Long Life Vegi House

I'm a happy omnivore and view vegan food with deep suspicion. So when my vegan friend suggested this place, I had to take in a deep breath and pretend to smile and go along. Best decision ever. This place would make even a sworn carnivore vegan. The hot and sour soup was amazing as other people have noted. Even without egg. I had about four or five helpings. The "meat" dishes were all great. Mongolian beef yum. Chicken with greens yum. All yum. Eggplant and tofu was also amazing. The decor would definitely subtract a point if they charged more. So expect paper plates, takeout containers, and boxes stashed in the corner. But everything is clean and nothing feels unsanitary. I call the decor "clean hole in the wall". The owner slash waiter slash busser is very friendly and sweet. Love her. This place feels like old Berkeley when you could get amazing food for not so much money. I hope they never change (except to maybe get their dishwasher fixed so they don't have to use paper plates).

This is a nice, quiet place with many traditional Chinese dishes on the menu, many of which are vegetarian or vegan. I retreat back to my youth in the food that I found so comforting growing up.The people are friendly, and the service is prompt. Prices are quite fair.I do really like the food here, but I am very torn about the use of plastic containers instead of traditional plates and bowls when dining in. Placing very hot food in plastic can cause leaching of chemicals, and I question whether the containers are recyclable. And since we all know that things don't really get recycled, all the more reason to switch out.

Writing a a revised review, after some years of going there pre-covid.This place is still amazing. Service is great. Food is still bomb! When I was younger, I actually never really liked hot & sour soup, but as I am older, I actually enjoy it, and theirs is really good, even not adding the egg, so it's vegan. This time, other items we had were: salt and pepper tofu & braised tofu w/ mushrooms. Yum!! Definitely, still a fave Chinese Regular/Vegetarian/Vegan Restaurant.

This review is both to express how incredible the food is and a call to help this local business out! They currently do not have enough consistent staff due to budget issues to have someone to wash dishes so they only do takeout or give dine in food via takeout boxes. My family and I went to this establishment for lunch and were totally amazed by the quality and taste of their food. A true vegetarian dream restaurant with a multitude of options. The restaurant manager who was female (did not catch her name) was incredible sweet and made sure we had a lovely time. Do check this place out and support them!!

This is a vegetarian spot that is great for vegetarians, vegans and omnivores. The restaurant is a large space and can accommodate big groups.I came in with my brother (who is vegetarian) and recommended this spot. The service was quick and friendly. The lady, whom I'm assuming is the owner, was very inviting and ready to answer any questions we had. The food did not take long to arrive at our table and the portion sizes did not disappoint. We also got some (vegan) hot & sour soup on the house. It was very tasty!We ordered the potstickers, salt & pepper tofu, eggplant tofu and kung pao chkn. Everything was delicious. I can't wait to visit again to try something new!

This place makes me think about going vegetarian entirely. But then I think about life w/ out steak, bacon and salami. Anyhow, this restaurant quenches the desire for both vegetarian and meat lovers. However PLEASE NOTE, this restaurant is vegetarian and seafood only. They do not serve beef, chicken, turkey, pork, lamb or duck. But trust me, you will not be able to tell the difference w/ their imitation meat.Love the broccoli veggie chicken lunch special. With the choice of brown or white rice the lunch combo also comes w/ a spring roll (and soup for dine-in only).The service is always quick and friendly. If you're ever in Berkeley and craving some good Chinese food (especially if your'e a vegetarian) I'd highly recommend this restaurant.

Enjoyed the food and service very much in December however today was an awful, degrading, and eye-opening experience. I always order the egg foo young, and this visit was no different. Today the female server was loud, rude, condescending, and unprofessional. She continuously yelled at me even though my tone was soft and discreet. When she brought my entree I advised the gravy wasn't thick but was a runny juice. I showed her. She offered to take it back to the kitchen, pour off the juice, and add corn starch. She said they didn't have gravy ready in the back because it was made especially for the entre. After considering this I told her it was okay I would keep it. She walked away, I pushed it aside, and requested the check. I was okay with leaving the meal, and provided my card to pay. It wasn't until that point that she offered to remake the entree. I gave in and waited again. She stated she "deducted the cost of the soda for my inconvenience." Lol. She started blaming me saying I should tell them next time if I want gravy instead of juice. I told her I had never had to do that before. She went into the kitchen and I heard a man yelling in Chinese. She came out and told me 6 or 7 times that the cook was "very angry but was remaking the order." While awaiting the remake she informed me she had added back the cost of the soda to the check. When she went back to pick up the remake the cook could be heard yelling again. She again advised me that he was angry he had to remake the order.When the remake arrived I teased a bit in a light-hearted manner - asking if the food was safe since the cook was very angry. I again handed her my debit card to pay for the meal. She became very combative, and told me I didn't have to pay if I wasn't happy. I told her I wasn't happy but would happily pay for my order. She argued with me saying she didn't want me to pay if I wasn't happy and attempted to give me back my card. I requested 5 or 6 times that she just take the payment so I could go. She refused to keep the card, and picked up the remade order from the table - stating she would keep it and I didn't have to pay.I reminded her I would take the food and pay for my order. She was still alarmingly angry, argumentative, and loud. I was really ready to go at that point. She kept pushing the card back to me and reaching for the food she had already given me. I was so surprised by her behavior, and this made an already strange situation worse. I took cash out of my pocket and gave it to her to pay. I picked up the food to leave, and she was still yelling "you are not happy," you don't have to pay. I have never experienced anything like that. I finally told her I was trying to remain cool but she was really pushing it. She finally shut up, and took the cash.She lost her cool, blamed me, repeated the cook was very angry, and suggested I tell them in advance next time (by calling) if I wanted the food made like it had been in the past. She even said the gravy had turned to juice because I was eating out of the to-go container instead of the paper plate she brought. WHAT?!During our conversation she said the cook told her that's how he always makes it. I calmly reminded her that wasn't true because its all I ever order, and I know. I can't recommend them or frequent again because professionalism and quality customer service was totally amiss during today's visit. Even another customer chimed in, encouraging her to just take the money!She was mad I wasn't "happy." Wow. It would have been understandable if I was trying to get food without paying! It was her interaction that made me the most unhappy, that and hearing the cook yelling.I try not to judge people because you never know what another person is going through but she was very unreasonable, disrespectful, rude, and unprofessional.Consistency, quality, and customer service are key to assuring customers are happy. It did no good to remake the order if you are giving the customer major attitude. Yes the dish fell short compared to prior experiences, and that's okay. But both the server and cook could benefit from additional customer service training.

This place have nice selection of vegan foods. Fried tofu with chili pepper flakes were our favorite. Chowfun noodles were not as chewy as they should be. Wonton were tasty but not super crunchy. Mongolian beef has good lavor. The place was empty and the service lady was friendly. It was almost like private dining. Don't be bashful to walk in for a meal. We saw many picking up their food to go. Hope the restaurant make it.

Long Life Vegi House is a new fav! I have lived in Berkeley for years and I tend to frequent the same restaurants over and over...I wanted to try another place to break out of my comfort zone. I was glad to choose Long Life because they have a LARGE assortment of veggie options! Thank you Long Life!

Food can't be beat and priced so reasonably Try the Vegi Chicken. Delicious.Take out only. Highly recommend!