Sunflower Vegetarian Restaurant

Sunflower is a long-standing institution in Northern Virginia's vegetarian food scene. They offer a variety of fresh, Chinese takeout-inspired dishes that are vegetarian, and certain dishes are vegan, organic, and/or gluten-free. After 5+ years, I visited Sunflower in December 2024 as a new pescatarian along with my somewhat particular, non-vegetarian friend. Staff was kind enough to provide recommendations, after which we ordered the General Tso's Surprise and Songbird. General Tso's has slightly thicker fried coating for a nicer mouthfeel than Songbird, but is sweeter. Songbird is savory and tender, but still sweeter than most kung pao chicken sauces. The ambience is bright and charming, perfect for a small gathering of friends. Staff is friendly and most of all, the food is delightful even for non-vegetarian folks. Overall, highly recommend Sunflower!

The food was very good, and customer service was great throughout our visit! I highly recommend it to new and repeat customers.

*Part 2 Of 2*8/26/24Final Thoughts:Sunflower Vegetarian had another location in Falls Church, but it closed down. It is the one I really remember. I was informed I have been to the one in Vienna before, but it obviously wasn't memorable.   The Golden Nuggets and Ms Doubtfire have changed the game and not in a good way.I now understand why we were the only ones there. Okay, there was one Uber driver who walked in and picked up an order, but left quickly afterwards.Douglas made the experience great. He leaves a five star service for great customer service and fixing a problem quickly and efficiently. However, I still have to leave this with a one star review because of Ms. Doubtfire and what she said.  This left a worse impression than the obnoxious bawsaq soup.No I don't hate Mia for what she said to Douglas, but I do pity her.If you chose to try this place out, I hope it works out for you.Oh!, and I just learned today (8/25/24) this business has only partially passed their health inspections for some time.This is a new feature on Yelp I clearly missed.  Another reason this business didn't have any people eating there except us...

Five stars to Katie who not only took my order, but walked me through the menu to help me find the perfect things. Gregarious, helpful, adorable and knowledgeable, she really made this first visit excellent. The menu is extensive and kind of overwhelming with all the wonderful options. There are a few vegetarian options, clearly marked, but otherwise it is all vegan. My food was takeout today, but the dining room is beautiful and the decor of sunflowers everywhere is so fun and attractive. I could see meeting up with my bestie for lunch here sometime. I held back a star because the portions are definitely smaller than I expected and a little less "gourmet" for the price. That said, I will definitely be back at some point while I'm working in this area. YES: Vegan friendly

Its been a very long time since I was last in this area and had the opportunity to stop at what used to be my favorite vegetarian resturant. In fact I came here at least weekly prior to 2016. So when I found myself in the area recently, I had to stop here. A lot has changed since 2017 with COVID and more. Sadly, so did the ownership of this place and some of the food choices and quality. The ambiance remains close to what it was, maybe slightly better with the small increase in additional chairs and tables added under the new owners (in 2018 I think I heard?), and the service is as good as it was.I've kept some of my 2017 pics on this post to show the difference and my longtime ptronage. I learned the second location near where the seven streets meet in Fairfax or whatever long ago spilt from the original owners and went out of business prior to COVID. I went there once and it was sub-par back then so no surprise it went belly up years ago.My first disappointment was my favorite dish - macrobiotic roots was gone, the carrot-ginger salad dressing - gone, the free seasonal soup (miso or wonton) given while your order was being prepared - gone, my favorite desert - pumpkin pie with citus topping - also gone. The bench seating was pretty hard to sit on, even with the somewhat thin cushion that sits atop the bench's wood. But it works to get people in and not dwell too long, so others can sit.What they have now is still a fair set of choices, but not the same preparation, portion size or quality. They still have miso soup and wonton soup, but its at a added cost and they added Thai Tom Yum soup (a favorite of mine). I've uploaded the menu pics because the choices are pretty extensive and the prices are what I consider to be at the high end of fair, but not unreasonable given shrinkflation and inflation these days. I had the wonton soup (another favorite of mine) and it was good, nothing to shout from the rooftops about, but good. I had the cold basil spring rolls (fresh veggies wrapped in rice paper) it was very disappointing because it was very dry and seemed like it was sitting around a bit. It was difficult to chew and get down, even with the small amount of peanut sauce provided. I took one bite and threw the rest out - what a waste of money! My friend tried the Tom Yum soup and said it was "okay." Happily, they still have the orange-carrot freshly made juice. I love it and always have, I tried the veggie dumplings - way too pasty/dry. More $$ wasted. I somewhat enjoyed the General Tso's Surprise meatless stir fry. It wasn't as good as the previous owners provided, it was more like pre-made, frozen nuggets of "chicken" with some somewhat tasty sauce placed on top. Lastly, I ordered 2 of the chocolate chip cannolis and tried them later after dinner. The filling was y-u-c-k! My total bill was $63.07 before tip. Of that I wasted at least $26 of it (basil roll, cannoli and dumplings)My friend had the "chicken" drumstick, which was good; Popeye's Special loaf, miso soup, all of which were good. But she also had the dumplings which she said were horrible, dry and had a strange flavor and order. There was a good crowd in the place when I was there on a Sunday afternoon, as it has always been the case, so it's still popular. Would I return here? Yes, but I'd be better at making choices of what to order. I recommend this place but urge caution on what you order such as the cannolis, dumplings, basil roll, etc. Each of us need to "explore" the menu and taste the food to decide what we like and don't, the only problem is that costs money unless (unlike me) you bravely ask for a refund for items you don't like.

Bright and open dining room with an excellent and diverse vegetarian menu. Food prep is also excellent and taste is splendid. Huge variety of dishes with assorted flavors, all served promptly and courteously. Highly recommended!

The only full vegetarian restaurant around. They hit it out of the park on Asian food. My companion did not feel the curry was very good. Many different options for dietary choices. I wish there were more restaurants that cater to vegetarians around. I did not miss the meat at all.

Love this unexpected find. Many of their dishes are vegan or can be made vegan. The food makes creative use of veggies to create flavorful dishes. It's always nice to dine with like-minded people who share a passion for healthy eating. My favorite things was the orange chicken.

Delicious comfort vegan and vegetarian savory Chinese food! While most of the dishes are heavy in soy and gluten, there's a gluten-free menu. The menu is quite extensive and can seem overwhelming. I've come back 3 times and ordered a delightful feast each time, making my rounds through the menu.The cozy restaurant has small table seating that can fit 30 people, no outdoor seating. Would be a tight space for strollers.The dishes can be hit/miss. While the apps were the stand-outs, the main course dishes were fun to try, but not home-runs Something felt off, like an missing ingredient, or the sauce wasn't quite right. The General Tso sauce was too spicy, while the brown sauce in the Hong Kong dish was runny, and the gingery sauce in the Macrobiotic Tofu dish was too thick and goopy. The dishes don't seem to strike the perfect balance. Family style works best here as the dishes taste much better combined and elevate the flavors.I wish the menu was a bit more paired down and customizable and you could pick your own base (noodle, rice, soup), protein, set of veggies, and sauce. While I enjoyed certain ingredients of different dishes, it would be nice to compile bits and pieces of them into 1 dish!Some of the menu items are seasonal, the restaurant doesn't have Radish Cakes or the Eel Cakes.Here's How I'll Dish it Out from Most to Least Favorite:Spice Veggie Drumsticks (2 come in an order) - These petite drumsticks pack a punch and my must-have for every order! While the spicy ketchup is alright, I wish the restaurant carried bbq sauce, which would pair much better. The spicy peanut sauce is fun to try, but doesn't pair that well. I have my own bbq sauce at home!Xmas Roll (5/5) - Seasonal! Hands-down the best vegan sushi roll I've had and truly bursting with flavor in every bite. The crunchiness from the sweet potato tempura with avocado, peanut, and peanut sauce rounds out the flavors. Colorful Rice Noodles (5/5) - Glad I opted for the thin rice noodles, they were very tasty and cooked well. The mock-meat ham, mushrooms, cabbage, carrots, and veggies well. I wouldn't recommend adding fried tofu, it detracted from the flavor. Spinach Wonton Soup (5/5) - The broth of the soup is very flavorful and the tender juicy wontons just melts in my mouth. Hands-down among the best soup I've had.Mizuni Sansai Udon Noodles (4/5) - The Udon noodles were quite flavorful with a heap of veggie and chunks of veggie chicken. Wish there was an option to get the steamed/fried tofu instead of the veggie chicken. I was a little surprised to see mushroom in the dish, but no broccoli. Overall I enjoyed the dish and paired well with the Hong Kong Tofu.General Tso's Surprise (4/5) - The crispy mock chicken meatballs was tasty and smothered in spicy sauce! While I dish was fun to try and rarely see a vegetarian version, it was a bit too spicy for me and the soggy meatballs didn't make for good leftovers. If you're a fan General Tso's, then go for it! There's a vegan version too.Hong Kong Tofu (4/5) - The classic Chinese dish with fried tofu, mushrooms, broccoli, carrots, kale, and mixed veggies was tasty, but the brown sauce was quite runny and bland. Wish there was an option for steamed tofu.Crispy Happiness (3/5) - Crispy mock-meat beef tips with a sweet and sour sauce, very goopy. Singapore Noodles (3/5) - The thin stringy rice noodles had a nice spicy curry flavor with mushroom and wok fried mixed veggies. Some of the noodles were a bit clumpy. Protein was missing - wish veggie chicken, fried/steamed tofu, or tempeh came with the dish. The noodles got very soggy a couple of days later and had to throw them out. I'd recommend eating the noodles the same day. While I enjoyed the flavor of the noodles, I prefer the Mizuni Sansai Udon Noodles, which was a bit more rounded out with a heap of veggies and veggie chicken.Macrobiotic Tofu (2/5) - While I enjoyed the chunky blocks of steamed tofu, I wasn't a fan of the thick goopy ginger sauce and the super bitter acrid burdock and sweet goji berries and dates. The sweet and savory combo didn't feel balanced. I saved the tofu, and threw out the rest of the dish.Mini Sukiyaki Soup (2/5) - Super bland soup. While the gigantic portion with 2 containers was filled to the brim with a heap of cabbage, onion, greens, mushrooms, and steamed tofu, the broth was flavorless. It would have been nice to have some udon noodles. Something felt missing.Will be back for the drummies, Xmas roll, Spinach Wonton Soup, and Udon noodles! I enjoyed exploring the menu and look forward to coming back to try more dishes. I'm determined to find the perfect well-balanced dish!

We've been coming here for over 15 years. The food is excellent, service is also. They have a good variety of food and my family likes their food as well. Their lunch menu is especially good value and the dining area is spacious and peaceful.