous portion of crispy noodles, and I enjoyed the texture of it. But overall I felt it was weak in flavor so I'd rate it 4/5.Sautee broccoli soy beef: I was not a fan of the zucchini or carrots, the broccoli was ok and tasted decently seasoned. I do like the soy beef, as a vegetarian who enjoys eating plant-based meat alternatives. The sauce gave it a good amount of flavor. I'd give it 4/5.5-spice tofu over rice: The first time, I selected for brown rice in my order, and found that they gave me wild rice or purple rice, rather than standard brown rice (I see this as a good thing). The tofu was thin, almost tasted eggy like an omelette or pancake. The other cakey part of the dish had a lot of black pepper in it which I love. Overall it was delicious, I'm not sure what I was expecting but it was very filling. Not sure what the sauce was, it was a bit sour and kind of sweet. I decided to order this a second time, but unfortunately on my second time ordering ahead for takeout, it was only when I arrived at the store that they informed me they were out of brown rice and asked if white rice was okay - wish they would've told me ahead of time. But I'd still give this dish a 5/5 since it's very yummy and unique.Spicy sweet potato curry: I asked in the special requests to make it mild when ordering takeout online, since I am weak to spicy. Overall it is quite rich, thick, had quite a bit of carrots. I think it goes well with a carb, though I personally would prefer a crispier texture but I know that's practically impossible once the vegetables have already been cooked and soaked in the curry. I'd torn whether to rate this a 4 or 5.Sweet and sour chicken: They separately packed the sauce from the chicken so it wouldn't get soggy. I liked that it was crispy, fried, savory, had a good texture. I'd give this a 5/5.FYI, as of the last time I visited, they don't take Discover credit cards.Also, there is a small picnic table/bench which seems to just be open for the public, close to the restaurant, if you want to eat outdoors.

The space is large so good for groups and plenty of tables so there's never been a wait when I have visited. Clean and staff have always been super kind. As someone who easily gets hit with decision fatigue, it's definitely hard to narrow down what to order. Which is why I recommend bringing friends so you can order a bunch of things and share! Of the four things we ordered, my least favorite was probably the egg roll but everything was delicious overall! The clay pot rice is so simple but yet flavorful and delicious, probably one of the favorites. Great opportunity to try new things!

Ordered takeout on a whim and found this place. Pho broth was flavorful and my partner and I really enjoyed the caramelized chicken clay pot. As a non vegan, I also enjoyed flan, it was close comparison to flan made with eggs. We're excited to come back and try the rest of the menu.